During the summer of 1880, when Brahms was composing both the Academic Festival and Tragic Overtures, he was also sketching two piano trios in E-flat and C major. It had been a quarter of a century since the completion of the Piano Trio No. 1 in B major and the chamber ensemble awaited the full force of the mastery Brahms had acquired over the intervening years. Both pieces were temporary set aside but he returned to them in 1882. However, by then, the E-flat trio had disappeared and only the C major was completed. The work found an unusual favor with Brahms, who was often highly critical of his own work, and he boasted of it to his publisher, writing, “You have not so far had such a beautiful trio from me and very probably have not published one to match it in the last ten years.”
Violin and cello begin the piece announcing the first movement’s principal theme, which is built around Brahms’s beloved motif of descending thirds. The exposition of this nearly symphonic sonata form introduces a wealth of melodic material which is masterfully handled but Brahms’s impeccable sense of economy. Much of the development section is concerned solely with a lyrical variation of the opening theme. Development of the movement’s remaining ideas is shifted to the recapitulation and a coda lends the movement a feeling of grandeur in the final measures.
The Andante second movement is a set of five variations on a rustic tune in A minor with prominent “Scotch snaps.” While the first movement was overflowing with good humor, the Andante on the other hand is sorrowful bordering on the tragic. The following Scherzo is brief and turns to the key of C minor. The outer sections are dominated by a reiterated-note figure which is transformed into ghostly octaves and arpeggios, creating an austere musical landscape. The central Trio section, however, features one of Brahms’s most heart-warming melodies in a glowing C major.
Like the first movement, the Finale is also in sonata form and presents a wealth of material. However, where the first movement was a mixture good humor and vigor, the Finale is mostly relaxed. An extensive coda brings about, once again, the symphonic sonority of the first movement and leads the music to a grand and triumphal ending. Joseph DuBose
Classical Music | Violin Music
Johannes Brahms
Piano Trio in C Major, Op. 87 Play
Recorded on 07/11/2015, uploaded on 10/05/2015
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
During the summer of 1880, when Brahms was composing both the Academic Festival and Tragic Overtures, he was also sketching two piano trios in E-flat and C major. It had been a quarter of a century since the completion of the Piano Trio No. 1 in B major and the chamber ensemble awaited the full force of the mastery Brahms had acquired over the intervening years. Both pieces were temporary set aside but he returned to them in 1882. However, by then, the E-flat trio had disappeared and only the C major was completed. The work found an unusual favor with Brahms, who was often highly critical of his own work, and he boasted of it to his publisher, writing, “You have not so far had such a beautiful trio from me and very probably have not published one to match it in the last ten years.”
Violin and cello begin the piece announcing the first movement’s principal theme, which is built around Brahms’s beloved motif of descending thirds. The exposition of this nearly symphonic sonata form introduces a wealth of melodic material which is masterfully handled but Brahms’s impeccable sense of economy. Much of the development section is concerned solely with a lyrical variation of the opening theme. Development of the movement’s remaining ideas is shifted to the recapitulation and a coda lends the movement a feeling of grandeur in the final measures.
The Andante second movement is a set of five variations on a rustic tune in A minor with prominent “Scotch snaps.” While the first movement was overflowing with good humor, the Andante on the other hand is sorrowful bordering on the tragic. The following Scherzo is brief and turns to the key of C minor. The outer sections are dominated by a reiterated-note figure which is transformed into ghostly octaves and arpeggios, creating an austere musical landscape. The central Trio section, however, features one of Brahms’s most heart-warming melodies in a glowing C major.
Like the first movement, the Finale is also in sonata form and presents a wealth of material. However, where the first movement was a mixture good humor and vigor, the Finale is mostly relaxed. An extensive coda brings about, once again, the symphonic sonority of the first movement and leads the music to a grand and triumphal ending. Joseph DuBose
More music by Johannes Brahms
Capriccio in d minor, Op 116, No. 7, from Seven Fantasies
Variations on a Theme by Haydn
Paganini variatons
Capriccio in c-sharp minor, from Eight piano pieces, Op. 76
Intermezzo in E Major, Op. 116, No. 4, from Seven Fantasies
Schicksalslied, Op. 54
Intermezzo in A Major, from Eight piano pieces, Op. 76
Intermezzo in e minor, Op. 116, No. 5, from Seven Fantasies
Intermezzo in b minor, Op. 119, No. 1
Klavierstücke op. 118 - VI. Intermezzo
Performances by same musician(s)
Quintet in F Minor, M. 7
String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, Op. 96, B. 179, "American"
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