String Quartet in A minor, Op.132

The heart of the Quartet in A minor is the Molto adagio, headed “Hymn of thanksgiving from one who has recovered from an illness.” There is little reason for optimism in either of the first two movements and the Lydian harmonies applied to the opening section of the Molto adagio itself have a curiously remote effect. But then, “feeling of new strength” as the tempo changes to Andante, Beethoven offers an exuberant expression of his renewed joy in life. Although the hard-driven finale seems to contradict the change in the emotional situation, it is confirmed in the ecstatic Presto at the end.

The heart of the Quartet in A minor, both structurally and emotionally, is the third movement, Molto adagio, which is headed in Beethoven’s hand in the manuscript “Hymn of thanksgiving from one who has recovered from an illness, in the Lydian mode.” This was not the original intention since Beethoven had begun the quartet - one of three commissioned by Prince Galitzin in 1822 - before he developed the abdominal complaint from which he so happily recovered two or three months before the work was completed in the summer of 1825. Even so, comparatively late inspiration though it was, the Molto adagio occupies a pivotal position here, as though the work had been designed from the first to enshrine it.

It is clear from the searching Assai sostenuto introduction that this is not going to be a superficially cheerful sort of work. Indeed, apart from the attractively lyrical second subject of the Allegro and the delightful bagpipe imitations in the trio section of the otherwise tensely articulated Allegro ma non tanto, there is little reason for optimism in either of the first two movements. In the opening section of the Molto adagio itself the Lydian mode applied to the hymn of thanksgiving gives it a curiously remote quality. But then, as the tempo changes to Andante and the harmonies alight on D major, “feeling of new strength” (as he described it in the manuscript) the composer offers a gracefully exuberant expression of his renewed joy in life. Even then, the passionate violin recitative linking the short march-like fourth movement to the Allegro appassionato and much of the hard-driven finale itself seem to contradict the change in the emotional situation. It is confirmed only in the Presto surge into an ecstatic A major coda at the very end.

Gerald Larner©

The heart of the Quartet in A minor is the Molto adagio third movement, which is headed in Beethoven’s hand in the manuscript “Hymn of thanksgiving from one who has recovered from an illness, in the Lydian mode.” This was not the original intention. Beethoven had begun the quartet before he developed the abdominal complaint from which he so happily recovered two or three months before the work was completed in the summer of 1825. Even so, the Molto adagio occupies a pivotal position here, as though the work had been designed from the first to enshrine it.

The first movement seems to be dedicated to establishing the seriousness of the context in which the Molto adagio is to be set. Indeed, the four-note motif contemplated in the few bars of the slow introduction postulates a level of thinking deeper than the thematic material of the ensuing Allegro has time to take into account. At crucial structrual points, however, the four-not motif emerges in the deliberate manner proper to it, as though it were always there if only they would stop and listen. It is there in the Allegro ma non tanto too, even though the variant adopted by the obsessive main theme of this A major scherzo might not be immediately recognisable.

By setting his “hymn of thanksgiving” in an ancient church mode Beethoven elevates it to a level beyond the reach of the rest of the work. It is remote even from the four-note motif, which cannot be accommodated in the Lydian mode. But then, as the tempo changes to Andante and the harmonies alight on D major, the composer - “feeling new strength,” he says - the composer offers a gracefully exuberant expression of his renewed joy in life.

The very positive A major Alla marcia that follows seems to be an appropriate response to the situation. But an apparently casual reminder of the four-note motif provokes a dramatic violin recitative that leads directly into a far from happy Allegro appassionato in A minor. The changed circumstances are confirmed only in the Presto surge into an ecstatic A major coda at the very end.

The heart of the Quartet in A minor is the Molto adagio third movement, which is headed in Beethoven’s hand in the manuscript “Hymn of thanksgiving from one who has recovered from an illness, in the Lydian mode.” This was not the original intention. Beethoven had begun the quartet before he developed the abdominal complaint from which he so happily recovered two or three months before the work was completed in the summer of 1825. Comparatively late inspiration though it was, however, the Molto adagio occupies a pivotal position here, as though the work had been designed from the first to enshrine it.

