Olga Kern and Festival Musicians play Beethoven

Pre-Concert Chat at 5:45 PM
Lawn Paver Bar

Ludwig van Beethoven

Trio in D Major for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 70, No. 1, “Ghost”

Beethoven’s Piano Trio in D Major got the nickname “Ghost” because of its ominous and spooky slow movement.  It’s eerie, mournful, and almost painfully slow.  In contrast, the two movements that surround it are short, cheerful and light-hearted, making for an interesting spooky sandwich.  George Bernard Shaw wrote of Beethoven that “he could write music whose beauty will last you all your life; he could take the driest sticks of themes and work them up so interestingly that you will find something new in them at the hundredth hearing.”  Listen and enjoy the simple “sticks” of themes in the very beginning of both outer movements.