In 1795 Beethoven began assigning opus numbers to the best of his published works. Opus 1, published in May 1795, is a set of three piano trios. Despite the earlier WoO 38 Piano Trio (Day 22), these three are now known as Piano Trios 1, 2, and 3.
Beethoven dedicated the Opus 1 Piano Trios to his major patron in Vienna, Prince Carl von Lichnowsky. Lichnowsky’s home was a hub for musical activity in Vienna. He hosted concerts, funded musicians, and even let Beethoven live in his house for several years.
“I still remember clearly both Haydn and Salieri sitting [in] the small music-room, both carefully dressed in the old-fashioned way with perruque, shoes and silk hose, whereas even here Beethoven would come dressed in the informal fashion of the other side of the Rhine…”
Beethoven’s patron Prince Lichnowsky “played chamber music by day and pursued women by night… His wife… endured a marriage so painful that, according to rumor, she once disguised herself as a prostitute in order to surprise her husband in a brothel.” (Lockwood “Beethoven” p 76)
#Beethoven250 Day 41
Piano Trio No. 1 in E♭ Major (Opus 1, No. 1), 1794–95
The Salzburg-based Delta Piano Trio performs the first of Beethoven’s Opus 1 piano trios at a venue in the Netherlands.
All the Opus 1 piano trios have a conventional structure of four movements. More than the others, however, the Piano Trio No. 1 betrays strong influences of Mozart and Haydn. But the Adagio is lyrical, the Scherzo is full of surprises, and the rollicking Finale is quite joyful.