Andante from Piano Trio in B flat major, Op. 99, was composed by Franz Schubert (1797-1828), an Austrian composer and musician. Andante is the second movement in Schubert's piece, and he composed it in 1827, towards the end of his life. Although Schubert died at the young age of thirty-one, he was a prolific composer and wrote symphonies, piano works, chamber music, sacred vocal music, and art songs, and is particularly noted for his creative use of harmonic color and the ability to write beautiful melodies.

Schubert often met with his friends for domestic evening concerts of his music, gatherings that they called Schubertiades. Schubert's Piano Trio in B flat major, Op. 99, was performed on January 28, 1828 at a Schubertiad held in honor of the engagement of his friend, Josef von Spaun. Three of the finest musicians in Vienna performed Schubert’s Piano Trio in B flat major: violinist Ignaz Schuppanzigh (noted for his string quarter); cellist Josef Linke (a member of Schuppanzigh's quartet); and pianist Carl Maria von Bocklet.[1]

To learn more about Schubert, visit our String Class.