ludwig van beethoven (1770-1827) was already an experienced composer by the time he had his first works published in 1795. It was no coïncidence that these were piano trios since the genre was popular with amateur musicians, a commerically interesting target group to speak in modern terms.

 

Beethoven would not have been beethoven however without redefining the medium piano trio in one fell swoop with these first publications. Piano trios came from piano music with string accompaniment and in fact even the masterpieces by mozart and haydn take the piano as the point of departure. For beethoven the three instruments are equally important, which of course immediately makes the works more difficult for non-professionals. Furthermore the works were also twice as long as their predecessors,  having as model the instrumental symphony in four movements (fast, slow, scherzo, fast). The very first trio is in this respect typical, reminding us in both language and construction of beethoven’s orchestral symphonies.

 

trio op.1 no.1

 

I allegro

II adagio cantabile

III scherzo -- allegro assai

IV finale -- presto

 

beethoven as a young man