Piano Trio in B flat major, Op.99. D.898

Nobody knows what it was that inspired Schubert to turn to the piano trio towards the end of 1827 and, having written nothing of the kind for fifteen years, produce two masterpieces in a matter of weeks. It is not unlikely, however, that he had come across Beethoven’s “Archduke” - perhaps in the public performance given by Ignaz Schuppanzigh, Josef Linke and Carl Maria von Bocklet the in Vienna in 1825. Certainly, Schubert had those three instrumentalists in mind when he wrote the two trios and he clearly relished their superior musicianship in scoring for them.

While he appreciated the virtuosity of the Schuppanzigh-Linke-Bocklet Trio, as the brilliant opening of the Trio in B flat affirms, he was also confident of their understanding of such poetic inspirations as his suddenly unsettling treatment of the second subject at the end of the exposition and just before the coda of the first movement. Similarly, while he trusted in their ability to sustain a seductive melodic line in the nocturnal main theme of the Andante, he also invested much faith in their ability to realize the emotional insecurity implied by the dramatically changing harmonies in the central development. The contrast between the incisively staccato figuration of the outer sections of the Scherzo and the smooth legato articulation of the charmingly innocent middle section can have been no problem for them. The ingenious metrical transformations in the Allegro vivace on the other hand - which is no rondo, incidentally, in spite of the composer’s own heading - called for greater resources of rhythmic wit than even Beethoven had required of them.

Nobody knows what it was that inspired Schubert to turn to the piano trio towards the end of 1827 and, having written nothing of the kind for fifteen years, produce two masterpieces in a matter of weeks. It is not unlikely, however, that he had come across Beethoven’s “Archduke” - perhaps in the public performance given by Ignaz Schuppanzigh, Josef Linke and Carl Maria von Bocklet in Vienna in 1825. Certainly, Schubert had those three instrumentalists in mind when he wrote the two wonderfully well-contrasted trios in B flat and E flat major. Of the two, this slightly earlier one is the more cheerful, even though there are moments when the melancholy mood of Die Winterreise, the song cycle on which he was working at much the same time, does show through.

There is nothing other than high-spirited about the brilliant opening theme of the Allegro moderato, however. In spite of the minor harmony occasionally touched on in the transition to the second subject, the shapely new melody itself, introduced by a lyrical cello over piano arpeggios, is no less ecstatic. Or is it? Just before the end of the exposition there is a pause and the expressive downward interval of the second subject is thoughtfully extended first by the cello and then by the piano, on both occasions with a chromatic shift in harmonies in uncertain rhythmic syncopations. Although these doubts are given an immediately positive answer, they don’t go away.

In the Andante, a kind of nocturne in E flat major, doubts are more overtly expressed. The opening of the movement, where the cello introduces the main theme and then joins the violin in affectionate counterpoint, is perfectly serene. But as the piano develops the theme, minor harmonies discreetly make their presence felt and the middle section of the movement, with its dramatic changes of colour and syncopated rhythms, makes no secret of the emotional insecurity underlying the elaborately seductive surface.

There is no such duality in the Scherzo, which is based on a contrast of another, textural kind. As the for final Allegro vivace, it goes off in a different direction - one with no parallel anywhere else in Schubert’s music. The two basic themes, a playful little tune introduced by violin and a dramatic gesture in piano octaves, are twice rhythmically transformed and combined in the most delicate of contrapuntal episodes in a metre and a key of their own - an unreal situation corrected at the last minute by a decisive Presto coda.

The music Schubert wrote during the last two years of his life - like the Winterreise song cycle, the last three Piano Sonatas, the eight Impromptus, the String Quintet in C major, the two Piano Trios - is so uncommonly inspired that nothing he achieved at this time should surprise us. It is interesting to speculate, however. What was it that drew him to the piano trio again, after he had written nothing of the kind for as long as fifteen years, and how was he able to complete in a matter of weeks two of the greatest of all examples of a form he had attempted only once before?

It could well be that the stimulus and the model for his own efforts was Beethoven’s masterful “Archduke” Trio in B flat, which had been performed in public in Vienna in 1825 by the same three virtuoso musicians for whom Schubert wrote his Piano Trios in B flat and E flat major only two years later. Certainly, both scores are highly resourceful in exploiting the virtuosity of the Schuppanzigh-Linke-Bocklet Trio. Of the two, this one in B flat major is the more cheerful or, at any rate, the one less likely to reveal the concerns of a young composer who knew he didn’t have long to live. There are moments, on the other hand, when the melancholy mood of Die Winterreise, the song cycle on which he was working at much the same time, does show through.

