Piano, violin & cello

May 9, 2017 2:07 AM

The Piano Trio, typically comprising piano, violin & cello, has been the most popular three-piece line-up in classical music since the late 18th century. Non-aficionados may know some of the trio repertoire from TV or film soundtracks: for example the main theme of the second movement of Franz Schubert’s piano trio no. 2, which was featured to great effect in Stanley Kubrick’s movie Barry Lyndon. For anyone with the time and the inclination, the full version of this piece, along with many others (mostly old chestnuts, but also including some less well-known compositions), can be found within.

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano trio no. 6 in G major, K. 564 (1788)
• Joseph Haydn: Piano trio no. 27 in A-flat major, Hob. XV:14 (1790)
• Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano trio no. 5 in D major, Op.70 No.1 ‘Ghost’ (1809)
• Johann Nepomuk Hummel: Piano trio no. 5 in G major Op.65 (1815)
• Franz Schubert: Piano trio no.2 in E flat, D.929 Op.100 (1827)
• Frédéric Chopin: Piano trio in G minor, Op. 8 (1829)
• Felix Mendelssohn: Piano trio no. 1 in D minor Op. 49 (1839)
• Charles-Valentin Alkan: Piano trio In G Minor Op. 30 (1841)
• Clara Schumann: Piano trio in G minor Op. 17 (1846)
• Fanny Hensel: Piano trio in D minor Op. 11 (1847)
• Robert Schumann: Piano trio no. 3 in G minor, Op. 110 (1851)
• Johannes Brahms: Piano trio no. 1 in B Major Op 8 (1854)
• Bedřich Smetana: Piano trio in G minor, Op. 15 (1855)
• Alexander Borodin: Piano trio in D major (1861)
• Camille Saint-Saëns: Piano trio no. 1 in F major, Op. 18 (1863)
• Joachim Raff: Piano Trio no. 4 in D major, Op. 158 (1870)
• Cécile Chaminade: Piano trio no.1 in G minor, Op.11 (1880)
• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Piano trio in A minor, Op 50 (1882)
• Antonin Dvořák: Piano trio no. 3 in F minor, Op. 65 (1883)
• Guillaume Lekeu: Piano trio in C minor (1891)
• Sergei Rachmaninoff: Trio élégiaque no. 2 in D minor, Op.9 (1893)
• Anton Arensky: Piano trio no. 1 in D minor, Op. 32 (1894).
• Vítězslav Novák: Piano trio in D minor, Op.27 ‘quasi una ballata’ (1902)
• Dora Pejačević: Piano trio in C major, Op. 29 (1902)
• Maurice Ravel: Piano trio in A minor, Op. 67 (1914)
• Lili Boulanger: Piano trios ‘D’un soir triste’ and ‘D’un matin de printemps’ (1918)
• Rebecca Clarke: Piano trio (1921)
• Gabriel Fauré: Piano trio in D minor, Op. 120 (1923).
• Joaquín Turina: Piano trío no. 2 in B minor, Op. 76 (1933)
• Andrzej Panufnik: Piano trio (1934)
• Dmitri Shostakovich: Piano trio no.2 in E minor, Op.67 (1944)
• Bohuslav Martinů: Piano trio no. 2 in D minor, H. 327 (1950)
• Arno Babajanian: Piano trio in F sharp minor (1952)
• Bernd Alois Zimmermann: Présence, ballet blanc (Concerto scénique) (1961)
• Isang Yun: Piano trio (1972)
• Pēteris Vasks: Episodi e Canto Perpetuo (1985)
• Toru Takemitsu: Between the Tides (1993)
• Jennifer Higdon: Piano trio (2003)
• Lera Auerbach: Piano trio no. 2 ‘Triptych - The Mirror With Three Faces’ (2012) [Vimeo]
• John Zorn: The Aristos (2014)

Note: all links are to YouTube videos (or, in one case, to a Vimeo video) of recordings or live performances of instrumental music.

posted by misteraitch (10 comments total)

Thanks.

Looks like you've gone with one composition per composer. Was wondering why No.7 was missing:

Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano trio no. 7 in B-flat major, Op.97 ‘Archduke’ (1811)
posted by Gyan at 2:29 AM on May 9, 2017 [2 favorites]

Turina's Circulo is also quite something
posted by valdesm at 5:12 AM on May 9, 2017 [1 favorite]

Fantastic list!

On the more recent end, I also like the anxious energy of Charles Wuorinen's Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano (1983) and the spaciousness of Morton Feldman's Trio (1980).
posted by Fritz Langwedge at 5:15 AM on May 9, 2017 [3 favorites]

Wonderful, many thanks for putting this together misteraitch!
posted by carter at 5:57 AM on May 9, 2017 [1 favorite]

I don't know ... these "popular trios" and their contemporary music. They're just tempting our young people to disrespect their elders, wear unorthodox clothing and engage in inappropriate dance. I mean, have you seen this group - The Wolfgang Amadeus Mozarts? They have wild, unkempt hair-styles! I don't believe this fad will remain popular in even a few years' time, but I do think this sort of youthful rebelliousness should NOT be encouraged.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 7:16 AM on May 9, 2017 [3 favorites]

Fantastic list!

Needs more, um, Liszt.
posted by The Bellman at 9:34 AM on May 9, 2017 [2 favorites]

One early forerunner should not be left unmentioned: Jean-Philippe Rameau's five Pièces de Clavecin en Concerts (1741). This is one of the earliest examples of chamber music where the keyboard instrument (harpsichord in this case) has a worked-out (often rather virtuosic, in fact) part instead of basso continuo with figures. The other instruments: violin or flute (in this version changing according to the character of the movement), and Viola da Gamba.

Then there are the Quartets for viola, flute and keyboard instrument (1788) by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, which are only 'quartets' because the two hands of the pianist (the instrument here: a replica of an 18th-c. piano) are counted as one instrument/part each. So, actually: piano trios.
posted by Namlit at 12:23 PM on May 9, 2017 [2 favorites]

I've been stuck on string quartets for a long time and this is exactly what I needed. Definitely favorited for complete exploration. Thanks!
posted by Ber at 12:52 PM on May 9, 2017

Flagged as musically fantastic! Thank you so much, misteraitch.
posted by jokeefe at 1:21 PM on May 9, 2017 [1 favorite]

Gyan - yes, the idea was to include one piece per composer (and at least one piece per decade).

I made a playlist of all the YouTube videos above. Thanks to all who have suggested possible additions to it!
posted by misteraitch at 1:40 PM on May 9, 2017 [6 favorites]