Piano Trios, Op. 1 (Beethoven)

Piano Trios
by Ludwig van Beethoven
The earliest known portrait of Beethoven; 1801 engraving by Johann Joseph Neidl after a now-lost portrait by Gandolph Ernst Stainhauser von Treuberg, ca. 1800
Key
Opus1/1–3
DedicationPrince Lichnowsky
Performed1795 (1795): Vienna

Ludwig van Beethoven's Opus 1 is a set of three piano trios (written for piano, violin, and cello), first performed in 1795 in the house of Prince Lichnowsky, to whom they are dedicated.[1] The trios were published in 1795.

Despite the Op. 1 designation, these trios were not Beethoven's first published compositions;[2] this distinction belongs rather to his Dressler Variations for keyboard (WoO 63). Clearly he recognized the Op. 1 compositions as the earliest ones he had produced that were substantial enough (and marketable enough) to fill out a first major publication to introduce his style of writing to the musical public.

  1. ^ "Beethoven's Trios for string instruments, wind instruments and for mixed ones", All About Beethoven. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
  2. ^ "Beethoven's first childhood composition is predictably incredible for a 12-year-old". Classic FM (UK). Retrieved 13 May 2021.