9/25 The Triple Concerto

Triple Concerto, in C, Op.56 (1805) for Piano, Violin, Cello and Orchestra

Beethoven's Triple Concerto is unique.  Here we have not one soloist such as in a piano or violin concerto, but three!  This makes for some exciting interplay.  No other concerto or orchestral work gives me such a strong impression of playful oneupmanship between musicians, especially in the 3rd movement.  One could also think of this as a concerto for Piano Trio, but the soloist parts seem geared towards soloistic and duo confrontations/collaborations.  In fact as I mentioned in an earlier post, Herbert von Karajan and Mstislav Rostropovich "ganged up" on Sviatoslav Richter and Davis Oistrakh in one performance (as told by Richter in the Richter Enigma doc).

"Karajan: First we take Austria..."
(best game of RISK ever)

They seem happy enough on the album cover tho.

Here's a high-powered meeting between some modern stars, Daniel Barenboim, Yo-Yo Ma and Itzak Perlman.