Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
String Quartet in c minor, Op. 18, No. 4, 1801
Beethoven worked painstakingly for two years to produce his first string quartets, Op. 18, published in 1801 in the fashion of the time as a set of six. Pre-dating them are the complete string quartets of both Haydn and Mozart, Haydn having written his last two complete quartets in the same years, finishing in 1799. Just as later composers were daunted by the supreme achievements of Beethoven before them, so Beethoven was acutely aware of the rich legacy of quartet literature already preceding him.
The last to be written, the C minor quartet is unique among the six of Op. 18. First, it is the only quartet for which no previous sketches have been found. This has lead scholars to conjecture that the quartet was assembled from earlier music that Beethoven "stockpiled" before coming to Vienna. Others have concluded that the quartet was written without the extensive revisions typical of Beethoven. The quartet is also unique for being the only one of the set in a minor key. C minor is often regarded as "the" minor key for Beethoven, the same he chose for such works as the earlier "Pathétique" piano sonata, the later fifth symphony and his final piano sonata, Op. 111. One of the most popular quartets, this one is full of drama revolving around the gravity of its ruling minor mode.
The first movement has a vivid exposition with the first subject in the minor, the second in the brighter relative major key (E flat). The sonata can be considered nearly monothematic in that the second subject is directly derived from the first. A tense development and conclusion emphasize the "tragedy" of ultimately returning to the minor key. The second movement relieves the tension with an experiment unique for a string quartet of the time showing that Beethoven was already tinkering with the form he inherited. Rather than a slow lyrical movement, Beethoven offers a moderately paced sonata marked Scherzoso and packed with polyphonic play. The exposition is a little fugue whose recapitulation blossoms into three-part counterpoint with an independence of melody and rhythm that is simultaneously learned and gallant.
A more traditional Menuetto restores the dark urgency of C minor with a trio temporarily brightening back into the major. This syncopated scherzo is especially compact and driven since the traditional trio repeat is omitted and the return of the Menuetto marked for a tempo faster than the first time around (yet another novelty of Beethoven's early quartets). The final movement is a spicy rondo based on a "Gypsy" flavored refrain alternating with more lyrical episodes. The major versus minor drama of the entire quartet is encapsulated here with a battle that extends into the final bars of an exciting coda where Beethoven dissolves the drama into humor, nearly making fun of all the histrionics.
