Anne-Sophie Mutter and Friends
Part of: Beethoven Celebration
Performers
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Violin
Daniel Müller-Schott, Cello
Lambert Orkis, Piano
Program
BEETHOVEN Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24, "Spring"
BEETHOVEN Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 70, No. 1, "Ghost"
BEETHOVEN Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47, "Kreutzer"
Encores:
BEETHOVEN Allegro in G Major from Five Pieces for Mechanical Clock, WoO 33, No. 3 (arr. Willy Hess)
JOHN WILLIAMS "Nice to Be Around" from Cinderella Liberty
Event Duration
The printed program will last approximately two hours, including one 20-minute intermission.
At a Glance
BEETHOVEN Sonata for Piano and Violin No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24, “Spring”
Of the 10 sonatas for violin and piano that Beethoven composed between 1797 and 1812, none is more enduringly popular than the “Spring” Sonata. Contemporary with such works as the Op. 18 string quartets, this evergreen masterpiece reflected Beethoven’s growing confidence and maturity as a chamber music composer. The slow movement, in particular, is one of his loveliest lyrical creations.
BEETHOVEN Trio for Piano, Violin, and Cello in D Major, Op. 70, No. 1, “Ghost”
The “Ghost” Trio is suffused with the adventurous spirit of Beethoven’s so-called middle period. Even by his elevated standards, the first of the two Op. 70 trios is music of extraordinary dynamism and compression. Ear-opening modulations lie around every turn. Brief motifs are ingeniously combined and recombined, telescoped and expanded, and volleyed back and forth between the violin, cello, and piano.
BEETHOVEN Sonata for Piano and Violin No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47, “Kreutzer”
The bravura “Kreutzer” is the last of nine sonatas for violin and piano that Beethoven composed between 1797 and 1803. (Another nine years would elapse before he wrote his 10th and final violin sonata.) By rights, it should be called the “Bridgetower” Sonata, since Beethoven wrote it for the celebrated English violinist George Bridgetower; after the two men had a falling out, however, the composer switched the dedication to French virtuoso Rodolphe Kreutzer—who, ironically, never played it in public.