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The first two trios passed by “Papa” Haydn
without censure doubtless because they speak a
recognizable, albeit highly original Classical di-
alect. What Haydn could not teach the cocksure
pupil—and apparently couldn’t recognize or ap-
preciate in the C-minor trio—was Beethoven’s
intensely personal, magnetic musical expres-
sion. One 20th-century writer, Marion M. Scott,
rather appropriately described these three trios
in terms of a stylistic lineage fromMozart (No. 1
in E-flat major) to Haydn (No. 2 in G major) to
“unmistakably Beethoven” (No. 3 in C minor).
In his Piano Trio in E-flat major, Beethoven pays
homage to typical late-18th-century instrumental
conventions—ascending piano arpeggios sepa-
rated by simple harmonic progressions—to open
the
Allegro
. Bustling motion leads to a
pianissimo
ensemble theme. Again, energetic figuration re-
turns to complete the exposition. Development
emphasizes various motivic features of the open-
ing melody. Beethoven restates his two themes in
fairly authentic fashion and then appends a hefty
coda to the movement. The
Adagio cantabile
adopts a rondo structure in which the initial pia-
no melody serves as a refrain. Contrasting ideas
include an opulent cello theme (imitated by the
violin) and a minor-key piano idea. Mozartean
traits appear in the
Scherzo
, specifically the pro-
fusion of chromatic leading tones in the melody
and the peculiar phrase structure. The violin and
cello sustain harmonies around the keyboard’s
trio theme before the scherzo resumes. Beetho-
ven constructs another rondo movement in his
Finale
. The piano’s leaping gesture always begins
the refrain. Two other themes occur: a descend-
ing, staccato scale and a slower string duo. A
teasing false return of the refrain precedes an
enormous restatement and coda.
GABRIEL FAURÉ (1845–1924)
Piano Trio in D minor, op. 120
Gabriel Fauré entered retirement in 1920, leav-
ing the Paris Conservatory, where he had taught
since 1896 and served as director from 1905, to
dedicate what time remained in his life to compo-
sition. In recognition of his career-long contribu-
tions to French music, the 74-year-old composer,
pianist, organist, and teacher received the Grand
Cross of the Legion of Honor—a prestigious
and rare award for a musician—on January 31.
Not long after, Fauré retreated to a progressively
imaginary inner world of sound, one compelled
by the ongoing ravages of deafness (which he
had suffered since 1903), increasingly impaired
vision, chronic respiratory difficulties resulting
from years of smoking, and general fatigue.
Travel through the countryside and an inescap-
able slackening of activity marked Fauré’s early
retirement: “I do nothing,” he wrote to his wife,
Marie, on March 4, 1920, “and as yet have not
discovered two musical notes worthy to be writ-
ten since I got to Nice. Am I completely written
out? Could this climate be a drain on me to this
extent?” On June 20, an “
hommage national
”
(“national tribute”) took place at the Sorbonne
with a concert of Fauré’s music performed be-
fore a capacity audience that included Alexan-
dre Millerand, the president of France.
Almost 18 months passed before Fauré em-
barked on his next composition. In January 1922,
his longtime publisher Jacques Durant suggested
a trio for violin, cello, and piano, but Fauré origi-
nally conceived the music for clarinet (or violin),
cello, and piano. “I began the trio here a month
ago,” he wrote to his wife from Annecy-le-Vieux
on September 26, “and a large-scale movement
[
Andantino
] is
finished
.” Fauré composed two
additional movements after returning to Par-
is in October, completing the trio in February
1923. A private reading took place in the salon
of Fernand and Louise Maillot in April, followed
soon after by the public premiere at a Société
Nationale concert on May 12 (his 78th birthday),
featuring violinist Robert Krettly, cellist Jacques
Patté, and pianist Tatiana de Sanzévitch.
Ill health confined Fauré to his room during the
winter of 1922–23, and he was unable to attend
the premiere. Queen Elisabeth of Belgium sent a
warm congratulatory letter to the composer on
June 24: “I have heard your fine trio, which has
moved me deeply. That work is so great and full
of the charm of poetry, and I was enveloped by
that inexpressible exaltation that emanates from
your compositions. How I regretted that you
were not by my side at this time!” Five days later,
violinist Jacques Thibaud, cellist Pablo Casals,
and violinist Alfred Cortot presented Fauré’s pi-
ano trio at the École Normale de Musique.
The Piano Trio in D minor, op. 120—Fauré’s
penultimate work, followed only by the String
Quartet in E minor, op. 121—exudes a maturity
of compositional vision, technical assuredness,
and mastery of texture and form. Elements of
Gregorian chant, which Fauré had studied at
the École Niedermeyer and performed as an
organist/choirmaster, guide the
Allegro, ma non
troppo
’s melodic and harmonic construction.
Maurice Imbert, a former student of Fauré’s who
reviewed the premiere for
Le courier musicale
(June 1, 1923), described this style accordingly:
“The themes on which it is built have that nos-
talgic color, drawing on the rich range of greyish
hues of which its composer is so fond; its texture
is of an ideal limpidity, the polyphony meticu-
lously stripped of all unnecessary doublings to
lay the music bare in all its vibrant splendor.”
The
Andantino
is the trio’s expressive center-
piece, an extended elaboration of two thematic
ideas (the first introduced by the strings, and the
second begun by the piano) within a complex
and varying harmonic milieu. These two themes
interweave near the end, propelling this lyrical
movement to a stirring conclusion. Fauré’s
Al-
legro vivo
opens with an insistent figure, played
in octaves by the violin and cello, which quite
unintentionally echoes the “Ridi, Pagliaccio”
motive from the famous tenor aria “Vesti la gi-
ubba” in Ruggero Leoncavallo’s opera
Pagliacci
.
Rapid motion in the piano drives the dance-like
second theme in a type of
moto perpetuo
.
DARON HAGEN (b. 1961)
Piano Trio No. 4 (“Angel Band”)
The Seasons Performance Hall in Yakima, WA,
opened its doors to the public in 2005 as a pre-
mier venue for music and cultural events in the
Yakima Valley. Constructed in 1917 as a Chris-
tian Science Church, the hall and associated
nonprofit organization, The Seasons Music Fes-
tival, were the visions of Joyce Strosahl and her
husband, John, the founder and owner of United
Builders of Washington, the oldest continuous-
ly operating homebuilder in Washington State,
founded in 1949.
Joyce Vivienne Ritchie Strosahl (1918–2012) was
born in the coal town of Hardburly in eastern
Kentucky, the daughter of a school teacher fa-
ther and musician mother. Joyce and her sister
Claire demonstrated exceptional musical talent
as children; Joyce became an accomplished vi-
olin performer and teacher. After completing
her musical studies at the Cincinnati Conserva-
tory of Music, Joyce entered the Master of Mu-
sic program of Illinois Wesleyan College. Her
Gabriel Fauré
Daron Hagen
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