28 BRAHMS ∙ THE PIANO TRIOS Twenty-seven years elapsed between the composition of the First Trio, an impetuous, youthful work, and that of the Second, op.87. Brahms was nearly fifty by that time. How had his style evolved? Pauline: His op.87 is most unrepresentative of the Classical structure of the trio, which presents three instruments in dialogue. This work called for a different approach from us. Nowhere does it have the long singing line that runs through each of the other two. There’s nothing vocal about the writing, and the intervals are often very wide. None of the instruments gets a chance to sing on its own. Perhaps it’s a work that comes less from the heart than from the mind. And it’s not only internally fragmented in this way, it’s also more compact in format. It lacks the élan of the First Trio: it begins with a unison for the strings, without the piano, which is extremely unusual and disconcerting. Fanny: In this trio, Brahms seems to take a greater emotional distance. His writing has become more sophisticated and his construction more concise. As for my part, it’s not very violinistic! It wasn’t easy to practise it alone because of the interdependence between the instruments. The texture is built on interlocking elements, like Lego. You must never lose sight of the overall sound image. Angèle: This is the most fusional trio in existence as far as the string writing is concerned. Its key is particularly astonishing: Brahms chose to write the work in C major, the simplest possible key, but then used it to compose the most complex trio possible!
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