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What was Beethoven's Favorite Key? | Now Hear This: Beethoven's Ghost | 1:47
Great Performances | PBS | 49.8K subscribers | 2,748 views | October 10, 2021

What do you think Beethoven's favorite key was? Violinist Scott Yoo and his fellow musicians, Bion Tsang and Toby Appel, discuss what they think was Beethoven's favorite key to compose in and take a reimagined approach to Beethoven's string trio based on their answers.

The Series 2 finale of Great Performances: Now Hear This takes a dramatic approach to interpreting the complex musical mind of composer Ludwig van Beethoven, who wrote nearly 800 works in 45 years. Host and violinist Scott Yoo and his team of fellow musicians visit a historic manor in the Berkshires to better understand Beethoven by performing and recording some of his most personal work, including his famous “Ghost Trio.” Unbeknownst to them, they’ve summoned the ghost of the composer, trailed by the spirit of Sigmund Freud who attempts to analyze him. Interweaving documentary, performance and theatrical storytelling, this haunting special episode explores the mind of the composer through dramatized conversations between the spirits of Beethoven and Freud.
Transcript
0:00 · What do you think Beethoven's favorite key is? C minor.
0:04 · Actually, it might've been his favorite, but he did not use it the most.
0:08 · Yeah but, I think D,G,C and mostly E-flat major. Yeah.
0:13 · And for a concerto, the spring string trio, um,
0:17 · Eroica symphony, lots of E flat. Yeah. Out of all of the works,
0:21 · I think most of them are in major key.
0:23 · If there are a lot of major key Beethoven pieces,
0:26 · when there is a minor key Beethoven piece, like this one,
0:30 · I think Beethoven really wanted a count.
0:32 · So I guess if he's writing this in C minor, this has got to mean something,
0:37 · right. I mean, maybe it needs to be more dark. Well,
0:39 · I think of this piece as kind of baby Beethoven's fifth, right?
0:43 · Instead of [Yoo plays a selection of the piece] it's [Yoo plays the same section a key lower]
0:48 · I think maybe we can make it a little earthier. More grit.
0:53 · Yeah. Can you slate this?
0:55 · [Voice over the intercom] This is take 67.
0:59 · [They begin to play the C minor string trio].
1:10 · Beethoven wrote the C minor string trio at 27,
1:14 · the height of his early period.
1:17 · It was the birth of a style he would explore throughout his career.
1:21 · [They continue to play].

Transcript
0:00	·	What do you think Beethoven's favorite key is? C minor.
0:04	·	Actually, it might've been his favorite, but he did not use it the most.
0:08	·	Yeah but, I think D,G,C and mostly E-flat major. Yeah.
0:13	·	And for a concerto, the spring string trio, um,
0:17	·	Eroica symphony, lots of E flat. Yeah. Out of all of the works,
0:21	·	I think most of them are in major key.
0:23	·	If there are a lot of major key Beethoven pieces,
0:26	·	when there is a minor key Beethoven piece, like this one,
0:30	·	I think Beethoven really wanted a count.
0:32	·	So I guess if he's writing this in C minor, this has got to mean something,
0:37	·	right. I mean, maybe it needs to be more dark. Well,
0:39	·	I think of this piece as kind of baby Beethoven's fifth, right?
0:43	·	Instead of [Yoo plays a selection of the piece] it's [Yoo plays the same section a key lower]
0:48	·	I think maybe we can make it a little earthier. More grit.
0:53	·	Yeah. Can you slate this?
0:55	·	[Voice over the intercom] This is take 67.
0:59	·	[They begin to play the C minor string trio].
1:10	·	Beethoven wrote the C minor string trio at 27,
1:14	·	the height of his early period.
1:17	·	It was the birth of a style he would explore throughout his career.
1:21	·	[They continue to play].