Piano Trio in A major (attributed to Brahms)

The Piano Trio in A major, sometimes attributed to Johannes Brahms, is scored for piano, violin and cello. Brahms is reported to have destroyed many of his works that did not meet up to his own high standards. This piano trio may possibly be one of the exceptions to have escaped the flames.

Background

Discovery and Publication

The trio first came to light in 1924 when it was discovered amongst papers musicologist Ernst Bucken had inherited from the Bonn based musical collector Dr. Erich Preiger.^[1] ^[2] ^[3]

Despite the fact that the manuscript lacked a title page and was in the hand of an unknown copyist rather than Brahms' own handwriting, Bucken believed the work was genuine based both on perceived stylistic similarities between the newly discovered work and the Piano Trio in B major, Op. 8 and the fact that it was known from a letter to Schumann that prior to the publication of the B major trio he had composed several others.^[2]

The trio was published by Breitkopf & Härtel in 1938, in an edition edited by both Bucken and Karl Hasse.^[3] The original manuscript on which it was based disappeared shortly after publication.^[1] ^[3]

Authorship

Bucken's attribution of the trio to Brahms was challenged a year after publication in an article by Richard Fellinger, who while supporting the attribution bought up the possibility that the trio, which was apparently written in the 1850s, may have been composed by a friend of Brahms, Albert Dietrich.^[3]

McClelland notes that while most recent scholarship argues that Brahms did not compose this trio, few alternatives have been offered other than Dietrich.^[3] Christiansen, in his article, notes that while some portions of the trio sound like the work of Brahms, especially the opening theme of the trio portion of the second movement, other portions evoke Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann and even Dvořák and concludes that the trio may be the work either of Brahms at an early stage of his development, or by a talented composer, moving in similar circles to Brahms, who never rose to prominence.^[2]

Structure

The trio is in four movements:

Moderato
Vivace – Trio
Lento
Presto

References

Notes

Sources

Anderson, Keith (1994). "Liner Notes to "Brahms: Piano Trio No. 3/Trio in A Major", Naxos CD 8.550747". Naxos Records. Retrieved September 2014.
Christiansen, Kai (2011). "Brahms, Piano Trio in A Major, Op. Post". earsense.org. Retrieved December 2012.
McClelland, Ryan (2010). Brahms and the Scherzo: Studies in Musical Narrative. Ashgate Publishing Ltd. ISBN 9780754668107.

Chamber music by Johannes Brahms

Duos	Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38 Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 99 Clarinet Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 120, No. 1 Clarinet Sonata No. 2 in E-flat major, Op. 120, No. 2 Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, Op. 78 Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 100 Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108

Trios	Clarinet Trio in A minor, Op. 114 Horn Trio in E-flat major, Op. 40 Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8 Piano Trio No. 2 in C major, Op. 87 Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101 Piano Trio in A major, attributed to Brahms

Quartets	Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25 Piano Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 26 Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor, Op. 60 String Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 51 No. 1 String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 51 No. 2 String Quartet No. 3 in B-flat major, Op. 67

Quintets & Sextets	Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115 Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34 String Quintet No. 1 in F major, Op. 88 String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 111 String Sextet No. 1 in B-flat major, Op. 18 String Sextet No. 2 in G major, Op. 36

List of compositions by Johannes Brahms by genre List of compositions by Johannes Brahms by opus number

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