Haydn’s keyboard trios are glowing, high-spirited delights, written at the request of the composer’s London publisher to fulfill the demands of amateur musicians playing at home. Even so, these works are challenging enough to keep all three players on their toes (especially the pianist, whose technique is very much put to the test). Oddly enough for such charming pieces, these trios are some of the most underrepresented works in the recorded chamber repertoire. To my knowledge, the Beaux Arts’ survey of the complete trios remains the only such project completed to date, though Trio 1790 is in the midst of recording individual volumes for CPO. Aware of this deficit, the Montreal-based Trio Franz Joseph (Mireille Lagacé, pianoforte; Olivier Brault, violin; and Marcel Saint-Cyr, cello) cooks up a delightful assortment of these goodies, played stylishly and with the requisite impish spirit. Aside from the two string players’ slight tendency to scrub away maniacally in the fastest movements, these are technically well turned out performances. Musically, the trio keeps the lightest, most delicate of touches; any heavy-handedness would ruin the spritely, gamine effect of these pieces. I hope that Atma decides to record additional Haydn trios with these players.
