The Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 92, was composed by Camille Saint-Saëns in 1892. It was premiered on 7 December 1892 at the Salle Érard in Paris, performed by Isidor Philipp, Henri Berthelier and Jules Loeb [fr].
Structure
The work is unusually cast in five movements, and takes around 35 minutes to perform.
- Allegro ma non-troppo (E minor)
- Allegretto (E major)
- Andante con moto (A♭ major)
- Grazioso, poco allegro (G major)
- Allegro (E minor)
The first and last movements are considerably longer than the middle three, creating an arch-like structure.
I. Allegro ma non-troppo
The first movement is a lengthy movement in sonata form. It opens with a dark and ominous theme shared between the violin and cello, accompanied by widely spaced chords in the piano. The second subject presents a new lyrical contrasting theme. After a dramatic development section, the movement ends boldly with an unexpected plagal cadence in E minor.
II. Allegretto
This movement is a dance-like movement in rondo form, written in
8 meter, in a similar vein to the second movement of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony. It alternates delicate, salon-like music with virtuosic outbursts, ultimately ending softly.
III. Andante con moto
The third movement is a brief but lyrical slow movement in the distant key of A♭ major. It is built around a small descending phrase first heard in the piano and then in the strings.
IV. Grazioso, poco allegretto
This movement is a graceful waltz in G major. It opens with a brief dark introduction before the piano introduces the main theme, cheerful in character. Two brief trio sections provide contrast in distant keys.
V. Allegro
The finale begins with a sinister theme in the piano in octaves, later joined by the strings. The music develops with increasing intensity before reaching a fugato with a theme first announced on the violin. The two themes are then combined and developed in a complex contrapuntal passage. The coda transforms the first theme into a moto perpetuo, which brings the work to a dramatic conclusion in the tonic minor.
References
- ^ "Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor Op. 92 (Camille Saint-Saëns)". Bru Zane Media Base. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- ^ "Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 92 (Saint-Saëns) – from CDA67538". Hyperion Records. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
- ^ "About This Recording". naxos.com. Retrieved 10 May 2024. Notes to Saint-Saëns: Piano Trios Nos. 1 and 2, Joachim Trio 1995
