Program notes by Eric Bromberger

Two Piano Trios, Opus 70
Ludwig Van BEETHOVEN
Born December 16, 1770, Bonn
Died March 26, 1827, Vienna

During the years 1807-8, Beethoven composed some of his most dramatic orchestral music. From early 1807 came the Coriolan Overture, the Mass in C Major was composed that summer, and during the fall and winter Beethoven was occupied with the Fifth Symphony. Once the Fifth was complete, he proceeded immediately to the Sixth Symphony and worked on that through the summer of 1808. With these mighty works behind him, Beethoven appears to have needed a change. He took leave of orchestral music and turned to the smaller canvases of chamber music, composing the two piano trios of Opus 70 and a cello sonata in the fall of 1808; the “Harp” Quartet followed the next year. Beethoven dedicated the two trios of Opus 70 to Countess Anna Maria Erdödy and took part in performances of them at her home during the Christmas season in 1808.

Piano Trio in D Major, Opus 70, No. 1 “Ghost”

The exact source of the nickname “Ghost” for this trio is unknown, but it clearly refers to the middle movement, a striking Largo in D minor. This is dark, almost murky music–the piano murmurs a complex accompaniment while the strings twist and extend bits of melody above it. This unusual music (Beethoven rarely marked a movement Largo) has excited a great deal of curiosity about its inspiration. One possibility is particularly intriguing.

Beethoven had worked on his opera Leonore(later renamed Fidelio) from 1804 until 1806. It had not achieved the success he had hoped for, and–anxious to try another opera–Beethoven explored many possible subjects. One of these was Shakespeare’s Macbeth, and he and the playwright Heinrich Collin went so far as to discuss a libretto. In fact, Beethoven actually began work on the music for Macbeth, and there are sketches in D minor marked “Macbeth.” Nothing ever came of them, though the idea of an opera based on this play continued to fascinate Beethoven, even in his final years.

But on the same sheet that contains the sketches for Macbeth are the first sketches for the Largo assai ed espressivo movement of this trio, also in D minor. Whether this somber and brooding music, written in 1808, grew out of Beethoven’s projected music for Macbeth cannot be known for sure, but the connection–however distant–is clearly there, and this movement may be our one hint as to what Beethoven’s music for that tragedy might have been like. Surely it is not too great a leap to imagine this music in conjunction with the witches or Macbeth’s dark final days.

Beethoven frames this remarkable Largowith two fast movements, both in radiant D major. The middle movement is so powerful that the outer movements seem a little light by comparison, and some observers have gone so far as to suggest that they should be seen as prelude and postlude to the Largo. The Allegro vivace e con brio opens with a pithy rhythmic figure that recurs throughout the movement and finally brings it to a close. The main theme is a flowing, elegant idea heard first in the cello and quickly passed between all three instruments. This theme dominates the opening movement, giving it an atmosphere of easy expansiveness. The concluding Presto sounds innocent after the grim pizzicato strokes that end the Largo. It offers long melodic lines, a graceful partnership between the instruments, and a smooth flow of good-spirited music throughout.

Piano Trio in E-flat Major, Opus 70, No. 2

The Piano Trio in E-flat Major has been much admired, and with good reason. Some have claimed that in this trio Beethoven consciously wrote thematic material in the manner of Haydn and Mozart and then treated it in his own mature style–the music thus combines the elegance and restraint of an earlier era with Beethoven’s own powerful sense of form and musical evolution. Beyond this, the music is distinctive for its gentleness and for Beethoven’s many structural innovations.

The first movement opens with a stately and poised Poco sostenuto introduction, with the three instruments making terraced entrances. This reaches a moment of repose, and violin and cello announce the leaping, graceful main theme of the Allegro ma non troppo, which is soon followed by a flowing second idea. The development, marked by a series of swirling trills from all three instruments, is exceptionally gentle, and Beethoven continually reminds the performers that their playing should be dolce. The ending is remarkable: instead of a mighty recapitulation, Beethoven brings back the music of the introduction, and the Allegro theme gradually dissolves as the movement comes to its quiet close.

Beethoven’s choice of tempos for the inner movements is surprising: instead of making a defined contrast between a slow movement and a fast one, he instead writes two Allegretto movements. The hopping four-note figure heard in the piano at the very beginning of the first Allegretto will dominate this genial movement, either whispered in the background, stamped out vigorously, or simply implied. The third movement is marked Allegretto ma non troppo, and Beethoven’s performance markings are noteworthy: once again he constantly reminds all three instruments to play dolce, and at some points his dynamic indication is ppp, a marking he rarely used. The form of this movement is quite original: it is built on its flowing opening idea and a chordal melody offered as statement-and-answer by strings and piano; Beethoven simply alternates these sections as the movement proceeds. Particularly striking here is the contrast between the elegant string lines and the harmonic pungency of the piano’s transition passages. The seemingly easy-going Finale: Allegro, in sonata form, is built on a wealth of quite different ideas; Beethoven gradually pulls these together in a lengthy coda and drives the trio to a sonorous close.

Sextet for Strings in D Minor, Opus 70 “Souvenir de Florence”
Peter Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY
Born May 7, 1840, Votkinsk, Russia
Died November 6, 1893, St. Petersburg

Like so many other composers from cold European climates, Tchaikovsky had a special fondness for the countries of southern Europe. Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol is an affectionate portrait of Spain, but Tchaikovsky–like Brahms–was particularly attracted to Italy. An exciting visit during the carnival season of 1880 to Rome (where his brother had an apartment) inspired Tchaikovsky’s brilliant Capriccio Italien. And it was to Florence that Tchaikovsky went in 1890 to complete his opera The Queen of Spades.

Upon his return to Russia, Tchaikovsky wrote a sextet for strings, which he significantly subtitled “Souvenir de Florence.” His motive appears clear–he wanted to remember in music the sunny climate and friendly atmosphere of that Italian city–and he succeeded. The sextet has none of the gloomy, tortured music that Tchaikovsky wrote in his blackest moods. Instead, suffused with the golden glow of warm nostalgia, it offers some of his most good-natured music.

The choice of string sextet for this music is unusual, particularly for a composer who wrote so little chamber music. The additional voices created all kinds of compositional problems for Tchaikovsky, and he struggled with them. Though the work was completed in 1890 and performed privately then, he revised it thoroughly before its first public performance on December 6, 1892. The proud composer wrote to his brother: “What a sextet–and what a fugue at the end–it’s a pleasure. Awful, how pleased I am with myself!”

The lengthy opening movement, Allegro con spirito, is in extended sonata form, with the first violin announcing both main themes: the surging opening idea gives way to a songful second subject over steady accompaniment; a long development leads to a dramatic close. The slow movement, Adagio cantabile e con moto, opens with a series of chords, rich layers of sound, before the first violin’s melody rises above pizzicato accompaniment. The movement’s brief midsection rustles ahead with tremolo-like passages full of dynamic surges and quiet pizzicatos before the opening material returns.

The scherzo, Allegretto moderato, is in ternary form, with the middle–surprisingly–faster than the outer sections. The opening sequence sounds as if it is based on Russian folksong material, while the exhilarating middle section–full of ricochet bowing–flies. The coda leads to a cadence on a giant pizzicato chord. The finale, Allegro vivace, is the shortest of the four and again opens with another passage that sounds as if it may have folk origins. The second theme is one of those unmistakable Tchaikovsky tunes, soaring and surging. At the climax of the movement comes the fugato treatment of the first theme of which Tchaikovsky was so proud, and a blazing coda brings the sextet to its sunny close.