Franck Piano quartet is the bomb! His op. 1 trio is pretty good too. Saint-Saens trios are fantastic. Chausson wrote a trio, quartet and "Concerto" that is a piano sextet and they are really very good as well. Of course there's the Ravel trio and the Tchaikovsky trio that are standard repertoir. Mahler wrote an unfinished quartet thats very good.
I play with a trio, the piano trio is probably my favorite genre. Many of my favorites have already been mentioned. Here are few that haven’t been mentioned (and a few piano quintets), some of them not as well known.
Dora Pejačević:
- [Piano Trio, op. 29](https://youtu.be/9fSiYu7VNKs?feature=shared)
- [Piano Quintet, op. 40](https://youtu.be/mEjYftkKAT8?feature=shared)
Gabriel Faure:
- [piano trio, op. 120](https://youtu.be/px59G3t-biM?feature=shared)
- [piano quintet no. 1, op. 89](https://youtu.be/T9lASiozqM8?feature=shared)
- [piano quintet no. 2, op. 115](https://youtu.be/eCytVmL30lc?feature=shared)
Alexander Zemlinsky’s [piano trio in D minor, op.3](https://youtu.be/oW8uX5d8pMc?feature=shared)
Anton Arensky’s [piano trio no. 1, op. 32](https://youtu.be/WR7IgPqscJE?feature=shared)
Joaquín Turina’s [Círculo, op. 91](https://youtu.be/5ryjpXhJ-dE?feature=shared)
Bedrïch Smetana’s [piano trio in G minor, op. 15](https://youtu.be/qan_VNtLpjc?feature=shared)
George Enescu’s [piano trio no. 1 in G minor](https://youtu.be/cD6uLhvTLoc?feature=shared)
For something modern and tonal try Daron Hagen’s [piano trio no. 3](https://youtu.be/qp6VtyXZzCs?feature=shared) and [piano trio no. 4.](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFgLXZobnyCXJHIH7cl9LcqEi-qBtOzUg&feature=shared) I think he has eight in total but I’m only familiar with these two.
For something modern and atonal, I love Elliott Carter’s final piece (written at 103!), [Epigrams](https://youtu.be/j08AB9abLw0?feature=shared). I also really love his [piano quintet](https://youtu.be/Sbr0CnmHIdo?feature=shared).
Thank you for these recs! Oddly I haven't thought about Turina since I was a lot younger, but I remember liking him. Fauré's works are of course known and loved. But lots of stuff to check out here, thanks!
Both Schubert piano trios are great, as of course is the Trout Quintet.
I love the Schumann Piano Quartet in Eb (amazing slow movement).
The Shostakovich Piano Quintet and Piano Trio #2 are both really good.
I'm fond of Korngold's Piano Quintet
For more modern music, Thomas Ades has a very good Piano Quintet.
The Franck piano quintet is amazing. Probably has the best ending to a first movement in chamber music history.
Also the Mendelssohn Cminor and Dminoe piano trios.
Mozart's [E major Piano Trio (K. 542)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2DJXEDqE7U) is stunningly good and, in my opinion, underappreciated. The [G major](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlOl2iHeLdU) is also gorgeous (obviously--it's Mozart).
Something rather off the beaten path is [Chausson's Piano Trio, Op. 3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEsEL6mv-Fg). This one took a while to grow on me, but I'm glad I gave it the time!
Carter: quartet for flute, cello, oboe and harpsichord! -
Messiaen: quartet for the end of time -
Donald Martino: trio for clarinet, violin & piano
For starters!
Oh, I'll bet the Martino is amazing. I love his music. Will definitely check that out.
I'll confess I've tried and failed many times to get into Carter's music even though I'm a hard-core modernist. But I'll give it a try :)
The Carter is one his early jazz inflected pieces along with the cello sonata, piano sonata and the piano concerto. It’s a masterpiece and was combined with the cello sonata on Nonsuch records back in the day and i wore it out! I particularly enjoyed Joel Krosnick’s performance. He would make a decent jazz bassist! Seek out that recording for an introduction. Enjoy!
