Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (1876-1948) is a composer difficult to classify. A child of his time he kept aloof from the innovations of the modernists and dodecaphony. As son of a German father and a noble-born Venetian mother he was born in Venice and went to study in Munich. He became famous as an opera composer, his chamber music remained largely neglected.

The two piano trios on this new recording are early works, written around the turn of the century. They follow the line Schumann-Mendelssohn-Brahms, eschewing heavy density, but instead displaying a certain aristocratic levity, an enlightened simplicity.

Played by the Italian Trio Archè, founded in 2001.

The booklet contains excellent, scholarly written liner notes.