Marschner: Piano Trios, Vol. 2 - No. 2, Op. 111 and No. 6, Op. 148 (Gould Piano Trio)

Heinrich Marschner was the leading German operatic composer between Weber and the rise of Wagner, but he also wrote prolifically for chamber forces. His Piano Trios No. 2 and No. 6 share similar qualities: both are in a minor key, they are rich in agitated melodies, and are full of inventive interplay between the three instruments. In contrast to the earlier light-hearted Trio No. 1 (available on 8.574612), No. 2 is a darker, more tension-filled work, albeit with Mendelssohnian grace. No. 6 also embodies elements of mid- 19th-century Romanticism conveyed in music that ranges from the turbulent to the spectral.