Two more of Beethoven’s late Quartets. A couple weeks ago, as Beethoven’s birthday was approaching, we featured two of Beethoven’s late quartets, op. 132 and op. 131. Today we’ll introduce two more, op. 130 and op. 135.
As with all late quartets, there’s confusion regarding their numbers. String Quartet no. 13 in B-flat major op. 130, though second in order of publication, was actually composed during 1825-6 after the quartet in a minor, op. 132, making it the last of the quartets composed to fulfill the commission from the Russian prince Nikolai Galitzin. Whereas the quartet in a minor was Beethoven’s reflection on his recovery from a life-threatening illness, which gave birth to the profound and solemn "Heiliger Dankgesang" (Song of Thanksgiving) that forms the quartet’s centerpiece, the Quartet in B-flat major is quite possibly then the expression of renewed vigor and the composer’s exuberant return to his art. Hardly anywhere in the piece is there a mournful or sad measure. Premiered in March 1826, the original form of the Quartet in B-flat major included the colossal Grosse Fuge as the finale. Opinions of the performance were mixed mostly because of the fugue, which nearly eclipsed, artistically and temporally, the rest of the quartet. Urged by his publisher to replace the fugue with a less weighty finale, Beethoven composed an alternate ending in the fall of 1826, making this a rare instance in which Beethoven was swayed by either the opinion of the public or the publisher. Furthermore, the alternate finale was also his last completed composition. We’ll hear the quartet in its original form. It’s performed by Angelo Xiang Yu, violin, Miriam Fried, violin, Philip Kramp, viola, and Deborah Pae, cello. You can listen to it here.
Beethoven composed his sixteenth String Quartet, Op.135 in F Major, in 1826, a mere few months before his death. Only one other completed composition, the alternate finale for the op. 130 quartet in B-flat major, postdates this work. In this sense, the string quartet in F major represents the culmination of a lifelong dedication to music. Of the late string quartets, the F major is the shortest (26 and a half minutes in this recording), the simplest in construction, and the only other quartet to follow the standard four movement plan besides the op. 127 quartet in E flat major. While in technique the F major quartet no doubt deserves its place among the other late quartets, it does not seem to burden itself with the same weighted discourse. Instead, as the French musicologist Joseph de Marliave stated, it is a "fluent play of brilliant but irresponsible wit," much like the alternate finale Beethoven composed for the op. 130 quartet. The final movement, titled Der schwer gefaβte Entschluβ ("The Difficult Decision"), is perhaps the most famous part of the quartet, largely due to the purportedly philosophical question Beethoven penned above the slow introductory chord: "Es muss sein?" (Must it be?). The answer that Beethoven gives later in the manuscript is simply, "Muss es sein" (It must be). Because of the obvious ambiguity of this question-answer pair, many solutions to this enigma have been proposed, each trying to tease out a meaning that may or may not be there. One of the more well-known explanations, and at least the most comical, comes from Anton Schindler. Schindler states that Beethoven's housekeeper, the only person allowed to disturb him while he was working, would ask him for money with which to buy food and other necessities. Beethoven would reply, "Es muss sein?" (Must it be?). The housekeeper would then emphatically reply, "Muss es sein" (It must be). Here is the performance of quartet op. 135 by Avalon String Quartet.
December 19, 2011
Two more of Beethoven’s late Quartets. A couple weeks ago, as Beethoven’s birthday was approaching, we featured two of Beethoven’s late quartets, op. 132 and op. 131. Today we’ll introduce two more, op. 130 and op. 135.
As with all late quartets, there’s confusion regarding their numbers. String Quartet no. 13 in B-flat major op. 130, though second in order of publication, was actually composed during 1825-6 after the quartet in a minor, op. 132, making it the last of the quartets composed to fulfill the commission from the Russian prince Nikolai Galitzin. Whereas the quartet in a minor was Beethoven’s reflection on his recovery from a life-threatening illness, which gave birth to the profound and solemn "Heiliger Dankgesang" (Song of Thanksgiving) that forms the quartet’s centerpiece, the Quartet in B-flat major is quite possibly then the expression of renewed vigor and the composer’s exuberant return to his art. Hardly anywhere in the piece is there a mournful or sad measure. Premiered in March 1826, the original form of the Quartet in B-flat major included the colossal Grosse Fuge as the finale. Opinions of the performance were mixed mostly because of the fugue, which nearly eclipsed, artistically and temporally, the rest of the quartet. Urged by his publisher to replace the fugue with a less weighty finale, Beethoven composed an alternate ending in the fall of 1826, making this a rare instance in which Beethoven was swayed by either the opinion of the public or the publisher. Furthermore, the alternate finale was also his last completed composition. We’ll hear the quartet in its original form. It’s performed by Angelo Xiang Yu, violin, Miriam Fried, violin, Philip Kramp, viola, and Deborah Pae, cello. You can listen to it here.
Beethoven composed his sixteenth String Quartet, Op.135 in F Major, in 1826, a mere few months before his death. Only one other completed composition, the alternate finale for the op. 130 quartet in B-flat major, postdates this work. In this sense, the string quartet in F major represents the culmination of a lifelong dedication to music. Of the late string quartets, the F major is the shortest (26 and a half minutes in this recording), the simplest in construction, and the only other quartet to follow the standard four movement plan besides the op. 127 quartet in E flat major. While in technique the F major quartet no doubt deserves its place among the other late quartets, it does not seem to burden itself with the same weighted discourse. Instead, as the French musicologist Joseph de Marliave stated, it is a "fluent play of brilliant but irresponsible wit," much like the alternate finale Beethoven composed for the op. 130 quartet. The final movement, titled Der schwer gefaβte Entschluβ ("The Difficult Decision"), is perhaps the most famous part of the quartet, largely due to the purportedly philosophical question Beethoven penned above the slow introductory chord: "Es muss sein?" (Must it be?). The answer that Beethoven gives later in the manuscript is simply, "Muss es sein" (It must be). Because of the obvious ambiguity of this question-answer pair, many solutions to this enigma have been proposed, each trying to tease out a meaning that may or may not be there. One of the more well-known explanations, and at least the most comical, comes from Anton Schindler. Schindler states that Beethoven's housekeeper, the only person allowed to disturb him while he was working, would ask him for money with which to buy food and other necessities. Beethoven would reply, "Es muss sein?" (Must it be?). The housekeeper would then emphatically reply, "Muss es sein" (It must be). Here is the performance of quartet op. 135 by Avalon String Quartet.