29 TRIO SŌRA What do you think it expresses? Pauline: The mists of north Germany, those mists you can hear in his Ballades for piano . . . The Andante has an air of gravity about it. It reminds me of the slow movement of Beethoven’s ‘Archduke’ Trio, but deprived of the radiance you find there. As in the latter work, the variations follow one another organically, without interruption, in a unified atmosphere. Its minor key makes it painful, heavy to bear. The whole movement is leaden in mood. All sense of joy is excluded. This movement contains a drama that refuses to reveal itself openly. Don’t you think the character and texture of the Scherzo are reminiscent of Mendelssohn’s world? Pauline: Its phantasmagorical character might make one think of Mendelssohn, although it remains utterly Brahmsian! The Scherzo of the First Trio is closer in spirit to Beethoven’s scherzos. But for me, the most surprising movement is the Presto non assai of op.101, which stands in lieu of a scherzo. It’s certainly the ghostliest, the most elusive of them all. An apparition that lasts less than three minutes!
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