Erzherzog Trio
Holy Trinity Church
Beauchamp Avenue, Royal Leamington Spa, CV32 5RG
Free - donations welcome
Erzherzog Trio
Tiago Filipe Soares Silva violin
Hongze Zhao cello
Jianing Zhao piano
Beethoven Piano Trio No.7 (Archduke Trio)
This piece, composed between 1810 and 1811, Beethoven’s Piano Trio No.7 - commonly known as the “Archduke Trio”, marks a cornerstone of the composer’s middle period. It was dedicated to Archduke Rudolph of Austria, Beethoven’s student, patron, and close friend.
The trio’s grandeur and lyricism reflect the composer’s deepening structural and emotional maturity, written during the same period as The Ruins of Athens, King Stephen, and his Seventh and Eighth Symphonies.
Premiered in 1814, with Beethoven himself at the piano, this would be his final public appearance as a pianist due to his advancing deafness.
The work was praised even in its time as a masterful fusion of invention, emotion, and expressive elegance - qualities that continue to captivate listeners today.
Running time approx. 45 minutes