It’s been one heckuva busy week – no time to write anything until now! Oh, okay, I took my motorcycle out for a nice ride in New Jersey yesterday – but that was indispensible therapy! Anyway, here are a few words about Monday’s music.
Remember Beethoven? The young revolutionary composer? The fellow who heard Mozart induce feelings of nostalgia and who promptly did the same in his third piano concerto, and who strove to induce feelings of melancholy in his Opus 18 no. 6 Quartet? Yes, that fellow!
Well, here we find Beethoven 25 years later, in his mid-fifties, deaf, beset with health problems, but a master at writing music that communicates a wide range of human emotions. He is the giant of the Romantic movement; if you can feel anything, you can probably hear it in Beethoven’s music. He was an eccentric character who lived two centuries ago, but if we listen, we can know him, learn more about ourselves, and - intellectual and artistic differences aside - know how very much he is like us.
The String Quartet in B-Flat Major, Opus 130 was completed in November of 1825 and premiered in March of 1826 by the Schuppanzigh Quartet. The original last movement was a fugue, and not just any fugue, but a Grosse Fugue of more than 15 minutes duration that critics thought was so big and complex that it overshadowing the first five movements of the quartet. Beethoven, ever the working composer, replaced the fugue with another finale late in 1826, the one we will play, and the fugue was published as a stand-alone work.
As we explore this quartet, you will know you are a long way from the quartets of Haydn and Mozart. Beethoven developed a new language of musical expression, unlocking a whole new musical world for himself and all who come after him.
The quartet has six movements instead of the usual four. The first movement begins with a quiet adagio that is interrupted by a raucous allegro, with each alternating as the movement progresses. The allegro itself becomes quiet at one point, revealing some of the most amazingly beautiful musical passages I’ve ever heard.
A Presto follows, quite quick and brief and not a little strange, which is reminiscent of the presto movement in Beethoven’s Spring violin sonata, composed by Beethoven 1801. The following Andante Con Moto is lyrical, gorgeous and not a little whimsical – Beethoven appends the movement’s title with Poco Scherzoso; a little scherzo-like, a bit playful. This is another of Beethoven’s metronomic, contrapuntal movements that pop up in works including his Opus 3 string trio, his string quartets Opus 18 No. 4 and Opus 59 No. 1, and his Symphony No. 8.
An allegro follows, Alla Danza Tedesca, a German dance form. Beethoven makes the music dance from the first measure; the last note of a three-note figure is cut short, as if tossed upward to land gently in the next measure. It’s a little unsettling at first, but the logic of the device sinks in after a while. I’ve wondered if Berlioz got his inspiration for the waltz in his Symphony Fantastique from this movement; both outline the dance with flowing sixteenth note passages that sound quite similar.
A Cavatina follows, marked Adagio Molto Espressivo. A cavatina is a simple song, not like a full-blown aria, but this one is anything but simple. Beethoven takes us on an inner journey that reveals much about him, and about ourselves. When commentators write about it, they usually write about Beethoven’s suffering, and although I’m sure he suffered, he was first and foremost an artist. Yes, he kvetched in his letters (read any Facebook postings lately?) but we miss the point if we think his music is just a lot of wailing. Beethoven also wrote that he literally lived for his art in his last few years; it is what got him up in the morning and gave him a reason to keep going despite his troubles. He lived to explore in music what it means to be human, and to create beauty. So listen for the beauty in this Cavatina – it’s there in spades.
Just an aside; years ago I had a stand partner named Tina; we quietly joked around a lot while conductors were prattling on instead of having us rehearse music. Whenever a movement was titled Cavatina, she would point to it with her bow and give me the evil eye – she was Italian-American – Beware of Tina! Cave Tina to you Latin scholars – get it?
But I digress. The new Finale: Allegro Beethoven composed for the quartet is a grand and rousing movement. Some say that it doesn’t really fit with the preceding five movements, but people say that about the original Grosse Fugue as well. The movement is full of Beethovenian drive and wit, and I frankly think it would be a shame if he had kept the Grosse Fugue in place and had never composed the Allegro.
One final note - this quartet, like all of the late Beethoven quartets, is really difficult to play, especially in terms of fitting the individual parts together into a cohesive ensemble. So why are we doing it? Well, musicians hardly ever get to play these works. There is a plethora of easier and eminently satisfying quartets that are much more readable, so these works aren’t read very widely when musicians get together compared to most of the Mozart, Haydn, Schubert early Beethoven, etc. quartets.
These quartets are also not widely heard. They have their devotees and aficionados, true, but I don’t believe many general listeners have more than a passing acquaintance with the late Beethoven quartets.
So we hope our exploration of the Opus 130 string quartet of Beethoven will be rewarding for listeners and musicians; that it will inspire all of us to become better acquainted with these great works of the great master.
Given proper forces, we will also explore once again the Greig Holberg Suite with our Community Musicians. It is a wonderful piece of music that we played last November, and it deserves a reprise.
It’s late, I have to send this e-mail sometime tonight, so here goes!
We look forward to sharing Beethoven and Grieg with you tomorrow.
Let’s Play!
Jim (the violist)
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