The Early String Quartets. The String Quartets Nos. 1-6, Opus 18 are thought to demonstrate his total mastery of the classical string quartet as developed by Haydn and Mozart. Quartet in F major opens the cycle of op. 18. And due to the musical dynamism and the powerful contrasts it is considered the greatest work of the six. The lyrical atmosphere, somewhat dramatic of the second part is very impressive, rendering the crypt scene from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet if we take into account Amenda’s assertions in a letter to Wiedemann, or even the indication on the score of the work, "The Last Sighs". Next at 2:27:00 / The Middle String Quartets The Middle String Quartets. A dramatic gap occurred in Ludwig Van Beethoven’s string quartet composition between the relatively retrospective works of Op.18, completed in 1800, and the pioneering trio of Quartets Op.59, dating from 1805-6, which marked the beginning of his ‘’middle’’ period of creativity in this medium. Between these two sets of quartets, Beethoven produced a number of sonatas, the ‘’Eroica’’ Symphony, the first version of his opera ‘’Fidelio’’, the Fourth Symphony, and the Fourth Piano Concerto. Composed in the wake of these compositions and of his open avowal of deafness, the Quartets of Op.59 sustain that same heroic thrust. As Beethoven himself confessed about his own creative process around this time, ‘’the tones whir lin my soul.’’ In all his quartets, Beethoven maintained a supreme level of stylistic individuality, controlled unpredictability, and sense of purpose. Nevertheless the three numbers of the somewhat experimental Op.59 stand apart for their diversity in form and boundlessly imaginative range of expression. With theses works, in fact, Beethoven attained attained truly symphonic breadth and a new richness of texture far beyond 18th-century quartet tradition. The exuberant ‘’Razumovsky’’ Quartets of Op.59 were dedicated to the composer’s patron Count Andrei Razumovsky, Russian ambassador to Vienna; at the request of the count, two of these works contain Russian folk tunes. All there reveal a commanding logic of structure, thematic profusion, and wealth of detail. Beethoven’s contemporaries, including his faithful interpreters the Schuppanzigh Quartet, however, were initially displeased with the first two works of Op.59. Next at 5:21:30 / The Late String Quartets The Late String Quartets. Although all of Beethoven’s string quartets exhibit great diversity in style and outlook, it is the final quartets that display truly awesome individuality in organization and emotion. As his biographer Maynard Solomon expressed it, ‘’Beethoven in his late sonatas and quartets may be regarded as the originator of the avant-garde in music history.’’ Written after a fifteen-year respite from the genre, his last quartets reveal the culmination of the introspection that pervades all his music. All five are distinguished by depth of detail, massive architectural design, extremes of contrast, breathtaking harmonic schemes, and in increasing contrapuntal concern. Beethoven wrote these quartets for his personal audience of composers, artists, performers, and musical connoisseurs from the Viennese middle classes and minor nobility. Accordingly, several of the premieres of these works were privately sponsored for modest gatherings of admires. Nevertheless, as the music editor and essayist Ludwig Rellstab commented in 1825, ‘’Some of the most admirable younger Vienna virtuosos .. had held seventeen (or even more) rehearsals before daring to give the enigmatic new composition (Op.127) even a semi-public performance.’’ For many years after Beethoven’s death in 1827, his Late Quartets enjoyed few public performances, but they won the admiration of such Romantic composers as Felix Mendelssohn and Richard Wagner. The publishing process proceeded equally slowly. Except for Op.127, which appeared in June 1826, the other Late Quartets were published only posthumously. END
