Brahms’ Piano Trio No. 1 is a youthful work… or at least so it began. Brahms completed it in January 1854, just months after he was introduced to Robert and Clara Schumann, who were deeply impressed and took him into their musical circle.
But the trio we hear today was substantially revised by Brahms in 1889, 35 years later, at the pinnacle of his career. So really it is a work by seemingly two composers, separated by three-and-a-half decades of experience.
The Trio No. 1 is also unusual in that it received its first public performances in America—first in New York and then in Boston—where it was heard by an audience for whom Brahms was a young and foreign unknown.
These concerts were led by William Mason, an American pianist who studied with Franz Liszt while visiting in Europe. He came from the leading American musical family of the day: he was the brother of Henry Mason, who founded the Mason & Hamlin piano company.
Years have passed, and this music is still pleasing audiences. Here are Yuja Wang and friends to play this for you:
