Piano Trios Nos. 1 and 2Paperback, 24 March 2006

Upon hearing the first trio, Robert Schumann declared "Mendelssohn is the Mozart of the nineteenth century!" Written in the composer's famously flowing Romantic style, these two works are staples of the repertoire and anchors of many chamber music series. Both appear here for the first time in a single and affordable study edition.
A child prodigy, Felix Mendelssohn (1809-47) drew upon a variety of influences in his musical style -- chiefly Bach (for counterpoint), Mozart (for grace and clarity), and Beethoven (for dramatic power). Like the other German composers of the generation after Beethoven, Mendelssohn created works that mirror the era's dominant tension between Classicism and Romanticism. These trios are universally regarded as among the composer's finest works, with marked contrasts ranging from slow movements to lively scherzos in the manner of his "Songs Without Words."