Piano Trio (Chopin)
The Piano Trio, Op. 8, is a composition in G minor for piano, violin and cello, by Frédéric Chopin, written in 1828 or 1829, and published in 1829, dedicated to Antoni Radziwiłł.
Piano Trio | |
---|---|
by Frédéric Chopin | |
![]() The composer in 1835 | |
Key | G minor |
Catalogue | Op. 8 |
Dedication | Antoni Radziwiłł |
Published | 1829 |
Movements | four |
Structure
It has four movements:
- Allegro con fuoco
- Scherzo
- Adagio sostenuto
- Finale: Allegretto
A typical performance lasts approximately 25-27 minutes.
The piece has established itself as a core member of the piano trio repertoire. It is also the only work by Chopin that features the violin (excluding orchestral parts) — an instrument to which he was somewhat indifferent, as reflected in the relative lack of sophistication of the violin parts.[1][2] In a letter to his friend Tytus Woyciechowski dated 31 August 1830,[lower-alpha 1] Chopin speculates whether he should have written the violin line for viola, believing that the viola's timbre would "accord better with the cello".[3] Emanuel Ax is of the opinion that it is perhaps fortunate that Chopin scored the work for a standard piano trio, since so few trios with viola exist.[4][1][2]
References
Notes
- Letter no. 63 in the new edition of Fryderyk Chopin’s Correspondence, edited by Zofia Helman, Zbigniew Skowron, and Hanna Wroblewska-Strauss, University of Warsaw, 2010
- Nicholas 2010.
- Rezaei 2010.
- Rezaei 2010, p. 14
- Johnson 1908.
- Sources
- Johnson, G. C. Ashton (1908). A Handbook to Chopin's Works. London: William Reeves.
- Nicholas, Jeremy (2010). Chopin: Chamber Music (PDF) (CD). Hyperion Records. CDH55384.
- Rezaei, Ramin (2010). Frederic Chopin's Chamber Music and Polish Songs (PDF) (B.Mus). Lahti University of Applied Sciences. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
External links
- Piano Trio: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- "Chopin: Piano Trio in G-minor, Op. 8 (Live performance)". Quarto Quartet (YouTube). 2013-07-04.