Trio in B-flat Major for Piano, Violin and Cello, Op. 99, D898 Franz Schubert
Schubert's music draws the listener in and has enduring lessons for
composers and players. As Morton Feldman observed of Schubert's placing of
melody, "It's not a question of periods, just where he places it is so
fantastic with the atmosphere. It just floats. It's within our reach but it's
someplace no one else would put the melody in terms of registration. There is a
lot to learn in Schubert, just where he puts things. He is so effortless."
Alfred Brendel's characterization of Schubert vis-a-vis his near
contemporary, Beethoven, is well known: "In Beethoven's music we never
lose our bearings, we always know where we are; Schubert, on the other hand,
puts us into a dream. Beethoven composes like an architect, Schubert like a
sleepwalker."
Franz
Schubert's two great piano trios - in B-flat Major, Op. 99, and in E-flat
Major, Op. 100, were written in 1827. The Trio in B-flat Major is an
essentially lyrical composition, warmly and luminously beautiful. None of its
four movements reveals the spiritual tensions, or is darkened by the chilling
shadows, that are so typical of the works dating from the composer's last
years.
The
first movement, Allegro moderato, in
a sonata form whose regularity is an exception for Schubert, seems to give
voice to the most genuine joy in people making music together, whereas the
following Andante un poco mosso, in
E-flat Major, truly possesses what Schumann described as "the visionary quality
of a dream of beatitude."
In
the Scherzo we discover echoes of
ländler and Viennese waltzes; whereas the final Allegro vivace is in a rondo form rich in subordinate episodes and
demonstrates - according to Alfred Einstein - a clear-cut thematic relationship
to the lied "Skolie", written by Schubert in 1815. This lied begins with the
following words, which could easily describe the Allegro vivace (and the Trio
as a whole): "On a bright May morning, let us enjoy the flower's brief life,
before all its fragrance disappears."
The B-flat Trio was never performed publicly nor published during
Schubert's lifetime. A private performance was given in Vienna on January 28,
1827 with the piano part taken by Carl Maria von Bocklet, a pianist, violinist,
and friend of the composer, who first brought many of Schubert's compositions
to the public notice. The string parts were taken by Ignaz Schuppanzigh,
violin, and Josef Linke on cello, both members of the Schuppanzigh Quartet -
Beethoven's quartet of choice. Tecchler Trio
Classical Music | Music for Trio
Franz Schubert
Trio for Piano and Strings No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op.99, D.898 Play
Recorded on 07/06/2005, uploaded on 02/26/2009
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
Trio in B-flat Major for Piano, Violin and Cello, Op. 99, D898 Franz Schubert
Schubert's music draws the listener in and has enduring lessons for composers and players. As Morton Feldman observed of Schubert's placing of melody, "It's not a question of periods, just where he places it is so fantastic with the atmosphere. It just floats. It's within our reach but it's someplace no one else would put the melody in terms of registration. There is a lot to learn in Schubert, just where he puts things. He is so effortless."
Alfred Brendel's characterization of Schubert vis-a-vis his near contemporary, Beethoven, is well known: "In Beethoven's music we never lose our bearings, we always know where we are; Schubert, on the other hand, puts us into a dream. Beethoven composes like an architect, Schubert like a sleepwalker."
Franz Schubert's two great piano trios - in B-flat Major, Op. 99, and in E-flat Major, Op. 100, were written in 1827. The Trio in B-flat Major is an essentially lyrical composition, warmly and luminously beautiful. None of its four movements reveals the spiritual tensions, or is darkened by the chilling shadows, that are so typical of the works dating from the composer's last years.
The first movement, Allegro moderato, in a sonata form whose regularity is an exception for Schubert, seems to give voice to the most genuine joy in people making music together, whereas the following Andante un poco mosso, in E-flat Major, truly possesses what Schumann described as "the visionary quality of a dream of beatitude."
In the Scherzo we discover echoes of ländler and Viennese waltzes; whereas the final Allegro vivace is in a rondo form rich in subordinate episodes and demonstrates - according to Alfred Einstein - a clear-cut thematic relationship to the lied "Skolie", written by Schubert in 1815. This lied begins with the following words, which could easily describe the Allegro vivace (and the Trio as a whole): "On a bright May morning, let us enjoy the flower's brief life, before all its fragrance disappears."
The B-flat Trio was never performed publicly nor published during Schubert's lifetime. A private performance was given in Vienna on January 28, 1827 with the piano part taken by Carl Maria von Bocklet, a pianist, violinist, and friend of the composer, who first brought many of Schubert's compositions to the public notice. The string parts were taken by Ignaz Schuppanzigh, violin, and Josef Linke on cello, both members of the Schuppanzigh Quartet - Beethoven's quartet of choice. Tecchler Trio
More music by Franz Schubert
Der Wanderer an den Mond
Tränenregen, from Die schöne Müllerin
Moment musicaux, D. 780 No. 4
Erlkönig
Piano Sonata D. 958, Finale: Allegro
Sonata in B-flat Major, Op. 30, D617
Impromptu Op. 90 No. 2 in E-flat Major, D. 899
Notturno
Impromptu Op 90 N° 3
Standchen, Lieder for Flute and Piano
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