MUSIC

Possibly intended as the original slow movement of the composer’s magnificent Piano Trio No. 1 in B-flat, the sublime “Notturno” by Schubert now stands alone most effectively as an entity of sustained melody and tranquility. Hailed by Schumann as the “master trio of the age,” Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio in D minor attained immediate popularity for the appealing directness and warmth of its themes. Mendelssohn’s lyricism predominates from beginning to end, and the music is Mendelssohn at his most typical and delightful. Brahms composed the Piano Trio in B major originally at a young age, but revised it thirty-six years later for a second edition. The final version shows the mature composer reined in the young man’s fancy to produce a much tauter web of ideas, and the mastery is evident throughout.

Concert 6:
Schubert: Piano Trio in E-flat major, D. 897, “Notturno”
Mendelssohn: Piano Trio in D minor, Opus 49
Brahms: Piano Trio in B major, Opus 8