III
This E-flat major quartet was completed at the latest in January, 1825. Work on the following three quartets—in A minor, B-flat major, and C-sharp minor—began at once, but was interrupted by serious illness. About the sixth of May Beethoven moved to Gutenbrunn, near Baden; and here took up the work again. The A minor was completed not later than August, the B-flat in September or October, the C-sharp minor some months later, after his return to Vienna.
The three quartets are closely related. In the first place all show a tendency on the part of Beethoven to depart from the regular four-movement type. There are five movements in the A minor, six in the B-flat major, seven in the C-sharp minor; though in the last, two of the movements are hardly more than introductory in character. The Danza Tedesca in G major in opus 130, was written originally in A major and intended for the A minor quartet. Finally the chromatic motive, clearly stated in the introduction to the A minor quartet, and lying at the basis of the whole first movement, may be traced in the fugue theme in opus 130, and in the opening fugal movement of opus 131.
The A minor quartet is fundamentally regular in structure. The opening allegro is clearly in sonata-form; there follows a Scherzo and Trio. The Adagio consists of a chorale melody, thrice repeated in higher registers, with regular interludes. A short march and a final Allegro in A minor conclude the work. But the movements are all strangely sustained and at the same time intense; and there is a constant whisper of inner and hidden meanings, which cannot be grasped without deep study and which leave but a vague and mysterious impression. The chromatic motive of the introduction has a more or less cryptic significance; the chorale melody is in an unfamiliar mode; and there are reminiscences of earlier and even youthful works. So that the whole proves intricate and even in the last analysis baffling.
There are eight introductory measures (Assai sostenuto) which are in close polyphonic style out of a single motive. This motive is announced by the violoncello; immediately taken up, transposed, by the first violin; given again, inverted, by the violoncello; and in this form answered by the violin. The Allegro begins upon a diminished seventh chord in which all the instruments take part, and from which the first violin breaks with a descending and ascending run of sixteenth notes, founded upon the chord. The first theme is at once announced by the first violin, a theme which, distinct and full of character in itself, really rests upon the opening motive, or upon the harmonies implied in it. A single measure of adagio prepares for another start with the same material. The violin has another run, founded upon the diminished seventh chord, rising thereby to F. Under this the violoncello takes up the first theme, which is completed by the viola; while, it will be observed, the first violin, followed by the second, give out the opening motive, inverted, in augmentation. Later a transitional theme is announced in D minor by the first violin, closely imitated by the violoncello and the second violin. The true second theme follows shortly after, in F major, a peaceful melody, sung by the second violin over an accompaniment in triplets shared by viola and violoncello.
The movement is fairly regular in structure. The development is short and is based chiefly upon the opening chromatic motive, with which indeed the 'cello begins it. The restatement begins in E minor, with the familiar diminished seventh run for the first violin. The second theme appears in C major, and is given to the 'cello. There is a long coda, which, toward the end, swells over a mysterious low trill to a brilliant climax.
The next movement is really a Scherzo in A major. The instruments have four measures in unison, each measure beginning with a half-step which cannot but suggest some relationship to the chromatic motive of the first movement. But the short phrase of the first violin, begun in the fifth measure, is the real kernel of the main body of the movement. The Trio, in E major, is of magical beauty. The first section is over a droning A, shared by both violins, at first, to which the viola and 'cello soon join themselves. The melody is decidedly in folk-song manner, and is played by the first violin in high registers, and faithfully followed by the second a tenth below, both instruments maintaining at the same time their droning A.
This melody is supplanted by a lilting dance movement. The short phrases begin always on the third beat of the measure, and their accompanying harmonies are likewise syncopated, in the manner which is frequent with Brahms. The short phrases are arranged at first in dialogue fashion between first violin and viola. Later the viola converses, as it were, with itself. Only the 'cello is limited throughout the section to accompaniment. A few measures in unison between the 'cello and viola appear twice before the end of the section, the notes of which may be intended dimly to recall the chromatic motive of the first movement. A more positive phrase in alla breve time, played by second violin, viola, and 'cello in unison, brings back an epilogue echoing the opening phrases of the Trio; after which the main body of the movement is repeated.
