Notes for: July 21, 2021
The key of C Minor may have played a role in Beethoven’s contentious relationship with Haydn. Shortly after his arrival in Vienna in 1792, Beethoven gave a performance of the three piano trios that would later be published as his Opus 1. Haydn admired the first two trios, but he advised Beethoven not to publish the third, in C Minor, because he thought the public would not understand it. Beethoven decided that Haydn was jealous. Not only did he ignore the advice, but over the next several years he wrote some of his most dramatic and fiery music in the key of C Minor, including the “Pathétique” Sonata, the Third Piano Concerto, and the Fifth Symphony. As Denis Matthews notes, “It seems that the key of C Minor unleashed a creative demon.”
It’s intriguing to find in this relatively early String Trio the elements that would eventually push Beethoven’s music past Mozart’s and Haydn’s Classicism. Beethoven’s unmistakable personality comes through clearly in this taut and dramatic work, which is filled with nervous energy and tension as well as wry humor. The drama starts at the very beginning of the sonata-form Allegro con spirito, as all three instruments play a dark, descending four-note motif in unison. These four notes recur throughout the movement, interrupted regularly by explosive chords. Throughout the richly textured development and a long, vigorous coda, the three instruments are equal partners. Beethoven maintains intensity in several ways: through a constant alternation between major and minor modes, through a steady recurrence of heavily accented notes, and through restless figurations.
In contrast to this first movement, vigorous and bursting with impatience, the second movement, in the key of C Major, is a lyrical Adagio. One notable device that Beethoven uses here is to thicken the texture with double stops, effectively adding a fourth voice. With the Scherzo, Beethoven returns to the C Minor key and the vigorous intensity of the opening movement. The movement’s trio, in C Major, provides some relief, and the ending is a surprise, as the Scherzo fades to a whisper. Rapidly repeated triplets drive the restless Finale, which features a playful middle section and a final surprise: The C Minor Trio ends on a quiet C Major chord.
By the time he was finishing this Trio, Beethoven had begun working on the six Opus 18 String Quartets, his first foray into quartet writing. The Opus 9 String Trios were his last compositions for three stringed instruments.