12th Quartet, Opus 127, in E flat.
Dedicated to Count Nicolas von Galitzen.
Maestoso—Allegro—Adagio—Scherzando vivace—Finale.
Although probably published before his death, this quartet is generally classed with the posthumous ones which represent fully Beethoven's third style. Although all these quartets contain many orchestral effects, yet he never exceeds the limits of the true string quartet style. To say that string quartet writing is only an imperfectly filled-in sketch of orchestral idium is not correct; otherwise, when Beethoven had four instruments at his disposal, would he have written some of those spacious passages for three, or even two instruments only?
The opening movement has a double subject—the Maestoso introduction accompanying the Allegro subject on every appearance. The Adagio is dreamy in mood and has a touching Andante episode, also a striking excursion to E major before the final return. The Scherzando vivace, which must not be taken too quickly, is also a striking example of Beethoven's characteristic contrapuntal writing and contains a passage in Beethoven's famous Ritmo di tre battute (Rhythm of three bars); another instance of this occurs in the Ninth Symphony. The tempo is constantly changing throughout and the highly dramatic music, free in style, settles down more into a lyric and rhythmic style for the Finale, the long coda of which is extremely characteristic, starting right away from the key.