“Is it Romantic or 20th Century or Both?”
Fauré’s Piano Trio in D minor, Andantino (1923)
For my money, one of the most beautiful things written.
Thie is Fauré’s penultimate work, composed in Paris and Annecy – his last is a Beethoven inspired quartet that has none of Fauré’s famed melodic and harmonic skill.
He’d originally intended clarinet instead of violin, but there are moments (particularly at the start of this movement) where the overlap in registers between violin and ‘cello can make them seem the same instrument.
The gentle pulsing chords allow the opening melody to develop, and then, of all things, a passage of harmonically challenging imitation between parts before returning to the original theme – it’s perfection.
I first heard this on the CD that comes with BBC Music Magazine in August 1996. It was a recording of piano trios by Brahms, Beethoven and Fauré, performed by the Gould Trio. I was playing the Beethoven Archduke trio at school so thought it would be of interest. I can still remember the moment I heard this movement, how open and beautiful it seemed, and how I now hope you’ll each find your own piece that to you is your own.
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