Maria-Joao Pires, Augustin Dumay, Jian Wang - Mozart: Piano Trios K. 496 & K. 502 (1997)

Not among his best known music, Wolfgang Mozart’s Trios for violin, cello and piano have a lighter feel than his more serious chamber pieces, say the K. 515 String Quintet or the “Dissonant” Quartet. They are more charming than profound, so I’ve always paid them much less attention than his quintets, quartets and violin sonatas, something which I also think true of many listeners. This superb release from Augustin Dumay (violin), Maria Pires (piano) and Jian Wang (cello) helps show their relative obscurity is partly caused by disappointing performances, because I very much enjoyed the three the ensemble include in this disc. Sure, the Trios tend to laughter and diversion, but they flow with panache, and don’t suffer from the simplemindedness and excessive repetition of less ambitious fare from the Classical period. If they are light, they aren’t empty.

The opening Allegro of the G-major Trio K. 496 illustrates this well. This Trio is neglected though, at just under half an hour in length and dating the middle of Mozart’s Vienna period, it is both ambitious and from the author’s mature prime. The flowing and sparkling performance here shows what a wonderful work it is. Maria Pires stands out in particular. After starting off the Allegro with a piano solo, she plays the entire movement with marvelous fluidity. Dumay is as usual excellent and cellist Jian Wang meets the challenge of playing with these two exceptional performers to give us smooth, highly musical support lower down.

The K. 502 Trio in B-flat which opens the disc, like the K. 496 Trio composed in 1786 at the height of Mozart’s powers, is also charming. The Trio ends with a very characteristic Allegretto finale that has Mozart’s trademark lightness. Led mostly by the violinist, Dumay provides us with an adept, easy-going version that flows and weaves its way through exchanges with the piano and cello. Rounding out the disc is a Divertimento, written in 1776 when Mozart was 20, and done in a simpler and less ambitious style than the two later Trios. This Divertimento is marked by a very beautiful Adagio, long and utterly accomplished and very much worth the near ten minutes it takes to unfold.

To aid things, the disc’s sound engineering is excellent, very clear and pleasant, something of a surprise given DG’s mixed track record. If you are a Mozart fan who has overlooked the Trios, I would encourage you to check this recording out. Living up to Dumay’s other very fine Mozart releases on DG, it’s charming and beautiful without being repetitive or simple-minded.