Beethoven did not want to follow, he wanted to add something.
Beethoven was a super talent. Maybe he wasn’t a prodigy such as Mozart, but even at a young age, it was clear that he could do a lot, if not everything.
But that wasn’t enough for Beethoven. He actually wanted to have something meaningful to say. And what else was there to say when Mozart and Haydn had already composed so much amazing music?
Beethoven struggled with this question, especially in his twenties. It seems like he was most intimidated by Haydn. This composer excelled in symphony and string quartet. As an aspiring composer, what else could he add to that? What could he compose without repeating others?
Until the age of 30, Beethoven would avoid symphonies and string quartets, and would keep himself busy with other genres. For example, the piano trio. Sure, Haydn had done some amazing things there too, but still Beethoven saw some opportunities to innovate. In his Piano trios opus 1, which were released in 1795, all pieces have four movements instead of the usual three, a form that suggests pretension and depth (because it is derived from the symphony and the string quartet). The sound is full, almost symphonic: the violin and cello definitively break out of their supporting roles. The hint of amateur music that had always hung over the piano trio is now a thing of the past.
In addition to the piano trio, Beethoven also began with sonatas for cello at this time. Sonatas for cello and piano hardly existed back then, and certainly not from the great composers. Beethoven definitely did not feel Mozart and Haydn breathing down his neck. In 1796 he published his first two cello sonatas.
Playlist
1. Ludwig van Beethoven – Pianotrio in C minor, opus 1/3
2. Ludwig van Beethoven – Cellosonate in G minor, opus 5/2
Trio Wanderen: Vincent Coq (piano), Jean-Marc Phillips-Varjabédian (violin), Raphaël Pidoux (cello)
Ori Epstein (cello), Omri Epstein (piano)
