Trio for Piano, Flute and Cello in G minor, Op. 63, J. 259 was composed by

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (18 or 19 November 17865 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and critic who was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Best known for his opera ...

in 1818–1819 and published the next year. It is one of his most substantial chamber pieces. A typical performance lasts 21-25 min.

History

The composition process can be traced from entries in Weber's diary: on 8 April 1818 he "worked on trio"; on 12 May he probably began composing the finale rondo (in Dresden). He then fell ill and resumed work on two first movements only in July 1819. The whole trio was finished on 25 July 1819 in Hosterwitz, the composer's summer residence. Surprisingly no traces of the third movement can be found in the diary. These is an assumption that it was derived from ''Adagio with Variations for cello and piano, J.Anh.42'' (composed in 1813 in Prague), a work today lost. It is believed that the composer revised it for piano, flute and cello (or viola) in 1815 (J.Anh.58). This was composed for Weber's friend Dr. Philipp Jungh, a fine flautist: they met in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

in 1813. He also became the dedicatee of the Trio. Another Prague friend of Weber was

Johann Baptist Gänsbacher Johann Baptist Gänsbacher (8 May 1778 in Sterzing – 13 July 1844 in Vienna), Austrian musical composer, was born in 1778 in Sterzing in the County of Tyrol. His father, a schoolmaster and teacher of music, undertook his son's early education, ...

, a composer, violinist and cellist. The Trio was probably written as a souvenir of convivial musical evenings held by the three. First performance took place in

Louis Spohr Louis Spohr (, 5 April 178422 October 1859), baptized Ludewig Spohr, later often in the modern German form of the name Ludwig, was a German composer, violinist and conductor. Highly regarded during his lifetime, Spohr composed ten symphonies, ...

's house on 21 November 1819, when Weber noted in his diary: "it went very well, and came off just as I wanted".

John Warrack John Hamilton Warrack (born 1928, in London) is an English music critic, writer on music, and oboist. Warrack is the son of Scottish conductor and composer Guy Warrack. He was educated at Winchester College (1941-6) and then at the Royal College ...

.
Booklet notes to Hyperion CDA67464
' The manuscript of the piece is preserved in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

(

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

), who had purchased it on 15 January 1894. The first edition (only instrumental parts) was published by Schlesinger in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

in 1820 (plate number 1053): he sent the first two engraved copies to Weber on 21 July 1820. There is an alternative version with violin instead of flute, published posthumously, and thus scored for a more conventional

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 ...

Structure

The Trio consists of four traditional movements: :I. Allegro moderato (

G minor G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative major is B-flat major and its parallel major is G major. According to Paolo Pietropaolo, it is the cont ...

) :II.

Scherzo A scherzo (, , ; plural scherzos or scherzi), in western classical music, is a short composition – sometimes a movement from a larger work such as a symphony or a sonata. The precise definition has varied over the years, but scherzo often ref ...

. Allegro vivace (G minor) :III. Schäfers Klage (''Shepherd's Complaint'' or ''Shepherd's Lament''). Andante espressivo (

B-flat major B-flat major is a major scale based on B, with pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative minor is G minor and its parallel minor is B-flat minor. The B-flat major scale is: : Many transposing instr ...

) :IV. Finale. Allegro (mostly

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable compositi ...

, though notated in G minor)

Allusions

Matthias Viertel pointed that the theme of the third movement is based on a lied (''Schäfers Klagelied'') by

Wilhelm Ehlers Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Mount ...

published in 1804 (in ''Gesänge mit der Begleitung der Chitarra''). Even the title of this movement alludes to

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

's poem of 1802 that was set to music by many composers. The finale provides some allusions to

Der Freischütz ' ( J. 277, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind, based on a story by Johann August Apel and Friedrich Laun from their 181 ...

, which Weber was composing at the same time as the Trio. These include among other the diabolical trill motif from Caspar's drinking song (measures 7-8) and the turn motif from chorus ''Laßt lustig die Hörner er schallen'' (measures 49-50).

Sources

Henrik Wiese Henrik Wiese (born 22 July 1971) is a German flutist. Life and career Born in Vienna, Wiese studied in his hometown of Hamburg with Ingrid Koch-Dörnbrak and in Munich with Paul Meisen. In 1995, he was engaged as principal flutist at the Bavar ...

.
Preface
' and
Comments
' to an edition of the Trio published by G. Henle Verlag (2000).

References

External links

* {{Carl Maria von Weber Compositions by Carl Maria von Weber 1819 compositions Compositions in G minor