During the autumn of 1816, Schubert had finally quitted his much-loathed teaching post and moved in with his close friend Franz Schober. Away from his overcrowded and repressive family home, sharing accommodation with a charismatic young man whose experience of life was far wider than his own, and in a vastly improved frame of mind, Schubert began to pour forth new compositions, including the present String Trio during the September. Although compared to the vast musical canvas of the String Quintet, the Trio (as it exists) represents a veritable microcosm of musical activity, the tendency towards relatively untroubled, often highly lyrical exposition/recapitulations, dramatically heightened by a more serious central development section, is already unmistakable. This miniature gem is one of the most treasured works in the string repertoire.
from notes by Julian Haylock © 1995