(++++) ASPECTS OF MASTERY

Beethoven: Piano Trios, Op. 1, Nos. 1-3; Op. 70, Nos. 1 and 2; Op. 97, “Archduke”; Ten Variations on “Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu”; Fourteen Variations in E-flat. Weiss Kaplan Stumpf Trio (Yael Weiss, piano; Mark Kaplan, violin; Peter Stumpf, cello). Bridge Records. $33.99 (3 CDs).

Beethoven: Overtures and Incidental Music—Overtures to König Stephan, The Consecration of the House, Coriolan, Egmont, Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus, Zur Namensfeier; Funeral March for “Leonore Prohaska”; “Wo sich die Pulse” from “The Consecration of the House”; Gratulations-Menuet; Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt; Triumphal March for the Tragedy “Tarpeja.” Phyllis Bryn-Julson, soprano; Bach Society of Minnesota and Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Stanislaw Skrowaczewski. Vox. $16.99.

     So much attention is always paid to Beethoven that it is interesting to realize the extent to which the focus is on a relatively small portion of his music: symphonies, piano concertos, violin concerto, some of the string quartets, some of the piano sonatas. This is not to say that all other Beethoven music is actually neglected – although some of it is, including song settings, some choral works, the cantatas on emperors Leopold II and Joseph II, Germania, and so forth. But there are works that are not heard especially often yet are not entirely unknown, such as the piano trios. So when there is a particularly compelling performance of these pieces – such as the Weiss Kaplan Stumpf Trio’s new recording on Bridge Records – it comes as something of a revelation, giving the music a “wow” factor that may be missing in even the best performances of Beethoven’s extremely well-known works.

     Yael Weiss, Mark Kaplan and Peter Stumpf deliver absolutely first-rate readings of six trios and two sets of variations – not all the trios, despite the CDs’ assertion that this is a complete set, but the majority of them. The performances are remarkably cogent and are distinguished throughout by exemplary playing befitting the time periods in which the music was written. These are all works of early Beethoven (Op. 1 and the variations in E-flat) or the composer’s middle period (Opp. 70 and 97 and the “Kakadu” variations, which were apparently composed long before they were published in 1816 – by which time the composer had amended and updated them). As with the piano concertos, there are no late-period examples of Beethoven’s piano trios, which is a shame; but what works we do have are highly effective and, again like the piano concertos, can be revelatory of changes in the composer’s thinking and style if heard chronologically. The three Op. 1 trios are full of Mozartean elements and are characterized by delicacy and careful balance among the instruments – with the cello gaining more independence than was usual in Mozart’s chamber music (and Haydn’s, which these trios also reflect). The two Op. 70 works have a fuller sense of ensemble and show a greater willingness to seek uncommon sonorities and carefully managed interplay of instruments, most strikingly in the famous second movement of Op. 70, No. 1, whose eerie sound led to this trio being labeled “Ghost.” The final and most-famous trio, the Op. 97 “Archduke,” is spun out at greater length and gives the piano more prominence than it receives in the earlier works – a circumstance of which Weiss wisely does not take full advantage, since the two modern Steinways used in these recordings do not mesh entirely well with the performers’ 1685 Stradivari violin and 1642 Amati cello. Throughout the release, the musicians provide excellent ensemble playing and equally fine and well-thought-out handling of solo passages – their give-and-take, so crucial in the best chamber-music performances, is everywhere apparent. To their credit, the players vary their approach and even, to some extent, their sound to accommodate the differences among these pieces – the “Kakadu” variations, for example, are conveyed with enthusiasm and joy that help make up for the unevenness of their content.

     As fine as these performances are, the presentation of the three-CD recording is puzzling. It would have been easy, given the performances’ timing, to offer the trios chronologically: Op. 1, Nos. 1 and 2 with the E-flat variations on one disc; Op. 1, No. 3 and Op. 70, No. 1, plus the “Kakadu” variations, on a second; and Op. 70, No. 2 with Op. 97 on the third. The actual packaging, though, puts Op. 70, No. 1 and Op. 1, No. 1 with the “Kakadu” variations between them on the first disc; Op. 1, No. 2 and Op. 97 on the second; and Op. 1, No. 3 and Op. 70, No. 2 with the E-flat variations between them on the third. This in no way detracts from the quality of the performances, but it is a presentation mishmash for no discernible reason. As for the release claiming to be “complete,” that is flat-out incorrect: omitted are the piano-trio version of the “Gassenhauer” trio (Op. 11), the 1803 trio version of Symphony  No. 2, the Op. 38 trio arrangement of the Septet, the early trio WoO 38, and a few small pieces. Again, none of this diminishes the quality of what the Weiss Kaplan Stumpf Trio does offer – all of which is music-making of the highest quality – but there is certainly more of this repertoire out there to be explored, and it is even less-known than what is offered here. The positive spin on this is that there is an opportunity for Weiss, Kaplan and Stumpf to explore Beethoven piano trios even further if they are so inclined.

     It is not only Beethoven’s chamber music that contains infrequently heard works: his theatrical compositions are in many ways even less familiar. But some performers started trying decades ago to bring more of Beethoven’s stage music to audiences. As far back as 1980, conductor Stanislaw Skrowaczewski (1923-2017) led the Minnesota Orchestra in a series of finely honed performances of various pieces that even today are encountered none too often. A Vox re-release of some of Skrowaczewski’s readings is a fascinating mixture of pieces heard often, not too often, and virtually not at all. Six of Beethoven’s 11 overtures are included, including the very rarely played Zur Namensfeier while omitting the four Fidelio overtures and The Ruins of Athens. In all these works, Skrowaczewski paces the music expertly and gives just the right level of attention to orchestral balance and to the inherent drama, lyricism, or stateliness (depending on the work) that Beethoven includes. The Handelian grandeur of The Consecration of the House and the high drama of Egmont are especially compelling here. Among the genuine rarities, Beethoven’s beautifully balanced 1815 setting of Goethe’s two short poems, Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt (“Becalmed at Sea and Prosperous Voyage”) is a standout, its relationship to Mendelssohn’s 1828 concert overture quite clear but its voice quite distinct – and not merely because it is a short cantata rather than a purely instrumental piece. The other vocal work here, Wo sich die Pulse from The Consecration of the House, is of lesser interest but is still a solid setting for soprano and chorus of some rather drab celebratory text. There are no hidden gems among the remaining short pieces, or at least no precious ones – but certainly the material is semi-precious and deserving of more than the near-total obscurity in which all these works continue to subsist today. Beethoven in his totality was more than his best-known works would indicate – even though they certainly deserve their canonic status. But as with others of the greatest composers, it is salutary from time to time to search for musical highlights that could somehow have been missed over the years; and even in the absence of anything outstanding, there is something reassuring in knowing that the creators of musical masterpieces did not create only those masterworks. The finding reinforces the reality that those who produce transcendent art are, after all, only human, although at some level they are better-attuned than most people to the best in all of us.