Op. 70 is a set of two

Piano Trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in European classical music, classical chamber music. The term can also ...

s by

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

, written for

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

, and

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

. Both trios were composed during Beethoven's stay at Countess Marie von Erdödy's estate, and both are dedicated to her for her hospitality. They were published in 1809. The first, in D major, known as the ''Ghost'', is one of his best known works in the genre (rivaled only by the '' Archduke Trio''). The D major trio features themes found in the second movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 2. The All-Music Guide states that "because of its strangely scored and undeniably eerie-sounding slow movement, it was dubbed the 'Ghost' Trio. The name has stuck with the work ever since. The ghostly music may have had its roots in sketches for a

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

opera that Beethoven was contemplating at the time." According to Lewis Lockwood, Beethoven's pupil Carl Czerny wrote in 1842 that the slow movement reminded him (Czerny) of the ghost scene at the opening of Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'', and this was the origin of the nickname. James Keller also attributes the nickname to Czerny, adding, "You may discard as erroneous the oft-encountered claim that this movement of the ''Ghost'' Trio is a reworking of music Beethoven originally sketched as the Witches Chorus for his ''Macbeth''. These pieces are representative of Beethoven's "Middle" stylistic period, which went from roughly 1803 to 1812, and which included many of his most famous works. Beethoven wrote the two piano trios while spending the summer of 1808 back once again in Heiligenstadt, Vienna, where he had completed his Symphony No. 5 the previous summer. He wrote the two trios immediately after finishing his ''Sinfonia pastorale'', Symphony No. 6. This was a period of uncertainty in Beethoven's life, in particular because he had no dependable source of income at the time. Although these two trios are sometimes numbered as "No. 5" and "No. 6", the numbering of Beethoven's twelve piano trios is not standardized, and in other sources the two Op. 70 trios may be shown as having different numbers, if any.

Piano Trio in D major, Op. 70 No. 1 "Ghost"

* Allegro vivace e con brio,

D major D major is a major scale based on D (musical note), D, consisting of the pitches D, E (musical note), E, F♯ (musical note), F, G (musical note), G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, and C♯ (musical note), C. Its key signature has two S ...

, 3/4 * Largo assai ed espressivo,

D minor D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major. The D natural minor scale is: Changes needed ...

, 2/4 his movement is what gave the "Ghost Trio" its nameref>"Beethoven: Biography of a Genius, by George R. Marek, 1969, page 264, "has so mysterious a slow movement that work has been nicknamed the "Ghost Trio." * Presto, D major, 4/4

Piano Trio in E-flat major, Op. 70 No. 2

* Poco sostenuto – Allegro, ma non troppo,

E-flat major E-flat major is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has three flats. Its relative minor is C minor, and its parallel minor is E minor, (or enharmonically D minor). The E-fla ...

, 4/4 - 6/8 * Allegretto, C major/minor, 2/4 * Allegretto ma non troppo, A-flat major, 3/4 * Finale. Allegro, E-flat major, 2/4 The second movement is in

double variation Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

form.

References

External links

* *Performances o
Piano Trio Op. 70 No. 1
an
Piano Trio Op. 70 No. 2
by the Claremont Trio from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in MP3 format {{Authority control Piano Trio 70 1808 compositions Compositions in D major Compositions in E-flat major Music with dedications