Beethoven composed his piano trios with the same dedication as he did his string quartets. Many consider them equal to the string masterpieces. This article will summarize the most important aspects of these works.
Piano trio is group music, a form of chamber music, with piano and two other instruments, most often violin and cello. Piano trios are usually written in the tradition of sonata form, with three, later with Beethoven, four movements.
How many piano trios did Beethoven write?
Beethoven composed 7 piano trios and some more. The some more part contains works published posthumously, some transcripts and even one with questionable origin.
The list of his piano trios
Piano Trio No.1, Op.1 No.1 in E♭ major
Piano Trio No.2, Op.1 No.2 in G major
Piano Trio No.3, Op.1 No.3 in C minor
Piano Trio No.4, Op.11 in B♭ major
Piano Trio No.5, Op.70 No.1 in D major, “Ghost”
Piano Trio No.6, Op.70 No.2 in E♭ major
Piano Trio No.7, Op.97 in B♭ major, “Archduke”
Published after his death
Piano Trio [No.8] WoO 38, in E♭ major
Allegretto for piano trio, WoO 39 in B♭ major [Piano Trio No.9]
Two variations
Piano Trio [No.10], Op.44 (Variations on an original theme in E♭ major)
Piano Trio [No.11] Op.121a (Variations on Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu)
Arrangement
Arrangement of Symphony No.2 in D, Op.36
From his Bonn period
Allegretto in E♭ major for piano trio, Hess 48 [No.12]
Arrangement of the Septet, Op.38 [also numbered No.8]
Spurious origin
Arrangement of the String Quintet Op.4 for Piano Trio, Op.63
Why were the piano trios important for Beethoven?
Young Beethoven upon arriving to Vienna had to work in the shadows of giants. Haydn and Mozart ruled the city and for a certain degree the European musical landscape, as well. Beethoven soon established himself as a uniquely talented pianist, in fact, easily overtook these masters with this instrument. For them the piano was a novelty, and Beethoven more or less grew up with this latest innovation.
Composing, however, was another matter. This is exactly why this genre was so important for Beethoven, because here he had the advantage. This field he could rule. His first major compositions in Vienna were the three piano trios, in fact these are the first works to receive Opus number, the Op. 1. This was the main goal he was looking to achieve in 1794 and from the start he made something new, something more than anybody before him.
More than half of his piano trios were composed before 1800, still before age of 30, the proof of importance for the young, trending composer.
More on Beethoven’s Piano Trios here!
