Joseph Leopold Eybler (Feb. 8, 1765 - July 24, 1846) was born in Schwechat, near Vienna, in to a musical family. His father was a choir director, and friend of the Haydn family.

Eybler studied music with his father before attending the cathedral school at St. Stephen's Boys College in Vienna, and later studied composition under Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, who claimed Eybler was Vienna's greatest musical genius, apart from Mozart. He also received praise as a composer from Franz Joseph Haydn, and Mozart as well, who he also studied with. Clearly he was highly regarded, which makes it all that more unfortunate that we don't hear his compositions very often.

At the end of the 18th century, Eybler turned his attention to chamber music, and he wrote his String Trio in C  after he finished a set of string quartets.  The trio, written for violin, viola, and cello, is in quintessential classical style, and is positively charming and elegant.

The first movement starts with an adagio, played by the cello and viola, and the violin later joins. The adagio is more like a prelude of sorts, and then the trio hops in to a happy allegro. All three instrumentalists have creative, interesting parts; no one is trying to outshine or duplicate the other, but instead all have their moments. It ends by returning back to the sweet adagio.

Movement two is marked Andante, with the violin playing a sweet melody supported by the viola, and then vice versa. The movement ends with unison pizzicato.

The third movement is a Menuetto and Allegretto that features three pleasant trios. The first features the cello almost entirely in its higher register, and the second features the viola. In the third trio the violin plays animated triplets  over the cello and viola's pizzicato accompaniment.  typical Austrian the Century serenade.

The fourth movement is almost like a palette cleanser between the third and fifth movements. The violin is tacet, while the viola and cello play a very short, somber and harmonious interlude of sorts.

Movement Five, a rondo, is a joyful, bouncing movement with a winsome melody. The work as a whole is quite a crowd pleaser with its clarity, upbeat demeanor and constant optimism.

 

Here are some recordings of this charming work that you can enjoy:

Quintet Momento Musicale
Duetsches Streichtrio
Belvedere Trio Wien