Mendelssohn: Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Mvts 1 and 2

Felix Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49, was completed on September 23, 1839, and published the following year. While composing the trio, Mendelssohn took advice from fellow composer Ferdinand Hiller, who suggested revisions to the piano part. Hiller noted that, with characteristic dedication, Mendelssohn reworked the entire piano section.

On January 21, 1832, while in Paris, Felix Mendelssohn wrote to his sister, Fanny Mendelssohn, expressing his intention to compose a piece where the piano would play a more prominent role alongside the violin and cello. The trio premiered on February 1, 1840, at the Leipzig Gewandhaus, with violinist Ferdinand David, cellist Franz Karl Witmann, and Mendelssohn himself at the piano. Robert Schumann hailed the work as “the master-trio of our time,” comparing it to Beethoven’s and Schubert’s greatest trios and predicting its future acclaim.

In an 1898 interview with The Musical Times, violinist Joseph Joachim recalled a London performance in 1844, where Mendelssohn once again played the piano. At the time, only the violinist and cellist had their parts. Mendelssohn remarked, “Never mind, just put a book on the piano, and someone can turn the pages occasionally so it doesn’t look like I’m playing from memory.”