The Beethoven String Quartet Project: Op. 130 (with Finale: Allegro)

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. 13 in Bb MAJOR, op. 130
I listened to the recording of the Guarneri String Quartet, recorded in 1969 on the RCA
label. It is available on YouTube.

Adagio ma non troppo - Allegro (Listen HERE )

Presto (Listen HERE )

Andante con moto, ma non troppo. Poco scherzoso (Listen HERE )

Alla danza tedesca. Allegro assai (Listen HERE )

Cavatina. Adagio molto espressivo (Listen HERE )

Finale: Allegro (Listen HERE )

Opus 130 was written in late 1825 and early 1826; premiered in March, 1826 and revised for another premiere in its final version in November, 1826. It was published in 1827, the year of Beethoven’s death.

Almost all I can say is “wow”. This piece packs a major wallop, especially listening to it in the context of the current uncertainty and tragedy unfolding all around us. There is such comfort and such humanity in all of the movements of this piece…such longing, such resignation. The writing is other-worldly at times and so incredibly earthy at others.

There is the big question, with opus 130, about whether you include the Grosse Fuge as the last movement - as Beethoven originally intended - or the alternate Allegro finale, which Beethoven added later (at the urging of his quartet colleagues) and which was one of the last pieces he wrote. I chose to listen to the Allegro finale, in the sensational, classic performance by the Guarneri Quartet. And I have decided to listen, in three days, to this quartet AGAIN, with the Grosse Fuge ending. I enjoyed reading Robert Hatten’s chapter on opus 130 - specifically its third movement - in William Kinderman’s Beethoven String Quartet book. In it, Hatten states “if Beethoven originally conceived of op. 130 in terms of a typical four-movement cycle, one might suppose that in expanding to six movements he was moving toward a more relaxed organization akin to a suite. However, his design for the inner movements clearly suggests two pairs of contrasting movements, corresponding to the traditional model of scherzo-slow movement, but doubled. This logical inner expansion of the traditional four-movement cycle would have served not only to balance the weightier outer movements but also to project the first movement’s dialectic of contrasting affects across the cycle as a whole.”

Balance does become a major issue as things get so expansive, but Beethoven handles the issue beautifully and with remarkable nuance.

I was knocked over by the staggering brilliance of the Guarneri recording. This is playing of great depth, humility, detail, virtuosity and playfulness. Top notch.

I don’t want to write too much about each movement, because they are so profound and full of subtlety that any description sounds a bit silly and imperfect. The first movement begins so evocatively and simply, leading to a lively Allegro with urgent 16th notes that fly forward. The placid second theme is lovely; the Gb major section has brilliant counterpoint and rich harmonies. Articulation is of supreme importance to Beethoven and he writes “non ligato” and “ben marcato” in a number of places. There is such invention in this movement and such variety of sonorities and pure sound. It’s also a wild tour through the keys with a lovely sense of abandon. Also, there is fragility and halting movements forward, interrupted by silence. I love the section in G major with gentle pulsing accompaniment near the end of the movement: so novel. The movement ends with bravado and certainty.

The short second movement is a twitchy country dance and just so inventive, with a varied da capo and abrupt ending.

The opening melody of the third movement, on the viola, is pastoral and singing (“cantabile”). The movement continues in a fragmented fashion and full of a wide variety of note values. Technically, it’s a slow movement, but the use of 32nd and even 64th notes in embellishments and accompanying figures move it along and give the feeling of it being out of time, or in several different paces simultaneously. There are marvelous effects: cuckoo clocks, pauses and an absolutely brilliant ending.

The fourth movement is one of my all-time favourites. It’s so nostalgic and elegant, featuring a simple chord progression over which Beethoven spins endless variation. The section in C major is brilliant, as is the off-balance variation near the end, feeling like two against three. The movement breaks down at the end, with each voice playing alone, then in pairs, then one final attempt at the theme leading to an elegant final cadence. Wonderfully unique writing.

The Cavatina is justly adored and revered as one of the greatest of Beethoven’s string quartet movements. It is indeed very heartfelt and full of longing. Words don’t and cant describe the transparency and deep feeling at the core of this remarkable piece. It’s tender, it’s warm, it’s full of love. The triplet section near the end highlights a shattering few bars in the violin one part, marked “Beklemmt”, meaning “oppressed, suffocated or anxious” (as suggested by the Beethoven scholar Michael Steinberg) which is halting and full of tragic emotion. I am struck by the intimate relationship between the two violin parts in this movement as well, how they melt into each other. I rather dramatically jotted the following note while listening: “where is the urgency now? where’s the anger? the big ideas? It’s as though everything has melted into a sense of resigned forgiveness: a profound and deeply human love.”

The Allego finale, which Beethoven added later, feels very Eastern European and dancelike, with its octave accompaniments. There’s a sense of triumph to the whole thing. The Ab major section is lyrical and expansive and I love the long episode where the rustic theme is broken up in an entertaining, strange and dense way leading to an 8th note unison/octave section with all the instruments, full of drama and energy. Beethoven still uses voice pairings effectively. The section where the 8th-2 16th fragment is explored is ingenious and I love the amazing return of the theme at a fortissimo! The final bars are conclusive and triumphant, as is the final cadence.

It’s a work of epic length and breadth and I leave it to Peter Laki to make this final and extremely important point about this piece and the late quartets of Beethoven in general: “Many of Beethoven’s contemporaries thought that at the end of his life, the master had taken leave of his senses, or at least that his deafness, now total, had caused him to lose all contact with, and consideration for, the outside world. (Their point seemed only to be reinforced by Beethoven’s famous words to violinist Ignaz Schuppanzigh, when the composer reportedly exclaimed: “What do I care about your miserable fiddle when the Spirit is talking to me!”) The late quartets could only begin to be understood when listeners were able to take them on their own terms and stopped measuring them against any other music, including Beethoven’s own earlier compositions.”

They are a world unto themselves.