Dec. 1, 2015
Work for piano trio by Schubert performed by Claremont Trio on April 26, 2015.
Some works call for their own podcast. We have just such a piece on this program: Schubert’s Piano Trio No. 2, opus 100. We’ll hear it performed by the Claremont Trio: violinist Emily Bruskin, cellist Julia Bruskin, and pianist Donna Kwong.
The second movement features a minor tune that—thanks to Schubert—has become fairly well known. The use of this folk tune was supposedly inspired by the composer’s encounter with a Swedish folk singer shortly before he wrote the piece. If you listen carefully, you’ll notice that the theme returns. In the final movement, it makes a second appearance, this time a bit altered to fit its new surroundings, but still recognizable. It gives the expansive piece a sense of coherence and familiarity, a feel of musical déjà vu: I’ve been here before, one can’t help but think, although things look very different the second time around.
Unlike many of his other late works, Schubert actually had the opportunity to hear this trio played before he passed away. It was performed at an engagement party for a school friend of Schubert’s.
