Piano Trio (Fanny Mendelssohn)

The Piano Trio for violin, cello, piano in D minor, Op. 11, by Fanny Mendelssohn was conceived between 1846 and 1847 as a birthday present for her sister,^[1] and posthumously published in 1850, three years after the composer's death.^[2]

Fanny Hensel, 1842, by Moritz Daniel Oppenheim

Comparison between themes of the 1st and 3rd movements in Fanny Hensel's Trio for violin, cello, piano, in D minor, Opus 11.

The trio is in four movements:

1. Allegro molto vivace
2. Andante espressivo
3. Lied: Allegretto
4. Allegretto moderato

In 1847, an anonymous critic in the Neue Berliner Musikzeitung found in the trio “...broad, sweeping foundations that build themselves up through stormy waves into a marvelous edifice. In this respect the first movement is a masterpiece, and the trio most highly original.”^[3] Angela Mace Christian refers to the piece in Grove Music Online as "one of her most impressive chamber works."^[4]

Fanny Mendelsohn-Hensel. Piano Trio Op. 11: Beginning of the 3rd movement, "Song." First edition, Breitkopf and Härtel, Wiesbaden 1850.

See also

• Classical music portal

• List of compositions by Fanny Mendelssohn