Piano Trio in the Ages of Constant Change
Classical music emerged in the 18th century and was born from a rebellion that formed due to the strict rules of the Baroque period, after the death of J.S. Bach in 1750. Musicians in that era wanted more than the “overly-intricate stylings of layered melodies that could only display so much technical mastery” (Newton 2016). Thus, there was a shift from composing heavy and serious music to a much lighter, elegant, and less complex type of music. Classical music embodied homophonic melodies, which focused on a single melody instead of making use of layered melodies. This allowed composers to bring in significantly more flavor to the overall piece as each instrument contributed in enriching the melody and clarity of the work.
One of the greatest musicians in the 18th century was Ludwig van Beethoven. As he composed more and more, he started to experiment, and add more variety and uniqueness to his works. A notable feature highlighting his own style is his development of a scherzo, which replaced the standard minuet form in some of his pieces, and is played more energetically. Despite this, as a musician, many of his works still made use of 18th century forms such as the Sonata Allegro Form, Sonata Rondo Form, and Minuet and Trio Form. His works were limited but were more unique in comparison to Haydn’s and Mozart’s. An example of his famous composition is his last piano trio, the Piano Trio in B-flat major, Op. 97, or more commonly known as Archduke Trio. The piano trio was named as the Archduke Trio because this composition was dedicated to his benefactor, friend, and student, Archduke Rudolph of Austria. The piece made use of a Scherzo (Allegro) in its second movement, but a Sonata Allegro Form in its first movement. Thus, in spite of developing a new movement, Beethoven still applied musical forms of his time.
Interestingly, there is a Filipino musician, who despite lived in the 20th century, still made use of the 18th century form of music. This particular musician is Lucrecia Roces Kasilag. Kasilag’s passion for music, her influence, and compositions were pivotal in shaping Filipino music. As a composer, she explored integrating our Filipino culture to Western influences. She did so by fusing ethnic music, through the usage of indigenous instruments, with orchestral productions (National Commission for Culture and Arts). In her vast array of compositions, she was able to compose a piano trio, using the traditional combination of piano, violin and cello – similar to Beethoven’s Archduke Trio.
In comparing the first movements of Beethoven’s Archduke Trio and Kasilag’s Piano Trio, it is important to first refer to the tempo markings of the musical sheet to know the pacing of the piece. Through this marking, one can infer how slow or fast the piece is without having the need to listen to it. Beethoven’s Archduke Trio has a tempo marking of Allegro Moderato for the first movement, while Kasilag’s Piano Trio is marked as Moderato. Allegro means fast; while Moderato means moderately fast (Estrin 2013). Thus, Allegro Moderato is quite close to Allegro, but not as fast. The first movement then of Kasilag’s Piano Trio is moderately fast, but slower as compared to Beethoven’s Archduke Trio.
The piano trios during the classical period are dominated by the piano part (Wheelock 1999). According to Betsy Schwarm, “melodies often begin in the piano before moving to one or the other of the strings for further elaboration” (2015). The way instruments are arranged in order of playing says a lot about the form of a particular piece and the particular period's style it follows. The Archduke Trio starts with only the piano in its first 5 measures, followed by the cello and violin playing at the same time in the latter part of the 6th measure. Kasilag, similarly starts off with the piano. However, only the cello starts to play on the 6th measure, which is then followed by the violin on the 12th measure. It is evident that the Archduke Trio fundamentally wanted to showcase clarity immediately as the piano solo lasted for a short time and continued with all three instruments playing together. The arrangement thus produced a richer sound due to the combination of the three instruments. In Kasilag’s work, she decided not to introduce the cello and violin at the same time and instead chose to add one instrument at a time. In her piano trio, the piano starts off, followed by the cello – to give a bass sound – then the violin. This kind of arrangement clearly showcases the difference each instrument can make in the piece and allows the listener to appreciate the uniqueness of each instrument. From here, it can be derived that both piano trios follow the piano trio form of the 18th century, where the piano is the most prominent player as compared to the other two instruments. The piano starts, and the melody is enriched through the participation of the cello and violin.
In starting off, Beethoven used multiple notes being played together for the piano, while Kasilag made use of single notes. It is worth noticing that eventually, in the middle and towards the end of Kasilag’s first movement, the scale begins to ascend and descend multiple times; but still, the notes being played together are at most two for each staff. This emphasizes once again how Beethoven wanted the sound of multiple notes, as compared to Kasilag who wanted to take it one step at a time – showing the difference in style of both the composers.
Music truly is an art that evolves, transforms, and advances as time passes by. Despite the forms and patterns that are commonly identified, these are not enough to encompass the whole sense of music. In Beethoven’s case, he did not stick to only using the 18th century forms, but instead, he introduced new styles and variations. For Kasilag, despite being born in the 20th century, she opted to make use of the 18th century style and integrated it as her own. Ultimately, musicians always develop new ways on how to present their music, music they can call as their own.
Bibliography
Estrin, Robert. “What’s the Difference between Allegro and Moderato?” Living Pianos, 6 Sept. 2013, livingpianos.com/general/the-differences-between-allegro-and-moderato/.
National Commission for Culture and Arts. “Lucrecia R. Kasilag.” Govph, 3 June 2015, http://ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/culture-profile/national-artists-of-the- philippines/lucrecia-r-kasilag/.
Newton, Kevin. “What is Classical Music? - Definition, History & Composers?” Study.com, 2 May 2016, https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-classical-music-definition-history- composers.html
Schwarm, Betsy. “Archduke Trio” Encyclopedia Britanicca, 8 April 2015, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Archduke-Trio
Wheelock, Gretchen. "The classical repertory revisited: instruments, players, and styles". Piano roles: Three hundred years of life with the piano, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1999, p. 115.