I promised Larry Austin of Vinyl Fatigue that I'd get this one up asap. I actually picked it up the other day at lunch. The performers are another "Boston Trio": Joseph Silverstein, violin; Joseph dePasquale, viola; and Samuel Mayes, cello. All were longtime members of the BSO and while the latter two ended up in Philadelphia, Silverstein would eventually turn to conducting full time, serving a distinguished tenure in Utah as a successor to Maurice Abravanel. The three collaborate here in numbers 1 and 2 of the Op. 9 trios of Beethoven.
This is an interesting record. Pressed by RCA Special Products, it was issued by Pfizer in a series sponsored by its Sinequan medication. I'm sure many of you remember the days when companies like Firestone, Fanny Farmer Candies, Avon etc. issued LPs of all sorts of various works, most under license from the "majors." This record was released in 1971 so it was probably one of the last efforts by RCA in Boston before the BSO signed a deal with Deutsche Grammophon. Needless to day, the musicianship is very fine, especially appealing is Silverstein's work. He was undoubtedly one of the greatest concertmaster's of the 20th century, a superb artist!
As a filler, I've included Beethoven's rare Oboe Trio, Op. 87 performed by wind soloists from the Vienna Philharmonic. This was issued on a Westminster Collector's (the Orange Records) Series LP's along with the String Quintet Op. 29 performed by the Barylli Quartet.
