Piano Trio No. 1 (Mendelssohn)
Piano Trio in D minor | |
---|---|
No. 1 | |
by Felix Mendelssohn | |
Key | D minor |
Opus | 49 |
Composed | 1839 |
Published | 1840 |
Movements | four |
Felix Mendelssohn's Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49, was completed on 23 September 1839 and published the following year. The work is scored for a standard piano trio consisting of violin, cello and piano. It is one of Mendelssohn's most popular chamber works and is recognized as one of his greatest along with his Octet, Op. 20. During the initial composition of the work, Mendelssohn took the advice of fellow composer Ferdinand Hiller to revise the piano part. Hiller wrote, "with his usual conscientious earnestness when once he had made up his mind, he undertook the length and rewrite the whole pianoforte part."[1]
The revised version was in a more romantic, Schumannesque style with the piano given a more important role in the trio. Indeed, the revised piece was reviewed by Schumann, who declared Mendelssohn to be "the Mozart of the nineteenth century, the brightest musician, who most clearly understands the contradictions of the age and is the first to reconcile them."[2]
Historical Background
On January 21, 1832, while Mendelssohn was in Paris, he wrote a letter to his sister, Fanny Mendelssohn, about writing a work in which the piano takes a more active role in relation to the violin and cello.[3] The trio was premiered on February 1, 1840, at the Leipzig Gewandhaus by violinist Ferdinand David, cellist Franz Karl Witmann, and Mendelssohn at the piano. Robert Schumann praised the trio as "the master-trio of our time, even as Beethoven's B-flat and D and Schubert's E-flat at their time, this will delight to the future generation."[4] In 1898, the Musical Times had an interview with the violinist, Joseph Joachim, who recalled the performance in London in 1844, in which the composer was the pianist once again. At the time, only the violinist and cellists had their parts. Mendelssohn said, "never mind, just put a book on the piano and a person can turn from time to time, so I don't need to look as though I played by heart."[5]
Analysis
I. Molto allegro agitato
The first movement is in
II. Andante con moto tranquillo
The piano introduces the second movement, with the eight-bar melody in the right hand and the accompaniment divided between the hands, as in a number of Mendelssohn's
III. Scherzo. Leggiero e vivace
The short and light scherzo is essentially in sonata form. As in the second movement, the main theme is first played on the piano, which then reduces itself to fragmentary accompaniment almost immediately. The rhythmic motif of the main theme is present throughout the movement, except in the more lyrical central section, whose theme resembles material from the first movement.
IV. Finale. Allegro assai appassionato
After Hiller gave Mendelssohn his advice, the finale was the most revised movement and unsurprisingly has a busy piano part. Various keyboard techniques are called upon in the movement, from close
References
- ISBN 0415966507.
- ^ Er ist der Mozart des 19ten Jahrhunderts, der hellste Musiker, der die Widersprüche der Zeit am klarsten durchschaut und zuerst versöhnt. [1]
- ISBN 0295952512.
- ISBN 9780195382532.
- ISBN 9780195382532.
- ISBN 9789523290792.
External links
- Piano Trio No. 1: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Performance by the Claremont Trio from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in MP3 format