Beethoven String Quartet, Op. 132 (Part 1)

I’ve long hesitated to write a show about any of Beethoven’s late
string quartets.  These are pieces that 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,
these pieces represent the pinnacle of everything Beethoven
achieved, yes, even far beyond his symphonies in this conductors
opinion.  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 of getting a
Patreon sponsor request from Maria for a piece of chamber music
to take the leap myself 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.