Works for solo piano and piano trio performed by pianist Paavali Jumppanen and the Claremont Trio.Beethoven: Sonata in E Major, Op. 109Beethoven: Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 1, No. 1Beethoven took the musical forms and vocabulary he inherited so far that there was nowhere left to go. We’ll take that conjecture as a jumping-off point for listening to two Beethoven works that demonstrate his innovation within the bounds of classical form. The trio concludes our program, but it comes first chronologically. The work has a firm foothold in the classical style espoused by his teacher, Haydn, but Beethoven’s interest in innovation is evident is the work’s unexpected harmonic shifts. We begin the program at the opposite end of Beethoven’s career, with one of his final piano sonatas, where we see the composer at the height of his compositional powers. In three movements, Beethoven explores familiar structures---sonata form, theme-and-variations, intricate counterpoint---but makes them sound entirely new, with adventurous harmonies, unexpected tempo shifts, and sublime melodies.