Another piece I used to listen to when I was small: an early (Opus 11!) Beethoven trio for piano, cello, and clarinet. It’s not a very serious piece: the last movement in particular, a theme and variations based on a popular song, has many moments that are exaggerated or over-dramatic. And this version is particularly fun because the musicians go along with that, and at times are almost giggling on-stage. The pianist in particular does some Chico-Marx-like flourishes, eliciting appreciative laughter from the audience. (I’ve heard this piece many times but never seen it before, so I didn’t appreciate how much of the piano part is played with one hand, leaving him free to gesture with the other.)
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1QU3rOR4ek&w=560&h=315]
Image by Better Than Bacon 
Its so easy to think of Beethoven the Mighty, the Stern and the Anguished, struggling mightily with the world with every bar appassionato, and so odd to encounter Beethoven the Cheerful, who’s just playin’
That’s what this is.Report
I find the instrumentation interesting.
Pleasant. A bit campy at times, but this is easily forgiven, as those passages tend to not linger over-long.Report