DPROGRAMME ONE sell ni Be Tamil (1770-180 sinw of BARBICAN PIANO TRIO Sophie Barbour Robert Max James Kirby Trio in E flat, Op. 1, No. 1 Trio in B flat, Op. 11 WOO in B Flat 39 Trio in D, Op. 70, No. 1 Jedi zaw, Interval Supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland CITY BEL Saturday, 22nd April 1995 Harty Room, Queen's University, Belfast at 11.00 am In association with Queen's University School of Music FAS ch orgallA) comiat on0 toitetsmunta 40 Violin 'Cello Piano -oi stafuq besco ܀ ܀ COU UNCIL BEETHOVEN BEETHOVEN noo ainsig at BEETHOVEN BEETHOVEN onsiq shoup ovom NATIONAL FEDERATION OF MUSIC SOCIETIES NEMS

Piano Trio in E flat Op. 1 No. 1 ANDRE Allegro; Adagio cantabile; OMAN MAA Scherzo (Allegro Assai); Finale (presto) Beethoven (1770-1827) M rado The mature piano trio had a difficult birth because throughout the eighteenth century it was often composed with amateur players in mind, sometimes with the pianist more accomplished than the string players. Even in the late Haydn, much of the interest is in the piano part although the quality of the music is so high that it is almost forgiveable. Mozart sought to redress this balance by giving each instrument more of an individual role as well as giving the pieces themselves more emotional depth and gravitas. Beethoven developed this trend still further in his Opus 1 trios. Although the piano part is still very 'busy', Beethoven casts the string parts with extraordinary character and imagination. The other important development was that he was the first composer to write piano trios in four movements, thus elevating them to the level of the string quartet and removing for good the label of 'amateurism' that had them 16118 i OoW [04.00.00.0i on for so long. 13:38 The scale of the first movement is large as Beethoven often repeats material with varied instrumentations. One can sense the youthful composer enjoying his newly discovered palatte to the full. The slow movement is very richly and sensitively scored with intricate rhythms and florid passages in the piano part that look forward to the slow movement of the first piano concerto (also in the key of A flat). Beethoven teases the listener in the scherzo by creating the illusion that the opening phrase is one bar too short - a Haydnesque feature. This phrase develops a 'wrong note' in the coda and disappears down the plughole completely. The finale also takes a leaf out of Haydn's book - a virtuoso canary and a cocky little operatic tune set off together on a whirlwind tour of discovery and get to some fairly unexpected places before arriving home. James Kirby - 1994

Piano Trio in B flat Op. 11 Allegro Con Brio; Adagio Allegretto Beethoven wrote no full scale piano trios between 1796 (Opus 1) and 1809 (Opus 70) but in 1798 he produced a trio for clarinet, 'cello and piano. The clarinet is often played on the violin, as in today's performance. now had gooul ( ilonu bobne ton) soon It is interesting that Beethoven wrote a different style of piece, probably because of the use of the clarinet. It is quite short and contains an unusual amount of octave writing, in all three parts. The last movement is a witty set of variations on a theme from an opera by Weigl called 'Before I begin work, I must have something to eat'. The Barbican Piano Trio would certainly like to agree with that. erit 2100 MOT 40 CBeethoven (1770-1827) eno nog Piano Trio in B flat WOO 39 CABEY CAN DO NOT diw not stanos ni inso James Kirby - 1994 oni mwob nadond one nango lebigys ton sis Beethoven (1770-1827) 07 200100mud vibabibab This single movement was composed in 1812, the year after the enormous 'Archduke' Trio, which is in the same key. It was dedicated to Maximilliane Brentano the ten-year-old daughter of a friend of the composer. Although apparently uncomplicated on the surface, it contains several hall- marks of late Beethoven. The simple, gentle opening melody receives elabo- rate contrapuntal treatment almost immediately and there are some remark- able textures between the three instruments. Sometimes the right and left hands in the piano part are very widely spaced and the strings are slotted in the middle, and at other times, the piano plays in octaves above the strings. This was later to become one of Schubert's favourite textures. James Kirby - 1994

Piano Trio in D Op. 70 No. 1 'Ghost' II.q0 is an Beethoven Allegro Vivace e Con Brio (1770-1827) Largo Assai ed Espressivo Presto The summer of 1807 was spent in Heiligenstadt, where Beethoven completed the Fifth Symphony and the A Major 'Cello Sonata. As usual, he attempted to overcome his consuming worries about his ever increasing deafness and lack of regular income (not settled until 1809) through hard work, and he returned to the same place the following summer to complete the Sixth Symphony and the two Piano Trios Op. 70, the latter both being dedicated to Countess Maria Erody. 0108 The two Trios are thoroughly contrasted in spirit, where the second (a partially neglected masterpiece) has breadth and grandeur, the first displays tautness and vitality. Notice the way the themes at the opening of the first movement are broken down into motivic fragments and then set upon one another in the explosive development section. In the extraordinary central movement it is perhaps the husband pianissimo melodies, even more than the fortissimo outburts, that express the passion between the notes. The stretched contours of the melodic lines are not typical for this period and seem to anticipate the slow movements of the last 'cello sonata Op. 102, No. 2 and the last piano sonatas. The last movement is, like the first movement, in sonata form, with a decidedly humourous turn of phrase. Robert Max la love enitnosti sous art no botsailamcon gio vastholom gruogo obasy, olgmiz T.novotto stort bru visturbarmini zomis nominent latung mod atosmuuntani soul) sdt noowted EN Sie 760 A sids bbrnd