A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, almost always a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music. A grand piano A piano is a keyboard instrument, widely used in western music for solo performance, chamber music, and accompaniment, and also as a convenient aid to composing and rehearsal. ... The pitches of open strings on a violin The violin is a bowed stringed musical instrument that has four strings tuned a perfect fifth apart, the lowest being the G just below middle C. It is the smallest and highest-tuned member of the violin family of string instruments, which... A cello The violoncello, or as it is more commonly to refered to as the cello or cello (pronounced Cheh-loh), is a stringed instrument and a member of the violin family. ... Music is an art, entertainment, or other human activity which involves organized and audible sound, though definitions vary. ... Classical music is a broad, somewhat imprecise term, referring to music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of, European art, ecclesiastical and concert music, encompassing a broad period from roughly 1000 to the present day. ... Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. ...

The term can also refer to a group of musicians who regularly play together. Among the best known such groups were the one consisting of Alfred Cortot, Jacques Thibaud and Pablo Casals, earlier in the 20th century, and the American-based Beaux Arts Trio whose commitment to using the same players in every concert pioneered a new generation of similarly committed groups. A more recent well-known trio in the United States consists of Emanuel Ax, Young Uck Kim, and Yo-Yo Ma. In Europe, leading trios include the Florestan Trio in the United Kingdom, the Trio Wanderer in France, the Trio Fontenay, the Trio Parnassus and the Trio Jean Paul in Germany, the Vienna Piano Trio in Austria and the Guarneri Trio of Prague in the Czech Republic. Alfred Denis Cortot (September 26, 1877 – June 15, 1962) was a French pianist and conductor. ... Jacques Thibaud (September 27, 1880 - September 1, 1953) was a French violinist. ... Pau Carlos Salvador Casals i Defilló (December 29, 1876 – October 22, 1973), commonly known as Pablo Casals, was a virtuoso Catalan cello player (and later conductor). ... The Beaux Arts Trio is a world famous piano trio. ... Emanuel Ax Emanuel Ax (born June 8, 1949) is a Polish-born Jewish-American pianist. ... Album cover Yo-Yo Ma (Chinese: 馬友友; Pinyin: ) (born October 7, 1955) is a world-famous French-Chinese-American cellist. ...

Form

Traditionally, piano trios tend to be in the same overall form as a sonata, which can be roughly said to be as follows: Sonata (From Latin and Italian sonare, to sound), in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to cantata (Latin cantare, to sing), a piece sung. ...

• First movement - a quick movement in sonata form
• Second movement - a slow movement
• Third movement - a minuet and trio or a scherzo in ternary form
• Fourth movement - another quick movement, often in rondo form or sonata-rondo form

However, many variations on this form exist, and there are piano trios which bear no resemblance to this formal plan. Sonata form refers to both the standard layout of an entire musical composition and more specifically to the standardized form of the first movement. ... A minuet, sometimes spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two persons, usually in 3/4 time. ... Generally speaking, a trio or threesome is a group of three. ... A scherzo (plural scherzi) is a name given to a piece of music or a movement from a larger piece such as a symphony. ... Ternary form is a way of structuring a piece of music. ... Rondo, and its French equivalent rondeau, is a word that has been used in music in a number of ways, most often in reference to a musical form, but also in reference to a character-type that is distinct from the form. ... Sonata rondo form was a form of musical organization often used during the Classical music era. ...

The role of the three instruments

The piano trios of the Classical era, notably those of Haydn, are dominated by the piano part. The violin only plays the melody a certain amount of the time, and is often doubled by the piano when it does. The cello part is very much subordinated, usually just doubling the bass line in the piano. It is thought that this practice was quite intentional on Haydn's part and was related to the sonority of the instruments of Haydn's day: the piano was fairly weak and "tinkling" in tone, and benefited from the tonal strengthening of other instruments. Mozart's trios are also rather dominated by the piano part. (Franz) Joseph Haydn, (March 31 or April 1, 1732 – May 31, 1809) was a leading composer of the Classical period, called the Father of the Symphony and Father of the String Quartet. Although he is still often called Franz Joseph Haydn, Haydn himself actually never used Franz, signing letters and... W. A. Mozart, 1790, portrait by Johann Georg Edlinger, see also: face only Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart sucks (January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) is among the most significant and enduringly popular composers of European classical music and is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in world history. ...

With time, a new ideal of piano trio composition arose, in which each of the three instruments was supposed to contribute equally to the music. This is seen, for instance, in Beethoven's trios, and was likely in part the result of the increase in the power and sonority of the piano that took place during Beethoven's career, making it more feasible for the piano to play independently in an ensemble. The new idea of equality was never implemented completely; the extent to which it is realized varies from one composition to the next, as well as among movements within a single composition. Certainly by the mid nineteenth century, all three instruments had been modified to have a very powerful sound, and each can hold its own in a modern ensemble. Ludwig van Beethoven by Carl Jäger (Date unknown). ...

