In a single decade, with works such as The Firebird and The Rite of Spring, Igor Stravinsky showed possibilities for musical extremism never before imagined. With bracing harmonies, infectious rhythms, and brilliant orchestration, everything that Stravinsky created in this fertile period stole the musical show of the era, and this trio arrangement of The Soldier’s Tale (Stravinsky’s own) introduced his wildly controversial music to the chamber music stage. Innovations abound in this milestone program: Beethoven’s Clarinet Trio (the first of its kind), Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words (his own invention), and Smetana’s Piano Trio, the first major chamber work from the Bohemian region. Click here for more info (Opens in a new window)

Beethoven Trio in B-flat major for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano, Op. 11 (1797)

Stravinsky L’Histoire du soldat (The Soldier’s Tale), Trio Version for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano (1918, arr. 1919)

Mendelssohn Selected Lieder ohne Worte (Songs Without Words) for Piano

Smetana Trio in G minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 15 (1855, rev. 1857)