Piano Trio

A piano trio is a chamber ensemble consisting of a piano and two other instruments, most commonly violin and cello. Other combinations are piano with flute and cello, clarinet and viola, clarinet and cello, and violin and horn. Throughout the 18th century, trios experienced a shift in the importance of the strings to the piano.
Some of the most well-known trios are the Beaux Arts Trio and the trio consisting of Emanuel Ax, Young Uck Kim, and Yo-Yo Ma according to guide.info. Some well-known composers of piano trio music are Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Hummel, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich and Dvorak. The form of piano trios is often in the overall form of a sonata. Sonatas usually consists of four movements: a fast movement in sonata form , a slower movement, a minuet/trio or a scherzo, and finally a quick movement often in rondo form.