Beethoven: The Complete Music for Piano Trio, Vol. 3

Featuring

Anthony Marwood
Richard Lester
Susan Tomes
The Florestan Trio
Ludwig van Beethoven

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Composer Biography

In November 1792, the 21-year-old Beethoven moved from his hometown of Bonn to Vienna, which was then a major musical capital, to study composition with Haydn.

Compositional Technique

Each of Beethoven's Opus 1 trios has four movements, rather than the typical two or three expected in chamber music with piano, making them akin to "symphonies for three instruments."

Performer Biography

The Florestan Trio, formed in 1995, has received numerous accolades, including a Gramophone Award for their Schumann Trios disc and the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for chamber music.

Composition History

Beethoven introduced his first important Viennese compositions, a set of three piano trios (Opus 1), at a private soirée hosted by Prince Karl Lichnowsky, a talented amateur pianist and his host.

Recording & Production

This album was recorded in Henry Wood Hall, London, from December 21-23, 2002, with Simon Eadon as Recording Engineer and Andrew Keener as Recording Producer.

Critical Reception

Haydn, Beethoven's former teacher, praised the E flat and G major trios of Opus 1 but suggested the C minor trio would not be easily understood by the Viennese public.

Compositional Technique

Beethoven's Opus 1 trios were innovative, featuring largely emancipated string parts, extended sonata structures, and intense musical dialectic, challenging the traditional view of the piano trio as a small-scale domestic genre.