Beethoven, Bartók, Fauré

Ludwig van Beethoven
String Trio in C minor, Op. 9, No. 3 (1797–98)

Béla Bartók
Violin Sonata No. 1, Sz. 75 (1921)

Gabriel Fauré
Piano Quartet in C minor, Op. 15 (1876–1879; rev. 1883)

Featured Musicians:

Jennifer Frautschi, violin
Marcus Thompson, viola
Raman Ramakrishnan, cello
Benjamin Hochman, piano

Ludwig van Beethoven’s dramatic String Trio in C minor displays the artistry and skill that would soon come in his later compositions for string quartet. The trio begins with a unison four-note motive that immediately plunges the listener into the turmoil of the first movement, to be followed by the sweeter Adagio, demonic Scherzo, and a finale that alternates between major and minor keys.

Dedicated to Hungarian violinist Jelly D’Aranyi, Béla Bartók’s Violin Sonata No. 1 begins with a virtuosic piano texture and a declamatory entrance from the violin. While unmistakably influenced by Stravinsky and Schoenberg, the sonata possesses Bartók’s essence, spiced by Hungarian folk elements and gypsy dance.

Gabriel Fauré was well in the middle of writing the Piano Quartet in C minor when his engagement was abruptly broken off. While there is no concrete evidence that the remainder of the quartet, premiered three years later, was meant to reflect his heartbroken sentiment, the piece is filled with moving as well as beautifully serene moments.