[Rachmaninoff Trio Elégiaque 1](https://youtu.be/ZeHNHqUYmNE), [Tchaikovsky Piano Trio](https://youtu.be/zGkvOvI63dw), [Mendelssohn Piano Trio](https://youtu.be/-PAFzEnJ6NU)
Joseph Haydn's 45 pianotrios are amazing. Haydn evolved the pianotrio to perfection. He is rightly the inventor of this musical form.
https://preview.redd.it/7solpjfe090d1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bd13b5145c40a296151227d1fe9c167b8bcc0b6c
Brahms piano quintet in f minor is one of my all time favorite pieces. It’s just mind blowingly beautiful. There is video of last 2 movements played by Pinchas Zukerman, Miriam Fried and other greats. It’s one of my go-to videos.
The Brahms quintet is a total banger, I agree. The whole thing is good, but the Scherzo is the real gem. Rhythmically very powerful, and then the middle section it's like the sun comes out. Amazing.
I like the Andras Schiff/Takács Quartet recording. They really let loose!
Already mentioned above, but the Shostakovich piano quintet has a scherzo with a lot of energy. (The entire quintet is worthwhile.)
[Martha Argerich, Mischa Maisky, Joshua Bell, Henning Kraggerud, Yuri Bashmet](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP1WFiNCCZU)
i guess i’m lucky enough to have a great resident piano quintet at my school, because i heard this work live and assumed it was standard repertoire. it’s a beast of a piece
You're right about that. When you said "early" I expected something along the lines of the first string quartet or the early wind quintet pieces, but this is some kind of late romantic experimentation. I don't think he had found his groove yet when he wrote this piece, to be honest.
I was surprised too when I discovered it. As a violist both of these quintets make me very happy. The first movement of Bartok has a banger viola solo too.
I think at this point Bartok is up there with Smetana’s first string quartet as my all round favorite piece.
Another set of suggestions are Dohnanyi piano quintets 1 and 2. 1 is very romantic and pleasant to listen to (and play :)) but 2 is more dissonant and dark almost on the scale of late Beethoven.
Ernest Bloch has two piano quintets. The first one is quite exciting. Leo Ornstein also has a thrilling one. There’s a big Romantic piano quintet by Taneyev and a lovely piano quartet by Braga Santos. But the one I recommend most highly is by the early 20th Century French composer, Jean Cras. His Piano Quintet is amazing.
Saint-Saëns' Piano Quartet is very good (and he wrote some trios too, though I haven't listened to them a lot).
Zarębski's Piano Quintet is a must hear - and these days there finally are few recordings to choose from.
Elgar's Piano Quintet is among my favorite pieces of his.
Haydns Piano Trios are Superb!
Listen to the one in E no.28 for example, the beaux Arts trio has a good recording of it
Mozarts are also pretty adequate works
I really like Mozart's piano quartets, especially the minor key one. My issue with the Haydn trios is that there are SO MANY. I'll look at No. 28, thanks.
Schubert has many excellent chamber music on these formats. I think he wrote his best works in the genre as he was able to utilise his exceptional melodic gift with the intimacy of few instruments.
**Trios** - Piano Trio Nos. 1 and 2 are masterpieces! Special mention on how Kubrick skillfully uses the [2nd](https://youtu.be/8V_TXNdn5ss?si=dfdxBy66L60Gu5uo) movement of No. 2 in Barry Lyndon
**Quartets** - Schubert's last 4 quarterts are some of the best written string quartets in the repertoire and iconic [Death and the Maiden Quartet](https://youtu.be/otdayisyIiM?si=7s-TC23S6ceSr65r) is arguably the most popular in the repertoire. However, I am partial to the [15th](https://youtu.be/5resP19f17o?si=Hg6hL1HV7-pQ8p6A) in G as I found it his most innovative and foreshadows Bruckner symphonies.
**Quintets** - The [Trout Quintet](https://youtu.be/ZZdXoER96is?si=cvr3D8adydEpQiOu) is the most famous chamber piece of all time.
The String Quintet is probably the greatest chamber music ever written. Here's an excellent [performance](https://youtu.be/HeJ1PMThRng?si=RPHQYQ_D03-RoWHl) of the masterpiece. Notice how the players are close to crying in the 2nd movement.
Bit of a hipster pick perhaps, but [Toivo Kuula's](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfH1wxyVMfU) is my favorite piano trio of all time (and one of my favorite pieces in general).
