Which piano trio

[thomb_2]

Hello!

After a break from chamber music of about 4 years (because of moving to a different city and then covid) I would like to start doing some chamber music again and would love to try a piano trio.

The pianos I thought could be a good choice are the Smetana, the 2 Mendelssohn trios or Schubert.
Does anyone have advice on those and their difficulty for the piano, the string players and how hard there are to bring together? I guess the technique on the Smetana is a lot different from the Mendelssohn ones for example.. So I'm not sure which would be a good one to start.

Other chamber music I played so far are:
Franck violin sonata (struggled with 2. Movement though)
Brahms d minor violin sonata
Brahms e minor cello sonata
Schumann piano quintet (without the last movement, because then I moved away).

And lately solo piano stuff, the last one was Schumann c major fantasy 1. Movement, Mendelssohn rondo capriccioso. How hard is this Mendelssohn compared to the trios btw?

Looking forward to advice and suggestions. Thanks!

[lelle]

I played the Mendelssohn d minor and loved it. It's quite hard though, especially if you are ambitious with the tempos you take. I studied it at the same time as the Franck Violin sonata and I would say Mendelssohn is harder overall. It's a bit like playing the 2nd movement of Franck, but for three movements. One of my ensemble partners joked that it's a bit like playing a piano concerto, except it's just a chamber part and you're supposed to do a lot of it quietly enough that people don't really hear you so you don't drown out the violin and cello.

[thomb_2]

OK, I didn't expect the Mendelssohn to be harder then Franck. But considering the tempo the trios are played you are probably right..
I think the Smetana trio should be easier then those. Has anyone played this?

[lelle]

OK, I didn't expect the Mendelssohn to be harder then Franck. But considering the tempo the trios are played you are probably right..

Don't take my word for it tho, check out the parts yourself and see what they're like. I would say peak difficulty of Franck is probably higher than Mendelssohn, it's just that there is so much more difficult stuff in Mendelssohn and it all goes fast. You basically need to have your part for three of the four movements memorized so you can look at your hands.

[perfect_pitch]

My favourites has to be Mendlessohns c minor piano trio. It's one of the very few pieces that gives me goosebumps every time I hear a great recording.

[ahinton]

Beethoven's last three, Brahms' second, Ravel, the two surviving trios of Bridge...

[thomb_2]

Is there no one who played the Smetana and can tell about how the difficulty compared to others?
It seems like a lot of chords, very full  I both hands, but not as fast as Mendelssohn.
And who played both Mendelssohn trios and can tell which one is easier?

[hypertension]

There is an underrated but wonderful piano trio, by the great composer Ernest Chausson, piano trio in G minor, Opus 3. It is one of the most outstanding classical compositions I have ever heard. Try IV: Anime.

put 2min:24sec and it will transfer you in another dimension.
I wish you eternal happiness
George.