I
The trios of the seventeenth century—the Sonate a tre—were written for three concertizing instruments and a figured bass, really four parts in all. During the eighteenth century the word trio took on quite a different significance and was applied to compositions written for the harpsichord with one other solo instrument, violin, oboe, or flute, like the violin sonatas of Bach. Vaguely at the time of the young Haydn, clearly when Mozart entered the world of music, the word took on the meaning that it still holds today: a composition written for three instruments, pianoforte, violin and cello. If another combination of instruments is meant, then those instruments are usually specifically designated in the title of the work.
The Haydn Trios are of little importance. There are thirty-five in all, and it has been said that the majority were written for a patron who played the cello a very little. Hence one finds the cello part in this combination to be merely a duplication of the bass part of the pianoforte, having little independent movement of its own; and the works are rather sonatas with violin than trios.
Mozart, on the other hand, treated the combination with a fine sense of the effects that could be made with it. He gave to each of the three instruments a free line of its own, and made fine use of the possibilities of tonal contrast and color. There are eight trios in all. They are not representative of Mozart’s best, though there is not one in which Mozart’s inimitable grace is lacking; but in spite of their slenderness they may be considered the first pianoforte trios in the modern sense, and to have set the model for subsequent works in that form.
These are not very numerous, if one excludes from them a great number of fantasias or popular operas such as were written by Woelfl, Nicholas Lomi and other composers of the virtuoso type. Nor does the form show much development except that which accompanies an improvement in pianofortes and a progress in technical skill on all these instruments. Only a few trios stand out conspicuously as having high musical worth, or as having been a worthy expression of genius.
There are eight trios by Beethoven. Of these three were published as opus 1, and hardly show an advance over the trios of Mozart, if indeed they do not fall considerably short of them in point of finish and style. Two were not published in his lifetime, and one of these is only a fragment, a single movement in B-flat major, composed in June, 1812, for Maximilian Brentano. There are, then, but three that are representative of the mature Beethoven, two published as opus 70, and one, in B-flat major, opus 97, dedicated to his favorite pupil, the Archduke Rudolph. The writing for the three instruments is especially clear in the first allegro of opus 70, No. 1, a lively, vivacious movement in D major. The slow movement of this trio is rather remarkably scored for the pianoforte, which is almost constantly engaged in tremolos, strange broken trills, and runs. The last movement is full of Beethoven’s humor, very distinctly in the swing of a folk-song. Throughout there is much brilliant work for the piano, and a ceaseless witty interchange between the other two parts. There is an extraordinary pedal point before the return to the first section, which is just touched upon at the end. The second of this pair of trios is not less brilliantly arranged for the three instruments. The variations in the second movement are finer than the variations in the earlier works. There is folk-song again in the third movement, a smooth allegretto in A-flat major. Both trios are extraordinarily clear and happy in mood.
The trio opus 97 is one of the biggest of Beethoven’s works. The contents are more symphonic than those of his other trios, and recall something of the spirit of the quartets of opus 59. There is, indeed, a marked similarity between the opening theme of this trio and that of the quartet opus 59, No. 1, especially in the broad line of the melody. Yet though on the whole the effect of this great trio may be orchestral, there are not lacking measures of finest style, like those which follow the second theme in the first movement, with the touch or two of delicate imitation, then the soft melody of the cello with the dainty scale on the pianoforte, and then the cello and violin in octaves, with the scales on the pianoforte becoming more and more active and noisy. Immediately after, it is all cleverly changed about; the strings have those lively scales and the pianoforte the melody. The scoring of the whole Scherzo, too, is especially in trio style, and may well be taken as a model. The andante and variations, and even more the last movement, are, however, hardly in the style of chamber music, and the vigorous passion of the ideas in them does considerable violence to the essentially delicate combination.
