2nd string quartet (Beethoven)

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Beethoven portrait by Carl Traugott Riedel from 1801.
Franz Joseph Maximilian von Lobkowitz, dedicatee of the Quartets op. 18, on an oil painting by Friedrich Oelenhainz

The String Quartet No. 2 in G major Op. 18 No. 2 is a string quartet by Ludwig van Beethoven .

Emergence

The piece, also known as the complimenting quartet because of its gallant style reminiscent of aristocratic dance balls, was written in 1799, contrary to the numbering in the opus number, as the third of the six quartets that were summarized under opus number 18 and dedicated to Prince Franz Joseph Maximilian von Lobkowitz . The numbering in the opus number of the quartets op. 18 corresponds to the order in which the quartets were printed. Although the order in which the quartets op. 18 were composed is not clearly certain, since the autographs have been lost, it can be assumed from the sketchbooks.

After completing the Quartets op. 18, Quartet No. 2 was revised in 1800. It was published in 1801.

Sentence names

  1. Movement: Allegro (G major)
  2. Movement: Adagio cantabile I - Allegro - Tempo I (C major)
  3. Movement: Scherzo. Allegro (G major)
  4. Movement: Allegro molto quasi Presto (G major)

To the music

First sentence

The first movement begins with a playful four-part theme, accompanied by a secondary theme in D major. The exposition ends abruptly with a dramatic climax and a harmless follow-up to the main theme. This passage is one of several examples which make it clear that Beethoven orients himself strongly to his teacher Joseph Haydn in the first movement of this quartet . The topics are varied in detail in the implementation part . Another example of the orientation towards Haydn is the unusual dynamization of the development, the turbulence of which continues into the recapitulation , so that the violins and violoncello argue about their correct beginning. In contrast to Haydn, Beethoven leaves this question open so that development and recapitulation merge organically into one another.

Second sentence

The second set begins with a gentle D major Cavatine the violin. Four sixteenths lead to the Allegro middle section of the movement. Instead of an Allegro middle section, Beethoven originally planned a contrasting minor middle section without a change of tempo for this movement; During the revision phase, however, the Allegro middle section was created. The part following the Allegro repeats the gentle melody of the beginning of the movement, this time performed by the cello, whereupon an interplay between cello and violin develops.

Third sentence

In contrast to its trio, the scherzo of the third movement does not adhere to the minuet scheme. It takes up the starting melody of the second movement.

Fourth sentence

The fourth movement begins with a lively cello melody accompanied by a syncopated secondary theme, which ties in with the secondary theme of the first movement. It is repeated several times and answered each time by the tutti. After a development in a distant E flat major, the piece closes with a lively fortissimo cadenza in the coda . Although a sonata movement, this sonata movement has more of the character of a rondo due to the frequent repetitions of the main theme . The movement is less surprising in a thematic than in harmonic terms, when keys are juxtaposed without transition.

effect

After the publication of the quartets op. 18, the composer Doležalek said that he only liked the quartets op. 18.2 and op. 18.4 , whereupon Beethoven replied contemptuously: “That's a lot of shit ! Good for the fucking audience ” .

The American musicologist Joseph Kerman described the quartet as unbelievable because of its musical reference to Haydn: “Wit, furthermore, is a dangerous game - Haydn's game, not Beethoven's. His sense of humor is not far to be trusted at this time of his life «

literature

supporting documents

further reading

  • Theodor Helm: Beethoven's string quartets. Attempt a technical analysis of these works in relation to their intellectual content . Leipzig 1885, 2nd edition 1921.
  • Joseph Kerman: The Beethoven Quartets . New York 1967
  • Sieghard Brandenburg : Beethoven's string quartets op.18 . In: Sighard Brandenburg, Martella Gutiérrez-Denhoff (Hrsg.): Beethoven and Böhmen . Bonn 1988, pp. 259-302
  • Herbert Schneider: 6 string quartets in F major, G major, D major, C minor, A major and B major op.18 . In: A. Riethmüller u. a. (Ed.): Beethoven. Interpretations of his works . 2 volumes. Laaber, 2nd edition 1996, Volume 2, pp. 133-150

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gerd Indorf: Beethoven's string quartets: Cultural-historical aspects and work interpretation . 2nd Edition. Rombach, 2007, p. 182
  2. ^ Gerd Indorf: Beethoven's string quartets: Cultural-historical aspects and work interpretation . 2nd Edition. Rombach, 2007, p. 183
  3. ↑ Alexander Wheelock Thayer : Ludwig van Beethovens Leben , Volume II, edited in German by Hermann Deiters, revised by Hugo Riemann, 1866 ff. Reprint Hildesheim / New York 1970; Volume 2. p. 200
  4. ^ Joseph Kerman: The Beethoven Quartets . New York 1967, p. 49