Beethoven’s Ghost Trio

MAY 4, 2026

@7:30pm

Benjamin Hochman, piano

Stefani Matsuo, violin

Ilya Finkelshteyn, cello

Randolph Bowman, flute

You’ll hear Haydn at his most playful, Beethoven’s “Ghost” Trio, named for its eerie, beautiful slow movement, and Mendelssohn’s dramatic and triumphant finale.

Joining us are pianist Benjamin Hochman and CSO musicians Stefani Matsuo, Ilya Finkelshteyn, and Randolph Bowman for a program that’s full of energy, contrast, and connection.

We close out the season with three powerful and expressive works that show off the range of chamber music.

This concert is approximately 1.75 hours, including intermission.

Program Notes

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732 – 1809)
Trio for Flute, Cello and Piano in G Major, Hob. XV:15

Haydn composed this trio in 1790 shortly before his first trip to London, as part of a commission from the English publisher John Bland. Unlike most of his piano trios, which paired violin and cello with the keyboard, this work is scored for flute, cello and piano—a reflection of the flute’s popularity in amateur music circles in England at the time. The substitution lends the piece a fresh timbral profile, with the flute’s bright sonority complementing the piano’s sparkle and the cello’s depth. As with so much of Haydn’s late chamber music, the trio combines Classical balance with wit, charm and a touch of surprise.

The first movement unfolds in sonata form, with the flute often in dialogue with the piano while the cello reinforces the bass. Yet Haydn grants the cello moments of independence, stepping out of its supportive role to engage the upper voices. The slow movement, in variation form, alternates between themes in major and minor, creating a graceful sequence of contrasts that reveal Haydn’s ingenuity in spinning rich variety from seemingly simple material.

The finale is a lively rondo, full of lightness and good humor. The flute and piano exchange nimble figures while the cello provides rhythmic propulsion, occasionally stepping into the spotlight with lyrical or witty interjections. The music dances forward with Haydn’s characteristic playfulness, ending the trio in a spirit of warmth and elegance. Though not as well known as his violin-piano trios, this G major trio shows Haydn at his most inventive, adapting to new instrumental colors while maintaining his signature blend of refinement and surprise.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827)
Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello in D Major, Op. 70, No. 1, Ghost

Composed in 1808 at the height of Beethoven’s “heroic” middle period, the D Major Trio earned its nickname “Ghost” from its astonishing slow movement. At this stage in his career, Beethoven was experimenting with bold sonorities and dramatic contrasts, having recently completed the Fifth and Sixth symphonies. The trio, dedicated to his patron Countess Erdődy, was premiered in her home with Beethoven himself at the piano. In its combination of grandeur, intimacy and spectral mystery, the work expanded the expressive potential of the piano trio and has remained one of Beethoven’s most celebrated chamber works.

The opening movement begins with a vigorous unison gesture that sets the stage for a dialogue of contrasts: restless rhythms alongside lyrical themes, dramatic outbursts tempered by passages of calm reflection. The music’s energy is both symphonic and intimate, constantly shifting character yet bound together by Beethoven’s keen sense of structure.

The central Largo is unlike anything else in Beethoven’s chamber music. Its eerie tremolos, fragmented motifs and shadowy harmonies create an atmosphere that early listeners associated with ghostly apparitions. Beethoven’s student Carl Czerny even linked it to sketches the composer made for a projected opera on Macbeth, reinforcing the movement’s haunted quality. Relief comes with the finale, a spirited rondo whose bright themes and playful turns sweep away the darkness. The trio closes in exuberance, but the memory of the spectral middle movement lingers, giving the work its singular character and lasting appeal.

Felix Mendelssohn (1809 – 1847)
Trio No. 2 in C Minor for Piano, Violin and Cello, Op. 66

By the mid-1840s Mendelssohn was at the height of his career, directing the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig, advising the King of Prussia on music and enjoying wide acclaim across Europe. Amid this success, in 1845 he returned to the piano trio—a genre that had already brought him triumph with his D Minor Trio six years earlier. The Trio in C Minor, Op. 66, dedicated to the violinist-composer Louis Spohr, was completed in 1846 and premiered with Mendelssohn at the piano. It would prove to be his final major chamber work, a piece that blends his Classical finesse with a Romantic intensity foreshadowing Brahms.

The opening movement begins in dramatic fashion, with restless piano figurations driving a stormy main theme in the strings. This energy is counterbalanced by a soaring, lyrical second theme, a hallmark of Mendelssohn’s melodic gift. The slow movement follows with a songlike Andante reminiscent of his Songs Without Words. Its tender character offers a respite from the turbulence of the first movement, unfolding with simplicity and grace while hinting at deeper shadows beneath the surface.

The scherzo recalls Mendelssohn’s trademark brilliance, full of fleet rhythms and rapid interplay that seem almost weightless, though here the mood is more urgent than playful. The finale returns to the key of C minor with fiery momentum, but Mendelssohn introduces a surprising element: a chorale theme that emerges midway, modeled on a Lutheran hymn. This solemn gesture gradually expands, culminating in a radiant conclusion that transforms the quartet’s restless energy into affirmation. In this fusion of Romantic passion, Classical balance and spiritual depth, the C Minor Trio stands as one of Mendelssohn’s crowning chamber achievements.