The piano trio existed, in other guises, long before Ludwig van Beethoven got his hands on it. But he was the composer who would expand the genre beyond all recognition, using his relentless creativity to exploit the piano trio to its full potential. Beethoven begins his transformation of the genre after his first two trios in the style of Haydn with the emancipation of the cello, giving greater individuality to each of the three instruments. Piano Trio Op.1 No.3 foretells almost ten years in advance the heroicism of the composers middle period, and Op.70 No.2, written in 1808, is akin to the music of his late period. He reached new heights of dramaticism in the Ghost Trio, with its intense tremolandi, while in the Archduke he displayed the sheer symphonic power with which we now associate him. The works are performed here by Trio Élégiaque, an internationally acclaimed ensemble made up of three multiawardwinning performers: Laurent Le Flécher, Virginie Constant and François Dumont.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Trio Élégiaque
François Dumont, piano
Laurent Le Flécher, violin
Virginie Constant, cello