Beethoven: Piano Trios No. 5 Geister & No. 7 Archduke

The Beaux Arts threesome take a contemplative, Apollonian view of this work, a reaction to their earlier, lighter reading from the 1960s. They strive for almost too much refinement in their playing of the trio's opening movement, which emerges at a very moderate Allegro moderato and nearly succumbs to local effect. The Andante is the key to their interpretation: where others treat it as a reverie, they see it as a meditation, and take a full 13 1/2 minutes to play it. The recording, an early digital effort from 1981, offers excellent presence, good atmosphere, and lots of detail. --Ted Libbey