Trio in G minor op. 17

• First scholarly-critical edition of this central piano trio of the 19th century
• With a comprehensive Commentary (Eng) on the performance practice of Schumann and her contemporaries
• With a Foreword (Eng/Ger) and Critical Commentary (Eng)

The Piano Trio op. 17 is Clara Schumann’s greatest chamber music work and one of the most remarkable piano trios by a female composer of the 19th century. It was written in the summer of 1846 during preparations for a tour to Vienna. The collaboration between Schumann and her publisher proved complicated, as can be seen from letters. In addition to disagreements and delays, it may have been particularly frustrating for the composer that her requests for corrections were never implemented in the first edition.

Laura Roberts’ scholarly-critical edition therefore draws not only on the first edition but also on a working autograph by Clara Schumann as well as a copy of the first edition in the composer’s possession with her fingering and annotations.

What makes this edition so special is the detailed Performance Practice Commentary: it deals with topics such as agogic and tempo, fingering, arpeggios, and pedalling as well as phrasing in the playing of Schumann and her contemporaries. Although a certain emphasis is placed on the piano – Schumann was, after all, primarily a pianist –, this Commentary can also be applied to violin and cello repertoire, as well as to works by Robert Schumann, Brahms, and other contemporary composers.