Piano Trio No. 3 (Dvořák)

Piano Trio
No. 3
by Antonín Dvořák
Dvořák in 1882
Key	F minor
Catalogue	B. 130
Opus	65
Composed	1883 (1883)
Performed	27 October 1883 (1883-10-27): Mladá Boleslav
Published	1883 (1883)
Publisher	Simrock
Duration	39 minutes
Movements	4

The Piano Trio No. 3 in F minor, Op. 65 (B. 130), is a piano trio by Antonín Dvořák.^[1][2][3] As with the Scherzo capriccioso, the Hussite Overture, the Ballade in D minor, and the Seventh Symphony, composed in the same period, the work is written in a more dramatic, dark and aggressive style that supersedes the carefree folk style of Dvořák's "Slavonic period".^[4]

The composition consists of four movements in the classical tradition:

A typical performance takes approximately 39 minutes.^[2]

Dvořák began writing out the piano trio in February 1883 and completed it on 31 March.^[3] The premiere was held on 27 October 1883 at a concert in Mladá Boleslav; Dvořák himself played the piano part. The piece was published shortly after by Simrock.^[2]

Eduard Hanslick wrote in the Neue Freie Presse on 13 February 1884: "The most valuable gem brought to us amid the plethora of concerts in recent weeks is undeniably Dvorak’s new Piano Trio in F minor. It demonstrates that the composer finds himself at the pinnacle of his career."^[5]

• Dvořák: Piano Trios Nos. 3 & 4. Christian Tetzlaff (vn), Tanja Tetzlaff (vc), Lars Vogt (pf). Ondine (2018)

• Piano Trio No. 3 (Dvořák): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Piano Trio No. 3 on YouTube, performed by the Beaux Arts Trio