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Ludwig van Beethoven: The Complete Piano Trios (Vol. III)

by Guarneri Trio Prague

/
1.
Piano Trio No. 5 in D Major, Op. 70/1 "Ghost" : I. Allegro vivace e con brio 06:56
2.
Piano Trio No. 5 in D Major, Op. 70/1 "Ghost" : II. Largo assai ed espressivo 10:21
3.
Piano Trio No. 5 in D Major, Op. 70/1 "Ghost" : III. Presto 08:06
4.
Piano Trio No. 6 in E Flat Major, Op. 70/2 : I. Poco sostenuto - Allegro ma non troppo 10:10
5.
Piano Trio No. 6 in E Flat Major, Op. 70/2 : II. Allegretto 04:56
6.
Piano Trio No. 6 in E Flat Major, Op. 70/2 : III. Allegretto ma non troppo 05:38
7.
Piano Trio No. 6 in E Flat Major, Op. 70/2 : IV. Finale. Allegro 08:14
8.
Piano Trio No. 9 in B Flat Major, WoO 39 04:37

about

In the domain of instrumental music, Beethoven contributed, genre by genre, to the evolution of the models proposed at the end of the 18th century by his predecessors: Haydn and Mozart, of course, but also personalities less well known today such as Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and members of the second generation of the Mannheim School (Franzl, Stamitz, Toeschi, Richter, Holzbauer, Filtz, Wendling, Ramm...). The first really significant collections of trios were perhaps those published by CPE Bach in 1775-1776 under the title of Claviersonaten and which are explicitly for obbligato keyboard “with violin and cello accompaniment”. The keyboard trio is the natural successor to the Sonata a due of the Baroque era such as the sonatas for violin (or flute) and keyboard by J.S. Bach and Handel, rather than the trio sonata which, despite its name, requires four instruments. In Beethoven’s eleven trios, the keyboard occupies the main place, by the very nature of the instrument itself (pizzicato, then struck strings) and probably also due to the fact that Beethoven performed as a concert virtuoso on the piano on which he composed throughout his life. Anyway, the strings are far to be reduced to a simple accompaniment role. In three creative periods (1790-1795, 1809 and 1811), Beethoven took music for this formation from the status of ‘Baroque sonata’ to that of the enlarged instrumental sonata, then a sweeping four-movement chamber work, the keyboard instrument reserving a concertante role for itself, astonishing in its brilliance and power.
Following a hiatus of eleven years, in 1808, Beethoven finished his Symphonies Nos. 5 and 6, and returned to the trio genre, writing two new works, published under the Opus 70. The first of them, the Trio No. 5 in D major, by far the better known, owes its reputation to the extraordinary central slow movement to which it owes its title ‘Geistertrio’ (Ghost Trio). Indeed, it consists of only three movements, an unusual configuration for Beethoven’s mature works in which he rarely does without a scherzo. The famous Largo assai ed espressivo, an original, prophetic nocturne, a melancholy cantilena foreshadowing at times the fantastic atmospheres which will be stirred up by Schubert’s Reisen, or even the fantasizing of the early Impressionists. A Presto, built according to a clear sonata plan and conducted at swift speed, brings the work to a close in a purified, tranquil atmosphere, with the expected contrast after the quivering Romanticism of the Largo. Less striking on first impression, and consequently less famous than its ‘twin’, the Trio No. 6 Op. 70/2, a work of admirably balanced proportions and harmonious elegance, reveals a happy, lyrical Beethoven. It corresponds to the very definition of true chamber music: intimate and serene and, even though not offering anything as penetrating as the Largo of the D Major Trio, it probably achieves a more satisfying compromise between its four, comparatively less contrasted movements. This relative antinomy (and ‘complementarity’) can be compared to what Schubert would achieve in his final two chamber masterpieces, the Trios D. 898 and 929. Amongst the posthumous scores is an Allegretto published in 1830 and today called Trio No. 9 WoO 39. The theme of this miniature, quite enjoyable to play, sounds like an imaginary children’s song, but its keyboard part is not, for all that, devoid of difficulties.

Awards: Choc of Le Monde de la Musique, Recommended by Classica, 5 of Diapasons

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released January 1, 1998

Guarneri Trio Prague (Ensemble)

Recorded in Domovina Studio, Prague, February and April 1998

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