Classical Composer: | Glinka, Mikhail Ivanovich |
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Work: | Trio pathétique in D Minor |
Year Composed: | 1832 |
Instrumentation: | pf, cl, bn |
Publishers: |
Musica Rara Russian Music Publishing International Music Company |
Duration: | 00:16:00 |
Period: | Classical (1750-1830) |
Work Category: | Chamber Music |
Work Information
Available Recording(s)
Mikhail Glinka is widely recognized as the first major Russian nationalist composer. It is, however, in Italian opera that the main inspiration for his trio of 1832 lies. Composed during a three-year visit to Italy (1830-33) it is possible that the trio and its title sprang from thwarted love-a theme so familiar to the dramatic Italian genre. The score inscription 'Je n'ai connu l'amour que par les peines qui'il cause' ('I have known love only through the sorrow it causes') adds currency to this suggestion.
Whereas Beethoven's trio was conceived for piano, clarinet/violin and cello, Glinka had in mind the piano with two wind instruments (clarinet and bassoon). The piece is also often played by violin and cello or, less frequently, as here, by clarinet, cello, and piano. Both the quasi-orchestral effect of these combined forces and the sensitive contrasting of the individual instruments' expressive ranges enhance the music's drama, which is palpable from the outset. The work's opening character of defiant strength manages to prevail throughout the first movement despite frequent lapses into nostalgic reminiscence. A mood of whimsical playfulness pervades the Scherzo until the final moments, which arrive with a sense of foreboding. It is here that the stage is set for the third movement's bel canto outpouring of emotion that at last fulfills the promise of the trio's title. For listeners who have by now become embroiled in this unfolding drama, the fast fourth movement will end all too suddenly as its swift final descent brings down the curtain with full tragic impact.
Writer: Anne Marshman
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