Masterpieces made to order: Beethoven’s late string quartets
Abstract
Making music to order is a common practice for many composers. At the same time, as one explores specific music pieces a question inevitable begs itself: how writing music to order affects the creative process and the final result. How do such things as the personality of a customer and the relevance of the order to personal aspirations of the composer contribute to the emergence of a musical masterpiece?
In this regard, special mention should be given to Ludwig van Beethoven’s last string quartets (Op. 127, 130, 131, 132, 133 “Big Fugue”, 135). These pieces have already received a considerable degree of attention in the research literature. Nevertheless, questions remain about the reasons for this or that turn in the sequence of events and the development of Beethoven’s creativity that impacted the originality of his later works.
It is known that the quartets emerged due to an external impulse – an order of the Russian philanthropist, cellist, and a music critic N. B. Golitsyn. Beethoven’s extensive correspondence with Golitsyn, publishing houses, musicians, and friends recreates the sequence of events and the main milestones in the composition of quartets – from the conception to the publication of musical opuses.
Of particular interest is the unusual story behind Op. 130. Its grandiose scale, complexity and unusual content created a lot of controversy in assessments and judgments among Beethoven's contemporaries. As a result, at the insistence of the publisher М. Artaria, the finale was replaced, and this piece received an independent existence and a special name – Grand Fugue for String Quartet” (Op. 133). This masterpiece has not lost its relevance even today: it still sparks interest and debate about ideological and figurative content of Quartet Op. 133.
Keywords: Beethoven, late string quartets, masterpiece, order, Beethoven’s letters, Golitsyn
For citation: Sidorova E. V. Masterpieces made to order: Beethoven’s late string quartets [Electronic source]. In: Sovremennye problemy muzykoznaniya / Contemporary Musicology, 2020, No. 1, pp. 45–88. (In Russ.) DOI: 10.56620/2587-9731-2020-1-045-088
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.56620/2587-9731-2020-1-045-088
Copyright (c) 2020 Sidorova Elena V.
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