Classical Music | Music for Trio

Recorded on 10/31/2012, uploaded on 04/09/2013

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Written in 1932, the Trio remains Khachaturian’s only full length chamber work.  Heavily influenced by traditional folk melodies, the first movement, Andante con dolore, opens with a sorrowful duet between the clarinet and the violin floating above piano chords.  The melody is embellished in the style of Armenian folk improvisation.  The Allegro is based on a tuneful dance that reaches a frantic climax and showcases a crafty juxtaposition of harmony and timbre.   The final Moderato, based on an Uzbekistan tune, begins with the solo clarinet stating the theme.  The three instruments intertwine the diverse rhythmic patterns around the melody.   The middle section is a mournful melody first stated by the piano and is later joined by the other two instruments.  It escalates before coming to a sudden fast Presto section that, with melodic outcries in both clarinet and violin, evoke an Eastern European feel.  Although the work was prompted by the classical-oriented Nikolay Miaskovsky, Khachaturian’s teacher at the Moscow Conservatory at the time, the trio carries original concepts.  Contrary to the standard classical idiom, none of the movements are in sonata form.

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.