HAYDN: TRIOS, NOS. 1-3. HUSA: “SONATA A...

HAYDN: TRIOS, NOS. 1-3. HUSA: “SONATA A TRE.” The Verdehr Trio. Crystal S-648. This warmly recorded disc gathers Haydn’s extant works (listed as Hoboken IV) for the odd combination of clarinet d’amore, violin and basso in a modern edition for clarinet, violin and piano. Without period instruments, the Verdehrs (resident at Michigan State University) must rely on solid ensemble work to realize the limited potential of these formally conservative miniatures. The substantial Husa sonata (1982) is more mettlesome in its virtuosic demands for each of the participants. The performers cope magnificently with the leaping intervals, the Bartokian dissonances and pungent jazz riffs.