String Quartet No. 16 (Beethoven)
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Beethoven's String Quartet No. 16 in F major (Opus 135) was written in 1826 and was the last substantial work he finished. Only the last movement of the Quartet Op. 130, written as a replacement for the Große Fuge, was written later. It was premiered by the Schuppanzigh Quartet in March 1828.
The work is on a smaller scale than his other late quartets. Under the introductory slow chords in the last movement Beethoven wrote in the manuscript "Muss es sein?" (Must it be?) to which he responds, with the faster main theme of the movement, "Es muss sein!" (It must be!). The whole movement is headed "Der schwer gefaßte Entschluß" (The Difficult Decision).
It is in four movements:
- Allegretto
- Vivace
- Lento assai, cantante e tranquillo
- “Der schwer gefaßte Entschluß:” Grave — Allegro — Grave ma non troppo tratto — Allegro
[edit] See also
- String Quartets Nos. 12 - 16 and Grosse Fuge, Opus 127, 130 - 135 (Beethoven)
- Beethoven
- List of works by Beethoven
[edit] External links
- Takacs Quartets program notes with more on the history of the finale of the quartet in particular
- Project Gutenberg E-Book of the Quartet
| String Quartets by Ludwig van Beethoven |
|---|
| String quartets, Op. 18 | Op. 18 No. 1 | Op. 18 No. 2 | Op. 18 No. 3 | Op. 18 No. 4 | Op. 18 No. 5 | Op. 18 No. 6 |
| String quartets, Op. 59 ("Rasumovsky") | Op. 59 No. 1 | Op. 59 No. 2 | Op. 59 No. 3 |
| Middle period quartets | Op. 74 ("Harp") | Op. 95 ("Serioso") |
| Late quartets | Op. 127 | Op. 130 | Op. 131 | Op. 132 | Grosse Fuge, Op. 133 | Op. 135 |
| Arrangement by Beethoven of Op. 14 No. 1 |
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