Composed in 1797, the Trio in B-flat Main, Op. 11 is spirited, fun-loving music of the 26 yr previous Beethoven.
It’s scored for clarinet, cello, and piano. On the time, the still-emerging clarinet was a novelty. Beethoven was impressed with the sound of Viennese clarinetist Franz Josef Bähr (1770-1819). The Trio was written for Bähr, and devoted to Countess Wilhelmine von Thun, a distinguished patron of each Beethoven and Mozart. With economics in thoughts, the Trio was printed for clarinet or violin.
The primary motion (Allegro con brio) begins with a boisterous musical announcement, performed by the three devices in unison. Out of this preliminary “name to order” develops an exhilarating instrumental dialog which is directly passionate and playful. The music bubbles with an audacity that’s pure Beethoven. Sudden dynamic modifications and surprising modulations to distant keys hold us on the sting of our seats. A cadence in F main is adopted by the intrusion of D main, and later an much more stunning D-flat to open the event part. With a single chord, we’re transported to a magical new world. The exuberant drama involves an abrupt finish.
Shifting to E-flat main, the second motion (Adagio) begins with a young melody, launched by the cello after which taken up by the clarinet. It’s a easy and serene track with out phrases. Breifly, the music turns into shadowy and turbulent, solely to return to the heat of the preliminary theme. The ultimate moments dissolve and fade away with the piano’s lone E-flat.
The ultimate motion (Tema con variazioni, “Pria ch’io l’impegno”: Allegretto) delivers pure enjoyable. Its 9 variations are based mostly on an infectious melody so in style that it was sung and whistled on the streets of Vienna. The tune was from Joseph Weigl’s comedian opera, L’Amor Marinaro, which premiered at Vienna’s Hoftheater on August 15, 1797. The track’s frivolous title interprets as, “Earlier than I am going to work, I will need to have one thing to eat!” Its inclusion earned the Trio the nickname, Gassenhauer (or “road track”). Composers together with Hummel and Paganini went on to write down their very own variations on the theme.
Right here we get a way of Beethoven, the masterful improvisor. The second variation is a duet for the clarinet and cello alone, whereas the fourth and seventh variations shift to minor. The theme is heard in canon and in frolicking musical cat and mouse video games. Amid giddy syncopation, the coda shifts to G main and 6/8 time earlier than returning house.
In later years, Beethoven thought of writing a extra weighty alternate finale for the Op. 11 Trio. However we’re left with an exuberant and enduring piece of social gathering music.
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Featured Picture: “Inventory im Eisen Sq., Vienna (1779), Carl Schutz
