The Station Trio: Frank Thomas (Violin), Ronald Harding (Violoncello), Hubert Pengelly (Pianoforte)
Trio in D, Op. 70, No. 1
First and Second Movements
The two Trios which make up Opus 70, appeared fourteen years after the three of Opus 1. But they are separated from the early works by a divergence of manner far greater than that interval suggests. They are Beethoven at the very height of his powers, and before any of those sombre qualities of mystery such as we find in the last String Quartets for instance, had begun to appear. Published in the same year (1899), as the fifth and sixth symphonies, the year before Fidelio, they have all the bigness and splendid dignity of these great works.
The first of the two is affectionately known as the 'Spook' Trio; the attentive listener to the slow movement will have no difficulty in recognizing why.