Classical Music | Music for Trio

Ludwig van Beethoven

Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello in B-flat Major, Op. 11  Play

Atlantic Piano Trio Trio

Recorded on 10/19/2004, uploaded on 01/20/2009

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Trio in B-Flat Major, Op. 11      Ludwig van Beethoven

Allegro con brio; Adagio; Allegretto: Thema con variazioni

The trio in B-Flat, Op. 11, was written in 1797, and originally intended for piano, clarinet, and cello.  Beethoven made slight adjustments to the clarinet part so that it could be played on the violin (a shrewd piece of salesmanship).  Both main themes in the first movement begin with a similar three-note ascent, but they are very different in character.  The third bar in the opening unison (descending quarter notes) provides most of the material used in the development section.  The Adagio, in E-flat, is sublime in sound and compact in form, with a free, rather rhapsodic "development" and an embellished reprise.  The finale is a set of nine variations (with a coda) on an attractive tune from Joseph Weigl's comic opera, "L'amor marinaro", which had been produced at the Burg-theater in Vienna in October of 1797.  It was to serve as the basis for variations to a host of composer-pianists after Beethoven, and to Paganini, who wrote an elaborate concert piece for violin and orchestra on this theme in 1828.  Beethoven's variations are succinct and well contrasted: No. 1 is for piano solo, No. 2 for cello and violin, Nos. 4 and 7 are in the tonic minor key, and the coda is in a syncopated 6/8 meter.   Atlantic Piano Trio