Piano Trio in E flat major Op.70 No.2

It begins on unaccompanied cello - which could never have happened in Haydn’s piano trios, which didn’t happen in any of Mozart’s in spite of his more egalitarian attitude, and which hadn’t happened even in Beethoven’s before. The following canonic entries, the violin and then the right and left hands of the piano joining the cello in turn, complete a texture of four equal voices. That is one aspect of the new piano-trio sound developed by Beethoven - following Mozart’s example - in his Op.1 set in 1795 and now, thirteen years later, masterfully confirmed in the “Geister” Piano Trio in D major, Op.70, No.1, and its no less inspired companion in E flat major.

Another, and more common aspect of the modern piano-trio sound emerges here as the tempo changes to Allegro ma non troppo and violin and cello act together in introducing the main theme of the movement while the piano accompanies. The roles are immediately reversed but the fundamental duality, of strings on the one hand and piano on the other, remains. The second subject is approached by way of a quiet echo of the canonic opening of the work until the entry of the fourth voice, the piano right hand, which spontaneously takes off with a new theme in B flat major. Although this brilliantly contrived event temporarily upsets the basic textural alignment, the duality is so emphatically restored before the end of the exposition as to set the strings against the piano in a vigorously contested competition of scales, trills and repeated notes. Towards the end of the recapitulation the contest is resumed and extended to lead by way of a piano cadenza into a recall of the opening four-part canon in its original poco sostenuto tempo and a brief allegro ma non troppo coda .

The Allegretto is constructed, like Haydn’s piano Variations in F minor, as a series of variations on two themes. Like Haydn’s, Beethoven’s themes are contrasted by their modality - one in C major and one in C minor in this case - but they are also linked by means of the two-note figure heard on the piano in the first bar and at some more or less prominent point in both themes and in each variation. So, while the two themes inspire variations radically different in textural quality - the first C major variation, which applies cello pizzicato and decorative violin figuration to the brightly placed piano melody, is a particularly attractive example of its kind - they have the potential to merge their identities. The second, dramatically expressive C minor variation finally assimilates the C major theme in such a way that, after some hesitation, the movement ends in C minor.

All but one of Beethoven’s six piano trios are in four movements: unlike Haydn’s and Mozart’s, they include a scherzo or a minuet or some equivalent between the slow movement and the finale. This Allegretto ma non troppo in A flat major is nearer to minuet than scherzo and is a little old-fashioned also in that the outer sections give the cello no opportunity to participate in the melodic activity shared, somewhat unevenly, between violin and piano. The middle section, on the other hand, is so modern in conception that it not only offers a vivid illustration of the two-part piano-trio texture but also happens upon a remarkable anticipation of a passage in the first movement of Schubert’s Piano Trio in E flat at one point.

The bravura run of semiquavers on the piano and the percussive chords from the whole ensemble at the beginning of the final Allegro are more than a preliminary flourish. There are two perfectly good themes here - the first introduced in E flat major by the piano, the second approached by a series of cadenzas on each instrument in turn and forcefully presented in G major. It is an indication of the virtuoso inspiration of the piece, however, that the development section is devoted almost exclusively to the dramatic opening material. The energy generated in this way carries the movement through an extended recapitulation - beginning with a highly effective pianissimo recall of the first subject and prolonged by the problem of getting the second subject to end up not in C but E flat major - and an effervescent coda.

It begins on unaccompanied cello – which had never happened in any of Beethoven’s piano trios before, let alone Mozart’s or Haydn’s. The following canonic entries, the violin and then the right and left hands of the piano joining the cello in turn, complete a texture of four equal voices. Another, and more common, aspect of the modern piano-trio sound emerges as the tempo changes to Allegro ma non troppo and violin and cello act together in introducing the main theme of the movement while the piano accompanies. The roles are immediately reversed but the fundamental duality, of strings on the one hand and piano on the other, remains.

