Ravinia 2024 Issue 5

BENNETT GORDON HALL 1:30 PM SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2024 STELLA CHEN, violin # MATTHEW LIPMAN, viola # BRANNON CHO, cello † BEETHOVEN String Trio No. 3 in G major, op. 9, no. 1 Adagio—Allegro con brio Adagio, ma non tanto e cantabile Scherzo: Allegro Presto KLEIN String Trio Allegro Variace na téma moravské lidové pisné Molto vivace –Intermission– MOZART Divertimento in E-flat major, K. 563 Allegro Adagio Menuetto: Allegretto Andante Menuetto: Allegretto Allegro † Ravinia debut # Ravinia Steans Music Institute alum LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770–1827) String Trio No. 3 in G major, op. 9, no. 1 The music-loving Count Johann Georg von Browne-Camus moved to Vienna at an oppor- tune time in the 1790s, when a dynamic young man named Ludwig van Beethoven rose to prominence as a pianist and composer. Browne- Camus, a Russian army officer of Irish descent, spent his wealth (accumulated from landhold- ings in Livonia) recklessly, eventually squan- dering the total sum. Beethoven profited from his lavish spending, both in terms of monetary support for his compositions and periodic gifts. Browne-Camus once gave a riding horse to the absent-minded musician, as Ferdinand Ries reported: “[Beethoven] rode the animal a few times, soon after forgot all about it, and, worse than that, its food also. His servant, who soon noticed this, began to hire out the horse for his own benefit and for a long time withheld from him all bills for fodder. At length, however, to Beethoven’s great amazement, he handed in a very large one, which recalled to him at once his horse and his neglectfulness.” Artistically, Browne-Camus meant even more to Beethoven, who dedicated several compositions to the count and his wife. A florid expression of gratitude accompanied the three string trios published as op. 9 in July 1798 by Johann Traeg in Vienna: “It would give the author much satisfac- tion to present to the first Maecenas of his Muse the best of his works.” Few would disagree that this spendthrift “Maecenas,” or patron, received some of Beethoven’s most mature creations to date. These employ an unusual instrumental grouping—violin, viola, and cello—used only by a handful of musicians, most notably Mo- zart and Boccherini, prior to Beethoven’s five string trios. The enormous pitch range and the uneven weight of each instrument’s sound (the lower register is heavily favored) are but two of the challenges posed by the ensemble. Not sur- prisingly, most other musicians opted for the larger and more uniform string quartet combi- nation. Beethoven soon joined their ranks with his debut collection of string quartets (op. 18), published in 1801. The String Trio in G major, op. 9, no. 1, exhibits a quasi-symphonic design. There are four movements, unlike the divertimento-type string trios with five or more individual pieces. Beethoven modeled the first movement direct- ly on the symphonies of Joseph Haydn, his for- mer teacher. The Adagio possesses a majestic expression and an amazing variety of instru- mental combinations. Beethoven extends this textural exploration into the Allegro con brio . Unlike later movements bearing this tempo in- dication, the music is delicate and playful rath- er than heroic and grandiose. The second theme turns to D minor, momentarily. Difficult passages highlight the technical capabilities of all three instruments equally. A full demonstration of Beethoven’s lyrical gifts emerges in the E-major Adagio, ma non tanto e cantabile . Double-stops and constantly trans- forming duo combinations create the impres- sion of a larger ensemble. For the first time in his chamber literature, Beethoven describes his third movement as a Scherzo , a fast version of a minuet. Originally, he expanded the typical scherzo–trio–scherzo form with a second trio and second reprise of the scherzo. This append- age (known as Hess 28), which Beethoven re- moved from his autograph score, is sometimes still performed. Generally boisterous thematic material appears in the Presto finale. However, the composer builds a more tranquil second An etching of Ludwig van Beethoven by Johann Josef Neidl (c.1801), after a portrait by Gandolph Ernst Stainhauser von Treuberg (1796) RAVINIAMAGAZINE • AUGUST 19 – SEPTEMBER 1, 2024 70