34 BRAHMS ∙ THE PIANO TRIOS How do you feel about this point, Fanny? Fanny: When we started working on the piece together, it’s true that it was difficult to blend our sound, because the cello is frequently playing on its higher strings at the same time as the violin is down on its lower ones. As a result, the cello is on top and the violin below! This inversion of registers is not very natural. With the horn it works: the violin and the horn come from different instrumental families, so all the violinist has to do is be herself. With the cello, however, she has to adjust her tone to achieve the right blend of string sound. With its key of E flat major, this trio has a special colour that the others don’t possess. Pauline: It’s very nostalgic. The piano part is much less dense. The piano has more of an accompanimental role. As Brahms walked through the forest, he thought of this simple, unadorned melody that reflected his state of mind. He then assigned the theme to the horn, an instrument associated with the evocation of nature in the Romantic sensibility. Angèle: He composed the trio shortly after his mother died. That stroll through the woods awakened memories of her. The work begins with an Andante, not an Allegro. It contains a melancholy quality. The Scherzo that follows, very virtuosic for the piano, marks a contrast with its joyful tone.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTAwOTQx