The Beethoven String Quartet Project: Op. 127
As the necessary home confinement continues today and for the foreseeable future, I have turned to a project I intended to engage in at some point this year: listening to and reflecting upon the magnificent string quartets of Ludwig van Beethoven, who was born 250 years ago. For each of the next 17 days, I hope to post a short paragraph or two on these stimulating pieces.
STRING QUARTET No. 12 in Eb MAJOR, op. 127
I listened to the recording of the Orford String Quartet, recorded in 1989 on the Delos
label. It is available on YouTube.
Maestoso - Allegro (Listen HERE )
Adagio ma non troppo e molto cantabile - Andante con moto (Listen HERE )
Scherzando vivace (Listen HERE )
Finale: Allegro (Listen HERE )
I found listening to this quartet to be tremendously moving on many levels. First and most important, it’s another extraordinary piece in a completely new and different way. Is there no end to Beethoven’s innovative powers? William Kinderman explains the commencement of the writing of the last five quartets of Beethoven by reminding us that they are “bound up with a commission from the Russian Prince Nikolaus Galitzin in St. Petersburg. Beethoven had already been thinking of composing quartets…prior to Galitzin’s request, but the prince seems to have acted as the major catalyst. In November, 1822 Galitzin wrote to Beethoven requesting the composition of as many as three new quartets. Beethoven accepted the proposal in 1823; but the actual composition of the first of these new quartets (Op. 127) was delayed for more than a year by other projects, notably the Ninth Symphony.” He wrote Op. 127 in the last half of 1824 and early 1825. “It is a pivotal composition among the masterpieces of his last creative period”, Kinderman continues, “one in which structural and symbolic aspects from his two great choral-orchestral works are absorbed into the sphere of chamber music.”
I was so happy to listen to this performance of the Orford Quartet and it brought back many deeply pleasant memories of hearing this splendid group. I essentially grew up going to Orford Quartet concerts and hearing them play the standard quartet repertoire, as well as new compositions from a wide range of Canadian composers, including my father’s brilliant string quartet, which he wrote in 1977. As a violinist, Andrew Dawes and Kenneth Perkins were heroes of mine and I was mesmerized by the way they made it all look so easy. In 1982, I was privileged to hear their cycle of the complete quartets of Beethoven at the St. Lawrence Centre in Toronto: an experience I will never forget.
Listening to Op 127, I am struck by the lack of aggressive tension that we find in some of the middle period quartets. The extreme that Beethoven goes to in this piece is length: he takes his time in all four movements, spinning out musical ideas in all directions, making the concept of “forward motion” not as relevant. The rich opening chords of the piece lead to a poignant Allegro theme. The G major section is full of longing and drama, leading back to the opening Maestoso, still in G. The first theme is gentle and rocking and seems to spin itself out in all directions. There’s a wonderful chapter in Kinderman’s book on the sting quartets, authored by Birgit Lodes, entitled “Temporality and Mythology in Op. 127/I”. Lodes states that “in this quartet, Beethoven undercut the directional, dynamic qualities of a sonata-form Allegro, which is such a suitable form for telling a unique, teleological story, and he instead sought to convey what we might deem “mythic time”.”
Mythic time. A wonderful concept.
The second movement has to be one of the most incredible movements ever written by Beethoven. It is a sprawling theme and variations, with each variation yet more inventive than the last. It takes its time and is almost as long as the entire Op. 95 quartet! I love the Andante con moto section. sounding, as it does, like a gentle marching band. It’s as though, in this movement, the “sturm und drang” has subsided and we’ve traveled to a different realm altogether, a different approach to musical meaning, full of mystery and timelessness.
The Scherzando vivace is playful and full of dialogue between the instruments. The bridges at the end of the “B” section in 2/4 time are absolutely brilliant and throw everything a little off balance in a good way. Rhythm and melody go hand in hand in this movement, The Presto “Trio” section is expansive and chromatic and indeed the whole structure of this movement is inspired, ending with a lovely, unassuming coda.
There’s a folky-ness to the Finale that is adorable. The opening section sounds to me - is this blasphemous? - like an accordion. Like the rest of the movements, this one takes its time and is very poignant and simple. though incredibly complicated in the way it’s put together. The final 6/8 section is a perfect way to bring the piece to a close.
Approaching the final quartets, I was bracing for relentless intensity. How wrong I was. Opus 127 introduces us to yet another side to Beethoven: the mature, meandering, kindly, profound storyteller who shares with us his vision of humanity so generously.
I’m grateful for the Orford String Quartet and for the wonder of opus 127.
Larry Beckwith (Tuesday, March 31, 2020)