The Allegretto is constructed, like Haydn’s piano Variations in F minor, as a series of variations on two themes. Like Haydn’s, Beethoven’s themes are contrasted by their modality, one in C major and one in C minor in this case, but they are also linked by means of the two-note figure heard on the piano in the first bar and at some more or less prominent point in both themes and in each variation. So, while the two themes inspire variations radically different in textural quality, they prove to have the potential to merge their identities.

All but one of Beethoven’s six piano trios are in four movements: unlike Haydn’s and Mozart’s, they include a scherzo or a minuet or some equivalent between the slow movement and the finale. This Allegretto ma non troppo in A flat major is nearer to minuet than scherzo and is a little old-fashioned also in that the outer sections give the cello no opportunity to participate in the melodic activity shared, somewhat unevenly, between violin and piano. The middle section, on the other hand, offers a vivid illustration of the modern two-part piano-trio texture.

The bravura run of semiquavers on the piano and the percussive chords from the whole ensemble at the beginning of the final Allegro are more than a preliminary flourish. It is an indication of the virtuoso inspiration of the piece that, although there are two perfectly good themes here, the development section is devoted almost exclusively to the dramatic opening material. The energy generated in this way carries the movement through an extended recapitulation and an effervescent coda.

It begins on unaccompanied cello - which had never happened in any of Beethoven’s piano trios before, let alone Mozart’s or Haydn’s. The following canonic entries, the violin and then the right and left hands of the piano joining the cello in turn, complete a texture of four equal voices. Another, and more common, aspect of the modern piano-trio sound emerges as the tempo changes to Allegro ma non troppo and violin and cello act together in introducing the main theme of the movement while the piano accompanies. The roles are immediately reversed but the fundamental duality, of strings on the one hand and piano on the other, remains. It is most vividly expressed in a vigorously contested competition of scales, trills and repeated notes towards the end of the exposition and at the equival point in the recapitulation.

The Allegretto is constructed, like Haydn’s piano Variations in F minor, as a series of variations on two themes. Like Haydn’s, Beethoven’s themes are contrasted by their modality, one in C major and one in C minor in this case, but they are also linked by means of the two-note figure heard on the piano in the first bar and at some more or less prominent point in both themes and in each variation. So, while the two themes inspire variations radically different in textural quality, they have the potential to merge their identities. The second, dramatically expressive C minor variation finally assimilates the C major theme in such a way that, after some hesitation, the movement ends in C minor.

All but one of Beethoven’s six piano trios are in four movements: unlike Haydn’s and Mozart’s, they include a scherzo or a minuet or some equivalent between the slow movement and the finale. This Allegretto ma non troppo in A flat major is nearer to minuet than scherzo and is a little old-fashioned also in that the outer sections give the cello no opportunity to participate in the melodic activity shared, somewhat unevenly, between violin and piano. The middle section, on the other hand, offers a vivid illustration of the modern two-part piano-trio texture.

The bravura run of semiquavers on the piano and the percussive chords from the whole ensemble at the beginning of the final Allegro are more than a preliminary flourish. It is an indication of the virtuoso inspiration of the piece that, although there are two perfectly good themes here, the development section is devoted almost exclusively to the dramatic opening material. The energy generated in this way carries the movement through an extended recapitulation and an effervescent coda.

Another, and more common aspect of the modern piano-trio sound emerges here as the tempo changes to Allegro ma non troppo and violin and cello act together in introducing the main theme of the movement while the piano accompanies. The roles are immediately reversed but the fundamental duality, of strings on the one hand and piano on the other, remains. Although the second subject temporarily upsets the basic textural alignment, the duality is so emphatically restored before the end of the exposition as to set the strings against the piano in a vigorously contested competition of scales, trills and repeated notes. Towards the end of the recapitulation the contest is resumed and extended to lead by way of a piano cadenza into a recall of the opening four-part canon in its original poco sostenuto tempo and a brief allegro ma non troppo coda .

