The Beethoven Project: the String Quartets

A few years ago I was at a chamber concert and one of the pieces on the bill was one of Beethoven's string quartets (I forget which one).  Someone in the audience in front of me sighed, "I do so love the late quartets," and I remember being blown away at the idea that "the late string quartets" was actually something that a non-musician could be so excited by. 

Recently I've realized that I'm not going to live forever (duh) and there is a lot of Beethoven that I would like to listen to during the rest of my time on earth.  And a lot of Schubert.  And Brahms.  That's not to mention Guesaldo or Tallis or Byrd.  So I need to get cracking, and not just in some sort of random form.  I need a plan.  I want to start off learning these string quartets - what makes the early ones different from the middle, or late ones.  I want to know these pieces really well.  They seem a really good jumping off point for really delving into Beethoven.  So each week I'm going to really listen to one of these string quartets, research it, and get to know it.  Live with it for the week and absorb it into my skin so that someday, when I'm at a concert, I can also say, "I do so love the middle string quartets," and actually know what that means.

So the first - Opus 18 number 1, String Quartet #1 in F major.
Here's a link on Spotify to the album I'm listening to:
Endellion String Quartet – Beethoven : Complete String Quartets, Quintets & Fragments

A quick Google search on Beethoven String Quartets brings up a number of sources, but my favorite is this one from Earsence.org. 

Here's what I've learned so far:

Haydn developed the string quartet.  Mozart first tried to master it when he was about 28.  In the late 1790's, 28 year old Beethoven, also newly arrived in Vienna, spent two years in deep study of the String Quartet, and the result of those two years was Opus 18, published in 1801, and dedicated to Haydn.

The first of the group, in F Major, was actually the second one he wrote.  And he revised it before it was published, telling a friend to not publish it yet, because he had studied so much more and now had a better idea of how to write a string quartet.

Even Beethoven's earlier music has so much depth and emotion - I wonder what 19th century audiences would have thought about it.  The second movement is based on Romeo and Juliet, and around halfway through I really started to notice the tension and haunting sounds.  The first movement uses a six note motif, something that was still relatively new - it's not quite a melody, but it dances around and repeats itself in different keys from different instruments the entire way through the movement.  It's like a kid learning to walk and explore, but still going back to his mother for comfort and familiarity.

The scherzo is short and sweet.  Some say it's almost a relief after the emotional second movement.  The final movement doesn't do much for me - it's very busy with lots of point and counterpoint, and I'm sure there's a ton of juiciness in this, but right now, I'm almost tired from listening to everything else, and it's lost on me.  I wonder if Beethoven's audiences felt the same way.  Beethoven is a demanding composer. 

I just realized there are, I think, 17 string quartets.  I am 22 weeks pregnant, so if all goes well, I will go on a Beethoven journey which will finish up right before I'm about to give birth!  How fun is that?

String Quartet Opus 18 Number 1 in F Major resources:
Liner notes from the Robert Simspon Society: http://robertsimpson.info/writings/simpsons-writings/beethoven-string-quartets.html
Earsence.org: http://www.earsense.org/chamberbase/works/detail/?pkey=33
All About Beethoven: http://www.all-about-beethoven.com/stringquartet.html
LCS Productions: http://www.lcsproductions.net/MusicHistory/MusHistRev/Articles/BeethovenStQrts.html