At the beginning and end of his career, Hans Pfitzner's work was characterized by chamber music. Among his early works, the piano trio is of particular importance, since during his studies at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt he wrote he wrote three works in this genre without an opus number, two of which are lost. - Thus his "great" Trio op. 8 from 1896 may be regarded as the conscious and crowning conclusion of this trio period, and it also occupies an outstanding position within his oeuvre as a whole: at almost three quarters of an hour, it is the longest, most intense and richest in musical thoughts and ideas chamber music of this creative period: Highly dramatic, full of youthful impetuosity on the one hand, of already typical Pfitznerian perversity and melancholy on the other. A truly chamber music cosmos!
The only 'surviving' Jugendtrio in B-flat major is a likewise melodious work, but one notices that the great model Schumann looked over his shoulder from time to time.
Works:
•Pfitzner: Piano Trio in F Major, Op. 8
• Pfitzner: Piano Trio in B-Flat Major