LDV64.5

GEOFFROY COUTEAU, AMAURY COEYTAUX, RAPHAËL PERRAUD, NICOLAS BALDEYROU 23 The Piano Trio no.3 in C minor op.101 dates from 1886. It is more compact and concentrated than its two predecessors, as if the heroic intensity of the eminently Beethovenian key of C minor favoured such density. The main theme of the opening Allegro energico is a brief, sombre, indeed tragic cell, a kind of rhapsodic march, powerfully orchestral in feel. A charming second idea counterbalances its irrepressible agitation. The ensuing Presto non assai is a fleet-footed intermezzo, graceful and agile, brimming with Viennese charm. It is followed an equally Viennese Andante grazioso, a gently swaying song (very nearly a lullaby!) of touching simplicity. The last movement, Allegro molto, like the first, has a march- like character, this time with inflections reminiscent of gypsy music – which, as we know, was close to Brahms’s heart.