A string trio is a group of three string instruments or a piece written for such a group. From at least the 19th century on, the term "string trio" with otherwise unspecified instrumentation normally refers to the combination violin, viola and cello. The classical string trio emerged during the mid-18th century and later expanded into four subgenres: the grand trio, the concertant trio, the brilliant trio, and the Hausmusik trio.
The earliest string trio, found during the mid 18th century, consisted of two violins and a cello, a grouping which had grown out of the Baroque trio sonata. Over the course of the late 18th century, the string trio scored for violin, viola, and cello came to be the predominant type.[1] String trios scored for two violins and viola were also used, although much less frequently.[2] The term "string trio" was not used until the late 19th century. The genre was previously referred to as divertimento a tre, sonate a tre, and terzetto. French composers sometimes used Trietti or Conversazioni a tré to name their trios.[3] The early classical string trio generally consisted of three movements, although four, five and six movement trios were later written. Most movements were in binary form, although some of Joseph Haydn's trios were written as theme and variations. The violins shared the important thematic material, while the cello maintained an accompanimental role.
During the mid to late 18th century, a couple of developments occurred in the genre. The changes included the absence of a figured bass, the equal treatment of all voices (as opposed to the top voice dominating the musical texture), and the use of sonata form in the first movement. These early developments paved the way for the genre to further expand into four specific types: the grand trio, the concertant trio, the brilliant trio, and the Hausmusik trio.
The grand trio was a product of South Germany and Austria. It was modeled after the mid to late 18th century serenade and nocturne. One of the best-known examples that legitimized the grand trio is Mozart’s Divertimento in E-flat, K. 563. Inspired by the piece, Beethoven set out to write String Trio in E-flat, Op. 3.
The concertant trio was created in France, consists of two movements, and all three voices are used equally in the texture. The first movement is usually in binary or sonata form. Giuseppe Cambini was the leading composer of the genre. Some of his works include 3 trios concertants pour violon alto et violoncelle, Op. 2 and 6 trios concertants pour Deux Violons et Basse, Op. 18.
The brilliant trio became the most popular string trio in France in the 19th century due to its virtuosic passages featured in the first violin part. The trio consists of three movements, organized in a fast-slow-fast pattern, and the first movement is written in sonata form. The first composer to use "brilliant" in the genre was Rudolph Kreutzer in his pieces 3 Trios brillants, Op. 15 and Op. 16.
The Hausmusik trio was intended for amateurs and student musicians. It was regarded as a pedagogical tool intended as preparation for the grand trio, the brilliant trio, and the string quartet. Some examples of the Hausmusik trio include 6 Trios progressives, Op. 28 by Franz Anton Hoffmeister and 3 Trios faciles et progressives, Op. 43 by Franz Alexander Pössinger.
| Composer | Composition | |
|---|---|---|
| Johann Georg Albrechtsberger (1736–1809) | ||
| Georges Aperghis (born 1945) | Faux mouvement (1995) | |
| J.S. Bach (1685–1750) | Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (1741) (Arr. by Dmitry Sitkovetsky, in memoriam Glenn Gould) | |
| Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) | ||
| Wilhelm Berger (1861–1911) | String Trio in G minor, Op. 69 | |
| Lennox Berkeley (1903–1989) | Trio for strings, Op. 19 (1944) | |