Beethoven's trios aside, I really like both from Shostakovich. Granados has an interesting piano trio. Two rarer works that I think deserve to be heard would be Norgards- spell with clarinet and Weber's flute trio. The later is a cool work stylistically between Beethoven and Berlioz.
One of my favorite quintets is by Fibich and has a clarinet and horn. It's one of the most gentle and soft pieces of chamber music I know.
I find that Mendelssohn's piano trios and quartets are in my opinion the most underrated pieces of classical music ever made. They are all true masterpieces, and after having heard thousands of classical pieces from dozens of composers, these are by far my favourite ones
Norbert Burgmuller's 4 string quartets.
Tchaikovsky's Piano Trio in A Minor. In fact, some of my favourite recordings are the five discs called History of the Russian Piano Trio by The Brahms Trio who perform pieces by Arensky, Taneyev, Dyck, Cui, Rimsky-Korsakov, etc.
Fauré and Cras have already been mentioned, so I'll add the Walter Piston and Paul Le Flem quintets, and Désiré Pâque's trios (Op. 46/1 is a good one). If you like more contemporary, check out Trio Con Brio Copenhagens's Phantasmagoria album.
Consider looking through these playlists:
Piano trios: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7wwPgEjxld7LaWxVVOH3XB?si=SGiC4qDQRjyOu3VP5HyFvw&pi=e-X1F_0zX5RyiK
Piano quartets: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0WDpzKmszgcCHCYvAvGd29?si=VJNb7Co_QMaEfcaysm7hCQ&pi=e-icORQn3wQviC
Piano quintets: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/78FHQH9sQ6v1vgQSF3RD9R?si=e5oswMzuSZSXoBzhv0nlvw&pi=e-O2A58t7PSxGk
Dohnanyi wrote a piano quintet, his op. 1. It is in the Brahms-ian school of composing, but with lots of Liszt-ian harmonies and virtuosity mixed in, plus fun Hungarian-style melodies. Great work. Harder to perform (the piano part) than Brahms, but not super difficult.
But even better: Late in life, Dohnanyi also wrote a sextet, for piano, string trio, horn and clarinet. It is amazingly fun! But before you think you want to perform it (as a pianist), let me suggest that you get yourself the sheet music, and practice some: for chamber music, it is an amazingly hard part; you better have gone through the Liszt school of virtuosic piano playing if you want to do a good job.
Prince Louis Ferdinand’s first piano quartet in Eb major is shockingly good
https://youtu.be/JCxqscM4uB8?si=EBTJkxx3Y6Nq7fb4
And it’s a fucking travesty that he was KIA in some stupid battle. He was one of Beethoven’s more promising students.
Yes, it’s one of my favorite forms, too! Just appreciate the timbral variety with a piano in the mix as opposed to a string quartet.
Anyway, check out the quintets by Carl Frühling and Ludwig Thuille!
Franck Piano quartet is the bomb! His op. 1 trio is pretty good too. Saint-Saens trios are fantastic. Chausson wrote a trio, quartet and "Concerto" that is a piano sextet and they are really very good as well. Of course there's the Ravel trio and the Tchaikovsky trio that are standard repertoir. Mahler wrote an unfinished quartet thats very good.
Thank you! These are exactly the kinds of off-the-beaten-path recs I was looking for. I'll check these out :)
I play with a trio, the piano trio is probably my favorite genre. Many of my favorites have already been mentioned. Here are few that haven’t been mentioned (and a few piano quintets), some of them not as well known. Dora Pejačević: - [Piano Trio, op. 29](https://youtu.be/9fSiYu7VNKs?feature=shared) - [Piano Quintet, op. 40](https://youtu.be/mEjYftkKAT8?feature=shared) Gabriel Faure: - [piano trio, op. 120](https://youtu.be/px59G3t-biM?feature=shared) - [piano quintet no. 1, op. 89](https://youtu.be/T9lASiozqM8?feature=shared) - [piano quintet no. 2, op. 115](https://youtu.be/eCytVmL30lc?feature=shared) Alexander Zemlinsky’s [piano trio in D minor, op.3](https://youtu.be/oW8uX5d8pMc?feature=shared) Anton Arensky’s [piano trio no. 1, op. 32](https://youtu.be/WR7IgPqscJE?feature=shared) Joaquín Turina’s [Círculo, op. 91](https://youtu.be/5ryjpXhJ-dE?feature=shared) Bedrïch Smetana’s [piano trio in G minor, op. 15](https://youtu.be/qan_VNtLpjc?feature=shared) George Enescu’s [piano trio no. 1 in G minor](https://youtu.be/cD6uLhvTLoc?feature=shared) For something modern and tonal try Daron Hagen’s [piano trio no. 3](https://youtu.be/qp6VtyXZzCs?feature=shared) and [piano trio no. 4.](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFgLXZobnyCXJHIH7cl9LcqEi-qBtOzUg&feature=shared) I think he has eight in total but I’m only familiar with these two. For something modern and atonal, I love Elliott Carter’s final piece (written at 103!), [Epigrams](https://youtu.be/j08AB9abLw0?feature=shared). I also really love his [piano quintet](https://youtu.be/Sbr0CnmHIdo?feature=shared).