The combination is without doubt one of the most difficult to treat with success, partly because the pianoforte may be very easily led to overpower its fellow instruments, partly because notes in the lower ranges of the cello have so little carrying quality that except in very soft passages they cannot be heard in the combination. It must be said that the general development in pianoforte technique did much to overthrow the balance and adjustment so charming in the trios of Mozart and in those of opus 70 by Beethoven. Between Beethoven’s last trio, opus 97, and the trios of Brahms there is hardly a single one that does not suffer from maladjustment.
The two trios of Schubert, opus 99, in B-flat, and opus 100 in E-flat, are full of inspiration, and Schubert’s fancy is so delicate that on the whole he may be said to have succeeded with the combination. Certainly the little canon which forms the Scherzo in the second trio is a masterpiece of style. Also the announcement of the chief theme in the first trio and the way in which it is developed cannot be found fault with; nor is the charming D-flat section in the finale less perfect. But in the scherzo there are rather weak accompaniments scored for the strings in the orchestral manner of double stops, and there are similar passages at the beginning of the transition to the second theme in the first movement of the second trio. These are here acceptable because of the sheer beauty of the material which is thus presented; but one cannot deny that this would find even lovelier expression with a group of three strings. In the Andante con moto the impropriety of style is more evident; but one will forgive anything in this inspired movement, which later is to stand like a shadow behind the Marcia in Schumann’s great pianoforte quintet.
Mendelssohn wrote two trios, one in D minor, one in C minor, which, after having for years been favorites with players and public alike, are now sinking out of sight. In these the treatment of the pianoforte is brilliant; and though it may not be said to overbalance the strings, it certainly outshines them. Mention should be made of Marschner’s trio in G minor, opus 110, because it so clearly influenced Schumann in his own quartet in A minor. Five trios of Spohr’s were once well known, but they represent no change or development either in style or form; and even that in E minor, opus 119, which has been prized almost to the present day because of its melodiousness, is fast being abandoned.
Schumann’s trios—in D minor, opus 63, in F major, opus 80, and in G minor, opus 110—have at any rate a beauty of inspiration. They are romantic and poetic as his other works are, and the warmth of them is sufficient to melt a cold criticism. That in D minor is perhaps the best, and the scherzo, especially the middle section of it, with its smooth theme looking forward to the trio in Brahms’ first pianoforte sonata, is admirable in style.
The three trios of Brahms are masterpieces. The first, opus 8, in B major, was an early work and was revived years later and republished in the form in which it is now generally familiar. But even in its revived shape it is inferior to the two later trios, in C major, opus 87, and in C minor, opus 101, though the opening theme is of a haunting beauty, and the scherzo, suggesting that in Beethoven’s opus 97, is in piquant and effective style.
In the first movement of the C major trio the violin and cello seem like two noble and equal voices throughout. Their course is bold and free. They are never overshadowed by the pianoforte. It seems to be largely Brahms’ treatment of the cello that makes these works so perfectly satisfying in sound and style. He showed always a fondness for deep low notes. Sometimes his music suffers from it. But here, in these trios, it gains immensely. For, as we have said, one of the greatest difficulties of writing in good style for this combination of instruments is to be met in handling the low notes of the cello. Brahms seems to have done it almost instinctively. From the beginning of the first movement, with its full-throated octaves, to the very end of the whole, the cello never for one measure fails to equal the violin in effectiveness. Very often they are made to play together in octaves, and in places, as in the course of the second theme, they hold long notes two octaves apart, defining the sonority so to speak, within the limits of which the piano moves alone, filling the wide space with richest sound. Again, at the beginning of the Andante con moto violin and cello are two octaves apart. He combines them in bold chords which challenge the pianoforte, assert their own independence, as here, not long before the middle section of this andante, or at the beginning of the trio in C minor, opus 101. He allows one fully to support the other without the pianoforte, as in the Andante Grazioso of the C minor. All through these truly magnificent works one is struck by the comradeship and equality of the two strings, and this, together with the way the pianoforte is adapted to them, leads us to say that there are no trios so perfect in style as these two of Brahms. It might even be added that it would be hard to match them in nobility of content.
