Piano Trio in B flat major, Op.97 (“Archduke”)

1 Allegro moderato 2 Scherzo: Allegro 3 Andante cantabile ma pero con moto -

4 Allegro moderato - presto

Nothing was too good for Archduke Rudolph, the most favoured of all Beethoven’s patrons. The dedicatee of several major works, including not least the Missa Solemnis, he is associated most closely of all with the “Archduke” Piano Trio which must have been the longest in its dasy and which probably still is the greatest of all scores of its kind. What made it possible for the humble piano trio to achieve such stature was that the three instruments had by then definitively established a new relationship. From now until well into the twentieth century the violin and cello would be presented as equal and opposite to the right and left hands of the piano, securing a basically four-part texture within a broadly two-sided balance of weight and colour.

So it was not at all incongruous that Beethoven should open his Piano Trio in B flat major with one of the most noble of all his melodic inspirations and, in so doing, commit himself to a work of appropriately substantial proportions. That main theme has such potential for development – nearly all the middle section of the first movement is devoted to it – that its influence extends to the Scherzo, the playful main theme of which has one or two phrases in common with it.

The sublime main theme of the Andante cantabile inspires four variations, each of the first three adopting a different rhythmic figuration to form a distinctive new version of the melody. After the slower fourth variation, which is one of the most richly scored episodes in all piano trios, the theme is recalled in almost its original form and is then so skilfully developed that the beginning of the last movement sounds like another variation. In fact, the Allegro moderato has its own very distinctive personality, which is derived mainly from the eccentricity of it march-like main theme.

Nothing was too good for Archduke Rudolph, the most favoured of all Beethoven’s patrons. The dedicatee of several major works, including not least the Missa Solemnis, he is associated most closely of all with the “Archduke” Piano Trio which, on its completion in 1811, must have been the longest and which probably still is the greatest of all scores of its kind. What made it possible for the humble piano trio to achieve such stature was that the three instruments had by then definitively established a new relationship. From now until well into the twentieth century the violin and cello would be presented as equal and opposite to the right and left hands of the piano, securing a basically four-part texture within a broadly two-sided balance of weight and colour.

So it was not at all incongruous that Beethoven should open his Piano Trio in B flat major with one of the most noble of all his melodic inspirations and, in so doing, commit himself to a work of appropriately substantial proportions. That main theme has such potential for development – nearly all the middle section of the first movement is devoted to it – that its influence extends to the Scherzo, the playful main theme of which has one or two phrases in common with it.

The sublime main theme of the Andante cantabile is worthy of one of the late piano sonatas. It inspires four variations, each of the first three adopting a different rhythmic figuration to form a distinctive new version of the melody. The slower fourth variation is one of the most richly scored episodes in all piano trios. After the fourth variation, the theme is recalled in almost its original form and is then so skilfully developed that the beginning of the last movement (which follows with a break) sounds like another variation. In fact, the Allegro moderato has its own very distinctive personality, which is derived mainly from the eccentricity of the march-like main theme. The wit is sustained in a remarkable coda, which reshapes the main theme in a precarious 6/8 Presto in A major before steering the tonality back to B flat major.

Nothing was too good for Archduke Rudolph, the most favoured of all Beethoven’s patrons. Already the dedicatee of the Piano Concerto in G major – and about to become the recipient of several other major works, including the Missa Solemnis – the Archduke had expressed disappointment that the two Piano Trios Op.70 had been dedicated to someone else on their publication in 1809. Two years later, having dedicated the “Emperor” Concerto to him in the meantime, Beethoven made handsome amends by inscribing to Archduke Rudolph a score which must have been at that time the longest and which probably still is the greatest of all piano trios.

What made it possible for the humble piano trio to achieve such stature was that by the time Beethoven came to write the last of his works of that kind in 1811 the three instruments had definitively established a new relationship. From now until well into the twentieth century the violin and cello would be presented as equal and opposite to the right and left hands of the piano, securing a basically four-part texture within a broadly two-sided balance of weight and colour.

So it was not at all incongruous that Beethoven should open his Piano Trio in B flat major with one of the most noble of all his melodic inspirations and, in so doing, commit himself to a work of appropriately substantial proportions. It is not a particularly extended melody but it is so firmly shaped and has such authority that it takes a whole group of second-subject themes to balance it. It also has such potential for development, stimulating a wealth of colouristic and contrapuntal ideas, that nearly all the middle part of the movement is devoted to it. There is still scope for variety in its presentation in the recapitulation and still room for development in the coda.

Beethoven does not forget this melody when he comes to the Scherzo, the playful main theme of which has one or two phrases in common with it. The most delightful textural inspiration of the movement is in the middle section, which begins in mysteriously chromatic three-part counterpoint in B flat minor and then bursts into a brilliant anticipation of the Viennese waltz in D flat major on the piano. The coda very neatly marries the chromatic line with the main theme of the Scherzo.

The sublime main theme of the Andante cantabile is worthy of one of the late piano sonatas. It inspires four variations, all in D major, each of the first three adopting a different rhythmic figuration to form a distinctive new version of the melody. The slower fourth variation – with the first violin part enriched by double-stopped harmonies, the cello moving in rhythmic unison below and the piano offsetting a syncopated counterpoint in the right hand with a cascade of arpeggios in the left – is one of the most richly scored episodes in all piano trios.

After the fourth variation, the theme is recalled in almost its original form and is then so skillfully developed that the beginning of the last movement (which follows with a break) it sounds like another variation. In fact, the Allegro moderato has its own very distinctive personality. It is derived mainly from the eccentricity of the march-like main theme but also from the rhythmic peculiarities of the second theme, where the pianist’s hands or the two string players appear to be out of phase with each other. The wit is sustained in a remarkable coda, which reshapes the main theme in a precarious 6/8 Presto in A major before steering the tonality back to B flat major.