Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor, Op. 66

Mendelssohn's Second Piano Trio in C minor (1845) is a darker, more dramatically intense work than its famous predecessor in D minor, and rivals it in mastery and depth. The opening Allegro energico e con fuoco sets a tone of driving urgency, its C minor energy recalling the restlessness of Beethoven while remaining wholly Mendelssohnian in texture and refinement. The slow movement is one of Mendelssohn's most inspired pages: a broad, singing Andante espressivo in E major of luminous warmth. The scherzo, marked Un poco agitato, has the fleet-fingered lightness that is Mendelssohn's unique gift, and the finale's fugal sections introduce a contrapuntal gravitas that elevates the work above the salon genre. Schumann admired the trio enormously, ranking it among the finest of its generation, and it remains a staple of the professional chamber repertoire.