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The exposition continues through several brief episodes in the same vein, ending with an odd sequence of quiet chords, a soft allusion to the jagged chords heard earlier. In the development section, Beethoven heightens the anxiety through key modulations while essentially repeating the structure of the exposition; apparently he felt little need to wrench the thematic components apart and recombine their fragments. By the time the recapitulation arrives, the thematic pattern has been clarified.

The surprise comes with the structure of the inner movements. There's no traditional slow movement; instead, Beethoven offers a scherzo followed by a minuet, both in moderate tempos. The scherzo is not the raucous joke Beethoven would favor in his symphonies. It feels more like a traditional minuet, with a fairly capricious character the key is now C major.

The structure could be considered a sonata form, with the central section being a largely polyphonic development of the themes Beethoven has already introduced. The minuet proper, Allegretto, returns to C minor. If the scherzo seemed more like a minuet, this minuet has the character of a scherzo, fairly quick and unsettled.

The trio features a jittery eighth note figure in the first violin, under which the second violin trades two-bar phrases with the viola and cello. The concluding C minor Allegro is a rondo that begins with an impassioned theme dominated by the first violin. The second section is more placid, and the next contrasting episode features humorous triplets rising from the cello up through the ensemble. The third contrasting episode picks up more of the agitation of the rondo theme, so when the latter returns one last time it can make its full effect only if played, as Beethoven indicates, as quickly as possible.

Despite its numbering, this quartet was probably the fourth of the six that comprise Beethoven's Opus 18 set, dedicated to Prince Lobkowitz. The composer reordered the entire group upon its completion in Beethoven's rearranging was logical, based apparently on the character of the quartets. In general, the first three in the final numbering are fairly faithful to Classical forms, while the second three tend to be unorthodox and somewhat experimental. In certain respects, the latter trio of quartets might be viewed as a significant part of the composer's transition to the methods and styles of his so-called middle period.

The String Quartet No. The main theme is joyous and the mood optimistic, though the second subject contains material that is a bit more serious. The development section is noteworthy for what it mostly lacks -- development. Only the latter half contains substantive development, but in a manner that looks backward in style, or, rather, aims toward the simple. The recapitulation includes some delightful changes in the material. The second-movement Menuetto features an attractive, lively dance theme whose simplicity is beguiling for its grace and subtle character.

If the first movement stands as the least progressive panel in this work, then the trio of this Menuetto may be the most advanced. Yet, it too, is rather simple, and more than one commentator has heard in it a foreshadowing of the music of Schubert. Beethoven puts on display some interesting canonic writing when the main dance melody returns. The next movement is marked Andante cantabile, and its Mozartean character has often been noted.

String Quartet No. 3 (Beethoven) - Wikipedia

Mozart's Quartet in A, K. Beethoven presents a simple slow theme and follows with five variations. As suggested above, the finale, too, is indebted to Mozart. Indeed, Beethoven borrows a theme, placing it near the end of the development section. But "imitation" would be too strong a word to use in describing the relationship between the two composers' music in the finale. In fact, the main themes clearly come from the pen of Beethoven, and the development section, muscular and anxious, is also easily recognized as his, despite the thematic foray into Mozart's world.

This Allegro movement features a recapitulation and closes with an attractive coda. A typical performance of the quartet lasts around a half hour. This was the last of the group of six quartets in the Op. The third actually appears to have been composed first. The reason the composer changed the order was apparently due to the character of the quartets: But there may have been another reason he arranged them so: Still, both groups of quartets are worthwhile, and the Sixth especially, in its second and fourth movements, offers glimpses of the mature Beethoven.

The first movement is marked Allegro con brio, and while it hardly introduces anything innovative, it does present some musical merrymaking. The joyful main theme contains that already characteristic Beethovenian urgency. The second theme is less driven and takes on an almost stately character at the outset, but eventually turns effervescent and manic. The material is repeated, after which the development section ensues. Here, the music becomes a little more serious, even tense. There is a clever little joke that occurs in the latter part, when the music unexpectedly stops dead, suddenly capturing the attention of the listener.


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After the development concludes, the main material is heard again and the movement ends. The second movement is an Adagio of great beauty and simplicity. Yet, as was so often the case with this composer, his simplicity has a sophistication.

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It comes across as pure music, clothed in instrumentation that is perfectly appropriate for its innocent character. The alternate melody is also simple and lovely. The main theme returns and there follows a brief coda. While this is the least sensational movement in the work, it may be the most effective. Marked Allegro, it is a busy, talkative movement, full of joy and humor, and it presents such a contrast to the Adagio that one feels its playfulness and humor more strongly.

The finale, subtitled "La Malinconia" and marked Adagio at the outset and later Allegretto quasi allegro, presents probably the most complex music in the work. It begins with a dark, slow introduction, quite unlike anything else in the quartet.


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The mood is mysterious and intense throughout the first third of the movement. When the Allegretto section begins, Beethoven does not take listeners back to the backward-looking delight of the first movement, but rather to a more modern sound of joy. The character of the themes is decidedly less rooted in the language of Mozart and Haydn here, more foretelling of Beethoven's own style to come. About the album Although the whole Op.

Adagio Affettuoso Ed Appassionato. Allegro molto Quasi Presto. Its key and rhythms create the temptation to compare it of course unfavourably! Mozart's theme sits down with dangerous regularity, while Beethoven's flies at once into the sky, alighting when and where it wishes, and the length and size of Beethoven's paragraphs and the energy with which they are infused can be found only rarely in other composers. Here it also generates rieh and vigorous polyphony in the overwhelmingly energetic development. Das ruhige B-Dur Andante ist ein Rondo. Mit diesem Andante steht ein reichhaltiger Satz im Zentrum dieses Quartetts.

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String Quartet No. 3 (Beethoven)

Don't show me this message again. String Quartet in D major, Op 18 No 3 composer.

Beethoven String Quartet No 3 Op 18 in D major Alban Berg Quartett

June Total duration: Take the very opening, for instance — the first two notes of the violin and their continuation in quietly flowing quavers over a very deliberate chordal ccompaniment could easily be the start of a slow movement. We realise only after a while that the motion belongs to an allegro. Beethoven's control of movement shows already a high degree of maturity, clearly proved in an opening to which no parallel can be found in Haydn or Mozart. It is a beautiful beginning and the rest of the movement fulfils its promise. The part-writing in later quartets produces greater democracy than here, but the music itself could hardly be bettered in the ease and certainty of its flow, while the sidelong approach to the dominant in the second group through C major and A minor has unobtrusive originality.