CDLXIV. BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van: Piano Trio #1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 1, No. 1

CDLXIV. BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van (1770-1827)

Piano Trio #1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 1, No. 1 (1795)
1. Allegro
2. Adagio cantabile
3. Scherzo. Allegro assai
4. Finale. Presto
Eugene Istomin, piano
Isaac Stern, violin
Leonard Rose, cello
(30:15)

Dedicated to his patron, Prince Lichnowsky, Beethoven actually earned some coin from this first major publication (Lichnowsky himself ordered no fewer than twenty copies!).

"Certain features stand out among many that would have impressed the first audiences. The richness of the texture, the elegance of the melodies, the seriousness of purpose, the dramatic power of the dynamic contrasts, and the urgency of the rhythmic momentum would all have tended to set Beethoven apart from his contemporaries ..." -- Barry Cooper: Beethoven, p. 57

First Movement

An ascending Mannheim Rocket!

Not until the Coda, does he reverse the motif, then returns to the ascending version to conclude the movement in firm V-I cadences:

Second movement

Moving to the subdomint (A-Flat Major), Beethoven weaves a simple Mozartian-type adagio cantabile melody into gold.

After a move to the mediant (C Major), he subtlely moves back to the tonic:

Third movement

The grace notes add a punch, making for a unique crunchy sound:

and these violin dives are daring surprises!

The trio (in A-Flat) is calmer and short. After the repeat of the minuet, Beethoven inserts a Coda where the music ends with a lovely ritardano:

Fourth movement

The rondo pulls together the entire work -- that B-Flat, the tip of that first Mannheim rocket -- is followed by descending arpeggios, generating a sense of unity that makes the work greater than the sum of its parts.

By extending the B-Flat a semitone to a C-Flat (B-Natural), he enharmonically introduces the distant key of E Major. Using just three notes (E, D-Sharp, D), the D becomes the third of the dominant -- B-Flat Seventh, which cadences to E-Flat, the home key. Very clever writing.

Wrapping things up, Beethoven uses the octave motif with answering leading-tone phrases -- first in the piano, then the strings. Firm V-I cadences brings everything to a magnificent close.