“*rolling eyes*”
You have me literally LOL!
Having written a six-movement serenade for string trio, Beethoven was emboldened enough to write three trios in the standard four-movement format that Haydn had designed. Lou would have preferred to write them as string quartets, but he wasn’t ready to be compared to Haydn or Mozart yet. Planning his career like a general involved knowing when to strike, and now wasn’t the time.
The slow introduction (“adagio”) leads into a sonata movement marked “allegro con brio”, one of Beethoven’s favorite markings. At 3:39 the second subject appears in D Major as expected. The exposition is repeated. At 7:02 it’s development time, and Beethoven works both subjects. At 8:00 he re-composes his recapitulation, and the second subject appears in the correct key of G Major. The coda supplies a bravura finish.
The slow movement in E Major is marked “adagio, ma non tanto e cantabile”, which means “at rest, but not too restful, and singing”, and is in ternary format. This is a beautiful rocking tune in triple time. The contrasting middle section edges toward the minor, but it resolves sweetly.
The scherzo is marked simply “allegro” and returns to G Major. This movement is rather relaxed because Beethoven has something special planned for the finale. This scherzo has not one, but two, middle sections..
The finale is marked “presto”, and we’re off to the races. This is a rondo, so you’ll hear that first subject come back a lot. The trio sports one of his great flashy endings.
This video form 1990 features two members of the Kosher Nostra (Perlman & Zuckerman) with Lynn Harrell on cello. Lynn still had his hair back then.
Next weekend it’s two more string trios.