Piano Trio no. 1 in d minor op. 49 – Mendelssohn

Mendelssohn is considered a self-critical composer, who repeatedly reworked a number of his pieces until he deemed them worthy to be published. The path to his first Piano Trio was particularly rocky: only after several attemptswas he able to complete it in the summer of 1839: it appeared in 1840 after further revisions. This perfectionism paid off, for Mendelssohn’s d minor Trio was immediately received with enthusiasm. Robert Schumann wrote: “It is themaster trio of the present day, like those of Beethoven in Bb and D and that of Franz Schubert in Eb were in their time: a very beautiful composition which after years will still delight grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”Which was to prove true: even today, it numbers among the most popular works in the trio repertoire in general. The trio, taken from the volume Mendelssohn · Piano Trios HN 957, is now available from Henle for the first time alsoas a practical single edition.