Mention may be made here of two other trios by Brahms in which he has shown himself no less a master of the difficult task of combining three instruments of utterly different qualities and range. One of these is the famous trio in E-flat, opus 40, for piano, violin and horn. The horn may, it is true, be interchanged with cello or viola, but only at the cost of the special tone color which makes the work such a favorite. The other is the trio for pianoforte, clarinet, and cello, a work which, together with the masterly quintet for clarinet and strings, opus 115, is proof of Brahms’ admiration for the clarinet playing of Professor Mühlfeld. Both these trios are almost unique in their perfection.
One is at a loss to mention more trios which are at all comparable to those of Brahms. It is in the main true that the pianoforte finally took such complete possession of the trio that trios were no more than brilliant concert sonatas or concertos. The Russians, headed by Rubinstein, have written many trios. Rubinstein’s, as might be expected, were far too brilliant for the pianoforte. Tschaikowsky’s only trio, opus 50, written to the memory of Nicholas Rubinstein, is one of his most impassioned works. Whatever improprieties of style there may be, its emotional force cannot be resisted. He admitted a fear that, having all his life written for the orchestra, he might not have adapted the musical combination to his thoughts. Yet in spite of the general orchestral style of treatment, this trio remains one of the most moving of all chamber music compositions.
Also among Russian trios may be mentioned that by Arensky in D minor, which is wholly delightful. The swing of the first theme in the first movement is impelling, and the whole scherzo with its touch here and there of waltz rhythms, and the fleet scales on the keyboard, are effective. Paul Juon’s capricious fantasia on ‘Gösta Berling’ is interesting.
Dvořák’s trios are worthy of study. Of the three—in G minor, opus 26, in F minor, opus 65, and the Dumky, opus 90—the last two are the most interesting, and also the most Bohemian in character. The treatment of the pianoforte is brilliant. At times the cello is used a little unworthily, that is to say, merely to accentuate low notes or to add a sort of barbaric strumming; yet on the whole Dvořák’s treatment of the two strings is not very unlike that of Brahms. There is a great deal of octave playing between them, notably at the very beginning of opus 65, in the second section of the allegretto, and now and then in the various sections of the Dumky. The cello is given long and impassioned solos, or takes a full part with the violin in dialogues. On the whole Dvořák makes more use of the upper registers; but again, in the manner of Brahms, he knows how to use the low without concealing it beneath the heavier tone of the piano. The whole section, vivace non troppo, which follows the first poco adagio, is excellently scored for the three instruments. Notice how at first the cello holds a low C-sharp, supporting the light melody of the violin and the light staccato accompaniment of the piano; how as the music grows more furious the cello adds a G-sharp above its C-sharp. When at last the piano breaks into the melody, violin and cello take equal parts in the series of sharp, detached chords which accent its rhythm. Again the melody is given to the violin, an octave higher than at first, and the cello gives an accompaniment of single notes and chords, while between the two the piano plays the whirlwind. After all this subsides, the cello rises up from the deep in a broad solo cadenza. It must be granted that the musical value of the notes allotted to the cello in this section is not high; but the point is the admirable spacing of the three instruments which allows each to display a peculiar sonority and all to join in a rich and exceedingly animated and varied whole. Elsewhere in these trios there is a fine polyphonic style. Much of the vitality of the music comes from the vivid nature of the national rhythms and melodies out of which it is constructed. These trios, then, are hardly comparable to the classic trios of Brahms. Yet they seem to be the most effective and the most successful trios that have been written since Beethoven, with the exception only of Brahms’ two and Tschaikowsky’s one.
The French composers have not given much attention to the trio. César Franck’s first works were three short trios, but they are without conspicuous merit. Two trios by Lalo are pleasingly scored. Among the trios of Saint-Saëns that in E-flat major, opus 18, is the most effective. The pianoforte part is especially brilliant, yet does not throw the combination out of adjustment.