Beethoven entitled the next movement ‘a devout song of praise, offered by a convalescent to God, in the Lydian mode.’ It probably owes its origin to the fact that Beethoven was taken seriously ill while at work on this and the B-flat major quartet. It seems likely that before this illness he had other plans for the quartet, and that the Danza tedesca before mentioned was to find a place in it.
The movement is long in performance but relatively simple in structure. The chorale melody, simply harmonized, is preceded by a short, preludizing phrase; and its strophes are set apart from each other by short interludes in the same manner. After the chorale has been once given, there is an episode in D major (Neue Kraft fühlend) of blissful, gently animated character. The chorale is then repeated, the melody an octave higher than before, the interludes and the accompaniment complicated by syncopations. Once again the D major episode, highly elaborated. Following this, the chorale is introduced once more; but the introductory phrase is greatly lengthened and developed, and there are suggested entrances of the theme in all the instruments; nor does the complete theme make itself heard, but only the first phrase of it seems ultimately to soar aloft, in yet a higher register than before. So that this last section may be taken as a coda, or as an apotheosis.
The short march which follows calls for no comment. The final allegro is introduced by recitative passages for the first violin, gaining in passion, culminating in a dramatic run over the diminished seventh chord which bears some resemblance to the opening of the allegro of the first movement. There is a passing sigh before the last movement begins, Allegro appassionato.
Compared with the quartet in A minor, that in B-flat major is simple. It is more in the nature of a suite than in that of a sonata, though the first movement presents beneath an apparently irregular outline the basis of the classical sonata-form. At first glance the frequent changes of not only key signature but time signature as well are confusing. The key signatures are now two flats, six flats, two sharps and one sharp; and at the beginning, the middle and the end of the movement the time is now triple, now duple, now slow, now fast.
The slow measures are related to the introduction, which here as in other works of Beethoven is recalled at times in the main body of the movement. The allegro makes a false start, in which the main outlines of the first theme are suggested. From the second start, however, the movement follows a relatively normal course. The first theme is compound. On the one hand, there are rapid groups of sixteenths, which play an important part in the whole movement; on the other, a rhythmical motive, rather than a theme, first announced by the second violin, which is the motto of the piece. The second theme is first presented in G-flat major by the second violin and immediately taken up by the first. At the beginning of the development section and again in the coda use is made of the motive of the introduction.
The second movement, a Presto in B-flat minor in alla breve time, with a Trio in 6/4 time, is short and in the manner of a folk-song or dance. It has no inner relation with the first movement; but it may be said to breathe something of its spirit into the following andante (D-flat major, common time). The kernel of the melody of this movement may be found in the first measure, given by viola and 'cello; and this kernel was sown, so to speak, by the previous movement. The viola develops it in the second measure and the phrase is immediately after taken up by the first violin.
For the fourth movement there is a rapid German waltz—Alla danza tedesca—in G major. The fifth is a simple cavatina. Karl Holz, one of the members of the Schuppanzigh quartet, has reported that Beethoven could not read over the score of this short movement without tears in his eyes. As the sixth movement there is the fugue, published as opus 133, with a new dedication to Archduke Rudolph, which was, as we have said, written for this quartet, and one of the themes of which seems related to the chromatic motives of the A minor quartet, on the one hand, and of the C-sharp minor quartet, on the other; or there is the brilliant rondo with which Beethoven replaced it at the behest of the publishers, and which is the last of Beethoven’s compositions.
The fourth of the last quartets, in C-sharp minor, is dedicated to Field Marshal Baron von Sutterheim, who interested himself deeply in the affairs of Beethoven’s family. It is in some respects the most elusive, in others the most unusual of all. Its various movements are designated by numbers; yet two of them are so short that they need not be regarded as separate movements, but only as transitional or introductory sections. These are the third and the sixth. Furthermore, a definite pause is justifiable only between the fourth and fifth. Thus, in spite of the numbers, the work is closely blended into a whole, of which the separate parts are not only æsthetically united, but thematically complementary.
