Haydn: The Last Sixteen Piano Trios

In the history of music, no form has had a stranger development than that of the piano trio. What vicissitudes between the Trio Sonata for two stringed instruments and basso continuo and the grand trio for piano, violin, and cello of the classic and romantic periods! The title pages of the works recorded here place them in their proper historical perspective: Sonatas for piano (or clavichord) with accompaniment of violin and violoncello – so did Haydn designate the purpose he had in mind with their composition.

In the Trios of Haydn, the piano takes the main role. All of the essential thematic and harmonic material is designated for that instrument, the violin serving as a dialogue instrument with the piano. Rarely does the violin put forth any salient musical ideas on its own. As for the cello, it mainly follows the left hand of the pianist, thereby reminding the listener/performer of its earlier historical function as bass of the continuo. This instrumental equilibrium is particularly the reason why these works are rarely heard either in the concert hall or on recordings.

Until recently, scholarship had determined thirty-one as the maximum number of piano trios composed by Haydn. J.P. Larsen sought to rectify the arbitrary numeration of the Peters edition by placing the works in strict chronological order. Hoboken took up Larsen's work and brought the total number of trios up to forty-one, merely by adding on nine early works antedating 1760 (Hob. XV:33-41). This classification has, in its turn, been supplanted by the definitive numbering of H.D. Robbins-Landon, who has brought the total number of trios up to forty-five by the addition of six new works and the suppression of Hoboken No. 3 and No. 4, compositions now known to have been composed by Ignaz Pleyel. Two of the trios (Nos. 8 and 9 in the Robbins-Landon catalogue) are lost: however, the recent number of Haydn manuscripts which have come to light have almost made certain the eventual gain of the lost trios.