In 1853, Robert Schumann famously declared Johannes Brahms the composer destined to carry Beethoven's legacy forward. Four decades later, Brahms endorsed the publication of Alexander Zemlinsky’s Trio, Op. 3 by Simrock in 1896. Just three years later, in 1899, Zemlinsky’s student, Arnold Schoenberg, composed his groundbreaking work, Verklärte Nacht, (Transfigured Night) Op. 4. We trace this remarkable arc of creativity through early piano trios of these three pivotal figures in the German musical tradition.