h!!Publius.....#50!!
Luv.....#100!!
E.....#150!!
h!!Publius.....#50!!
Luv.....#100!!
E.....#150!!
Once during a symphonic concert at the Hollywood Bowl decades ago, I heard another concertgoer say that he found string quartets boring and dissonant, and he didn’t have much of an opinion of chamber music in general. Chamber music by definition is a piece where one line of music is played by one instrument only. There are no sections as one has in an orchestra. I had already immersed myself in chamber music, and I couldn’t relate to his statement. Chamber music can be good or bad, depending on the composer. Lou Beethoven’s chamber music sits atop the highest peak of the canon. In the coming weeks, I’ll focus on his chamber works, with the exception of his solo piano sonatas, which I covered last year. The first with an opus number is an early work but held great promise for the future.
During Lou’s teenage years in Bonn, he had written a massive number of variations for piano, country dances, chamber works, and even songs for mandolin and soprano. He proved from the beginning that he could do it all. A good many of these pieces were published, but Beethoven made sure that none of them bore opus numbers. He was planning a great career, and he knew he wasn’t ready to put “Opus 1" on the cover of a Beethoven piece.
In those days before copyrights and royalties, a composer sold his work to a publisher, got some money for it – and that was it. From that moment forward, the publisher made money on the deal, but the composer didn’t. A composer whose work sold well could command a higher price for his wares, but it took time to develop a reputation and a following. Composers tended to have royal patronage, and Lou’s poor social skills were going to make that a problem.
In December 1792, when Lou was 22, he left Bonn for Vienna. If you were a composer in the German-speaking world, that was where you went to make your fortune.
But this was not Lou’s first trip to Vienna. As a 17 year old piano prodigy, he had gone to Vienna, and thanks to Masonic connections, he was given a chance to play before Mozart. Wolfgang was into heavy partying in those days and spent far too much time at the billiard tables. He couldn’t manage money to save his life and was living well above his means. Most pianists who auditioned for Mozart were given snarky comments for their labors, but Lou’s treatment was different. According to the legend, Wolfgang said, “Keep your eyes on this one. Someday he’ll give the world something to talk about.” Lou had spent only two weeks in Vienna before returning to Bonn for his mother’s funeral. But now he was back in Vienna for good.
Lou studied with Salieri and Haydn. Haydn had fathered the symphony and the string quartet, and Beethoven wasn’t going to challenge him in that arena. Mozart, who had a close friendship with Haydn, had done so, and it prompted Haydn to produce his best works in these genres. The old man still had it in him. Beethoven concentrated instead on piano concertos. Mozart, his only challenger in that arena, had died the previous year. Haydn and Beethoven didn’t get along all that well – Haydn called him the “Big Shot” – and when the old man went to London and the lessons ended, Beethoven was relieved.
In August of 1795, when Beethoven was 24, Haydn returned from England a wealthy man, and Beethoven arranged for him to hear performances of his three Trios for Piano, Violin and Cello, which were the first to carry the label “Opus 1", at the Friday morning concerts at the home of Prince Lichnowsky, who was one of Lou’s patrons. The first two trios were pleasing, which was what an audience used to Haydn and Mozart expected. The third was aggressive and was intended to change those tastes. Haydn liked the first two but recommended that Beethoven withdraw the third.
Beethoven was stunned and outraged. Lou unfortunately thought that Haydn was jealous, which he was not. He held his tongue with the older composer, but he never had anything good to say about the old man from that day forward until Haydn was in his grave. They worked together for a few more years, but there was a distance between them. As it turned out, Haydn was wrong. The third trio was a huge sensation and made a fortune for the publisher. Beethoven was on his way.
The first trio recalls Haydn and Mozart, although it’s written in four movements, not three, like the earlier composers. Lou’s material is lively and contains elements of his mature voice, but he hasn’t found that voice just yet. The piano runs the show, the violin is kept out of its high register, and the cello follows the bass line, which is typical of a Haydn trio.
The first movement, in sonata format, is marked “allegro”, which means “quickly”, in E-flat, and 4/4 time.
The opening subject is based on an upward arpeggio that is repeated in different forms in each movement. At 0:49 it yields to a weightier second subject in B-flat that is ingratiating. At 2:44 the exposition repeats.
At 5:25 it’s development time. Beethoven works his way through the keys before returning to the recapitulation at 6:55.
At 7:30 the second subject returns in the correct key of E-flat.
At 9:10 Lou writes the longest coda of any piece of its era, which was to become a Beethoven trademark. It starts with the second subject but ends up being based firmly on the first subject. It ends decisively.