LDV81

20 SHOSTAKOVICH • WEINBERG What about the Trio no.1? Victor — We added the First Trio to our repertory long after the Second. It would probably have been more natural to study the two trios in order of composition . . . As it was, we had to unlearn our experience of the Second Trio in order to approach the youthful trio from a fresh perspective. Justine — Incidentally, Shostakovich wrote this work out of love for a young woman. In the music, this translates into great romantic outbursts and an optimism that is generally quite unexpected in Shostakovich. Despite the stylistic differences between this trio and the Second, one can already recognise the composer’s touch in the latent sarcasm and the sudden changes of character. This may be an early work (written between 1923 and 1925), but all his personality traits can be found in it. Joseph — You sense that his love wasn’t easy to live with, that it wasn’t requited. You can feel all that frustration, that heartbreak in this music. The choice of intervals is quite revealing: there’s a lot of dissonance in the harmony.