Ludwig van Beethoven's late string quartets are the following works: These six works are Beethoven's last major completed compositions. Although dismissed by musicians and audiences of Beethoven's day, they are now widely considered to be among the greatest musical compositionsof all time, and they have inspired many later composers.
Overview
Prince Nikolai Galitzine commissioned the first three quartets and in a letter dated 9 November 1822, offered to pay Beethoven "what you think proper" for the three works. Beethoven replied on 25 January 1823 with his price of 50 ducats for each opus. Beethoven composed the quartets in the sequence 12, 15, 13, 14, 16, simultaneously writing quartets 15 and 13. Beethoven wrote these last quartets in failing health. In April 1825, Beethoven was bedridden and remained ill for about a month. The illness—or more precisely, his recovery from it—is remembered for having given rise to the deeply felt slow movement of the Fifteenth Quartet, which Beethoven called "Holy song of thanks to the divinity, from one made well". He went on to complete the quartets now numbered Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Sixteenth. The last work Beethoven completed was the substitute final movement of the thirteenth quartet, which replaced the extremely difficult Große Fuge.
The "ABC" quartets
Opus 132, 130 and 131 are sometimes called the "ABC" quartets because of their successive tonalities: A minor, B major, and C minor. They are thematically linked together over the four notes of the second tetrachord of the harmonic minor scale. This is explained by A. David Hogarth in his notes written for the recording of all six quartets by the Quartetto Italiano: ] Beethoven's "obsession at that time with the upper four notes of the harmonic minor scale" is actually older and can be found elsewhere in his works. For an early example, see e.g. the first movement of the trio for strings opus 9 nr 3, in C minor.
Appraisal
These last quartets went far beyond the comprehension of musicians and audiences of Beethoven's time. One musician commented that "we know there is something there, but we do not know what it is." Composer Louis Spohr called them "indecipherable, uncorrected horrors". Opinion has changed considerably from the time of their first bewildered reception: these six quartets comprise Beethoven's last major, completed compositions and are widely considered to be among the greatest musical compositions of all time. The Frankfurt School philosopher Theodor Adorno, in particular, thought highly of them, and Igor Stravinsky described the Große Fuge as "an absolutely contemporary piece of music that will be contemporary forever". Their forms and ideas inspired and continue to inspire musicians and composers, such as Richard Wagner and Béla Bartók. Wagner, when reflecting on Op. 131's first movement, said that it "reveals the most melancholy sentiment expressed in music". The last musical wish of Schubert was to hear the Op. 131 quartet, which he did on 14 November 1828, five days before his death. Upon listening to a performance of the Op. 131 quartet, Schubert remarked, "After this, what is left for us to write?" Of the late quartets, Beethoven's favorite was the Fourteenth Quartet, op. 131 in C minor, which he rated as his most perfect single work.
