The String Quartets of Ludwig Van Beethoven

I ordered the complete collection of Beethovens string quartets a few days ago and they just came in today. I haven't been able to listen to all of them yet, but so far the first two string quartets have been a dissapointment. I mean, yes, they were awesome, but I've heard people claim that Beethovens string quartets were better than his symphonies. So far that doesn't seem to be the case, but I can't really judge off of just hearing two.

I have, prior to receiving these CD's, heard Beethovens 16th string quartet in F major, and that was absolutely incredible. I've also heard his Grosse fugue from another quartet in B flat and that, too, was incredible. I have a feeling that the rest of Beethovens later quartets will be amazing.

Discuss these string quartets. Which one(s) is/are your favorite? Is there anything specifically amazing that Beethoven does that I should be careful to listen for? etc. etc.

its been a while since i was listenin to beethoven........but hes definitely the best ever composer...........im not a violinist or pianist or anythin......i play guitar and some of his fugues sound sick played neo classical style.......

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its been a while since i was listenin to beethoven........but hes definitely the best ever composer...........

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Well, I dunno about that. :p

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i play guitar and some of his fugues sound sick played neo classical style.......

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Beethovens Fugues? Which fugues are you talking about? I've only ever heard his Grosse Fugue, and the third movement from his 9th (which is fugal in nature, I guess), as well as one random, miscellaneous fugue. What other fugues have Beethoven written and are you sure you aren't confusing him with Bach?

Edit: Apparently the second movement of string quartet no. 4 is a fugue (or at least it sounds like one.)

the early quartets (op 18) are fairly non-exciting, although they are still pretty good. The Rasumovsky quartets (op 59) are amazing. I think Op 59 No 3 is one of the best quartets ever, especially mvt 2 (andantino quasi allegretto) which is the work of an absolute musical genius of the highest order. The rest of the middle quartets (the other two in Op 59 plus Op 74 and Op 95) are also good. The late quartets are all amazing. My favorites are Op 130 (which originally had as the finale the Great Fugue, although it was later pulled out as a standalone piece and a new shorter finale inserted) along with the Great Fugue and also Op 131 is quite awesome.

but absolutely listen to Op 59 No 3 (all of it, although most especially mvt 2). It might be more special to me because I wrote a significant analysis of the second movement, but more likely I wrote the analysis because it was so special.

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Well, I dunno about that.

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well paginini is the only other composer i think is better than him......i dont know alot about classical music.....yeh i play bach fugues aswel....
i can only remember 1 beethoven fugue....its cool....cant remember how it goes.....i used to play it as a long picking exercise....it was cool.....if i find it ill say what it is.......EDIT;i think it was in A minor.....

Mozart's string quartets > Beethoven's string quartets.

Fo' real.

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Originally Posted by roto13-ness

Mozart's string quartets > Beethoven's string quartets.

Fo' real.

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Good, because I just received my complete collection of Mozarts works today. I'll be comparing them myself, though.

ALL of Mozart's works?!? You must have a lot of extra cash laying around... (I'm guessing you mean his quartets?)
EDIT: After seeing your Mozart thread, I see that you do in fact mean his complete works. Something over a hundred bucks- not bad at all. I looked at a couple of the reviews, and they seemed to think the performances were adequate. Looks like a good deal, if so. END EDIT

I have The "Rasumovsky" quartets (which I also recommend), Op. 130 with the Gross Fugue, and a lot of the later quartets. The analytical stuff basically goes over my head, but I very much enjoy them (for the most part, the "serioso" (Op. 95?) is a little hard to get into).

String quartets are relatively hard to find at the music store, but I picked up a couple of Mendelssohn's, No's. 5 and 6 a little while ago. I have Schubert's last four including "Death and the Maiden" which is one of my favorite, and Debussy's and Ravel's, both of which are excellent if you like their styles. I wish they had written more quartets!

Though it's written for string orchestra, I feel I have to mention a piece by Shoenberg called "Transfigured Night." It's passionate and haunting in a way and on a level that I don't think I've heard anywhere else! Maybe you know it, but you should definitely check it out if you haven't already.

Enjoy your Beethoven and Mozart!

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Originally Posted by farplaner

ALL of Mozart's works?!? You must have a lot of extra cash laying around...

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I just pirated it. I try to justify it by telling myself that it's public domain, though it doesn't work that way. :P

Transfigured Night was originally written for string sextet (or maybe septet) and then expanded for full string orchestra. It's good, and from Schoenberg's late romantic period (pre-atonal).

Schubert's quartets are great, but many hold that his string quintet is even better.

Shostakovich has a great set of 15 quartets too.

nik0tine, there are other great composers. Why are Beethoven and Mozart so famous? There are other great ones: Elgar, Boccherini, Bach, Handel, Saint-Saens, and Haydn. The list could go on.

Beethoven and Mozart are so famous because they were so damn good. From my small amount of experience they were better than most other composers. (Not to say that the others weren't good) Beethoven is famous, and rightly so, because of how revolutionary and creative his stuff was.

Bach is my favorite, though. Handel isn't bad, but alot of his choral stuff is in English and that bothers me. I prefer to not know what is being sung. Haydn is good but I'm unfamilliar with alot of his stuff. I don't know much about those other composers.

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Originally Posted by Hambone

nik0tine, there are other great composers. Why are Beethoven and Mozart so famous? There are other great ones: Elgar, Boccherini, Bach, Handel, Saint-Saens, and Haydn. The list could go on.

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Also Wagner,Grieg and Berlioz.

