The final piece on tomorrow evening’s program is Beethoven’s String Trio in G major, op. 9 no. 1.
Beethoven wrote a remarkable variety of chamber music, from duos to works for up to eight performers.
Although he is today known as a master of the Symphony, he first approached the form with some reluctance. As a young man, he revered the symphonies of Franz Joseph Haydn, and compared to Haydn’s mastery, Beethoven felt that he was unprepared and unworthy to write such large-scale works. He therefore began to dabble with symphonic forms on a small scale.
His first such attempt is the string trio, opus 3, which he wrote in his early twenties. His opus 9 (1797) represents the apex of his small-scale symphonic forms, and the String Trio in G major is considered by many to be some of his finest music written in his first 30 years, producing astounding results from such a small ensemble.
