Open Rehearsal Aug. 2

Tuesday, August 2 · 2:30-3:30 PM

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL

This event will be live streamed.

BEETHOVEN                                       
(1770-1827)

Piano Trio in D Major, Opus 70, No. 1 “Ghost”

Allegro vivace e con brio
Largo assai ed espressivo
Presto

Imogen Cooper, piano; Liza Ferschtman, violin; Efe Baltacigil, cello;

Program note by Eric Bromberger

Piano Trio in D Major, Opus 70, No. 1 “Ghost”

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
Born December 16, 1770, Bonn
Died March 26, 1827, Vienna
Composed: 1808
Approximate Duration: 26 minutes

The exact source of the nickname “Ghost” for this trio is unknown, but it clearly refers to the middle movement, a striking Largo in D minor. This is dark, almost murky music—the piano murmurs a complex accompaniment while the strings twist and extend bits of melody above it. This unusual music (Beethoven rarely marked a movement Largo) has excited a great deal of curiosity about its inspiration. One possibility is particularly intriguing.

Beethoven had worked on his opera Leonore (later renamed Fidelio) from 1804 until 1806. It had not achieved success, and—anxious to try another opera—Beethoven explored many possible subjects. One of these was Shakespeare’s Macbeth, and he and the playwright Heinrich Collin went so far as to discuss a libretto. In fact, Beethoven actually began work on the music for Macbeth, for there are sketches in D minor marked “Macbeth.” Nothing ever came of them, though the idea of an opera based on this play continued to fascinate Beethoven, even in his final years.

But on the same sheet that contains the sketches for Macbeth are the first sketches for the Largo assai ed espressivo movement of this trio, also in D minor. Whether this somber and brooding music, written in 1808, grew out of Beethoven’s projected music for Macbeth cannot be known for sure, but the connection—however distant—is clearly there, and this movement may be our one hint as to what Beethoven’s music for that tragedy might have been like. Surely it is not too great a leap to imagine this music in conjunction with the witches or Macbeth’s dark final days.

Beethoven frames this remarkable Largo with two fast movements, both in radiant D major. The middle movement is so powerful that the outer movements seem a little light by comparison, and some observers have gone so far as to suggest that they should be seen as prelude and postlude to the Largo. The Allegro vivace e con brio opens with a pithy rhythmic figure that recurs throughout the movement and finally brings it to a close. The main theme is a flowing, elegant idea heard first in the cello and quickly passed between all three instruments. This theme dominates the opening movement, giving it an atmosphere of easy expansiveness. The concluding Presto sounds innocent after the grim pizzicato strokes that end the Largo. It offers long melodic lines, a graceful partnership between the instruments, and a smooth flow of good-spirited music throughout.

Financial support is provided by the City of San Diego

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