Piano Trios, Op. 1 (Beethoven)

Last updated

Piano Trios
by Ludwig van Beethoven
Beethoven Riedel 1801.jpg
Beethoven in 1801, portrait by Carl Traugott Riedel
Key
Opus 1/1–3
Dedication Prince Lichnowsky
Performed1795 (1795): Vienna

Ludwig van Beethoven's Opus 1 is a set of three piano trios (written for piano, violin, and cello), first performed in 1795 in the house of Prince Lichnowsky, to whom they are dedicated. [1] The trios were published in 1795.

Contents

Despite the Op. 1 designation, these trios were not Beethoven's first published compositions; [2] this distinction belongs rather to his Dressler Variations for keyboard (WoO 63). Clearly he recognized the Op. 1 compositions as the earliest ones he had produced that were substantial enough (and marketable enough) to fill out a first major publication to introduce his style of writing to the musical public.

No. 1 in E-flat major

  1. Allegro (E-flat major), 4
    4
  2. Adagio cantabile (A-flat major), 3
    4
  3. Scherzo. Allegro assai (E-flat major, with trio in A-flat major), 3
    4
  4. Finale. Presto (E-flat major), 2
    4

The first movement opens with an ascending arpeggiated figure (a so-called Mannheim Rocket, like that opening the first movement of the composer's own Piano Sonata no 1, Opus 2 no 1), [3]

No. 2 in G major

  1. Adagio, 3
    4
    Allegro vivace, 2
    4
    (G major)
  2. Largo con espressione (E major), 6
    8
  3. Scherzo. Allegro (G major, with a trio in B minor), 3
    4
  4. Finale. Presto (G major), 2
    4

No. 3 in C minor

  1. Allegro con brio (C minor), 3
    4
  2. Andante cantabile con Variazioni (E-flat major), 2
    4
  3. Minuetto. Quasi allegro (C minor, with a trio in C major), 3
    4
  4. Finale. Prestissimo (C minor, concluding in C major), 2
    2

Unlike the other piano trios in this opus, the third trio does not have a scherzo as its third movement but a minuet instead.

This third piano trio was later reworked by Beethoven into the C minor string quintet, Op. 104. [4]

Related Research Articles

The Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34, by Johannes Brahms was completed during the summer of 1864 and published in 1865. It was dedicated to Her Royal Highness Princess Anna of Hesse. As with most piano quintets composed after Robert Schumann's Piano Quintet (1842), it is written for piano and string quartet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Reinecke</span> German composer, conductor and pianist (1824–1910)

Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke was a German composer, conductor, and pianist in the mid-Romantic era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">String Quartet No. 12 (Beethoven)</span>

Ludwig van Beethoven completed his String Quartet No. 12 in E major, Op. 127, in 1825. It is the first of his late quartets. Commissioned by Nicolas Galitzin over a year earlier, the work was not ready when it was scheduled to premiere. When it was finally premiered by the Schuppanzigh Quartet, it was not well received. Only with subsequent performances by the Bohm Quartet and the Mayseder Quartet did it begin to gain public appreciation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cello Sonata No. 3 (Beethoven)</span> Composition for cello and piano by Ludwig van Beethoven

The Cello Sonata No. 3 in A major, Op. 69, is the third of five cello sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven. He composed it in 1807–08, during his productive middle period. It was first performed in 1809 by cellist Nikolaus Kraft and pianist Dorothea von Ertmann, a student of Beethoven. Published by Breitkopf & Härtel the same year, it was dedicated to Freiherr Ignaz von Gleichenstein, Beethoven's friend and an amateur cellist. The sonata was successful with audiences from the beginning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">String Quintet (Schubert)</span> String quintet composition by Franz Schubert

Franz Schubert's final chamber work, the String Quintet in C major is sometimes called the "Cello Quintet" because it is scored for a standard string quartet plus an extra cello instead of the extra viola which is more usual in conventional string quintets. It was composed in 1828 and completed just two months before the composer's death. The first public performance of the piece did not occur until 1850, and publication occurred three years later in 1853. Schubert's only full-fledged string quintet, it has been praised as "sublime" or "extraordinary" and as possessing "bottomless pathos," and is generally regarded as Schubert's finest chamber work as well as one of the greatest compositions in all chamber music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piano Sonata No. 16 (Beethoven)</span> Piano sonata by Beethoven, composed 1801-02

Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 16 in G major, Op. 31, No. 1, was composed between 1801 and 1802. Although it was numbered as the first piece in the trio of piano sonatas which were published as Opus 31 in 1803, Beethoven actually finished it after the Op. 31 No. 2, the Tempest Sonata.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piano Sonata No. 18 (Beethoven)</span> Piano sonata written by Beethoven

