Page 166 - PDF Flip TR Program Demo

At its first public performance in October 1882, the critical reception was mixed, but Tchaikovsky was heartened by the comments of the pianist and composer Sergei Taneyev, who said, “I can’t remember ever having experienced more pleasure when learning a new piece . . . Most musicians are delighted with the Trio. It has also pleased the public.”
The trio’s first movement, Pezzo elegiac, begins with rushing piano chords above which the cello and then violin enter. The piano then takes up the heart-tugging chords that characterize much of the piece. The second movement, Tema con variazioni, begins with a simple theme in the piano followed by eleven variations and a coda. The first variation brings in the strings, while the second variation takes off at a brisk pace. The third variation features string pizzicato and cheerful piano writing. The fourth contrasts brooding passion with whimsical moments and segues directly into the striking fifth variation, which uses bell- like piano above droning strings and ends quietly with the strings alone. The sixth variation features the cello and violin in succession, while the seventh contains large piano chords and quick runs in the strings. The eighth variation uses low piano writing and vigorous violin and cello lines, and the ninth begins with decorative piano runs and a mournful violin tune, ending with an almost deathly cello note. The tenth variation is once again in the cheerful major mode but is briefly inflected with minor. The final variation features cello pizzicato and a soaring violin melody, ending with calm piano chords. The coda begins vigorously with running lines between the three instruments, and there is
a firm restatement of the theme from the first movement before the work disappears back into mourning.
— Benjamin Pesetsky
166 The Music at Tippet Rise