Beethoven: Trio for Clarinet, Cello

and Piano, Op.11, Third Movement

Timeline
Beethoven 1770-1827
Trio composed in 1797
Symphony No. 5
composed between
1804 and 1808
Beethoven: Trio for Clarinet, Cello
and Piano, Op.11, Third Movement
Trio in its true sense
Composed in 1797 and published in
Vienna the next year
This is an example of Chamber Music
Not intended to be performed by an
orchestra where there are several
musicians to play one part
It is one of a series of early chamber
works, many involving woodwind
instruments because of their
popularity and novelty at the time
Set of theme and 9 variations
The key of B-flat major was probably
chosen to facilitate fast passages in
the B-flat clarinet
What can you say about the theme?
What can you say about the theme?

Lively theme
4 bars long
Staccato notes in the treble or RH of the
piano
Contour which rises and falls - starts and
ends on the tonic
Descending sequence in Bars 3 and 4
I V harmony in the bass/LH of the piano
outlines Bb and F
Cello plays broken chords
What happens next and how is it
related to the first 4 bars?
 What happens next and how is it
related to the first 4 bars?
Clarinet repeats pianos melody
exactly
Piano now plays broken chords and
outlines the harmony with its bass
notes
Slight addition to the harmony.
Subdominant IV included in bar 5
The cello echoes the pianos bass
notes but on the weak beats
 Bars 9-12 and 13-16
2 bar phrase, which outlines a tonic
dominant progression played first by piano
and then repeated by clarinet
Bars 13-16 are similar to Bars 1-4 melody
in the treble and continuous broken chords
in the bass/left hand
Clarinet and Cello interject in parallel with
one another
All in all the first 12 bars is really only 6
bars of music
1.40Beethoven versus Mozart
 Beethoven versus Mozart
This four-bar phrase structure is much simpler than
Mozarts, consisting only of six bars of music in total.

Its equally simple harmonic basis should also be

noted: only chords I, IV and V are used (the IV is
almost unnoticeable in the theme but features more
prominently in some of the Variations); there is no
modulation

Cello accompanies with continuous broken chords in

a very similar way to the 2nd clarinet in Mozarts Trio
section
 Task
Using the mp3 track identify the timing of the 9
variations. (Clue - There is a coda which begins at
5:52 and most of the variations are about 40
seconds long)
Identify
which instruments are used in each variation
what is each instruments role?
Which instrument is leading and how do the
instrumental parts relate to each other?
identify any changes in mood
Identify any recurrences of the theme
 Variations
In this set of Variations the Theme itself, as a recognisable

melody, disappears almost entirely.

Instead, Beethoven uses its simple harmonic basis as the

framework for all of them (except the first of the two in the

minor, Var IV, where the chords are richer), in a similar way to

jazz improvisations on a blues chord structure.

Brief references to the melody can be heard from time to time

(e.g. in Var VI) and it returns vigorously and very recognisably in

the last variation (IX).

Var I - 0:31
Piano only, using a wide range of the instrument, with much
use of rapid scalic patterns.
Var II 1:04
Cello leads; clarinet shadows in what is almost two-part
imitative counterpoint. Piano drops out.
Var III 1:50
It is the clarinets turn to lead in a lively, virtuosic display of
scales; cello almost struggles to match it; piano provides a
strong, driving rhythm in the bass, with busy broken chords
in the treble.
Var IV 2:22
A change of mood, in the tonic (not relative) minor.
Beethoven creates the impression of a slower tempo by
using longer notes.
Var V 3:03
A return to the basic chord structure: piano rising and falling in scales, the
clarinet and cello sustaining punchy chords the cello having to play
three notes of each chord at a time (= triple- stopping).
Var VI
After variations in which one instrument after another has taken its turn to
lead, in this one there is a much more intimate conversation between
them: snippets of the Theme are exchanged in an almost continous call-
and-answer texture (almost like trading in jazz?).
Var VII 4:03
Another tonic minor change of mood, playing with rhythm, harmony and
dynamics.
Var VIII 4:40
Beethoven adapts his chords to support the only really lyrical melody in
the set. It is initiated by cello, then taken up by clarinet, the piano
maintaining the forward movement and enriching the harmony slightly
(e.g. bars 35).
Var IX 5:25
The Theme returns but, in its strong octave presentation by the piano, its
similarity to the opening of Oh, When the Saints (...Come Marching In)
becomes more obvious. The bass follows the treble almost immediately, in
imitation that is so close as to be nearly a canon. Clarinet and cello repeat
while the piano begins a very long series of trills in the treble, with rising
and falling broken chords in the bass.
Coda:

At the end of this variation the piano is left trilling alone,

eventually resolving via downward scales in a new, unrelated, key.

