“A glance at Schubert’s trio, and all the miserable human condition vanishes as if by magic,” enthused Robert Schumann when Trio No. 1 Op. 99 was finally published, long after Schubert’s death. Composed around the same time as the Trio No. 2, and made famous by the Stanley Kubrick film, Barry Lindon, this first trio stands out for its more carefree character: a first movement that is “graceful, confident, feminine”, an Andante “filled with a dreamy bliss” (Schumann), a dancing Scherzo, then the final Allegro vivace with its folk-redolent melodies, ending in a galloping coda.
Brahms’ complex and magnificent Quintet for Piano and Strings is cast in the classical four-movement structure. After a sweeping Allegro, a tender, dreamy Andante, and a whimsical Scherzo, the grand Finale’s drama increases as it moves towards its conclusion.