Dvorak’s second piano trio was written four months after his first daughter dies shortly after childbirth in 1875. While the trio is regarded as a memorial to her, the music itself is not elegiac, though it is set in the key of g minor, the same key as the one his teacher Bedrich Smetana had written decades earlier at the death of his daughter.
While the music does not directly reference this turbulent time, it is a full scale work in the legacy of the great chamber music composers Beethoven, Schubert, and Mendelssohn, as well as heavily influenced by Brahms. Despite the germanic tradition, Dvorak infuses the work Czech folk-like melodies, and the Trio itself kicked off a period overflowing with creativity from the composer, often with feeling of nostalgia and sorrow.
Performed by Levansa Trio: Andrew Beer (vln), Lev Sivkov (cello), Sarah Watkins (pno) during Sunday Concerts at St. Andrew's on The Terrace, Wellington 31 July 2022. Presented by Wellington Chamber Music Trust, and recorded and produced by David Houston for RNZ Concert.
