Debussy composed this work in summer 1880 in Fiesole, Italy, when he was 18 years old. At the time he was the musical travelling companion of Nadescha von Meck, Tschaikowsky’s famous patroness. Most of the autograph material was thought to have been lost and was only discovered over 100 years later, in 1982, in the estate of Debussy’s pupil Maurice Dumesnil. When Henle published the first edition in 1986, the music world welcomed the trio with open arms. Ensembles rushed to play it, and numerous recordings followed. Although formal conventions prevail, the work displays a melodic freshness as well as inflections and phrases that are typical of Debussy.
