If you have room on your shelf for another superlative recording of Beethoven's passionate Piano Trio in C minor coupled with a merely acceptable recording serene Piano Trio in B flat, you might want to try this disc by the
Kempf Trio. A young ensemble with all three of its members in their twenties, the
Kempf Trio has plenty of energy and plenty of emotion, and whatever you can do with them, they have done. The lines of their Trio in C minor's opening Allegro con brio burn with flames incandescent fervor and the tempos of their Trio in C minor's closing Prestissimo blaze with flames irrepressible ardor. But while this approach works well with Beethoven as a young man in a hurry, it works far less well with Beethoven as a mature master. Or to put it more bluntly, the
Kempf Trio's scorched earth approach to performing does not illuminate Beethoven's serene Trio in B flat major as much as it burns it to the ground. The opening Allegro moderato is too allegro and not enough moderato, the following Scherzo is far too con brio and not enough con amiable, the following Andante cantabile is far too allegretto and nowhere near enough cantabile, and the closing Allegro moderato is once again too allegro and not even remotely enough moderato. Bis' super-digital sound is not much better than Bis' usual superb digital sound.