Piano Trio No. 1

• Date: 1918
• Composer: Roberto Gerhard
• Period: Modern (1910-1949)

Review

This substantial piece of chamber music is one of the earliest extant works of this Catalan composer of German descent. He composed it at the age of twenty-two, dedicating it to his teacher, Felipe Pedrell. It is in a style derivative of the Impressionist masters Debussy and Ravel, and also shows the influence of an older Spanish composer, Manuel de Falla.

At twenty-six minutes it shows some excess in proportions and even a hint of the composer's tendency to be somewhat too fond of academic elements in the music. But it also shows strong logic and the imagination of an individual composer. The most notable movement is the finale (the work being in three movements of abount nine minutes each) because it clearly displays Gerhard's imagination in devising unusual harmonic ideas. ~ Joseph Stevenson, Rovi

Albums with Complete Performances of the Work

Title	Date
Antología de la Música Española para trío Vol. II
Gerhard: Piano Trio / Cello Sta / Chaconne / Gemini	1996
Granados, Gerhard: Trios
Robert Gerhard: Trio; Cello Sonata; Gemini
Roberto Gerhard, Xavier Montsalvatge, Gaspar Cassadó: Piano Trios	2012
Roberto Gerhard: Piano Trio; Cello Sonata; Concierto para ocho; Libra	1997

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