String Trio in G minor (c 1855)

(Variations on a Russian theme)

In his late teens and early twenties Borodin knew two violinists but not, it seems, a violist. Certainly, while his earliest compositions include several ensemble pieces for his two violinist friends and himself as cellist there is nothing for the standard string trio or string quartet. Although some of his early piano pieces were published at the time, it wasn’t until the 1940s that the trios – or the two that have survived in a performable state – appeared in print. If the incomplete Trio in G major has roused little interest, its companion in G minor does get the occasional hearing, usually (as on this occasion) with the second violin part played on the viola. What is particularly interesting about it is Borodin’s choice, following Glinka’s example perhaps, of a Russian folk song, “Chem tebya ya ogorchila” (How did I grieve thee), as its thematic material. An attractive melody, introduced by violin in the opening bars, it gives rise to a series of variations – the second with the melodic line in the lower register of the cello, the fourth pizzicato on all three instruments, the sixth (in the major) featuring violin double stops. After the extended last variation the theme is recalled in its original form in G minor.