Thursday, March 31, 2011

3/31 The "Ghost" Piano Trio (Color Analysis)

I did the Ghost Trio awhile back already with Alan Rich's breakdowns (here and here using Soundcloud notes), but I'm re-doing it today with color waveform visual assistance...just because I love this work so much.

Piano Trio 5 in D, Op.70, No. 1 "Ghost" (1808)
I. Allegro vivace e con brio 0:00
II. Largo assai ed espressivo 10:18
III. Presto 21:58
Performed by the Beaux Arts Trio
CHANNEL LINK (Click here to see this video on my YT Channel. Once there, click on "...(more info)" and then you can view the video in place, while scrolling through the form analysis text below more easily)

I. Allegro vivace e con brio (Sonata form)
Exposition:
1st theme / 2nd theme (BROWN)
2nd Theme (BLUE)
3rd theme (GREEN)
Exposition (repeat):
1st theme / 2nd theme (LT BROWN)
2nd Theme (LT BLUE)
3rd theme (LT GREEN)
Development:
1st theme (PURPLE)
2nd theme (PURPLE)
1st theme (PURPLE)
Recapitulation:
1st theme (BROWN)
2nd theme (BLUE)
3rd theme (GREEN)
Development (repeat):
1st theme (LT PURPLE)
2nd theme (LT PURPLE)
1st theme (LT PURPLE)
Recapitulation (repeat):
1st theme (BROWN)
2nd theme (BLUE)
3rd theme (GREEN)
Coda (PURPLE)

(actually the Rich book calls the 1st Recap an Exposition repeat with "variations" but that can't be right...I prefer to think of it as a recap that repeats)
II. Largo assai ed espressivo (Sonata form)
Exposition:
1st theme (BROWN)
2nd theme (BLUE)
3rd theme (GREEN)
Development: (PURPLE)
1st theme
2nd theme
1st theme (return)
Exposition (repeat):
1st theme (LT BROWN)
2nd theme (LT BLUE)
3rd theme (LT GREEN)
Development (repeat): (LT PURPLE)
1st theme
2nd theme
1st theme (return)
Coda (3rd theme) (MAROON)

III. Presto (Sonata form)
Exposition:
1st theme (BROWN)
2nd theme (BLUE)
3rd theme (GREEN)
Exposition (repeat):
1st theme (LT BROWN)
2nd theme (LT BLUE)
3rd theme (LT GREEN)
Development: (VIOLET)
3rd theme
1st theme
Recapitulation:
1st theme (BROWN)
2nd theme (BLUE)
3rd theme (GREEN)
Coda (PURPLE)

(from Alan Rich's Play by Play) 

Since I've covered the Ghost Trio 3 times now, I think I'll stick this excellent live performance of the Ghost Trio here, instead of making post #4.  Unfortunately I'm not sure who the performers are - but they are good!

5 comments:

  1. Hi,
    I'm wondering why in the Exposition the first section you have marked 1st and 2nd theme (Brown) then the 2nd theme afterwards in blue? Should that just be 1st theme in brown?
    Curious...
    Thank you,
    Verity

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's because the brown is to indicate that it's kind of a 1st theme "fanfare" with some elements of theme 2, but still quite different. So Theme 2 "proper" gets it's own color (blue). It can be interpreted different ways....

      Delete
  2. Hi, and thanks for responding though to me the first few bars, what you call the fanfare, sounds like a very different theme from the second. I can't detect any similarity at all, or elements of the second theme in those few bars. Curious as to what is in that short first section that is the same. I know Beethoven is a genius, but, I just can't hear it... :)
    Verity

    ReplyDelete
  3. hi thanks for posting this! I've looked at the first movement of this trio extensively and this really does help to grasp what's going on. Yet I don't understand how in the first development the A part (from 2;49 to 3.01) is the same A part within the same development at 3;49 to 4;25)? Should it not be referred to as the C section instead? It just seems to me that they share nothing in common.
    Regards
    JP

    ReplyDelete
  4. The second A in the development is kind of a variation of the first A - that really fast lick gets worked out in different sequences. It should really be labeled A prime, sorry. This was a very long time ago so my newer ones are a bit clearer (I hope!).

    ReplyDelete