I. Allegro con brio — Tranquillo — In tempo ma sempre sostenuto
II. Scherzo: Allegro molto — Meno allegro — Tempo primo
III. Adagio
IV. Finale: Allegro
The Trio in B Major, Op. 8, is at once the first and last of Brahms' trios for piano, violin, and cello. Composed in 1854, when Brahms was only twenty-one years old, the work displays all the exuberance of Brahms' youthful, lyrical style. Yet its original, 1854 version, while it displays many moments of genius, is also one of the most meandering, least defined of Brahms' early sonata forms. Unsurprisingly, Brahms the perfectionist seized the opportunity to revise the early work for a later publication in 1889, after he had already composed his second and third trios for this instrumentation. This later version combines the inspired freedom of youth with a mature conciseness, displaying one of Brahms' later stylistic hallmarks -- "developing variation," a process of unifying the musical structure by arriving at each new theme through a process of constant "development" or "working through" of existing musical materials.
The B Major Trio is often remembered for the beautiful opening duet between piano and cello -- one of the most romantic and heartfelt duos in all of chamber music, let along trio writing. Less immediately striking, but accumulating over the course of the work, is the amount of music that appears in a dark or sorrowful minor mode. Both the second theme of the first movement and middle section of the third movement are in an increasingly sorrowful key of G-Sharp Minor. The entire work is also entirely in the key of B, but alternating between B Major and Minor, creating a kind of tension and increasingly dramatic pull towards the minor over the course of the work. Most shocking is the last movement, which Brahms begins with only a tonally ambiguous, off-tonic "suggestion" of a key, creating a sense of anxiety that is left unresolved until the movement's final page. We'll leave you to experience how it all ends...Notes by Lee Dionne
Classical Music | Music for Trio
Johannes Brahms
Piano Trio No. 1 in B Major, Opus 8 Play
Recorded on 10/16/2019, uploaded on 04/02/2020
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
I. Allegro con brio — Tranquillo — In tempo ma sempre sostenuto
II. Scherzo: Allegro molto — Meno allegro — Tempo primo
III. Adagio
IV. Finale: Allegro
The Trio in B Major, Op. 8, is at once the first and last of Brahms' trios for piano, violin, and cello. Composed in 1854, when Brahms was only twenty-one years old, the work displays all the exuberance of Brahms' youthful, lyrical style. Yet its original, 1854 version, while it displays many moments of genius, is also one of the most meandering, least defined of Brahms' early sonata forms. Unsurprisingly, Brahms the perfectionist seized the opportunity to revise the early work for a later publication in 1889, after he had already composed his second and third trios for this instrumentation. This later version combines the inspired freedom of youth with a mature conciseness, displaying one of Brahms' later stylistic hallmarks -- "developing variation," a process of unifying the musical structure by arriving at each new theme through a process of constant "development" or "working through" of existing musical materials.
The B Major Trio is often remembered for the beautiful opening duet between piano and cello -- one of the most romantic and heartfelt duos in all of chamber music, let along trio writing. Less immediately striking, but accumulating over the course of the work, is the amount of music that appears in a dark or sorrowful minor mode. Both the second theme of the first movement and middle section of the third movement are in an increasingly sorrowful key of G-Sharp Minor. The entire work is also entirely in the key of B, but alternating between B Major and Minor, creating a kind of tension and increasingly dramatic pull towards the minor over the course of the work. Most shocking is the last movement, which Brahms begins with only a tonally ambiguous, off-tonic "suggestion" of a key, creating a sense of anxiety that is left unresolved until the movement's final page. We'll leave you to experience how it all ends... Notes by Lee Dionne
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)
Widmung, from Myrthen, Op. 25
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