Thank you for these recs! Oddly I haven't thought about Turina since I was a lot younger, but I remember liking him. Fauré's works are of course known and loved. But lots of stuff to check out here, thanks!
Pejacevic!!! I second!
The Ravel trio and the Mahler quartet are fantastic!
Both Schubert piano trios are great, as of course is the Trout Quintet. I love the Schumann Piano Quartet in Eb (amazing slow movement). The Shostakovich Piano Quintet and Piano Trio #2 are both really good. I'm fond of Korngold's Piano Quintet For more modern music, Thomas Ades has a very good Piano Quintet.
Korngold's op. 1 piano trio is top tier as well.
The Franck piano quintet is amazing. Probably has the best ending to a first movement in chamber music history. Also the Mendelssohn Cminor and Dminoe piano trios.
Schubert Trio no.2, op 100
Mozart's [E major Piano Trio (K. 542)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2DJXEDqE7U) is stunningly good and, in my opinion, underappreciated. The [G major](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlOl2iHeLdU) is also gorgeous (obviously--it's Mozart). Something rather off the beaten path is [Chausson's Piano Trio, Op. 3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEsEL6mv-Fg). This one took a while to grow on me, but I'm glad I gave it the time!
The Schumann piano quintet is spectacular. Extroverted in the outer movements and sublime in the second.
Carter: quartet for flute, cello, oboe and harpsichord! - Messiaen: quartet for the end of time - Donald Martino: trio for clarinet, violin & piano For starters!
Oh, I'll bet the Martino is amazing. I love his music. Will definitely check that out. I'll confess I've tried and failed many times to get into Carter's music even though I'm a hard-core modernist. But I'll give it a try :)
The Carter is one his early jazz inflected pieces along with the cello sonata, piano sonata and the piano concerto. It’s a masterpiece and was combined with the cello sonata on Nonsuch records back in the day and i wore it out! I particularly enjoyed Joel Krosnick’s performance. He would make a decent jazz bassist! Seek out that recording for an introduction. Enjoy!
Amy Beach quintet is 🔥🔥🔥
[Rachmaninoff Trio Elégiaque 1](https://youtu.be/ZeHNHqUYmNE), [Tchaikovsky Piano Trio](https://youtu.be/zGkvOvI63dw), [Mendelssohn Piano Trio](https://youtu.be/-PAFzEnJ6NU)
Joseph Haydn's 45 pianotrios are amazing. Haydn evolved the pianotrio to perfection. He is rightly the inventor of this musical form. https://preview.redd.it/7solpjfe090d1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bd13b5145c40a296151227d1fe9c167b8bcc0b6c
Brahms piano quintet in f minor is one of my all time favorite pieces. It’s just mind blowingly beautiful. There is video of last 2 movements played by Pinchas Zukerman, Miriam Fried and other greats. It’s one of my go-to videos.
The Brahms quintet is a total banger, I agree. The whole thing is good, but the Scherzo is the real gem. Rhythmically very powerful, and then the middle section it's like the sun comes out. Amazing. I like the Andras Schiff/Takács Quartet recording. They really let loose!
Yes! The scherzo! Good description. I’ll check out the Takacs/Schiff recording. I love those players and need a new version to listen to!
