Beethoven was said to consider the string quartet Opus 131 his own favorite. Beethoven completed it in May 1826, and he may have heard it in a private performance before he died, but it was apparently not played publically until 1835.
Beethoven’s long evolving experiments with directing the flow of an entire work towards its end find perhaps their fullest fruits in Op. 131, cast in seven sections played without pause. These seven sections, however, are basically the four conventional movements with a fugal introduction and two connecting interludes.
The opening Adagio is more contemplative than sorrowful. It ends with an ascending C-sharp octave leap, which is bumped up a half-step to launch the ensuing Allegro molto vivace.
This sunny and rhythmically lively second section has the tempo and extroverted character of a typical first movement, but none of the tension or drama.
The third section is a brief ensemble recitative that sets up the slow movement, a ravishingly expressive set of variations – in different meters and tempos – on the sequentially yearning theme presented by the violins.
The Presto that follows is in effect the work’s scherzo, a superficially blithe movement that is constantly on the edge of technical disaster, with odd “molto poco adagio” disjunctions and a coda that begins with glassy sul ponticello (on the bridge) whistling.
The brooding Adagio sixth section introduces the furious finale, the only full sonata form in the Quartet.
Here is the Danish String quartet to Ply this amazing music for you:
