Classical Music | Music for Trio

Recorded on 08/13/2014, uploaded on 02/03/2015

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Piano Trio No. 3 in G Major, Op. 110, Robert Schumann

I.   Bewegt, doch nicht zu rasch
II.  Ziemlich langsam
III. Rasch
IV.  Räftig, mit Humor

The compositional output of German composer, performer, and critic Robert Schumann includes masterpieces of solo piano music, chamber music, vocal song, and symphonic repertoire.  In 1834 he founded one of the first journals of music criticism, Die Neue Zeitschrift für Musik ("New Journal for Music").  He used this platform to reignite interest in composers of the past, including Mozart and Beethoven, and eventually to herald the arrival of a then-20-year-old Johannes Brahms, who later became embroiled in the famous love triangle with Clara Schumann, Robert’s wife.  Schumann was plagued by mental illness, and spent the final years of his life in an asylum after a suicide attempt in 1854.  Some critics argue that much of Schumann’s work after 1850 was clouded by his insanity; Clara Schumann and Brahms even attempted to destroy many of Schumann’s later manuscripts.  Thankfully, many great works from this period survived, including the opus 110 Piano Trio.

Composed in Düsseldorf in 1851, Schumann’s third and final piano trio is perhaps the least often performed today.  It begins stormily with the opening movement, marked Bewegt, doch nicht zu rasch (agitated, but not too fast), meandering through the dreamy second Ziemlich langsam (somewhat slowly), dropping briefly into the Rasch (fast) scherzo, and culminating playfully and triumphantly in the finale, Kräftig, mit Humor (strong, with humor).     Trio Terzetto

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.