7/28 – ANOTHER BIRTHDAY: Felix Mendelssohn Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49

This week, we celebrate “Another Birthday”: the 200th anniversary of the birth of composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1857.) Mendelssohn was a child prodigy both as a composer and pianist; he composed twelve string symphonies by the time he was 14 years old. The Romantic period (1815-1910) stretched the boundaries of tonality, expression, and thematic development in music.

Mendelssohn’s composition style was fairly conservative compared to the “flamboyance” of contemporaries like Hector Berlioz or Franz Liszt. Some describe Mendelssohn’s music as “classical in form and romantic in nature.” Indeed, the elegant and balanced structure of his composition contrasted beautifully with his imaginative, fanciful, and complicated melodies.

While today’s piece Piano Trio No.1 was originally completed in 1832, Mendelssohn recreated the piano part at the request of pianist and friend Ferdinand Hiller who wished for the piano to be given a more romantic “Schumannesque” style. Published in 1839, the work features three instruments (piano, violin, and ‘cello) sharing equally in memorable thematic material, combining memorable tunes with almost orchestral textures. The Piano Trio No. 1 is possibly the most beloved and well-known of Mendelssohn’s chamber works, and even prompted Schumann in a review to claim that “[Mendelssohn] has raised himself so high that we can indeed say he is the Mozart of the nineteenth century, the most brilliant of musicians; the one who has most clearly recognized the contradictions of the time, and the first to reconcile them.”

The piece is broken up into four movements. The first movement, in classical sonata form, features the ‘cello and violin in two themes. The Andante features solo piano and is reminiscent of Mendelssohn’s “Song Without Words.” The virtuosic Scherzo movement and fiery Finale display Mendelssohn’s genius in writing extravagantly romantic and elaborate parts.