String Quartet No. 16 (Beethoven)

The String Quartet No. 16 in F major, op. 135, by Ludwig van Beethoven was written in October 1826 and was the last substantial work he finished. Only the last movement of the Quartet op. 130, written as a replacement for the Große Fuge, was written later. The op. 135 quartet was premiered by the Schuppanzigh Quartet in March 1828.

The work is on a smaller scale than his other late quartets. For the third movement, Beethoven used variation techniques; he also did this in the second movement of his Quartet op. 127.

Movements

The work is in four movements.

I. Allegretto

The opening movement is a classical sonata constructed from several motives that are extremely terse yet full of musical personality and assembled into a mosaic, a composite sequence of significant complexity. As the music develops, the motives start moving about from instrument to instrument and combining together as counterpoints. The development interjects the perpetual motion of a march and the motives begin to dance. The entire fabric of the movement varies between swatches of homophonous lyricism and a lattice of counterpoint. Its almost seems as if Beethoven has turned a sonata into a triple fugue (or the other way around).

II. Vivace

The second movement is a muscular scherzo that recalls Beethoven’s great verve for orchestral string writing (especially the 7th symphony) crowned by the brilliant voice of the solo violin recalling either the sonatas or the concerto. The majority of the music is forged by splitting the quartet into halves with the keening violins together on top and the bold foundation of the lower strings in tandem underneath. The husky fiddle rasps out a sprightly dance while the strings bubble then burst into a rolling boil. A moment of classic Beethoven deconstruction throttles all momentum through a decrescendo and a breakdown into elemental particles before the scherzo resumes and finishes with a vigorous javelin thrust into the unforeseen future.

III. Lento assai, cantante e tranquillo

The third sings a simple, sacred song. The longest movement in the quartet, it immediately recalls both the Cavatina and the “Song of the Thanksgiving” of the previous late quartets. Stark, hymn-like, humble and deep, it will slowly and perfectly break your heart. At its center lies the enigmatically dark and primordial brooding with a sharp stab of tragedy that, through its craggy mystery, seems to suggest that we are eavesdropping on Beethoven’s most private ruminations. But then there is light, as the old wheezing hymn rises again, a supplication of aching beauty with cello as new lead, joined in canon by a violin who then sings a final, tender lullaby as one by one, the stars disappear.

IV. Grave, ma non troppo tratto – Allegro

The famous finale is named 'Der schwer gefaßte Entschluß', which translates to The Difficult Resolution, and contains the two famously named motifs: 'Muß es sein?' (Must it be?) and 'Es muß sein! Es muß sein!' (It must be! It must be!). The “Muß es sein?” theme is initially presented in a Grave by viola and cello, and repeated in increasing intensity before the short introduction quietens down and is suspended on the dominant in a pianissimo. In a terrific and sudden change of mood the violins set off with the “Es muß sein!” motif (an inversion of the “Muß es sein?”), now Allegro in the parallel major key. It is partnered by a falling and rising legato theme that bears a close thematic relationship to both the slow movement and the subsequent second theme, which is uncomplicated and good natured. The development combines material from the exposition, and goes from an exuberant to an introverted and slightly troubled atmosphere, before the introduction returns, but this time fortissimo, and now accompanied by a violent tremolo in the violins (apparently one of the first times this effect, that would be highly popular during the rest of the century, had been used). This time the “Es muß sein!” motif appears after a gradual loss of energy, piano, at a point where the music seems uncertain where to go, before regaining confidence. The Allegro returns, dolce. The coda is a version of the second theme, now pizzicato and pianissimo, before the “Es muß sein!” motif reappears, first hesitantly, and then in a triumphant fortissimo.

External links

• Jason Grant Britton's doctoral thesis on Harmony, voice leading, and motive in Beethoven's last quartet
• Project Gutenberg E-Book of the Quartet
• Free scores by String Quartet No. 16 at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
• Performance by the Borromeo String Quartet from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in MP3 format