Already mentioned above, but the Shostakovich piano quintet has a scherzo with a lot of energy. (The entire quintet is worthwhile.) [Martha Argerich, Mischa Maisky, Joshua Bell, Henning Kraggerud, Yuri Bashmet](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP1WFiNCCZU)
Personally I love the two Mendelssohn piano trios. They’re both very piano-heavy but are amazing. Love the Wanderer Piano Trio’s recording of it.
The two Schubert trios are almost in a class by themselves.
faure piano trio is a fav of all time.
Mendelssohn of course George Onslow Boccherini, but I wish there were more recordings on a modern piano These are trio recs btw, I love trios the most
Florent Schmitt - Piano Quintet Reger has several very good piano/strings chamber pieces.
Bridge and Bartok Piano Quintets 😍
Holy shit, Bartok wrote a piano quintet?!? 🤯 I am putting that shit on RIGHT NOW, thank you :)
i guess i’m lucky enough to have a great resident piano quintet at my school, because i heard this work live and assumed it was standard repertoire. it’s a beast of a piece
It’s an early work that you might find doesn’t sound like the Bartók you know.
You're right about that. When you said "early" I expected something along the lines of the first string quartet or the early wind quintet pieces, but this is some kind of late romantic experimentation. I don't think he had found his groove yet when he wrote this piece, to be honest.
I was surprised too when I discovered it. As a violist both of these quintets make me very happy. The first movement of Bartok has a banger viola solo too. I think at this point Bartok is up there with Smetana’s first string quartet as my all round favorite piece. Another set of suggestions are Dohnanyi piano quintets 1 and 2. 1 is very romantic and pleasant to listen to (and play :)) but 2 is more dissonant and dark almost on the scale of late Beethoven.
Jennifer Higdon's two piano trios are both excellent, although it's tough to find a recording of the second one on streaming services.
Ernest Bloch has two piano quintets. The first one is quite exciting. Leo Ornstein also has a thrilling one. There’s a big Romantic piano quintet by Taneyev and a lovely piano quartet by Braga Santos. But the one I recommend most highly is by the early 20th Century French composer, Jean Cras. His Piano Quintet is amazing.
Saint-Saëns' Piano Quartet is very good (and he wrote some trios too, though I haven't listened to them a lot). Zarębski's Piano Quintet is a must hear - and these days there finally are few recordings to choose from. Elgar's Piano Quintet is among my favorite pieces of his.
Haydns Piano Trios are Superb! Listen to the one in E no.28 for example, the beaux Arts trio has a good recording of it Mozarts are also pretty adequate works
I really like Mozart's piano quartets, especially the minor key one. My issue with the Haydn trios is that there are SO MANY. I'll look at No. 28, thanks.
So many is a gift not a problem. These are key repertoire, of inexhaustible invention.
Yeah haydn’s trios are honestly in like the holiest tier of chamber music for me.
Copland’s Sextet, which is a chamber version of his Short Symphony.
Mahlers piano quartet is crazy
Nikolai Roslavets's Piano Trio 4. From everything I've listened to last year, it was one of my most important discoveries.
Schubert has many excellent chamber music on these formats. I think he wrote his best works in the genre as he was able to utilise his exceptional melodic gift with the intimacy of few instruments. **Trios** - Piano Trio Nos. 1 and 2 are masterpieces! Special mention on how Kubrick skillfully uses the [2nd](https://youtu.be/8V_TXNdn5ss?si=dfdxBy66L60Gu5uo) movement of No. 2 in Barry Lyndon **Quartets** - Schubert's last 4 quarterts are some of the best written string quartets in the repertoire and iconic [Death and the Maiden Quartet](https://youtu.be/otdayisyIiM?si=7s-TC23S6ceSr65r) is arguably the most popular in the repertoire. However, I am partial to the [15th](https://youtu.be/5resP19f17o?si=Hg6hL1HV7-pQ8p6A) in G as I found it his most innovative and foreshadows Bruckner symphonies. **Quintets** - The [Trout Quintet](https://youtu.be/ZZdXoER96is?si=cvr3D8adydEpQiOu) is the most famous chamber piece of all time. The String Quintet is probably the greatest chamber music ever written. Here's an excellent [performance](https://youtu.be/HeJ1PMThRng?si=RPHQYQ_D03-RoWHl) of the masterpiece. Notice how the players are close to crying in the 2nd movement.
