This is a list of

piano trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music. The term can also refer to a group of musi ...

s by

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

, including the chronological number assigned by

H. C. Robbins Landon Howard Chandler Robbins Landon (March 6, 1926November 20, 2009) was an American musicologist, journalist, historian and broadcaster, best known for his work in rediscovering the huge body of neglected music by Haydn and in correcting misunderstand ...

and the number they are given in Anthony van Hoboken's catalogue of his works. (Hoboken's listings of Haydn compositions are divided by musical genre, and the piano trios as a category are grouped under the Roman numeral prefix XV.) Haydn's early trios are considered minor works and are seldom played except in the context of complete editions. In contrast, the later trios, starting in the mid-1780s, reflect the composer's full musical maturity and are greatly admired by critics.

The role of the instruments

The piano trios of Haydn are dominated by the piano part. The violin only plays the melody a certain amount of the time, and is often doubled by the piano when it does. The cello part is very much subordinated, usually just doubling the bass line in the piano.

Charles Rosen Charles Welles Rosen (May 5, 1927December 9, 2012) was an American pianist and writer on music. He is remembered for his career as a concert pianist, for his recordings, and for his many writings, notable among them the book ''The Classical Sty ...

discusses and defends this asymmetry, relating it to the sonority of the instruments of Haydn's day: the piano was fairly weak and "tinkling" in tone, and benefited from the tonal strengthening of other instruments.

Assessment

The dominance of the piano part does not imply that the late trios are not of the highest quality. Rosen devotes an entire chapter of his book ''

The Classical Style ''The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven'' is a book by the American pianist and author Charles Rosen. The book analyses the evolution of style during the Classical period of classical music as it was developed through the works of Joseph ...

'' to them, focusing on the works from the 1780s and beyond (Nos. 18–27 and 32–45), while also mentioning two of the early ones (Nos. 5 and 17). He notes that Haydn's trios are "along with the Mozart concertos the most brilliant piano works before

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

." Gretchen Wheelock refers to the trios as "incredible," adding that "the late works especially are brilliantly virtuosic, exploiting the full idiomatic range of the instrument .e., the piano They are also among the most harmonically adventurous of his works in any genre, often reaching into remote keys via

enharmonic modulation In music, modulation is the change from one tonality ( tonic, or tonal center) to another. This may or may not be accompanied by a change in key signature (a key change). Modulations articulate or create the structure or form of many pieces, as ...

. As such they are challenging essays for both players and listeners."Wheelock 1997, 115–116

List of piano trios

Early trios

*No. 1 in F major,

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,69 ...

Hob. XV:37 (composed by 1766; possibly dating as far back as 1760) *No. 2 in C major, Hoboken XV:C1 (composed by 1766; possibly dating as far back as 1760) *No. 3 in G major, Hoboken XIV:6 (composed by 1767) *No. 4 in F major, Hoboken XV:39 (composed by 1767) *No. 5 in G minor, Hoboken XV:1 (composed by 1766; possibly dating as far back as ca. 1760–62) *No. 6 in F major, Hoboken XV:40 (exists with a different slow movement as the piano concerto Hob. XVIII:7; composed by 1766; possibly dating as far back as ca. 1760) *No. 7 in G major, Hoboken XV:41 (composed by 1767; possibly dating as far back as 1760) *No. 8 in D major, Hoboken XV:33 (lost) (composed by 1771; possibly dating as far back as 1760) *No. 9 in D major, Hoboken XV:D1 (lost) (composed by 1771) *No. 10 in A major, Hoboken XV:35 (composed by 1771; possibly dating as far back as ca. 1764–65) *No. 11 in E major, Hoboken XV:34 (composed by 1771; possibly dating as far back as 1760) *No. 12 in E major, Hoboken XV:36 (composed by 1774; possibly dating as far back as 1760) *No. 13 in B major, Hoboken XV:38 (composed by 1769; possibly dating as far back as 1760) *No. 14 in F minor, Hoboken XV:f1 (composed by 1760) *No. 15 in D major, Hoboken XV:

deest Deest is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is a part of the municipality of Druten, and lies about 9 km south of Wageningen. History It was first mentioned in 814 as T(h)esta (CL I, no. 101) and 997 as Dheste. The etymolo ...

