Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor

When Schumann hailed Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 49 (1839) as “the master trio of our age”, he placed it at a stroke in the company of Beethoven’s “Ghost” (1808) and “Archduke” (1810-11) and Schubert’s Piano Trio No. 2 (1827-28). Mendelssohn was deemed to have restored the Classical balance between the instruments, running against the tendency to let the piano dominate the three-way conversation. Not that his piano part is by any means anything other than fearsomely difficult. Nevertheless, it is interesting that many of the themes are heard first on the string instruments, with the first movement’s yearning opening melody passed from cello to violin over a restless syncopated piano accompaniment. The second movement “Andante” is often described as a “song without words”, although this downplays the deeper emotions of its minor-key central section. The “Scherzo” hearkens back to the “fairy” lightness of the and the A Midsummer Night’s Dream overture, while the finale opens passionately before building to a joyful conclusion, a sunlit D major sweeping away the minor-key clouds.