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Despite the fact that Beethoven
already had significant success with piano trios,
piano sonatas, and other works written
in his 20s, he only completed his first six
string quartets, the opus 18 set,
at the age of 30. Fully aware of the musical
giants preceding him, Haydn and Mozart,
Beethoven must have prepared himself
with great care in order to follow in their footsteps.
For example, he himself wrote out by hand
Mozart's A major quartet, K464, in order to
study it in detail, and ultimately to use it
as inspiration for his own quartet in A major,
opus 18 number five.
And Beethoven's sketchbooks, that have
fortunately been handed down to us,
show him struggling to come up
with the beginning of what would eventually become
his opus 18 number one string quartet.
In one instance, experimenting with four beats to a bar
before realizing that three would be far better.
Opus 18 number one clearly inherits the
musical language of Haydn and Mozart, but it has
its own distinct character. The first movement
is crafted brilliantly with charm, vitality,
exuberance, and sparkle. There is even a touch
of mock-seriousness, when six hefty notes
march up to a very long intensely sustained one,
do it again for a good measure,
and then lightly and playfully skip off
to the movement's end.
There is nothing mock about the second movement's
seriousness, however.
This is music of great drama.
Listen to the pulsating opening notes
from the three lower voices. The aching melancholy
of the first violin's melody.
Its reincarnation later as an angry outburst
from second violin and viola.
The heart-stopping spaces between chords.
First diminishing in volume, and much later
increasing to a fast chord of sheer rage.
And finally, a passage in the first violin
that gradually winds down like a puppet,
whose strings have gone limp, the two
final spasms that end the movement.
According to Beethoven's friend Karl Amenda,
the second movement was inspired by the
tomb scene from William Shakespeare's
Romeo and Juliet. I did not know this for
the longest time. But every time I've heard
or played this music, I had the distinct and
uncommon feeling that I was at the theater,
to witness a great tragedy being played out.
And every time I've come to the end of this
movement onstage, it has been hard for me to retain
a performer's necessary objectivity,
and not be completely swept away
by the powerful emotions embedded
in its last dying notes.
And now, Mia will elaborate on this.
As Arnold mentioned, the second movement
is in D minor, inspired by the tomb scene
from William Shakepeare's Romeo and Juliet.
It so happens that Beethoven reworked the version
that Karl Amenda first received. A year later,
he sent the new version to the publisher,
with a change in the second movement's
marking, from Adagio molto, meaning very slow,
to the more specific, "Adagio affettuoso
ed appassionato." Slow tempo,
with tender feeling, and with passion.
Of these modifications, Beethoven wrote to Amenda,
"Be sure not to hand on to anybody your quartet,
in which I have made some drastic alterations.
For only now have I learned to write quartets.
And this you'll notice, I fancy,
when you receive them."
The use of D minor as a key for this musical statement
is notable. Because it is the only slow movement
in the opus 18 set of six quartets
that's in a minor mode. Beethoven's opus 18
number one is set in F major, with an upbeat
first movement, that pays homage to Haydn.
But then he makes a decisive move to D minor,
to facilitate this emotionally weighty second movement.
One can't help but make associations
with Mozart's tragic statements in the same key.
This movement plumbs the depths of sadness,
and brings forth poignant references
to remembrances past.
But that's not all. This music
is a presentiment of things to come.
The Romantic spirit at work here
comes into its own in Beethoven's later works.
Ultimately, he leaves behind the formal restraint
and elegance of the Classical era,
in search of his own, self-directed expression.
The final movement displays Beethoven's
vivaciousness. It's quite Haydnesque in spirit.
The central section of this movement,
which we refer to as the development,
demonstrates Beethoven's love of counterpoint,
as a fugato passage takes root.
This example of fugal writing in the finale
is another sign of things to come.
Think of the finale to Beethoven's string quartet
in C major, opus 59 number three.
Or the granddaddy of them all,
the Grosse Fugue, which was the original
final movement in his string quartet
in B flat major, opus 130.
Well, more on this later.
Before we get ahead of ourselves,
let's listen to a moment from
the Romeo and Juliet movement
of Beethoven's string quartet,
opus 18 number one in F major.
[MUSIC]
Arnold SteinhardtPerformance Faculty
Dr. Mia ChungInstructor of Interpretive Analysis