The first movement is a slow fugue, on a chromatic motive that makes us once again remember that Beethoven was working on this and the two preceding quartets at the same time. The fugue unfolds itself with greatest smoothness and seeming simplicity. The texture of the music is extremely close until near the end, where wide skips appear in the various parts, like the movement of a more vigorous life soon to break free in subsequent sections from such strict restraint of form. One will find a perfect skill in technical details, such as the diminution of the theme which appears in the first violin at the change of signature, and the augmentation in the 'cello part in the stretto not far before the end.
The fugue ends on a C-sharp unison, following a chord of C-sharp major in seven parts. Then, as if this single C-sharp bore within itself a secret harmonic significance, i.e., as the leading note in the scale of D major, the whole fabric slips up half a tone in the opening notes of the following movement, allegro molto vivace, D major—in 6/8 time. One cannot but feel the relationship between the delicate convolutions of this new theme and the fugue theme. The whole second movement hardly moves away from the motives of the opening measures. A sort of complement to them may be found in the successions of fourths which begin to rise up in the twenty-fifth measure; and much farther on a sequence of chords beginning in F-sharp major suggests some variety. But on the whole the movement plays upon one theme, which recurs at intervals as in a rondo, but after episodes that offer only in the main an harmonic contrast.
The third movement, allegro moderato, in common time, is a recitative, begun in F minor and leading to a half-cadence in the dominant seventh harmonies of A major, in which key the following movement opens. We have here an andante and seven variations, variations so involved and recondite that, though they may be clearly perceived in the score, they will strike the unfamiliar ear as aimless and inexplicable music.
The theme itself is in the form of a dialogue between first and second violins. It merges into the first variation without perceptible break in the music. Here the theme is carried by the second violin, the first filling the pauses with a descending figure. This clause of the theme is then repeated by the viola, the 'cello taking the rôle of the first violin. The second clause of the theme is similarly treated.
The remaining six variations are clearly set apart from each other by changes in the time signature. There is a variation marked piu mosso, really alla breve, which is a dialogue between first violin and 'cello, accompanied at first monotonously by the other two instruments, later with more variety and animation. The next is an andante moderato e lusinghiero, in which the theme is arranged as a canon at the second, first between the two lower instruments, later between the two higher. This leads to an adagio in 6/8 time, in which the theme is broken up into passage work. The next and fifth variation (allegretto, 2/4) is the most hidden of all. The notes of the theme are separated and scattered here and there among the four parts. But the sixth, an adagio in 9/4 time, is simpler. The seventh, and last, is a sort of epilogue, a series of different statements of the theme, at first hidden in triplet runs; then emerging after a long trill, in its simplest form, in the key of C major; then in A major with an elaborated accompaniment; in F major, simple again; and finally brilliantly in A major.
The following Presto in E major, alla breve, is very long, but is none the less symmetrical and regular in structure. It is in effect a scherzo and trio. The scherzo is in the conventional two sections, both of which are built upon the same subject. The second section is broken by four measures (molto poco adagio!); and there is a false start of the theme, following these, in G-sharp minor, suddenly broken by a hold. This recalls the effect of the very opening of the movement, a single measure, forte, by the 'cello, as if the instrument were starting off boldly with the principal subject. But a full measure of silence follows, giving the impression that the 'cello had been too precipitate.
The Trio section offers at first no change of key; but a new theme is brought forward. Later the key changes to A major, and the rhythm is broadened. A series of isolated pizzicato notes in the various instruments prepares the return of the Scherzo (without repeats). The Trio follows again; and there is a coda, growing more rapid, after the Scherzo has been repeated for the second time.
