Beaux Arts Trio
"Smetana: Piano Trio in G Minor op. 15" (CD)

The Beaux Arts Trio is perhaps the most celebrated name in piano trio history.  Over their astonishing 53-year career they became synonymous with elevating the piano trio literature to the same height as the string quartet.

Menahem Pressler played piano during the trio's entire 53-year span. For this particular recording of Smetana's piano trio, (recorded in 1970) Isidore Cohen is playing violin and Bernard Greenhouse is playing the cello.

This CD is part of a four-disc (so-called) "limited edition" set which features recordings made by the trio during the span of 1967 - 1974. Even if their output during those seven years was limited to what is included on these four CD's that could be considered prolific.

I intend to familiarize myself more with piano trio literature; my own (bad) joke is that since there's no viola in a piano trio I have no interest in the repertoire.  This really is just a bad joke.  This Smetana is quite a cool piece.