Trio in D Minor, Op. 49

Full score for Violin Cello and Piano of Felix Mendelssohn's Piano Trio No.1 In D minor Op.49 and Piano Trio No.2 in C minor Op.66. 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. Mendelssohn drew upon a variety of influences in his musical style - chiefly Bach Mozart and Beethoven. Like the other German composers of his generation Mendelssohn created works that mirror the era'stension between Classicism and Romanticism. These trios are universally regarded as among his finest works with marked contrasts ranging from slow movements to lively scherzos in the manner of his Songs Without Words.

Piano Trio no. 2 in c minor op. 66. After the great success of his first Piano Trio in d minor op. 49, some five years passed before Mendelssohn set to work on a new composition for this formation. But then the c-minor Trio came into being in a relatively short period in March/April 1845 and was published around a year later. Much more sombre in character than the sibling work, this second trio is also considered much more difficult in terms of technique (above all in the piano part). Thus, it has always stood somewhat in the shadow of the earlier trio. However, chamber music aficionados generally regard it as the more mature and challenging work in terms of compositional technique. The trio, taken from the volume Mendelssohn · Piano Trios HN 957, is now available from Henle for the first time also as a practical single edition.

Piano Trio no. 1 in d minor op. 49. Mendelssohn is considered a self-critical composer, who repeatedly reworked a number of his pieces until he deemed them worthy to be published. The path to his first Piano Trio was particularly rocky: only after several attempts was he able to complete it in the summer of 1839: it appeared in 1840 after further revisions. This perfectionism paid off, for Mendelssohn?s d minor Trio was immediately received with enthusiasm. Robert Schumann wrote: ?It is the master trio of the present day, like those of Beethoven in Bb and D and that of Franz Schubert in Eb were in their time: a very beautiful composition which after years will still delight grandchildren and great-grandchildren.? Which was to prove true: even today, it numbers among the most popular works in the trio repertoire in general. The trio, taken from the volume Mendelssohn · Piano Trios HN 957, is now available from Henle for the first time also as a practical single edition.

After an early work and a discontinued attempt in 1831/32 Mendelssohn made his breakthrough in this important chamber music genre in the summer of 1839 with the Piano Trio in d minor op. 49 which was to be followedsix years later by the Trio in c minor op. 66. On publication of the first trio Schumann took the opportunity to describe the composer as the ?Mozart of the 19th century? whereby he was obviously alluding to the mixtureof Classical and Romantic stylistic elements. The musical text of these two famous Trios has been thoroughly revised to reflect the latest scholarly findings. In addition HN 1297 also includes a Flute part for thealternative version of op. 49 (Flute instead of Violin) that Mendelssohn himself made.