Homeschool Program Featuring Piano Trios by Grieg & Tchaikovsky

Both Grieg and Tchaikovsky are primarily known for their orchestral works, so it is fascinating to dive into their limited but brilliant and influential chamber music repertoire. Grieg’s Andante con moto is intriguing in that it is a standalone movement in an unfinished piano trio. After Grieg’s death, his close friend and colleague, Julius Röntgen, found his Andante con moto and wrote to Grieg’s widow, Nina, saying, “It is a beautiful piece and completely in order…What a solemnity it conveys! How he can’t get enough of that single theme, that even in the major mode retains its mourning character, and then develops so beautifully its full power…The piece can very well stand by itself and does not at all give the impression of being a fragment, as it constitutes a perfect entity in itself.” He wondered, however, if Grieg would have wanted the unfinished piece published, so it remained unpublished until 1978 when it was placed in a full catalogue of his work.

Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio in A minor was composed as a memorial to his close friend and mentor, Nikolai Rubinstein, the esteemed pianist, conductor, and founder of the Moscow Conservatory. Though Tchaikovsky initially doubted the effectiveness of the piano trio format, believing that the piano could overwhelm the strings, he ultimately embraced the challenge, creating a masterful and balanced tribute that stands as a cornerstone of the piano trio repertoire.

Program
~~Excerpts from

• Grieg Andante con moto in Cm., EG 116
• Tchaikovsky Piano Trio in Am., Op. 50

Louisa Stonehill – Violin, Edward Arron – Cello, Nicholas Burns – Piano