A short adagio, beginning in G-sharp minor, forms the sixth movement, modulating to the dominant seventh in C-sharp minor. The last movement is in sonata form. There are clearly a first theme and a second theme, arranged according to rule. But the coda is very long; and, even more important, not only the first and second themes, but secondary themes and motives are all vaguely or definitely related to the themes of the earlier movements. The first theme, for all its somewhat barbaric character, is akin to the theme of the first allegro in D major. In the episodes which follow, the notes of the first violin and of the 'cello, in contrary motion, give a distinct impression of the opening fugue theme. The second theme itself—in E major—brings back a breath of the Trio, and Dr. Riemann finds in the accompaniment suggestions of the fourth variation. Only a detailed analysis could reveal the elaborate and intricate polyphony which is in every measure in the process of weaving.
After the C-sharp minor quartet, the last quartet—in F major, opus 135—appears outwardly simple. It shares with the first of the series simplicity and regularity of form; and is, like the quartet in E-flat major, calm and outspoken, rather than disturbed, gloomy, or mysterious. It is the shortest of all the last quartets.
The first movement is in perfect sonata form. The first theme (viola) has a gently questioning sound, which one may imagine mocked by the first violin. The second theme, in C major, is light, almost in the manner of Haydn. The movement builds itself logically out of the opposition of these two motives, the one a little touched with sadness and doubt, the other confidently gay. The Scherzo which follows needs no analysis. Two themes, not very different in character, are at the basis. The second is presented successively in F, G, and A, climbing thus ever higher. The climax at which it arrives is noteworthy. The first violin is almost acrobatic in the expression of wild humor, over an accompaniment which for fifty measures consists of the unvaried repetition of a single figure by the other three instruments in unison. Following this fantastical scherzo there is a short slow movement in D-flat major full of profound but not tragic sentiment. The short theme, flowing and restrained, undergoes four variations; the second in C-sharp minor, rather agitated in character; the third in the tonic key, giving the melody to the 'cello; and the fourth disguising the theme in short phrases (first violin). To the last movement Beethoven gave the title, Der schwer gefasste Entschluss. Two motives which occur in it are considered, the one as a question: Muss es sein? the other as the answer: Es muss sein. The former is heard only in the introduction, and in the measures before the third section of the movement. The latter is the chief theme. Whether or not these phrases are related to external circumstances in Beethoven’s life, the proper interpretation of them is essentially psychological. The question represents doubt and distrust of self. The answer to such misgivings is one of deeds, not words, of strong-willed determination and vigorous action. Of such the final movement of the last quartet is expressive. Such seems the decision which Beethoven put into terms of music.
FOOTNOTES:
[70] The famous Schuppanzigh quartet met every Friday morning at the house of Prince Lichnowsky. Ignaz Schuppanzigh (b. 1776) was leader. Lichnowsky himself frequently played the second violin. Franz Weiss (b. 1788), the youngest member, hardly more than a boy, played the viola. Later he became the most famous of the viola players in Vienna. The 'cellist was Nikolaus Kraft (born 1778).
[71] Förster (1748-1823) forms an important link between Haydn and Beethoven.
[72] 2d edition, Berlin, 1913, pp. 482, et seq.
[73] Beethoven’s Streichquartette.
[74] Only Schuppanzigh himself, and Weiss, the violist, remained of the original four who first played Beethoven’s quartets opus 18 at the palace of Prince Lichnowsky. The second violinist was now Karl Holz, and the 'cellist Joseph Linke.
CHAPTER XVII
THE STRING ENSEMBLE SINCE BEETHOVEN
The general trend of development: Spohr, Cherubini, Schubert—Mendelssohn, Schumann and Brahms, etc.—New developments: César Franck, d’Indy, Chausson—The characteristics of the Russian schools: Tschaikowsky, Borodine, Glazounoff and others—Other national types: Grieg, Smetana, Dvořák—The three great quartets since Schubert and what they represent; modern quartets and the new quartet style: Debussy, Ravel, Schönberg—Conclusion.