| Howard Blake (born 1938) | String Trio, Op. 199 | |
| Luigi Boccherini (1743–1805) | String Trios, G 95–100 and G 107–112 | |
| Carlos Chávez (1899–1978) | Invención II (1965) | |
| Friedrich Cerha (1926–2023) | 9 Bagatellen (2008)Zebra Trio (2010) | |
| Justin Connolly (1933–2020) | String Trio, Op. 43 (2009–10) | |
| Arnold Atkinson Cooke (1906–2005) | String Trio D51 (1950) | |
| Jean Cras (1879–1932) | Trio pour violon, alto et violoncelle (1926) | |
| Johann Nepomuk David (1895–1977) | Trio G-Dur (DK 267), Trio Werk 33/1, Nicoló Amati gewidmet, Trio Werk 33/2, Antonio Stradivari gewidmet, Trio Werk 33/3, Guarneri del Gesú gewidmet, Trio Werk 33/4, Jacobus Stainer gewidmet | |
| Matthew Davidson (born 1964) | Music for String Trio (2006) | |
| Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (1739–1799) | ||
| Ernő Dohnányi (1877–1960) | Serenade in C major, Op. 10 | |
| Gottfried von Einem (1918–1996) | ||
| Anders Eliasson (1947–2013) | Trio per archi "Ahnungen" (2013) | |
| George Enescu (1881–1955) | Aubade, for violin, viola, and cello (Allegretto grazioso) | |
| Karlheinz Essl (born 1960) | à trois/seul (1998) | |
| Joseph Leopold Eybler (1765–1846) | ||
| Magdeleine Boucherit le Faure (1879–1960) | Impressions. Suite for Violin, Viola and Cello. Paris: Éditions Salabert, 1933. | |
| Brian Ferneyhough (born 1943) | String Trio (1995) | |
| Jean Françaix (1912–1997) | String Trio in C major, Op. 2 | |
| Jürg Frey (1953-) | ||
| Robert Fuchs (1847–1927) | String Trio in A major, Op. 94 | |
| (1756–1820) | String Trios, Op. 2, Nos. 1–6 | |
| Yefim Golyshev (1897–1970) | String Trio, Zwölftondauer-Komplexe (twelve-tone-duration complex) (1925) | |
| Jorge Grundman (born 1961) | ||
| Sofia Gubaidulina (born 1931) | String Trio | |
| John Harbison (born 1938) | String Trio (2013) | |
| Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) | String Trio in B major, Hob. V:8 (1765) | |
| Swan Hennessy (1866–1929) | Petit trio celtique, Op. 52 (1921) | |
| Heinrich von Herzogenberg (1843–1900) | String Trios, Op. 27, Nos. 1 & 2 | |
| Paul Hindemith (1895–1963) | ||
| Gilad Hochman (born 1982) | Brief Memories for String Trio (2004) . | |
| Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754–1812) | Terzetto Scholastico Streichtrio | |
| Vagn Holmboe (1909–1996) | Gioco (Game) for string trio (1983) | |
| Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778–1837) | ||
| André Jolivet (1905–1974) | Suite for String trio | |
| Gideon Klein (1919–1945) | String Trio (1944) | |
| Zoltán Kodály (1882–1967) | Intermezzo-Allegretto | |
| Hans Krása (1899–1944) | ||
| Ernst Krenek (1900–1991) | ||
| Carmelo Mantione (born 1980) | Trio d'archi (2021) | |
| Frank Martin (1890–1974) | Trio (1936) | |
| Donald Martino (1931–2005) | String Trio (1954) | |
| Bohuslav Martinů (1890–1959) | ||
| Grace-Evangeline Mason (born 1994) | Into the Abyss, I Throw Roses (2018) | |
| Siegfried Matthus (born 1934) | Windspiele, for string trio | |
| Erkki Melartin (1875–1937) | String Trio Op.133 (1926?) | |
| Darius Milhaud (1892–1974) | ||
| Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) | ||
| Ernst Naumann (1832–1910) | Trio in D major, Op. 12 | |
| Ștefan Niculescu (1927–2008) | ||
| Andrew Norman (born 1979) | The Companion Guide to Rome (2010) | |
| Krzysztof Penderecki (born 1933) | String Trio (1990–91) | |
| Václav Pichl (1741–1805) | ||
| Wayne Peterson (1927–2021) | String Trio (2007) | |
| Ignaz Pleyel (1757–1831) | 3 String Trios, B 401–403 | |
| Gerhard Präsent (born 1957) | Sounds Of Wood (1998) | |
| Max Reger (1873–1916) | ||
| Carl Reinecke (1824–1910) | String Trio in C minor, Op. 249 | |
| Wolfgang Rihm (born 1952) | Musik für drei Streicher (1977) | |
| Sofie Rohnstock (1875-1964) | String Trio in G Major | |
