Ludwig Van Beethoven [1770-1827] composed 16 string quartets. Music historians have divided them into three periods, early, middle and late. The Late Quartets, Nos. 12 to 16, have assumed legendary status in classical music. They are often described as being the pinnacle of Western Art Music. The most praised, and designated as the jewel in the crown, is No. 14, Opus 131 in C-sharp minor. Beethoven once remarked that it was his favourite composition. I prefer No. 15 in A minor Opus 132 and No. 12 in E-flat major Opus 127. However, Opus 131 is a truly amazing work!
The last three years of Beethoven’s life were almost exclusively dedicated to string quartets. By this time he had been completely deaf for several years, so he never heard that which he was composing, except in his imagination. To accomplish such a result in these circumstances is a remarkable achievement. The works are truly transcendent and seem to be of another time and place. In terms of personal expression and technical difficulty they stand head and shoulders above all other quartets in the SQ genre.
String Quartet no. 15 Opus 132 was the first SQ that I ever really heard. The titanic adagio movement was played on Australia’s National Broadcaster, the ABC, on a show The Search for Meaning early one Sunday evening. The minute the show was over I went to a CD and book store that stayed open Sunday nights to enquire if they had a copy. The sales assistant said ‘Ah, you’ve been listening to The Search for Meaning!’ Fortuitously, they had a copy. It was 25 years ago and I have no idea of the performers but it was the commencement of a long and rewarding infatuation with string quartets.
Quartet No. 15 usually consists of five movements, although occasionally it is performed as four, by combining two movements. The first movement begins with a dark solo cello passage, then moves through a virtuoso violin melody full of earnest vigour. The mood then changes to a light skipping passage. The whole movement works this way, with incredibly moving sections giving way to joyful passages. There are a number of recurring themes, with one intense melody returning time and time again.
The second movement has two recurring themes and there exist some other-worldly passages that link the occurrence of these themes. All of this in preparation for the emotional centre-piece of the work, the adagio third movement.
At this time, Beethoven had a severe intestinal problem and after his recuperation he commenced a most remarkable movement. Due to his recovery from the illness he prefaced it with the inscription Song of Thanksgiving to the Deity from a Convalescent in the Lydian Mode. I have seen several different translations of the original German but this one is pretty typical.
The movement runs for about 20 minutes and I don’t expect to be able to relate its many moods in one or two paragraphs. It begins with a mournful, quiet melody. Beethoven constantly returns to this theme throughout the piece. Following two interjections of an incredibly stately melody it returns to a sombre mood. After about 13 minutes, the music is no longer of this world. It has become so achingly beautiful and prayer-like; this is indeed revolutionary music. After a time the opening theme is restated and developed in a transcendent manner that simply defies description. It finally drifts forward to a conclusion.
The fourth and fifth movements return to this world and are filled with light melodies and many recapitulations. There are restatements of one of the themes from the deep third movement, completely reharmonised in an optimistic manner and a return to joyful music. Such is the way of a master! These movements sound as if they could have originated in Beethoven’s early or middle quartets. The final movement ends with a flourish and it is all over. I shall leave you with the words of a friend ‘It takes you there and brings you back again!’
Briefly revisiting the Late Quartets as a whole, a host of books and words have been written on their manifold moods and mysteries. I shall probably comment on some of the other works in the future.
There are many fine recorded performances, both of the SQ No. 15 on one CD, or for the more adventurous, a 3-CD set of all of the Late Quartets. I have two complete sets, the Vegh SQ and my perennial favourites, the Quartetto Italiano. I can also recommend the Amadeus and the Tokyo SQs. This is the kind of music of which you can have several sets. They all have something different to say about these wonderful works.
All of Beethoven’s Late String Quartets are available on Spotify and YouTube. They are also on earsense, including seven versions of No. 15. They would all be worth hearing.
Listenability: The most transcendent music that I have ever heard.