223. Three’s Company, Six is a Crowd

Work for sextet by Beethoven performed by Musicians from Marlboro on May 10, 2015 and work for string trio by Beethoven performed by Musicians from Marlboro on November 13, 2005.Beethoven: Sextet in E-flat Major, Op. 81bBeethoven: String Trio in D Major, Op. 9, No. 2We’ll hear two Beethoven chamber works on this podcast…though one sounds suspiciously symphonic in scope. As the saying goes: three’s company, but six—apparently—is a crowd. We begin with the sonically oversized Sextet in E-flat Major, for two horns and string quartet. Though clearly chamber music, in terms of sheer numbers, the piece has the feel of a concerto, with the strings playing a supporting, “orchestra-style” role, and the horns offer a pastoral-sounding duet with no shortage of technical challenges. Then, we cut the forces in half for the more intimate but no less substantial String Trio in D Major, opus 9, number 2. Written a couple years after the sextet, this piece has a more collaborative character, with all three players taking equal part, and musical ideas at least as ambitious in scope as the sextet, if not more so. The first movement, for example, boasts not one theme, but three—all cleverly related and interwoven in the development section. Both performances on this podcast are by Musicians from Marlboro, a perennial favorite with Gardner Museum audiences. We begin with the sextet.