Oslo Philharmonic's Chamber Series Richard Strauss
Dmitry Shostakovich

Like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Clara Schumann, and Camille Saint-Saëns, Richard Strauss (1864–1949) began composing music at a very young age. He wrote his first piece, Weihnachtslied, at the age of six, and completed his first piano trio at thirteen. In his Piano Trio No. 1, Strauss follows the form established by predecessors such as Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. At the same time, even in this early work, he demonstrates an ability to blend their musical language with his own voice—in a way that feels original and personal rather than merely imitative.

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975) composed his second piano trio between 1943 and 1944, shortly after completing his Eighth Symphony. He never explicitly stated what the music was about, but there is reason to believe that the trio’s expressive character reflects his emotional state at the time: the Second World War was raging, one of his closest friends had recently died of a heart attack, and the persecution of Jews in Europe and the Soviet Union deeply affected him. Yet there is no trace of resignation in the composer here—despite its somber tone, the music reveals both fierce determination and profound human warmth. And hope is never absent.