Gaspard Trio: Haydn

The Strad Issue: May 2026

Description: Hugely characterful performances blow the dust off a Classical master

Musicians: Gaspard Trio

Works: Haydn: Complete Piano Trios, vol.5: no.5 in G minor, no.6 in F major, no.22 in A major, no.44 in E major. Winkelman: Threesome in a High-den

Catalogue number: CHANDOS CHAN20367

The classic recording of Haydn’s piano trios by the Beaux Arts Trio is around half a century old now – and the series under way in the hands of the Gaspard Trio hints at something of a revolution in the way that we hear and play the composer’s music.

For all the assurance and expertise of those veteran players, they’d hardly have dared indulge in the cheeky slides and tipsy rubatos you hear from the Gaspard Trio in the A major Trio (1785), yet the new recording at no point feels as if the music is becoming mannered or manhandled.

The Gaspard also shows a wonderful freedom to its ornamentation on repeats (and not only then) and in its vivid response to Haydn’s sonic imagination: at the opening of the E major Trio (1795–7), say, where the three instruments meld into a completely new hybrid instrument.

The players don’t short-change the earlier works either, giving just as much individuality to the comparatively straightforward works that may date from around 1760. The novelty here is Helena Winkelman’s punning Threesome in a High-den, three compact movements recounting scenes from Haydn’s life in a witty, accessible postmodern language.

Whether or not it’s your cup of tea, the meat of this Haydn series is tasty enough to keep you coming back for more. The Potton Hall sound is clear and spacious.

DAVID THREASHER