The Piano Sonata No. 18 in E major, Op. 31, No. 3, is an 1802 sonata for solo piano by Ludwig van Beethoven. A third party gave the piece the nickname "The Hunt" due to one of its themes' resemblance to a horn call. Beethoven maintains a playful jocularity throughout much of the piece, but as in many of his early works, the jocular style can be heard as a facade, concealing profound ideas and depths of emotion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piano Sonata No. 13 (Beethoven)</span> Piano sonata by Beethoven, composed 1800-01

Piano Sonata No. 13 in E-flat major, Op. 27 No. 1, "Quasi una fantasia", is a sonata composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1800–1801.

The Septet in E-flat major for clarinet, horn, bassoon, violin, viola, cello, and double bass, Op. 20, by Ludwig van Beethoven, was sketched out in 1799, completed, and first performed in Vienna in 1800 and published in 1802. The score contains the notation: "Der Kaiserin Maria Theresia gewidmet". It was one of Beethoven’s most popular works during his lifetime, much to the composer's dismay. Several years later, Beethoven even wished the score to have been destroyed, saying: "That damn work! I wish it were burned!"

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violin Sonata No. 7 (Beethoven)</span>

The Violin Sonata No. 7 in C minor by Ludwig van Beethoven, the second of his Op. 30 set, was composed between 1801 and 1802, published in May 1803, and dedicated to Tsar Alexander I of Russia. It has four movements:

  1. Allegro con brio
  2. Adagio cantabile
  3. Scherzo: Allegro
  4. Finale: Allegro; Presto
<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyacinthe Jadin</span> French composer

Hyacinthe Jadin was a French composer who came from a musical family. His uncle Georges Jadin was a composer in Versailles and Paris, along with his father Jean Jadin, who had played bassoon for the French Royal Orchestra. He was one of five musical brothers, the best known of whom was Louis-Emmanuel Jadin.

The Complete Works of the Great Flutist is a collection of reissued and remastered recordings of performances by French flutist Marcel Moyse. The notes in the Muramastu Japanese site that markets the five CD box set only has English titles for the tracks, and has a number of mistakes regarding the playing order.

The String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 13, was composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1827. Written when he was 18 years old, it was, despite its official number, Mendelssohn's first mature string quartet. One of Mendelssohn's most passionate works, the A minor Quartet is one of the earliest and most significant examples of cyclic form in music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">String Trios, Op. 9 (Beethoven)</span>

The three String Trios, Op. 9 were composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1797–98. He published them in Vienna in 1799, with a dedication to his patron Count Johann Georg von Browne (1767–1827). They were first performed by the violinist Ignaz Schuppanzigh with two colleagues from his string quartet. According to the violinist and conductor Angus Watson, these were probably Franz Weiss on viola and either Nikolaus Kraft or his father Anton on cello. Each of the trios consists of four movements:

Sonatas, duos and fantasies by Franz Schubert include all works for solo piano by Franz Schubert, except separate dances. They also include a number of works for two players: piano four hands, or piano and a string instrument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piano Sonata in B minor (Strauss)</span> Piano sonata composed by Richard Strauss

The Piano Sonata in B minor, Op.5, was written by Richard Strauss in 1880–81. The Sonata is in the Romantic style of his teenage years. The first recording of the piece was the last recording made by the Canadian pianist Glenn Gould.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piano Quartets (Beethoven)</span>

The Piano Quartets, WoO 36, by Ludwig van Beethoven are a set of three piano quartets, completed in 1785 when the composer was aged 14. They are scored for piano, violin, viola and cello. He composed a quartet in C major, another in E-flat major, and a third in D major. They were first published posthumously in 1828, however numbered in a different order: Piano Quartet No. 1 in E-flat major, Piano Quartet No. 2 in D major, and Piano Quartet No. 3 in C major.

References

  1. "Beethoven's Trios for string instruments, wind instruments and for mixed ones", All About Beethoven. Retrieved2011-12-10.
  2. "Beethoven's first childhood composition is predictably incredible for a 12-year-old". Classic FM (UK) . Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  3. Cummings, Robert. "Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2/1 (1793–1795)" in All Music Guide to Classical Music: The Definitive Guide to Classical Music, p. 106 (Chris Woodstra, Gerald Brennan, Allen Schrott eds., Hal Leonard Corporation, 2005).
  4. String Quintet in C minor, Op. 104. Hyperion Records. Retrieved2011-12-10.