Late string quartets (Beethoven)


Ludwig van Beethoven's late string quartets are:
These six works are Beethoven's last major completed compositions. Extremely complex and largely misunderstood by musicians and audiences of Beethoven's day, the late quartets are now widely considered to be among the greatest musical compositions of all time, and have inspired many later composers.

Overview

Prince Nikolai Galitzin commissioned the first three quartets and in a letter dated 9 November 1822, offered to pay Beethoven "what you think proper" for them. Beethoven replied on 25 January 1823 with his price of 50 ducats for each opus. He composed the quartets in the sequence 12, 15, 13, 14, 16, writing 13 and 15 simultaneously.
Beethoven wrote these last quartets in failing health. In April 1825, he was bedridden and remained ill for about a month. His recovery from the illness inspired the modal slow movement of the Fifteenth Quartet, which Beethoven called "Holy song of thanks to the divinity, from one made well". He went on to complete the quartets now numbered Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Sixteenth. The last work Beethoven completed was the substitute final movement of the thirteenth quartet, which replaced the extremely difficult Große Fuge.

The "ABC" quartets

Opp. 132, 130 and 131 are sometimes called the "ABC" quartets because of their keys: A minor, B major, and C minor. They are thematically linked by the four notes of the harmonic minor scale's second tetrachord. In his notes for the Quartetto Italiano's recording of all six quartets, A. David Hogarth writes:
Beethoven's "obsession at that time with the upper four notes of the harmonic minor scale" predates these works. For an early example, see the first movement of his string trio, opus 9, no. 3.

Appraisal

Beethoven's late quartets went far beyond the comprehension of musicians and audiences of his time. One musician said, "we know there is something there, but we do not know what it is." Composer Louis Spohr called them "indecipherable, uncorrected horrors".
Opinion has changed considerably from the time of their first bewildered reception: these six quartets are widely considered to be among the greatest musical compositions of all time. The Frankfurt School philosopher Theodor W. Adorno, in particular, thought highly of them, and Igor Stravinsky called the Große Fuge "an absolutely contemporary piece of music that will be contemporary forever". Their forms and ideas inspired and continue to inspire musicians and composers, such as Richard Wagner and Béla Bartók. Wagner said that Op. 131's first movement "reveals the most melancholy sentiment expressed in music". Schubert's last musical wish was to hear Op. 131, which he did on 14 November 1828, five days before his death. Afterward, he remarked, "After this, what is left for us to write?" Beethoven also considered Op. 131 his single most perfect work.

Other versions

Arturo Toscanini and Felix Weingartner, among others, transcribed some of the late quartets for string orchestra.

Recordings

Ensembles that have recorded the complete late Beethoven quartets include: