The String Trio in E-flat major, Op. 3 (String Trio No. 1) is a composition 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 ...

, his first for

string trio A string trio is a group of three string instruments or a piece written for such a group. From at least the 19th century on, the term "string trio" with otherwise unspecified instrumentation normally refers to the combination violin, viola and cello ...

(violin, viola and cello). It is a

divertimento (; from the Italian '' divertire'' "to amuse") is a musical genre, with most of its examples from the 18th century. The mood of the '' divertimento'' is most often lighthearted (as a result of being played at social functions) and it is generally ...

consisting of six movements, including two minuets. It may have been first sketched while Beethoven was still living in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

. It was published in 1797 by

Artaria Artaria & Co. () was one of the most important music publishing firms of the late 18th and 19th century. Founded in the 18th century in Vienna, the company is associated with many leading names of the classical era. History Artaria & Co. was foun ...

in Vienna, and dedicated to the Countess of Browne, wife of his patron Count

Johann Georg von Browne Count Johann Georg von Browne (or Johann Georg von Browne-Camus) (Riga, 20 September 1767 – Vienna, January 1827) was an officer in the Russian army, and settled in Vienna where he was a patron of Ludwig van Beethoven during the composer's early ...

Structure

The six movements are: # Allegro con brio # Andante # Menuetto: Allegretto # Adagio # Menuetto: Moderato # Finale: Allegro

Transcriptions

Piano Trio (Hess 47)

Sometime prior to 1800, Beethoven arranged the first movement of the trio for piano, violin and cello (

Hess High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) is a system of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) for the investigation of cosmic gamma rays in the photon energy range of 0.03 to 100 TeV. The acronym was chosen in honour of Victor ...

47): it has been speculated that the composer may have intended to transcribe the entire trio for the same forces but lost interest as the existing manuscript breaks off part way through a transcription of the second movement.

Cello Sonata Op. 64

The trio was arranged for cello and piano (Op. 64): this was first published in 1807 by

. The arrangement is thought to be not by the composer, with Keith Anderson pointing out that Artaria's title sheet for the transcription simply implies that Beethoven was involved without explicitly stating that he was.

References

Notes Sources * * * * * * *

External links

* * * - Photographs of the manuscript of the incomplete transcription Hess 47. * - Live performance video from a performance at the Midori Art Park. {{Authority control String trios by Ludwig van Beethoven 1797 compositions Music with dedications Compositions in E-flat major