play pause radio-play skip-back skip-forward playing search copy check embed close plus caret-down caret-left caret-right caret-up chevron-down chevron-left chevron-right chevron-up arrow-left arrow-right open-in-new-tab filter menu more-horizontal more-vertical share share-android select star star-block volume-block volume-mute-block volume-mute volume lock settings recording composition devices laptop speaker
Log inCreate account

Beethoven: Late String Quartets

1/3/2020, 31 Tracks, 3:50:15

One of today's leading string quartets plays the most celebrated set of string quartets ever written. The Brodsky Quartet's recording of Beethoven's final six quartets celebrates the great composer in the 250th year since his birth. Among his last compositions, these daring works encapsulate the visionary nature of late Beethoven.

Featuring

  • Daniel Rowland
  • Ian Belton
  • Paul Cassidy
  • Jacqueline Thomas
  • Brodsky Quartet
  • Ludwig van Beethoven

Did you know?

1/7

Composition History

Beethoven decided to remove the original long finale of String Quartet, Op. 130, and publish it as a separate work, the Große Fuge, Op. 133, after its first performance.

Source: Booklet

Composition History

Beethoven's late string quartets originated from a commission by Nikolas Galitzin, a 28-year-old Russian nobleman and amateur cellist, who requested one, two, or three new quartets in 1822.

Source: Booklet

Composition History

Beethoven's String Quartet, Op. 95 'Serioso,' was composed in 1810 but published in 1816, and despite its early date, it is often linked with his late quartets due to its textures, unusual forms, and striking musical gestures.

Source: Booklet

Composer's Artistic Vision

Beethoven's String Quartet, Op. 135, includes the inscription 'Der schwer gefaßte Entschluß: Muß es sein? Es muß sein!' (The Resolution Taken with Difficulty: Must It Be? It Must Be!), which highlights the relationship between the finale's slow introduction and its main theme.

Source: Booklet

Compositional Technique

Beethoven's String Quartet, Op. 131, rethinks the concept of a 'movement,' with some numbered sections serving as links rather than full movements, and the entire work played without pauses between sections.

Source: Booklet

Performer Biography

The Brodsky Quartet, formed in 1972, has performed over 3000 concerts and released more than seventy recordings, known for their mastery of traditional repertoire and pioneering work with diverse artists.

Source: Booklet

Composer Biography

Beethoven was extremely busy with other major projects, including the Missa solemnis and the Ninth Symphony, which delayed his work on Galitzin's quartet commission.

Source: Booklet

You might also enjoy...

BEETHOVEN, L. Van: String Quartets Nos. 11-16 / Grosse Fuge (Suske Quartet)
Beethoven: Late String Quartets
Beethoven: String Quartets Vol.3
Beethoven: The String Quartets, Live from Suntory Hall, Tokyo, Vol. 3
Beethoven: The Late String Quartets
Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn
Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn
Beethoven: Complete String Quartets, Vol. 3
Beethoven: The Late String Quartets
Beethoven: The Late String Quartets
Beethoven: The Late String Quartets
©℗ 2020 Chandos