One of the most prestigious Czech chamber ensembles and compositions for violin, cello and piano – Bedřich Smetana and Antonín Dvořák. Smetana’s trio has been successful for many years not only here, but also abroad.

Dmitri Shostakovich
Piano Trio No. 1

Josef Suk
Elegie op. 23

Antonín Dvořák
Piano Trio No. 3 in F minor, Op. 65

Bedřich Smetana
Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 15

Smetanovo Trio:
Jitka Čechová – piano
Markéta Janoušková – violin
Jan Páleníček – cello
Jan Talich – violin

Bedřich Smetana’s Piano Trio in G minor was written in 1855 as an immediate response to the tragic death of his four-year-old daughter Bedřiška. The composer filled his work not only with pain, tenderness and dramatic moments but also with an effort to cope with the tragic event. Franz Liszt praised the work immediately after its premiere, but otherwise, the reception was rather embarrassing. Smetana, therefore, revised the work in 1857.

Antonín Dvořák, who composed his Third Piano Trio after the death of his mother in 1883, also had a difficult time. By then he was already one of the internationally acclaimed composers and the work became one of the highlights of his chamber music. A wealth of musical moods and ideas can be found in the large-scale composition, which literally burst with inspiration from Brahms’ chamber works.