The Beethoven String Quartet Project: Op. 132
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. 15 in A MINOR, op. 132
I listened to the recording of Quartetto Italiano, recorded in 1967 in Switzerland on the Decca label. It’s available on YouTube.
Assai sostenuto - Allegro
Allegro ma non tanto
Molto adagio - Andante
Alla marcia, assai vivace
Allegro appassionato
This was one of the three quartets that Beethoven wrote for his commission from Prince Galitzin and, in fact, it precedes opus 130 (and 131 as I wrote about yesterday). It was premiered by the Schuppanzigh Quartet at a Viennese tavern called “The Wild Man” on September 9, 1825 and given its concert hall premiere two months later. It’s another towering masterpiece, full of interesting ideas and a deep sense of spirituality. The piece really has it all. Beethoven began writing it in the later part of March, 1825 and a few weeks later he became seriously ill and required doctor’s care and a very strict diet. He didn’t resume writing the piece until late June or early July, and at that point it took on a whole new character and form. As Peter Laki writes: “with its “Holy Song of Thanksgiving of a Convalescent to the Deity in the Lydian Mode,” the A-Minor quartet is in a category all by itself, not only among Beethoven’s quartets but in the entire music literature as well. Nowhere else did Beethoven take such a bold step outside the style that Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven himself, had done so much to develop…..in the “Holy Song” he reduced his means and retreated into a newly-invented archaic world that no one knew existed.”
Laki is writing of the expansive, emotionally wrought, heavenly “molto adagio” movement, which Beethoven includes as the centerpiece of this work. He had to do some rearranging of movements and in fact sent the “Alla danza tedesca” movement (originally in A major) to the opus 130 and transposed it to G major.
I was thrilled and moved to listen to the magnificent recording by Quartetto Italiano, a group that formed in 1945 and was active until 1980. They recorded the complete Beethoven quartets in the late 60s and early 70s.
Movement one has a mysterious opening that introduces a fixation on the semi-tone between the fifth and sixth degrees of the minor scale. This concentration evokes a feeling of leaning and yearning. The whole movement is dramatic and features all sorts of tempo fluctuations, starts and stops, and wide array of note values that has the effect of playing with time very profoundly. It's a fascinating piece harmonically, as well, with unresolved dissonances and far-out chords that are voiced in remarkable ways. Harmonically, it feels very modern. The violin 1 and cello line in octaves near the end of the movement is tremendously poignant.
The second movement is an entirely different kind of piece. The opening in octaves is arresting and the whole movement unfolds with flowing tenderness. It’s a work of great genius. The scope of the “B” section is wide and deep. The coda of this opening is brilliant and it leads to a quirky “trio” that is like a hurdy-gurdy piece with accompanying drone. It’s a dance and a folk song all wrapped up in one and the rhythmic architecture is stunning.
The afore-mentioned third movement is an extraordinary gift. The hymn at the beginning is rich, warm and full of grateful harmonic consonance. This is PURE BEAUTIFUL SOUND that hardly seems to move at all. It’s other-worldly and everything seems to be shimmering and transporting us slowly and inexorably toward some heavenly plain. The spacing of the chords is brilliant. The andante (subtitled “feeling new strength”) is simple, uplifting and celebratory. The last part of the adagio is marked “Mit innigster Empfindung” (“with the deepest feeling”) and everything leads to a cadence that lands on a wide open D chord with no third: pianissimo, fragile, perfect fifth and octave. The final section and last, lingering chord is transformational.
The short march that follows lightens the mood considerably! It’s clever and formal and plays with the idea of an “anacrusis” or pick-up beat….where’s the first beat?! Near the end of this movement, things adopt a feeling of “recitative” that drives a bit (“immer geschwinder”) and leads to the final movement.
This last movement seems to look forward to Brahms. It’s a very “A minor”-ish piece, if that makes any sense. We’re back to the urgency and probing and longing of the first movement. The expressive opening returns many times throughout the movement yet is always harmonized or voiced slightly differently. I love the octave statements of the theme, giving more and more passion to the musical idea. The rhythm is so complicated and perfect, playing as it does with the relationship between 3/4 and 6/8. The Presto near the end is thrilling and the emergence of the final A major section is like a ray of sunshine. The Violin 1 and cello play the expansive theme near the conclusion and this magnificent piece comes to a beautiful and majestic end.
These late quartets have the effect of expanding the mind and the heart. Listening to opus 132 today, of all days, feels like a precious gift for which I am deeply grateful.
Larry Beckwith (Friday, April 3, 2020)