“This has to be one of the most enjoyable Archdukes to appear in a long time…..The first movement combines delicacy, expressive power and a strong sense of forward movement. Nothing is overstated—the weight they give to sforzandos always seems to me just right—and there’s a feeling of being carried forward on a strong, benign current. The Perlman/Harrell/Ashkenazy characterization on EMI sounds more than a little studied after this. The Scherzo too balances character and mobility, and the Trio grows from it very naturally, as indeed does the finale from the rapt closing pages of the Andante cantabile—no sense of let-down in this performance. ….the so-called Ghost Trio, would make the ideal coupling.”
-Gramophone
Beethoven: Piano Trios “Ghost” & “Archduke”
