ID Schubert Piano Trios" - No. 1 in B flat, D898; No. 2 in E flat, D929. Sonata for Arpeggione and Piano in A minor, D821 b. Notturno in E flat, D897". aYuuko Shiokawa (vn); beMildos Perênyi (ye); Andras Schiff (pf).

Teldec CD CD 0630-13151-2 (two discs: 127 minutes: DDD).

Trios - selected comparison:

Beaux Arts Trio (7/86) (PHIL) 412 620-2PH2

These discs begin with an outstanding performance of the Arpeggione Sonata. The recording is clear and spacious, and the outer movements have an effortless sense of momentum that is not too inflexible to allow for some expressive rubato and pointing of the phrases. There's no hint in Perenyi's playing that, with its high tessitura, this is a difficult work for the cello, and he produces a most beautiful, warm, serene tone for the Adagio. Schiff, with his long experience as a Schubert song accompanist, gives real character to even the most subsidiary details of the piano part.

Where, in the two great trios and the Notturno, the piano has a more dominating role, Schiff's special feeling for Schubert is just as apparent. In movement after movement, these three wellmatched players find exactly the right tone and feeling. In the first Allegro of the B flat Trio the superior recording helps them to convey the music's grandeur better than the Beaux Arts can, with their drier sound. And in the following Andante, the beautifully sweet Beaux Arts' playing doesn't, for me, quite match the flowing, evocative style of this new version. Shiokawa's clear-toned, elegant violin playing is a great asset here. In the Notturno, too, a more flowing tempo doesn't spoil the tranquillity of the opening melody, but allows the contrasting episode to emerge triumphantly, with sparklingly brilliant figuration from Schiff. At this point, the Beaux Arts seem, by contrast, quite ponderous.

In the monumental E flat Trio Schiff, Shiokawa and Perenyi seem sometimes a little polite and decorous, by the side of La Gaia Scienza (see below), but their interpretation is certainly not lacking in vitality or variety. The finale in this performance lasts nearly 20 minutes, not because it is slow, but because the players have gone back to the original version of the movement— when preparing the trio for publication Schubert deleted the exposition repeat and made two extensive cuts. Some commentators have found this movement, even in its shortened state, long-winded and repetitious. If you agree, you'll hate this version, but if, like me, you're an admirer of Schubert's "heavenly length", you'll hear it as the true culmination of one of his greatest instrumental works. All in all, these are splendid recordings; a top recommendation. DD