158
B
eethoven’s music divides
into three stylistic periods:
the early (up to 1802), the
middle (1803–1813), and the late
(1817–1827). He was born in 1770,
and by the age of 27, he had written
a variety of works. However, for
much of this period, he avoided the
territory dominated by Haydn and
Mozart—the string quartet. It was
not until the end of the 179 0 s, by
which time he was no longer being
compared to Mozart, that Beethoven
wrote his first quartets, the Op. 18.
These six works show such energy
and technical mastery that had
his life been cut short at this point,
he would still be placed among
the world’s great composers. The
shadow of Mozart mixes with the
spirit of Haydn through his first five
quartets, but in the sixth Beethoven
sowed the seeds of his later work.Beethoven’s middle period included
his “Heroic Phase” of 1803–1808,
during which he wrote the “Eroica”
Symphony for and about Napoleon
Bonaparte. The middle period was
a time of energy and positive
commitment to Beethoven’s
humanistic and political beliefs.
The period is often considered to
have begun in the wake of his
“Heiligenstadt Testament” of 1802—
a letter he had written to his two
brothers describing his despair
at his profound loss of hearing.
Only his music, Beethoven wrote,
held him back from suicide.
Beethoven’s violin concerto
(Op. 61) is an outstanding example
of the productive middle period, in
which he began to turn away from
classical conventions—developing
a bolder individual style and
producing many of his most famous
compositions. The beginnings of
Romantic music can be found in
the slow movements of Beethoven’s
middle quartets. These five quartets
stretched the boundaries of the
form, first by extending the length,
in his Op. 59 and Op. 74, and then
by compressing it in the concise
Quartetto Serioso, Op. 95. In all five,
four players evolve into soloists,
each with virtuoso passagesLATE BEETHOVEN
IN CONTEXT
FOCUS
Proto-RomanticismBEFORE
1781 Haydn, the inventor of
the string quartet, publishes
his Op. 33 quartets.1782–1785 Mozart writes six
quartets, which he dedicates
to composer Joseph Haydn.1824 Franz Schubert writes
String Quartet No. 14, known
as “Death and the Maiden.”AFTER
1827–1829 Felix Mendelssohn
composes his string quartets
Op. 12 and Op. 13. The Op. 13
quartet in particular has
echoes of Beethoven’s Op. 95
and Op. 132.1828 Schubert’s last wish
on his deathbed is to hear
Beethoven’s Op. 131 quartet.1873 Johannes Brahms
publishes String Quartet
No. 1 in C minor and String
Quartet No. 2 in A minor,
comprising his Op. 51. These
are Brahms’s 20th attempt at
writing quartets.1934 Michael Tippett
composes the first of his five
quartets, all inspired by
specific Beethoven works.Increasing deafness from the age
of 30 led Beethoven to commission
hearing devices from Johann Nepomuk
Maelzel, inventor of the metronome,
including this “ear trumpet.”No composer before
Beethoven ever disregarded
the capacities of both his
performers and his audience
with such ruthlessness.
Charles RosenUS_156-161_Beethoven_Op_131.indd 158 26/03/18 1:00 PM