[Zarebski](https://youtu.be/ctkgy0ZFXnU?si=_UNP-y0--NVITBuc)
Chausson Concert Op. 21. Blew my mind the first time I heard it, especially the ending to the final movement, it's so ecstatic.
Ralph Vaughan Williams has a very cool Piano Quintet, piano plus violin, viola, cello, and bass
Shostakovich Piano Trio No 2
Bit of a hipster pick perhaps, but [Toivo Kuula's](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfH1wxyVMfU) is my favorite piano trio of all time (and one of my favorite pieces in general).
Beethoven's trios aside, I really like both from Shostakovich. Granados has an interesting piano trio. Two rarer works that I think deserve to be heard would be Norgards- spell with clarinet and Weber's flute trio. The later is a cool work stylistically between Beethoven and Berlioz. One of my favorite quintets is by Fibich and has a clarinet and horn. It's one of the most gentle and soft pieces of chamber music I know.
I find that Mendelssohn's piano trios and quartets are in my opinion the most underrated pieces of classical music ever made. They are all true masterpieces, and after having heard thousands of classical pieces from dozens of composers, these are by far my favourite ones
Norbert Burgmuller's 4 string quartets. Tchaikovsky's Piano Trio in A Minor. In fact, some of my favourite recordings are the five discs called History of the Russian Piano Trio by The Brahms Trio who perform pieces by Arensky, Taneyev, Dyck, Cui, Rimsky-Korsakov, etc.
Fauré and Cras have already been mentioned, so I'll add the Walter Piston and Paul Le Flem quintets, and Désiré Pâque's trios (Op. 46/1 is a good one). If you like more contemporary, check out Trio Con Brio Copenhagens's Phantasmagoria album.
Franz Schubert's Trout Quintet SLAPS
Mozart - Piano Quartet in E Flat Major K 493 Especially the second theme around 2:00 Stravinsky Movements for Piano and Orchestra
Rebecca Clarke piano trio and Florence Price piano quintet!
I am surprised the Schumann quartet has not been mentioned yet - most beautiful slow movement ever.
Alfred Schnittke - Piano Quintet (1976) is a nightmarish masterpiece.
Consider looking through these playlists: Piano trios: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7wwPgEjxld7LaWxVVOH3XB?si=SGiC4qDQRjyOu3VP5HyFvw&pi=e-X1F_0zX5RyiK Piano quartets: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0WDpzKmszgcCHCYvAvGd29?si=VJNb7Co_QMaEfcaysm7hCQ&pi=e-icORQn3wQviC Piano quintets: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/78FHQH9sQ6v1vgQSF3RD9R?si=e5oswMzuSZSXoBzhv0nlvw&pi=e-O2A58t7PSxGk
Dohnanyi wrote a piano quintet, his op. 1. It is in the Brahms-ian school of composing, but with lots of Liszt-ian harmonies and virtuosity mixed in, plus fun Hungarian-style melodies. Great work. Harder to perform (the piano part) than Brahms, but not super difficult. But even better: Late in life, Dohnanyi also wrote a sextet, for piano, string trio, horn and clarinet. It is amazingly fun! But before you think you want to perform it (as a pianist), let me suggest that you get yourself the sheet music, and practice some: for chamber music, it is an amazingly hard part; you better have gone through the Liszt school of virtuosic piano playing if you want to do a good job.
Prince Louis Ferdinand’s first piano quartet in Eb major is shockingly good https://youtu.be/JCxqscM4uB8?si=EBTJkxx3Y6Nq7fb4 And it’s a fucking travesty that he was KIA in some stupid battle. He was one of Beethoven’s more promising students.
Ginastera Quintet and String Quartets
Tchaikovsky, piano trio.
Medtner piano quintet!
Give Me Phoenix Wings to Fly by Kelly Marie Murphy. An amazing modern piece for piano trio.
Kapustin Trio for for flute/cello/piano (can work with a violin too) Smetana Trio Dohnanyi Piano Quintet op. 1 Among others
Yes, it’s one of my favorite forms, too! Just appreciate the timbral variety with a piano in the mix as opposed to a string quartet. Anyway, check out the quintets by Carl Frühling and Ludwig Thuille!
Yeah, I think it's the contrast of the percussive timbre of the piano with the strings that does it for me.