Revisiting Old Forms: the Piano Trio, the Duo Sonata, and the Sonatine as Seen by Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and Ravel

Abstract

This performance dissertation explored three significant piano trios, two major instrumental sonatas and a solo piano sonatine over the course of three recitals. Each recital featured the work of either Brahms, Tchaikovsky or Ravel. Each of these three composers had a special reverence for older musical forms and genres. The piano trio originated from various forms of trio ensemble in the Baroque period, which consisted of a dominating keyboard part, an accompanying violin, and an optional cello. By the time Brahms and Tchaikovsky wrote their landmark trios, the form had taken on symphonic effects and proportions. The Ravel Trio, another high point of the genre, written in the early twentieth century, went even further exploring new ways of using all possibilities of each instrument and combining them. The duo repertoire has come equally far: duos featuring a string instrument with piano grew from a humble Baroque form into a multifaceted, flexible classical form. Starting with Bach and continuing with Mozart and Beethoven, the form traveled into the Romantic era and beyond, taking on many new guises and personalities. In Brahms’ two cello sonatas, even though the cello was treated as a soloist, the piano still maintained its traditional prominence. In Ravel’s jazz-influenced violin sonata, he treated the two instruments with equal importance, but worked with their different natures and created an innovative sound combination. The solo piano work in this dissertation, the Ravel Sonatine, is beautifully constructed, revisiting older forms while being firmly rooted in new early-twentieth century Impressionist sounds. Two of the three recitals featured a major trio by Brahms and Ravel coupled with sonatas and a sonatine. The Tchaikovsky Trio, monumentally long and difficult, was presented alone at my lecture recital. The recitals were performed on December 7, 2014, November 15, 2015, and March 30, 2016 at the University of Maryland School of Music’s Gildenhorn Recital Hall, and I was assisted by violinists Sharon Oh and Dr. James Stern as well as cellists Seth Castleton and Andrew Hesse. The recitals were recorded on CDs, which can be found in the Digital Repository at the University of Maryland (DRUM).