From here to the end Beethoven plays rhythmic games in an

almost destabilising way: syncopations across the beat, which he

now does intend to be faster (Allegro, rather than the original

Allegretto).

At the end, he teases by making each instrument in turn descend

purposefully, but quietly (stealthily?) to the tonic (the cello,

playing pizzicato, cant resist a further twist by going on past it),

before another rhythmic lurch towards a loud, emphatic,

concluding flourish.
 In conclusion
In the Variations the Theme itself, as a recognisable
melody, disappears almost entirely.
Instead, Beethoven uses its simple harmonic basis as
the framework for all of them (except the first of the
two in the minor, Var IV, where the chords are rich
similar way to jazz improvisations on a blues chord
structure
Brief references to the melody can be heard from
time to time (e.g. in Var VI) and it returns vigorously
and very recognisably in the last variation (IX).
The main focus here is on the variety of textures
Beethoven creates in his variations
 Features of the Viennese classical
style
Classical music tried to appeal to a broader audience -
Balance, clarity and simplicity which was achieved in the
following ways:
Clear forms
Melodies
Texture
Harmony
Rhythm
Mood
Dynamics
Instrumental characteristics
 Features of the Viennese classical
style
Classical music tried to appeal to a broader audience -
Balance, clarity and simplicity which was achieved in the
following ways:
Clear forms such as Sonata form, Theme and Variations,
Menuet and Trio
Melodies tuneful - easier to sing and remember. They were also
balanced because most melodies were usually either 4 or 8
measures/bars long. Regular phrase lengths. Rise and fall of the
pitch and the importance of the tonic. Grouping of notes into clear
phrases.
Ornamentation much less decoration that in the Baroque
period which came before the classical period
Homophonic texture Texture: simple homophony (a melody
accompanied by plain chords); elaborated homophony, where the
chords are broken in a rhythmic or decorative function; imitation
between instruments (call-and- response)
Harmonysimple harmonies often based around I, V (tonic
dominant) or I, IV , V clear use of cadences. The use of
dissonant chords was limited
 Features of the Viennese classical
style
Rhythm - in general, the tempo must be steady and
usually does not change very much during a piece or
movement. Grouping; its relation to the rhythms of the
melodies and accompanying figures
Mood hetereogenous a variety of contrasting moods
within a single piece (or movement)
Dynamics Many dynamic graduations - use of crescendo
and decrescendo
Instrumental characteristics: recognition of
characteristic timbres; compass (pitch range); technical
(virtuosic) and expressive capabilities; limitations;
conventional roles in ensembles and orchestras.
Larger orchestra greater and regular use of brass and
woodwinds
 Viennese classical style around
1788
The third movement of Mozarts symphony (Menuet and Trio)

offers a compact and readily-accessible introduction to

recognising and describing some essential features of Viennese

The following
classical style. notes suggest how, by studying three very compact movements,

the Menuet and Trio from Mozarts Symphony no. 39, the variation movement

from Beethovens Clarinet Trio and the slow movement of Haydns Trumpet

Concerto, a foundation for understanding some of the following elements may

be laid:

Rhythm: the beat its speed and grouping; its relation to the rhythms of the

melodies and accompanying figures

Melody: the rise and fall of pitch; grouping of notes into phrases; balance of

phrases and overall structure; the tonic (home) note.

Texture: simple homophony (a melody accompanied by plain chords);

elaborated homophony, where the chords are broken in a rhythmic or

 Beethoven: Symphony no 5, op.67, Second movement
Variation techniques predominate in this movement but they are different from
those used by Beethoven in the last movement of his Clarinet Trio: the main
theme (Bars 122) is always clearly recognisable. In the first two variations of it
(bars 4971 and bars 98123) shorter notes are inserted between the principal
ones, giving a busier effect. Because this creates twice as many notes, such
variations were traditionally known by a French term, doubles. A third variation
begins, in the tonic minor, by detaching notes from one another to give a more
jerky effect, before reverting to the original rhythm and the key.
A second theme begins in bar 22. This, too, is subject to variations of texture and
rhythm each time it recurs. Candidates might be invited to describe how this
theme begins, where it changes character and how it contrasts with the principal
theme: in dynamics, in key, in instrumentation, in texture?
Among many details of the scoring that might be noticed are the use of violas
and cellos in unison to present the theme (effect?), the use of brass (horns and
trumpets, unusually for a slow movement) as well as timpani to punctuate the
powerful cadence points and use of woodwind, particularly in bars 127146) and
the bassoons last lingering echo of the main theme at bar 205.