Obscure Music Monday: Berens' Piano Trio

Swedish composer Hermann Berens' works are not heard as often as many of his contemporaries, however Berens writing is always overflowing with lovely melodies and deserving of an additional look. Today we take a look at his Piano Trio, Op. 95, No. 2.

Berens was the son of a German flautist, Carl Berens, who also composed a number of works for the flute. The lineage continued on through Hermann Berens' son Herman Berens (yes, you read that right, just one letter difference!), who also published some works for violin and piano.

The trio begins with a lovely violin melody over piano. The lush melody is eventually joined by a countermelody in the cello, before all three instruments trade off sections of the melodic idea. This is followed by a second theme with a jumping motif that builds the energy before moving into a development.

As we move into the second movement, Andante con moto, we experience not a slow lyrical movement, but rather a lilting dance like interplay between the instruments. This leads into a final movement, marked Allegro con fuoco, filled with energy through the handing off of a staccato motif, before opening to a lush lyrical melodic line that hands off between the instruments.

While impressive sounding, this trio is very approachable to play, with far less intricacies than many contemporary romantic piano trios.