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Joseph Haydn

Piano Trio No. 40

H.XV:26 Composed 1795

Joseph Haydn's Piano Trio No. 40 in F♯ minor, Hob. XV:26, was completed during the final few weeks of Haydn's second trip to London, and one of a set of three (H. XV:24–26) dedicated to Rebecca Schroeter. With its unusual key, this piano trio has been described by Robert Philip as "subtle and shifting in its moods".

The trio is in three movements.

The first movement begins quietly in its melancholy minor key, recalling Haydn's Sturm und Drang period of the 1770s, but it soon shifts to the major.

The second movement, in F♯ major, is an alternative scoring of the second movement of Haydn's Symphony No. 102 in B flat major. It is not clear which came first. The repeats in the trio are written out in the symphony, allowing for changes in the orchestration the second time through. The orchestral version also features a rolling triplet accompaniment in the cellos where in the trio the cello simply doubles the piano's bass line. Robert Philip comments that the "delicately florid and rather improvisational style" with its "sudden shifts of key and atmosphere" are more suited to the intimate setting of a trio, suggesting that this version may have come first.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Movements

  1. Allegro · F♯ minor
  2. Adagio cantabile · F♯ major
  3. Finale. Tempo di menuetto · F♯ minor

Elsewhere

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