Piano Trio No. 45 (Haydn)

Joseph Haydn's Piano Trio No. 45 in E♭ major, Hoboken XV:29, was published in 1797 but may have been written a few years earlier, while Haydn was still in England on the second of his highly successful London visits. It is the third of a set of three trios dedicated to the eminent pianist Mrs. Therese Jansen Bartolozzi. It is the least technically sophisticated of the three in a set noted in general for their wide expressive range and virtuosity - piano trios at this time were typically written with amateur performers in mind. But it is still full of character and humour.[1]

The trio is in three movements:

1.Poco allegretto. Instead of the expected strict sonata form, this march-like Eb major movement is cast in A-B-A form, with the B section a version of the main theme in Eb minor, and the returning A section incorporating variations. There's an extended coda that leads into some remote modulations before a confident return to the home key.[1][2]

2. Andantino ed innocentemente. A brief movement in the key of B major with the theme first heard on the piano, then on violin and then in canon. After a key change back to Eb the music finishes in suspense on the dominant chord, making its function more of a long introduction to the third movement rather than a separate movement.[3]

3. Finale. Allemande. Presto assai. Following without a break, this is a triple-time dance in the vernacular German style, using a ländler folk melody for its main material (as is made clear in the original title). Hints of gypsy fiddles and the hurdy gurdy alternate with more serious material.[1]