The camera was set up behind the violinist and up above the stage, possibly in the balcony(?). Because of this positioning, the violinist's tone is somewhat compromised, and even the cellist does not always come through quite as well as she actually did. The actual balance -- according to musicians in the audience -- was considerably better than this video.
I shall also append my program notes:
<< Beethoven’s Trio in D Major, Op. 70, #1, remains one of his most popular works for the genre. It was published in 1809, or roughly a year after the debuts of his fifth and sixth symphonies.
The ponderous second movement has given the trio its name, “Ghost.” The composer was reportedly also sketching an opera based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth(a project that quickly aborted); Carl Czerny (a student of Beethoven) later wrote that the trio’s slow movement reminded him of the ghost’s first appearance in the Bard’sHamlet.Whether either Shakespearean allusion has any validity is open to conjecture. Then again, it is certainly well known that Beethoven never called his Op. 31, #2 piano sonata, “The Tempest,” yet the sonata now carries that name!
The first movement is an accessible Allegro vivace e con brio with a delightful first thematic area. The second thematic area, however, is noteworthy more for its rather weak melodic material, which is totally ignored in the development. Moreover, we find further evidence of the composer’s deafness; his dynamic scheme is impractical, notably in dialogues between cello and piano. Nevertheless, the individual parts are well scored, and notes lie comfortably under the performers’ fingers.
Most musicians count the second movement in a rather slow “8,” with the 16th-note getting one beat. It is often a challenge simply to maintain concentration as the dramatic piece unfolds, yet the rewards justify the pains required. Alas, it is clear that Beethoven was not altogether conscious of physical limitations; a number of passages, notably those with the lengthy tremolos in the piano part, simply cannot be played as written.
In the third movement, also, we find passages that are simply beyond physical limitations, although here the problems are more easily circumvented. Beethoven returned to sonata form, this time even more successfully.
Notwithstanding the difficulties and apparent shortcomings, most performers find the “Ghost” a delightful experience. For over two centuries it has justifiably been considered one of the great works for piano trio, and it gives us yet another important glimpse into the heights Beethoven reached during his “middle” period. >>
Finally, the hyperlink: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFJAZ-Uv9p8