| Alessandro Rolla (1757–1841) | ||
| Julius Röntgen (1855–1932)[4] | ||
| Guy Ropartz (1864–1955) | Trio in A minor for Strings (1934–35) | |
| Albert Roussel (1896–1937) | String Trio, Op. 58 | |
| Kaija Saariaho (1952–2023) | Cloud Trio (2009) | |
| Ernest Sauter (1928–2013) | ||
| Giacinto Scelsi (1905–1988) | Trio for strings (1958) | |
| Alfred Schnittke (1934–1998) | String Trio (1985) | |
| Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951) | String Trio, Op. 45 (1946) | |
| Franz Schubert (1797–1828) | ||
| Jean Sibelius (1865–1957) | ||
| (1896–1978) | ||
| Robert Simpson (1921–1997) | String Trio (1987) | |
| Nikos Skalkottas (1904–1949) | String Trio No. 2 (1935) | |
| Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928–2007) | Hoffnung (2007) | |
| Richard Strauss (1864–1949) | Variations on "Das Dirndl is harb auf mi" TRV 109 (1882) | |
| Sergei Taneyev (1856–1915) | String Trio in D major (1880) | |
| Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) | Allegretto moderato (1863–64) | |
| Jesús Torres (1965) | String Trio (2002) | |
| Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887–1959) | String Trio (1945) | |
| Graham Waterhouse (born 1962) | ||
| Julian Wagstaff (born 1970) | In Extremis (2011)(https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/in-extremis-for-string-trio-score-digital-sheet-music/20030830) | |
| Rolf Wallin (1957–) | Sway (2010) | |
| Anton Webern (1883–1945) | ||
| Egon Wellesz (1885–1974) | ||
| John Woolrich (born 1954) | String Trio (1996) | |
| Charles Wuorinen (1938–2020) | String Trio (1968) | |
| Iannis Xenakis (1922–2001) | Ikhoor (1978) | |
| La Monte Young (born 1935) | Trio (1958) | |
| Eugène Ysaÿe (1858–1931) | Trio "Le Chimay"(1915) | |
| Bernd Alois Zimmermann (1918–1970) | Trio (1944) |
| Composer | Composition |
|---|---|
| Alexander Alyabyev (1787–1851) | Variations on a Russian folk song |
| Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) | Prelude and Fugue for two violins and cello in E minor, Hess 29 (1795) |
| Luigi Boccherini (1743–1805) | |
| Alexander Borodin (1833–1887) | String Trio in G minor on a Russian folk song |
| Siegfried Borris (1906–1987) | Terzettino |
| Werner Egk (1901–1983) | Trio in G minor |
| (1756–1820) | String Trios, Op. 5, Nos. 1–6 |
| Avgust Grigoryevich Gerke (1790–1847) | Trio pour deux violons et violoncelle op. 2 |
| Peter Hänsel (1770–1831) | |
| Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) | |
| Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754–1812) | |
| Feliks Janiewicz (1762–1848) | 6 String Trios |
| Joachim Kaczkowski (1789–1829)https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joachim_Kaczkowski | Quatre variations op. 3Six variations op. 4 |
| Wilhelm Killmayer (born 1927) | Trio for two violins and cello |
| Karol Lipiński (1790-1861) | String Trio in g minor Op. 8String Trio in A-major Op. 12 |
| Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) | |
| Ignaz Pleyel (1757–1831) | |
| (1752–1835) | Fantasia Terza |
| Gerhard Präsent (born 1957) | |
| Joseph Schuster (1748–1812) | String Trio in A minor |
| Johann Baptist Wanhal (1739–1813) | |
| Composer | Composition |
|---|---|
| Frank Bridge (1879–1941) | Rhapsody Trio (1928) |
| Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904) |
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| Robert Fuchs (1847–1927) |
|
| Zoltán Kodály (1882–1967) |
|
| David Ludwig (born 1974) | Rule of Three for two violins and viola (2016) |
| Sergei Taneyev (1856–1915) | String Trio in D major, Op. 21 (1907) |
| Composer | Composition |
|---|---|
| F.L. Gaßmann (1729–1774) | |
| Sergei Taneyev (1856–1915) | String Trio in E major, Op. 31, for violin, viola and violotta |
| John Zorn (born 1953) | Walpurgisnacht (2004) for violin, viola and double bass |