Classical Music | Violin Music

Ludwig van Beethoven

String Quartet in a Minor, Op. 132  Play

Sungmi Park Violin
Kenneth Renshaw Violin
Dana Kelley Viola
Jiyoung Lee Cello

Recorded on 07/23/2015, uploaded on 02/15/2016

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Beethoven composed his String Quartet in A minor in 1825 following a serious illness that nearly brought him to departing this world and robbing us of the remaining masterpieces he was to compose. Numbered as the fifteenth quartet and given the opus number 132, it was actually the second to be composed of the three quartets commissioned by the Russian prince Nikolai Galitzin, falling in between the E-flat major quartet, op. 127 and the B-flat major quartet, op. 130. Like opus 127, the String Quartet in A minor is more conventional in form than the other late quartets, being only modestly expanded to five movements so that the powerful and solemn third movement stands at the center of the work. Above this movement, Beethoven wrote the inscription: “Heiliger Dankegesang an die Gottheit eines Genesenen, in der Lydischen Tonart” (“Song of thanksgiving to the Diety on recovery from an illness, written in the Lydian mode”). 

The first movement opens with ghostly whispers, beginning in the cello followed by each of the other members of the quartet. The first violin then suddenly rushes forward only to pause while the cello, in its high register, sings out the movement’s melancholy first theme. A little while later, the melodic second theme in F major appears in the second violin over a more active accompaniment from the lower strings. Following the pattern of sonata form (though by no means textbook in any way), Beethoven begins to weave his melodic material into an ever finer knit cloth and one can sense the troubled feelings of the composer as he recounts the days of his illness. The movement concludes with a fury and vigor not found earlier in the movement.

Not quite a scherzo but more of an intermezzo, the second movement follows a construction much like the Scherzo of the E-flat major quartet. Placid and restrained, the movement is constructed entirely out of two motives heard within the opening measures. The central episode invokes the musette with a charming melody over a drone bass that in its simplicity recalls the melody that holds the same position in the Scherzo of the Ninth Symphony. Without warning, however, Beethoven breaks off into graceful eighth notes over a light and delicate accompaniment.

The central third movement, undoubtedly epicenter of the work not only structurally but emotionally and psychologically, is modeled along the lines of variations on a cantus firmus with intervening episodes. Beethoven became greatly interested in the old ecclesiastical modes in his later years and he chose the Lydian mode for his expression of gratitude for his recovery. The hymn-like tune is sung in solemn tones by the first violin accompanied monophonically by the lower strings, with each statement presaged by an introduction of quarter notes. After the hymn’s initial statement, a new section, labeled “Neue Kraft fühlend” (“Feeling new strength”), is heard in D major. Shifting to a lively triple meter, one cannot help but rejoice with the master as he regains the strength to return to his beloved art. There then follows a variation of the hymn in which it appears over florid counterpoints. Another statement of the D major episode and the movement enters its final section—another variation of the hymn though much more intricate than the previous one. Amid a tender, syncopated motif the hymn tune is heard propelling deeper into the master’s heart. Perhaps nowhere else in his music did Beethoven plunge to such depths of human emotion than in the final measures of this movement. The culmination is reached in beautiful sforzandos, the first on a poignant major ninth then followed by a tritone before reaching its resolution on a chord of the sixth—writing that Beethoven’s old teacher, J.G. Albrechtsberger, would have no doubt found fault with, but here no other notes could adequately express such heartfelt sentiments. Softly, the movement comes to a close, fading into the eternal on a high pitched tonic chord.

The following short movement, a march in A major, is full of vim and vigor. After its two strains, it suddenly breaks off into an unsettled section in the tonic minor. Over dramatic tremolos from the other members of the quartet, the first violin utters a passionate melody that comes so near to vocal expression. This passage then leads, without pause, into the finale. Though returning to A minor, the spirit of the movement is not one of defeat, for such a thing could not be conceived by Beethoven’s mind. Instead, it is more the yearning of the artist to create but tempered with the memory of his illness and the recognition of old age. Yet, the principal melody has a decided vitality about it. It is worked throughout movement with masterful craft making this movement one of the most intellectually profound among Beethoven’s string quartet output. In true fashion, the tonic major key is regained towards the closing of the work and full of life, Beethoven vigorously rushes on to the end.     Joseph DuBose


Steans Music Institute

The Steans Music Institute is the Ravinia Festival's professional studies program for young musicians.