As one of the most celebrated composers of the late 18th century, Joseph Haydn can lay claim to being ‘father of the piano trio’ alongside that of other genres established in his lifetime such as the symphony and the string quartet. The delightful Divertimento in C major is a youthful work, but the later piano trios recorded here take on a heightened sophistication. Strings and keyboard are given a new independence of character in exquisitely crafted works such as the C minor Trio, with its ‘numerous and sometimes spectacular modulations’, and oscillating enharmonic key changes that foreshadow Schubert can be heard in the Trio in D major.

Our edition of Haydn’s Keyboard Trios has already established itself as a market leader, with acclaim for the first three volumes with the Kungsbacka Trio indicating that they ‘need fear nothing in comparison’ (Gramophone) with any competitors, and were ‘the Haydn of choice’ for Fanfare.