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Originally Posted by polonoid

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Originally Posted by Hambone

nik0tine, there are other great composers. Why are Beethoven and Mozart so famous? There are other great ones: Elgar, Boccherini, Bach, Handel, Saint-Saens, and Haydn. The list could go on.

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Also Wagner,Grieg and Berlioz.

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And Chopin, Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, and Vivaldi. Thankfully he made mention of how 'the list could go on' so we don't have to mention all of them. :p

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Originally Posted by eestlinc

Transfigured Night was originally written for string sextet (or maybe septet) and then expanded for full string orchestra. It's good, and from Schoenberg's late romantic period (pre-atonal).

Schubert's quartets are great, but many hold that his string quintet is even better.

Shostakovich has a great set of 15 quartets too.

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I have the sextet version also, but I prefer the string orch. For some reason I was thinking that someone else arranged it for the sextet...

Trout, right? I heard a lot of hype, so I bought it, and I still much prefer death and the maiden. I've been hearing quite a bit of Shostakovich on the radio and Cable music channel. Some of his quartets might be the next thing I pick up.

I'm working on an arrangement of Grieg's popular concerto (the opening theme), and I can't get enough of the Peer Gynt Suite. Of course you have "In the Hall of the Mountian King" and "Morning," but the Suite is full of great stuff. I don't generally like a whole lot of vocal stuff, but Grieg writes for it very well (in the suite and also in some of his songs with piano I've heard).

Haydn was very influential to the young Beethoven, and much of early Beethoven bears a striking resemblance to late Haydn.

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Originally Posted by farplaner

Trout, right? I heard a lot of hype, so I bought it, and I still much prefer death and the maiden.

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Not Trout. That's a quintet for violin, viola, cello, bass, and piano. I'm referring to the string quintet which is for two violins, viola, and two cellos. It's most often performed or recorded by an established string quartet that brings is another famous cellist to play the fifth part. It's a quite substantial work, around 50 minutes. It's definitely in the same realm as Death and the Maiden, but perhaps better.

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Originally Posted by nik0tine

Beethoven and Mozart are so famous because they were so damn good. From my small amount of experience they were better than most other composers. (Not to say that the others weren't good) Beethoven is famous, and rightly so, because of how revolutionary and creative his stuff was.

Bach is my favorite, though. Handel isn't bad, but alot of his choral stuff is in English and that bothers me. I prefer to not know what is being sung. Haydn is good but I'm unfamilliar with alot of his stuff. I don't know much about those other composers.

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Ohh I know why Mozart and Beethoven are so popular. They wrote the most music. I may be wrong. I probably am wrong. I went to an Austin String Quartet private concert a while ago with my school orchestra teacher and I like quartets but they do have their dull movements. I'd much rather hear a viola or cello concerto. Symphonies are fun also.

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Originally Posted by eestlinc

Not Trout. That's a quintet for violin, viola, cello, bass, and piano. I'm referring to the string quintet which is for two violins, viola, and two cellos. It's most often performed or recorded by an established string quartet that brings is another famous cellist to play the fifth part. It's a quite substantial work, around 50 minutes. It's definitely in the same realm as Death and the Maiden, but perhaps better.

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Yes, I know the instrumentation of Trout and also the basic concept behind bringing someone in with a quartet in order to perform a quintet...

Aside from that, thanks for clarifying. I'll definitely check it out!

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Originally Posted by Hambone

Ohh I know why Mozart and Beethoven are so popular. They wrote the most music. I may be wrong. I probably am wrong. I went to an Austin String Quartet private concert a while ago with my school orchestra teacher and I like quartets but they do have their dull movements. I'd much rather hear a viola or cello concerto. Symphonies are fun also.

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...:rolleyes2 Actually Beethoven wrote relatively little music compared to Mozart, Haydn, Bach, and many of the earlier composers. You are, in fact, wrong, but then again, so are we all from time to time. ;)

Even symphonies have dull moments. Who did the quartet perform? Maybe the style wasn't to your liking. Personally, I like more stuff from Beethoven on then from before Beethoven.

I mentioned that I was probably wrong so you didn't have to point it out. :D I don't remember what they performed. I'll ask...

Beethoven had 135 opus-numbered works published in his lifetime (although some are sets of works like op 18 which includes six string quartets) plus another probably couple hundred works that were either published posthumously or just never given numbers. While most of these unnumbered works are probably insignificant or even intentially disregarded by Beethoven, perhaps his most well known work, the short piano solo Fur Elise, was never numbered either.

By contrast Bach has well over 1000 works in his catalogue, although keep in mind that he lived longer and was employed for most of his life as official composer of various churches where he was expected to produce works for everyday church use almost constantly.

In general if a composer has a huge body of work it means people were paying him to write a lot of it, with the implication that much of that music would never have been written without the impetus of being paid.

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Originally Posted by farplaner

Yes, I know the instrumentation of Trout and also the basic concept behind bringing someone in with a quartet in order to perform a quintet...

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Just trying to be generally informative to all readers of the thread.

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Originally Posted by Hambone

I mentioned that I was probably wrong so you didn't have to point it out. :D I don't remember what they performed. I'll ask...

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:eek: Oh, but I did! :tongue: I did! :lol:

EDIT: uhhhh....anyway, I just picked up a few CD's:

Smetana's The Moldau, with Sibelius' Finlandia and Palleas and Melisande, and Liszt's The Preludes;
Prokofiev's complete concertos, which is playing now as I type (piano concerto No. 2). There's something so eclectic and alluring about his music.;
and some Shostakovich string quartets (which I've not yet heard) No's. 2, 3, 7, 8, & 12.
Also, I have that Schubert string quintet on order, should be in stock in about a week.