The earlier trios are now frequently performed and recorded using authentic instruments, of the kind for which they were originally written. Such performances restore the sonic balance the composer would have expected, and have proven popular. The authentic performance movement is an effort on the part of musicians and scholars to perform works of classical music in ways similar to how they were performed when they were originally written. ...

Playing piano trios

Among the piano trios, works by Haydn and Mozart are considered the best starting point for pianists new to chamber music. Unlike string and wind players, who usually learn to play in an orchestra as students, most pianists have little ensemble experience and face a more difficult transition.

Most pianists find that they must practice the trios alone before playing with others, because the repertoire is difficult to sightread.

The extensive repertoire of violin sonatas generally contains less difficult piano parts, and is excellent preparation for pianists who wish to play the piano trios. Though fewer in number, there are chamber compositions for other string or wind instruments plus piano. A violin sonata is a musical composition for solo violin, often (but not always) accompanied by a piano or other keyboard instrument, or by figured bass in the Baroque. ...

The Amateur Chamber Music Players publishes a contact list of musicians worldwide who play chamber music for their own enjoyment. They also publish lists of repertoire.

Piano trio repertoire

Among the fairly large repertoire for the standard piano trio (violin, cello, and piano) are the following works:

• Anton Arensky (1861-1906)
  • Piano Trio #1 in d minor, op. 32
  • Piano Trio #2 in f minor, op.73

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
  • 3 Piano Trios (E-flat major, G major, c minor), op. 1
  • Piano Trio #4 (arrangement of Septet in E-flat major, op. 20), op. 38
  • Variations for Piano Trio in E-flat major, op. 44
  • Piano Trio (arrangement of string quartet in E-flat major, op.4), op. 63
  • 2 Piano Trios (D major "Ghost", E-flat major), op. 70
  • Piano Trio in B-flat major "Archduke", op. 97
  • Variations for Piano Trio in G major, op. 121a

• Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
  • Piano Trio (1937)

• Ernest Bloch (1880-1959)
  • Piano Trio (1925)

• Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
  • Piano Trio #1 in B major, op. 8
  • Piano Trio #2 in C major, op. 87
  • Piano Trio #3 in c minor, op. 101

• Ernest Chausson (1855-1899)
  • Piano Trio in g minor, op. 3

• Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
  • Piano Trio in g minor, op. 8

• Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
  • Vitebsk: Study on a Jewish Theme for Piano Trio (1928)

• Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
  • Piano Trio in g minor, L. 3 (1880)

• Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
  • Piano Trio #1 in B flat major, B. 51
  • Piano Trio #2 in g minor, B. 56
  • Piano Trio #3 in f minor (once listed as Op. 64), B. 130
  • Piano Trio #4 in e minor ("Dumky"), B. 166

• Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)
  • Piano Trio in d minor, op. 120

• Enrique Granados (1867-1916)
  • Piano Trio, H. 140

• Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
  • Piano Trios, H XV 1-40

• Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837)
  • Piano Trio #1 in E flat major, op. 12
  • Piano Trio #2 in F major, op. 22
  • Piano Trio #3 in G major, op. 35
  • Piano Trio #4 in G major, op. 65
  • Piano Trio #5 in E major, op. 83
  • Piano Trio #6 in E flat major, op. 93
  • Piano Trio #7 in E flat major, op. 96

• Charles Ives (1874-1954)
  • Piano Trio, S. 86 (1904-11)

• Édouard Lalo (1823-1892)
  • Piano Trio #1 in c minor, Op. 7
  • Piano Trio #2 in b minor (Ode on Music “Descend, ye Nine?”)
  • Piano Trio #3 in a minor, Op. 26

• Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
  • Piano Trio La Lugubre Gondola (1882), also arranged for piano solo

• Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959)
  • Piano Trio #1 ("Cinq pièces brèves"), H. 193
  • Piano Trio #2 in d minor, H. 327
  • Piano Trio #3 in C major, H. 332
  • Bergerettes (5) for piano trio, H. 275

• Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
  • Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49 (1839)
  • Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor, Op. 66 (1845)

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
  • Piano Trio #1 in B flat major, K. 254
  • Piano Trio #2 in G major, K. 496
  • Piano Trio #3 in B flat major, K. 502
  • Piano Trio #4 in E major, K. 542
  • Piano Trio #5 in C major, K. 548
  • Piano Trio #6 in G major, K. 564

• Vítězslav Novák (1870-1949)
  • Piano trio in g minor, Op 1
  • Piano trio in d minor "Quasi una ballata", Op 27

• Arvo Pärt (1935-)
  • Mozart - Adagio for piano trio

• Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)
  • Trio élégiaque No.1 in G minor, Op. posth. (1892)
  • Trio élégiaque No.2 in D minor, Op.9 (1893)

• Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
  • Piano Trio in a minor (1914)

• Albert Roussel (1869-1937)
  • Piano Trio in E flat major, op. 2

• Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
  • Piano Trio No. 1 in F major, Op. 18 (1863)
  • Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 92 (1892)

• Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998)
  • Piano Trio (arrangement of string trio)

• Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
  • Piano Trio #1 in B flat major, D. 898
  • Piano Trio #2 in E flat major, D. 929
  • Piano Trio in B flat major "Sonatensatz", D. 28
  • Piano Trio in E flat major "Nocturne" (Adagio only), D. 897

• Clara Schumann (1819-1896)
  • Trio for piano, violin & cello in G Minor, Op 17

• Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
  • Piano Trio # 1 in d minor, op. 63
  • Piano Trio # 2 in F major, op. 80
  • Piano Trio # 3 in g minor, op. 110

• Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)
  • Piano Trio #1 in c minor, Op. 8
  • Piano Trio #2 in e minor, Op. 67

• Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884)
  • Piano Trio in g minor, JB 1:64 (Op. 15)

• Josef Suk (1874-1935)
  • Piano Trio in c minor, Op 2
  • Elegie for Piano Trio, Op 23

• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
  • Piano Trio in a minor, op. 50

• Joaquín Turina (1882-1949)
  • Piano Trio #1, op. 35
  • Piano Trio #2 in B minor, op. 76
  • Circulo, for piano trio, op. 91

• Ellen Zwilich (1939- )
  • Piano Trio

Many works also exist for less conventional groupings of instruments, but can still be classified as piano trios. Among these: Anton Stepanovich Arensky (July 12, 1861 – February 25, 1906), was a Russian Romantic composer and music professor born in Novgorod, Russia. ... Ludwig van Beethoven by Carl Jäger (Date unknown). ... Leonard Bernstein in 1971 Leonard Bernstein (August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American composer and orchestra conductor. ... Ernest Bloch (July 24, 1880 – July 15, 1959) was a Swiss-born American Jewish composer. ... Johannes Brahms (May 7, 1833 – April 3, 1897) was a German composer of Romantic music, who predominantly lived in Vienna, Austria. ... Ernest Chausson (January 20, 1855 – June 10, 1899) was a French composer. ... Frédéric-François Chopin as portrayed by Eugène Delacroix in 1838. ... Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (November 14, 1900 – December 2, 1990) was an American composer of concert and film music. ... Claude Debussy Achille-Claude Debussy (August 22, 1862 – March 25, 1918) was a composer of European classical music. ... Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák (listen â–¶(?)) (September 8, 1841 – May 1, 1904) was a Czech composer of romantic music. ... Portrait with oils of Gabriel Fauré by John Singer Sargent, about 1889 (in the Paris Museum of Music) Gabriel Urbain Fauré (May 12, 1845 – November 4, 1924) was a French composer. ... Enrique Granados Enrique Costanzo Granados y Campiña (July 27, 1867 – March 24, 1916) was a Spanish composer and pianist of classical music; he is commonly considered to be a representative of musical Nationalism, and as such his music is in a uniquely Spanish style. ... (Franz) Joseph Haydn, (March 31 or April 1, 1732 – May 31, 1809) was a leading composer of the Classical period, called the Father of the Symphony and Father of the String Quartet. Although he is still often called Franz Joseph Haydn, Haydn himself actually never used Franz, signing letters and... Johann Nepomuk Hummel Johann Nepomuk Hummel or Jan Nepomuk Hummel (14 November 1778 – 17 October 1837) was an Austrian composer and virtuoso pianist of Slovak origin. ... This photo from around 1913 shows Ives in his day job: he was the director of a successful insurance agency. ... Trio (c1909–10, rev. ... Édouard Victoire Antoine Lalo (January 27, 1823 - April 22, 1892) was a French composer of Spanish descent. ... Franz Liszt (Hungarian: Liszt Ferenc) (October 22, 1811 – July 31, 1886) was a Hungarian virtuoso pianist and composer. ... The church tower where Martinů was born and lived his youngest years Bohuslav Martinů â–¶ (help· info) (born in Polička, December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer. ... Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy at the age of thirty Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, known generally as Felix Mendelssohn (February 3, 1809 – November 4, 1847) was a German composer of the early Romantic period. ... W. A. Mozart, 1790, portrait by Johann Georg Edlinger, see also: face only Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart sucks (January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) is among the most significant and enduringly popular composers of European classical music and is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in world history. ... VítÄ›zslav Novák (December 5, 1870 – July 18, 1949) was a Czech composer and teacher. ... Arvo Pärt photographed by Tonu Tormis Arvo Pärt (born 11 September 1935) is an Estonian composer, often identified with the school of minimalism. ... Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (Russian: , Sergej Vasilevič Rahmaninov, April 1, 1873 (N.S.) or March 20, 1873 (O.S.) – March 28, 1943) was a Russian-born American composer, pianist, and conductor. ... Joseph-Maurice Ravel (March 7, 1875 – December 28, 1937) was a French composer and pianist, known especially for the subtlety, richness, and poignancy of his music and generally considered to be one of the major composers of the 20th century. ... Albert Roussel was a French composer. ... Charles Camille Saint-Saëns (IPA: ) (9 October 1835–16 December 1921) was a French composer and performer. ... Alfred Garyevich Schnittke (Russian: Альфре́д Га́ррьевич Шни́тке, November 24, 1934 – August 3, 1998) was a Russian- German Jewish composer of classical music. ... Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (January 31, 1797 – November 19, 1828), was an Austrian composer, considered the last master of the Viennese Classical school and one of the earliest proponents of musical Romanticism. ... Clara Schumann Clara Josephine Wieck Schumann (September 13, 1819 – May 20, 1896), wife of composer Robert Schumann, was one of the leading pianists of the Romantic era as well as a composer. ... Robert Schumann (June 8, 1810 – July 29, 1856) was a German composer and pianist. ... Dmitri Dmitrievich Shostakovich â–¶ (help· info) (Russian: , Dmitrij Dmitrievič Å ostakovič) (September 25 [O.S. September 12] 1906) – August 9, 1975) was a Russian composer of the Soviet period. ... Bedrich Smetanas statue in Plzen Smetana monument in LitomyÅ¡l BedÅ™ich Smetana listen â–¶(?) (March 2, 1824 LitomyÅ¡l, Bohemia,Czech Republic, (then Austria-Hungary) - May 12, 1884 Prague) was a Czech composer, whose best-known composition is the symphonic poem Vltava (The Moldau), second of a cycle of... Josef Suk (January 4, 1874 - May 29, 1935) was a Czech composer and violinist. ... Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky â–¶ (help· info) (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайкóвский, sometimes transliterated as Piotr, Anglicised as Peter Ilich), (7 May [O.S. 25 April] 1840 – 6 November [O.S. 25 October] 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic era. ... Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovskys Trio in a minor, op. ... Joaquín Turina (December 9, 1882 – January 14, 1949) was a Spanish composer of classical music. ... Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (born April 30, 1939) is an American post-modernist composer. ...

• Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
  • Contrasts (1938) for violin, clarinet, and piano

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
  • Trio for clarinet, cello, piano in B-flat, op. 11

• Alban Berg (1885-1935)
  • Adagio (arrangement of Chamber Concerto 2nd Mov’t) for violin, clarinet, piano, op. 7

• Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
  • Trio for violin, horn (or viola), piano in E-flat major, op. 40
  • Trio for clarinet (or viola), cello, piano in a minor, op. 114

• Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857)
  • Trio pathétique, for clarinet (or violin), bassoon (or cello), piano in d minor, G. iv173

• Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978)
  • Trio for B-flat clarinet, violin, and piano in C minor, Op. 30 (1932)

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
  • Trio for clarinet (or violin), viola, piano in E flat major "Kegelstatt", K. 498

• Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)
  • Trio for oboe, bassoon, piano, FP 43

• Albert Roussel (1869-1937)
  • Trio for flute, viola, piano, op. 40

Béla Viktor János Bartók (March 25, 1881 – September 26, 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and collector of Eastern European and Middle Eastern folk music. ... Ludwig van Beethoven by Carl Jäger (Date unknown). ... Alban Maria Johannes Berg (February 9, 1885 – December 24, 1935) was an Austrian composer. ... Johannes Brahms (May 7, 1833 – April 3, 1897) was a German composer of Romantic music, who predominantly lived in Vienna, Austria. ... Mikhail Glinka Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (Михаи́л Ива́нович Гли́нка) (June 1, 1804 – February 15, 1857) was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognition inside his own country, and is often regarded as the father of Russian classical music. ... Aram Ilich Khachaturian (Armenian: Արամ Խաչատրյան, Aram Xačatryan; Russian: Аpaм Ильич Xaчaтypян, Aram Ilič Hačaturjan) (June 6, 1903 – May 1, 1978) was a composer of classical music. ... W. A. Mozart, 1790, portrait by Johann Georg Edlinger, see also: face only Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart sucks (January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) is among the most significant and enduringly popular composers of European classical music and is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in world history. ... Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (January 7, 1899 - January 30, 1963) was a French composer. ... Albert Roussel was a French composer. ...

See also

• Piano sextet

A piano sextet is a composition for piano and five other musical instruments, or a group of six musicians who perform such works. ...

External link

• Extensive list of trio works
• The Beaux Arts Trio - official website
• The Eroica Trio
• The Sussex Piano Trio