Piano Trio, Op. 97 (Beethoven)

Piano Trio
"Archduke Trio"
by Ludwig van Beethoven
Beethoven in 1815, portrait by Joseph Willibrord Mähler
KeyB-flat major
Opus97
Composed1810 (1810)–11
DedicationArchduke Rudolph of Austria
Performed11 April 1814 (1814-04-11)
MovementsFour
Sketches for the third and fourth movements of Piano Trio, op. 97, 1810–1811, musical autograph

The Piano Trio in B-flat major, Op. 97, by Ludwig van Beethoven is a piano trio completed in 1811.[1][2] It is commonly referred to as the Archduke Trio, because it was dedicated to Archduke Rudolph of Austria, the youngest of twelve children of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor.[2] Rudolf was an amateur pianist and a patron, friend, and composition student of Beethoven.[2] Beethoven dedicated about a dozen compositions to him.[3]

The Archduke Trio was written late in Beethoven's so-called "middle period". He sketched out the draft for it in the summer of 1810 and completed the composition in March 1811.[1][2][4] It follows the traditional four movement structure with sonata form in the first and rondo sonata form in the last movement.[4] It also allows for a more prominent part for the piano than previous compositions.[2]

  1. ^ a b Thayer1; Krehbiel2; Deiters3; Riemann4, Alexander Wheelock1; Henry Edward2; Hermann3; Hugo4 (1921). Life of Ludwig van Beethoven. New York: The Beethoven Association. pp. 170–270.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b c d e Watson, Angus (2010). Beethoven's Chamber Music in Context. Woodbridge, UK: The Boydell Press. pp. 193–200. ISBN 9781843835776.
  3. ^ Keller, James (2014). Chamber Music : A Listener's Guide. Cary: Oxford University Press, Incorporated. pp. 62–64. ISBN 9780199700080.
  4. ^ a b Hiebert, Elfrieda Franz (1988). The piano trios of Beethoven: an historical and analytical study. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University Microfilms International. pp. 138–153.