Beethoven String Quartet, Op. 132, Part 1

I had long hesitated to write a show about any of Beethoven’s
late string quartets.  These are pieces that professional
quartets spend the better part of their careers grappling with,
struggling with, failing with, and much more rarely, succeeding
with.  They are some of the most extraordinary pieces of art
ever conceived of.  5 quartets, Opus 127, Opus 130, Opus
131, Opus 132, and Opus 135, all written near or at the end of
Beethoven’s life, arguably representing the pinnacle of
everything Beethoven achieved. They explore not only every
conceivable emotion, but they dig down into the core of those
emotions, defiantly refusing to skim the surface and daring to
ask and then answer the fundamental questions of life and death.
 Everyone has a favorite Late Beethoven Quartet, but mine
has always been Opus 132, and so this week I’m taking the
opportunity to take the leap into Late Beethoven.  We’ll
discuss Beethoven’s situation as he recovered from a
life-threatening illness which he was sure was going to be his
end, the unusual 5 movement structure of the piece, and this
week, the first two movements of the quartet, the first of which,
to me, defines everything that Sonata Form can do to express
emotion and a narrative in a piece of absolute music. Join us!