Presents

William Shield

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String Trio No.1 in E flat Major

William Shield (1748-1829) was born in the English town of Swalwell near Newcastle upon Tyne. He was trained locally as a violinist and eventually moved to London where he became a highly successful composer for the British musical theater and also a prominent performer. He was a friend of Haydn's and the two often played together. He obtained the position of Master of the King's Music and in 1823 helped to found the Royal Academy of Music.

Shield wrote a fair amount of chamber music including 9 string trios in two sets. The first was a set of 6 dating from 1796 and brought out by the English publisher Longman in London. The trio is in three movements and concertante style, showing the influence of the Mannheim school of the Johann and Carl Stamitz as well as his friend Haydn. The work opens with an Allegro followed by a Largo. The title to the final movement is quite interesting and shows that Shield was attracted to, what was then, the exotic. The marking is Giuoco, alla Sclavonia-Tempo straniere con variazione—roughly, playful in the foreign Slavonic manner.Actually, it is a modified Polacca.

Besides being a tuneful work which is fun to play, this trio along with the other five is a historically important work from the early British classical era. Each of the instruments is given generous solos. Our edition is based on the original 1796 edition by Longman. And we are pleased to offer all six trios at a substantial savings of more than 30%.