*No. 16 in C major, Hoboken XIV:C1 (composed by 1766; possibly dating as far back as 1760) *No. 17 in F major, Hoboken XV:2 (Originally composed for keyboard, baryton and 2 violins in 1769, Hob. XIV:2, later reworked into a keyboard trio for its publication in 1785.)

Later trios

*No. 18 in G major, Hoboken XV:5 (1784) *No. 19 in F major, Hoboken XV:6 (1784) *No. 20 in D major, Hoboken XV:7 (1784) *No. 21 in B major, Hoboken XV:8 (1784) *No. 22 in A major, Hoboken XV:9 (1785) *No. 23 in E major, Hoboken XV:10 (1785) *No. 24 in E major, Hoboken XV:11 (1788) *No. 25 in E minor, Hoboken XV:12 (1788) *No. 26 in C minor, Hoboken XV:13 (1789) *No. 27 in A major, Hoboken XV:14 (1790) *No. 28 in D major, Hoboken XV:16 (1790, with flute instead of violin) *No. 29 in G major, Hoboken XV:15 (1790, with flute instead of violin) *No. 30 in F major, Hoboken XV:17 (1790, with flute instead of violin) *No. 31 in G major, Hoboken XV:32 (1792: cello part may not be authentic) Three trios (H. XV:18–20) dedicated to Princess Maria Anna, wife of Prince

Anton Esterházy Anton may refer to: People * Anton (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Anton (surname) Places * Anton Municipality, Bulgaria ** Anton, Sofia Province, a village * Antón District, Panama ** Antón, a town and capital ...

: *No. 32 in A major, Hoboken XV:18 (1793) *No. 33 in G minor, Hoboken XV:19 (1793) *No. 34 in B major, Hoboken XV:20 (1794) Three trios (H. XV:21–23) dedicated to Princess Maria Josepha, wife of Prince Nicholas Esterházy: *No. 35 in C major, Hoboken XV:21 (1794) *No. 36 in E major, Hoboken XV:22 (1794) *No. 37 in D minor, Hoboken XV:23 (1794) Three trios (H. XV:24–26) dedicated to

Rebecca Schroeter Rebecca (Scott) Schroeter (1751–1826) was an amateur musician who lived in London during the 18th and early 19th centuries. She was the wife of the German composer Johann Samuel Schroeter, and later, during her years of widowhood, a love interes ...

: * No. 38 in D major, Hoboken XV:24 (1795) * No. 39 in G major, Hoboken XV:25 (1795) "Gypsy" * No. 40 in F minor, Hoboken XV:26 (1795) Two stand-alone trios (H. XV:31, 30): * No. 41 in E minor, Hoboken XV:31 (1797) "Jacob's Dream" * No. 42 in E major, Hoboken XV:30 (1797) Three trios (H. XV:27–29), known as the "Bartolozzi Trios," dedicated to Theresa Jansen (Bartolozzi): * No. 43 in C major, Hoboken XV:27 (1797) * No. 44 in E major, Hoboken XV:28 (1797) * No. 45 in E major, Hoboken XV:29 (1797)

Notes

References

*Rosen, Charles (1997) '' The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven''. New York: Norton. Chapter VI.2 covers the trios in detail. *Parakilas, James (1999) ''Piano Roles: Three Hundred Years of Life with the Piano''. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. A history of the piano and its role in society. *Wheelock, Gretchen (1999) "The classical repertory revisited: instruments, players, and styles," in Parakilas (1999), pp. 109–131.

External links

* {{Haydn

Piano trios A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music. The term can also refer to a group of mus ...