The Allegretto is constructed, like Haydn’s piano Variations in F minor, as a series of variations on two themes. Like Haydn’s, Beethoven’s themes are contrasted by their modality - one in C major and one in C minor in this case - but they are also linked by means of the two-note figure heard on the piano in the first bar and at some more or less prominent point in both themes and in each variation. So, while the two themes inspire variations radically different in textural quality, they have the potential to merge their identities. The second, dramatically expressive C minor variation finally assimilates the C major theme in such a way that, after some hesitation, the movement ends in C minor.

All but one of Beethoven’s six piano trios are in four movements: unlike Haydn’s and Mozart’s, they include a scherzo or a minuet or some equivalent between the slow movement and the finale. This Allegretto ma non troppo in A flat major is nearer to minuet than scherzo and is a little old-fashioned also in that the outer sections give the cello no opportunity to participate in the melodic activity shared, somewhat unevenly, between violin and piano. The middle section, on the other hand, is so modern in conception that it not only offers a vivid illustration of the two-part piano-trio texture but also happens upon a remarkable anticipation of a passage in the first movement of Schubert’s Piano Trio in E flat at one point.

The bravura run of semiquavers on the piano and the percussive chords from the whole ensemble at the beginning of the final Allegro are more than a preliminary flourish. It is an indication of the virtuoso inspiration of the piece that, although there are two perfectly good themes here, the development section is devoted almost exclusively to the dramatic opening material. The energy generated in this way carries the movement through an extended recapitulation and an effervescent coda.

It begins on unaccompanied cello - which could never have happened in Haydn’s piano trios, which didn’t happen in any of Mozart’s in spite of his more egalitarian attitude, and which hadn’t happened even in Beethoven’s before. The following canonic entries, the violin and then the right and left hands of the piano joining the cello in turn, complete a texture of four equal voices. That is one aspect of the new piano-trio sound developed by Beethoven - following Mozart’s example - in his Op.1 set in 1795 and now, thirteen years later, masterfully confirmed in the “Geister” Piano Trio in D major, Op.70, No.1, and its no less inspired companion in E flat major.   

    Another, and more common aspect of the modern piano-trio sound emerges here as the tempo changes to Allegro ma non troppo and violin and cello act together in introducing the main theme of the movement while the piano accompanies. The roles are immediately reversed but the fundamental duality, of strings on the one hand and piano on the other, remains. Although the introduction of the second subject, brilliantly contrived by way of a quiet echo of the canonic opening of the work, temporarily upsets the basic textural alignment, the duality is so emphatically restored before the end of the exposition as to set the strings against the piano in a vigorously contested competition of scales, trills and repeated notes. Towards the end of the recapitulation the contest is resumed and extended to lead by way of a piano cadenza into a recall of the opening four-part canon in its original poco sostenuto tempo and a brief allegro ma non troppo coda.

    The Allegretto is constructed, like Haydn’s piano Variations in F minor, as a series of variations on two themes. Like Haydn’s, Beethoven’s themes are contrasted by their modality, one in C major and one in C minor in this case. But they are also linked by means of the two-note figure heard on the piano in the first bar and at some more or less prominent point in both themes and in each variation. So, while the two themes inspire variations radically different in textural quality, they have the potential to merge their identities. The second, dramatically expressive C minor variation finally assimilates the C major theme in such a way that, after some hesitation, the movement ends in C minor.

The Allegretto ma non troppo in A flat major is nearer to minuet than scherzo and is a little old-fashioned also in that the outer sections give the cello no opportunity to participate in the melodic activity shared, somewhat unevenly, between violin and piano. The middle section, on the other hand, is so modern in conception that it not only offers a vivid illustration of the two-part piano-trio texture but also happens upon a remarkable anticipation of a passage in the first movement of Schubert’s Piano Trio in E flat at one point.

    The bravura run of semiquavers on the piano and the percussive chords from the whole ensemble at the beginning of the final Allegro are more than a preliminary flourish. Although there are two perfectly good main themes here, it is an indication of the virtuoso inspiration of the piece that the development section is devoted almost exclusively to the dramatic opening material. The energy generated in this way carries the movement through an extended recapitulation and an effervescent coda.