There is nothing other than high-spirited about the brilliant opening theme of the Allegro moderato, however. In spite of the minor harmony occasionally touched on in the transition to the second subject, the shapely new melody itself, introduced by a lyrical cello over piano arpeggios, is no less ecstatic. Or is it? Just before the end of the exposition there is a pause and the expressive downward interval of the second subject is thoughtfully extended first by the cello and then by the piano, on both occasions with a chromatic shift in harmonies in uncertain rhythmic syncopations. Although these doubts are given an immediately positive answer, they don’t go away. The same questions are asked again at the appropriate point in the recapitulation and, most surprisingly, there is yet another pause for thought as the harmonies are driven off course near the end of the coda.

In the Andante, a kind of nocturne in E flat major, doubts are more overtly expressed. The opening of the movement, where the cello introduces the main theme and then joins the violin in affectionate counterpoint, is perfectly serene. But, as the piano develops the theme, minor harmonies discreetly make their presence felt and the middle section of the movement, with its dramatic changes of colour and syncopated rhythms, makes no secret of the emotional insecurity underlying the elaborately seductive surface.

There is no such duality in the Scherzo, which is based on a contrast of another kind. On the one hand, there is the intricately interwoven and often incisively staccato figuration of the outer sections in B flat; on the other hand, there is the smoothly melodious legato articulation of the charmingly innocent middle section in E flat.

As the for final Allegro vivace, it goes off in a different direction - not a rondo direction, in spite of the title the composer gives it in the score, but one with no parallel anywhere else in Schubert’s music. The two basic themes, a playful little tune introduced by violin and a dramatic gesture in piano octaves, are twice rhythmically transformed and combined in the most delicate of contrapuntal episodes in a metre and a key of their own - an unreal situation corrected at the last minute by a Presto coda that decisively restores the duple-time metre and the B flat major tonality in which the movement began.

Gerald Larner©

Schubert’s first piece for violin, cello and piano was a sonata movement written when he was no more than fifteen. He didn’t return to the piano trio for a long time but when he did, towards the end of 1827, he approached the medium with such confidence and such accomplishment as to produce two of the greatest works of their kind. Perhaps the inspiration was Beethoven’s masterful “Archduke” Trio in B flat, which had been performed in public in Vienna in 1825 by the same three virtuoso musicians for whom Schubert was to write his Piano Trios in B flat and E flat major only two years later.

It is not possible to determine the exact dates of composition of the two works but the consensus of academic opinion, that the Trio in B flat came first, seems to be confirmed by the differences in character between them. While both scores are highly resourceful in exploiting the virtuosity of the Schuppanzigh-Linke-Bocklet Trio, the one in B flat major is more inclined to revert to the divertimento-like style of the “Trout” Quintet - his only other major work for piano and string ensemble - written eight years earlier. It is as though he had to acquire intimate knowledge of the medium before he could confide to it his innermost feelings, as he does in the Trio in E flat. Basically cheerful though the Trio in B flat is, however, there are moments when the melancholy composer of Die Winterreise, the song cycle on which he was working at much the same time, shows though.

There is nothing less than high-spirited about the brilliant opening theme of the Allegro moderato. In spite of the minor harmony occasionally touched in the transition to the second subject, the shapely new melody itself, introduced in F major by a lyrical cello over piano arpeggios, is no less ecstatic. Or is it? Just before the end of the exposition there is a pause and the expressive downward interval of the second subject is thoughtfully extended first by the cello and then by the piano, on both occasions with a chromatic shift in harmonies in uncertain rhythmic syncopations. These questions are given an immediately positive answer, just as the few minor-key episodes in the harmonically questing development section are quickly brushed aside. But they don’t go away. The same questions are asked again at the appropriate point in the recapitulation, and, most surprisingly, there is yet another pause for thought as the harmonies are driven off course near the end of the coda.

In the Andante, a kind of nocturne in E flat major, doubts are more overtly expressed. The opening of the movement, where the cello introduces the main theme and then joins the violin in affectionate counterpoint, is perfectly serene. But, as the piano develops the theme, minor harmonies discreetly make their presence felt and the C minor middle section of the movement, with its dramatic changes of colour and syncopated rhythms, makes no secret of the emotional insecurity underlying the elaborately seductive surface. The opening theme duly returns but harmonically disorientated, so that it passes through several other key areas before recovering its authentic E flat major serenity.

There is no such duality in the Scherzo, which is based on a contrast of another kind. On the one hand, there is the intricately interwoven and often incisively staccato figuration of the outer sections in B flat; on the other hand, there is the smoothly melodious legato articulation of the charmingly innocent middle section in E flat.

As the for final Allegro vivace, it goes off in a different direction - not a rondo direction, in spite of the title the composer gives it in the score, but one with no parallel anywhere else in Schubert’s music. The two basic themes, a playful little tune introduced by violin and a dramatic gesture in piano octaves, are twice rhythmically transformed and combined in the most delicate of contrapuntal episodes in a metre and a key of their own - an unreal situation corrected at the last minute by a Presto coda that decisively restores the duple-time metre and the B flat major tonality in which the movement began.