Haydn’s String Trios were written in
the 1750s and 1760s, precise dating
being more or less impossible. Some
21 are now regarded as authentic. In
the early sources, individual works
are often described as "notturnos"
or "cassations". When Haydn
began to compile a catalogue of his
own works, around 1765, he referred
to them as "divertimentos".
It was some years after Haydn’s death
that the works were first perceived
as a group and described as String Trios.
In modern times they have often been
spoken of as chiefly of interest for
the role they played, seen retrospectively,
in preparing Haydn for the composition
of his mature string quartets. Robbins
Landon writes that "the firm hand,
the assured manner, of the quartets
is largely the result of experimentation
within the string trio form". Robbins
Landon is careful, however, not to let
such claims distract from the distinctive
merits of the trios themselves, a misjudgement
which others have not always avoided.
All of the trios recorded
here are made up of three movements.
Nos. 14 and 18 grow from the Corellian
example of the sonata da chiesa,
beginning with a slow movement in each
case (Adagio), followed by an Allegro
and a Minuet. Nos. 15 and 16 begin with
an Allegro, follow it by a Minuet and
close with a Presto. No. 17 has a first
movement marked Moderato, succeeded
by a Minuet and a Presto. Given these
changing sequences of tempo and the
range of keys employed, this programme
has more variety than might at first
appear.
Haydn’s adagios abound
in beautiful, flowing melodies and his
allegros are ceaselessly inventive.
His formal inventiveness is remarkable.
No doubt these trios lack the emotional
weight of some of Haydn’s later work,
but they compensate for this by the
serious graciousness of their movement
and instrumental interplay, and by a
kind of constantly bubbling and joyful
fertility of ideas. Particular pleasures
include the variations which make up
the closing Presto of No. 17 and the
wistful adagio which opens No. 14. But
every one of the movements in these
Trios has rewards to offer.
They are played here
with both delicacy and strength. The
Wiener Philharmonia Trio sound utterly
at home with the music, persuasively
articulating both its dance rhythms
and its elegance, its formal variety
and its unpretentious intelligence.
Their performances are a delight, the
recorded sound all that it needs to
be. Sadly, I haven’t heard the two previous
volumes in their set of the Divertimentos;
listening to this third volume has made
me very eager to hear its two predecessors.
Any listener who doesn’t
know these string trios is urged to
make their acquaintance. Anyone who
is fond of the early quartets will surely
find much to admire and enjoy in these
trios.
Glyn Pursglove
Wiener Philharmonia Trio (Piter Wächter
(violin), Tomáš Vinklát (violin),
Tamáš Varga (cello)) 
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