The first movement seems to be dedicated to establishing the seriousness of the context in which the Molto adagio is to be set. Indeed, the four-note motif contemplated in the few bars of the slow introduction postulates a level of thinking deeper than the thematic material of the ensuing Allegro has time to take into account. At crucial points, however, like the beginning of the development and the beginning of the recapitulation, it emerges in the deliberate manner proper to it, as though it were always there if only they would stop and listen. It is there in the Allegro ma non tanto too, even though the variant adopted by the obsessive main theme of this A major scherzo might not be immediately recognisable.

By setting his “hymn of thanksgiving” in an ancient church mode Beethoven elevates it to a level beyond the reach of the rest of the work. It is remote even from the four-note motif, which cannot be accommodated in the Lydian mode. But then, as the tempo changes to Andante and the harmonies alight on D major, “feeling new strength” (as he described it in the manuscript) the composer offers a gracefully exuberant expression of his renewed joy in life.

The very positive A major Alla marcia that follows seems to be an appropriate response to the situation. But an apparently casual reminder of the four-note motif provokes a dramatic violin recitative that leads directly into a far from happy Allegro appassionato in A minor. The changed circumstances are confirmed only in the Presto surge into an ecstatic A major coda at the very end.

If the composition of the Quartet in A minor had not been interrupted by illness it would have been a very different work. The second of three quartets undertaken to a commission from Prince Galitzin, it occupied the major part of Beethoven’s attention for six week or so after the completion of its predecessor in E flat major in February 1825. In the middle of April, however, he was struck down by an abdominal complaint so severe that he couldn’t go on working. When he started again, in the middle of May, his plans for the work had undergone a radical change. What was to have been a quartet in the conventional four movements was now expanded and restructured to accommodate a long Molto adagio conceived as a “Hymn of thanksgiving from one who has recovered from an illness, in the Lydian mode.”

So, comparatively late inspiration though it was, the Molto adagio occupies a pivotal position, as if the work had been designed from the first to enshrine it. The first movement, for example, is dedicated to establishing the seriousness of the context in which the Molto adagio is to be set. Indeed, the four-note motif contemplated in the few bars of the slow introduction postulates a level of thinking deeper than the thematic material of the ensuing Allegro has time to take into account. At crucial points, however, like the beginning of the development and the beginning of the recapitulation, it emerges in the deliberate manner proper to it, as though it were always there if only they would stop and listen.

It is there in the A major scherzo too, even though the variant adopted by its obsessive main theme, which contracts the rising sixth to a third, might not be immediately recognisable. To make sure that the cross-reference is not missed, in the middle of the trio section, just before the return of the delightfully scored bagpipe episode, the action is interrupted by a change of metre from 3/4 to 2/2 and a brief but forceful and unmistakable reminder of the four-note motif.

By setting his “hymn of thanksgiving” in an ancient church mode Beethoven elevates it to a level beyond the reach of the rest of the work. It is remote even from the four-note motif, which can be accommodated in the Lydian mode only by compromising the modal purity scrupulously sustained in the thirty bars devoted to the hymn on each of its three, increasingly elaborate appearances. In the two intervening sections Beethoven reverts to modern harmonies in an Andante that is of this world but still sublime as – in accordance with the “feeling new strength” inscription in the score – as D major life runs so exhilaratingly animates it.

The very positive A major march that follows seems to be an appropriate response to the situation. But an apparently casual reminder of the four-note motif provokes a dramatic violin recitative that leads directly into a far from happy Allegro appassionato.

Indeed, in its A minor harmonies and urgent rhythms, the emotional condition of the last movement seems little different from the first. Although it was at one time intended for an instrumental finale to the Ninth Symphony, the main rondo theme incorporates the rising sixth of the four-note motif which, as a whispered four-part discussion before the first return of that theme indicates, has not been forgotten. When it is recalled in a similar but longer passage later on it seems, as the tempo accelerates to Presto, to be responsible for stimulating a flight to a desperate A minor ending. The change to A major, secured and celebrated in a radianly scored coda, is as logical, however, as it is inspired.

If the composition of the Quartet in A minor had not been interrupted by illness it would have been a very different work. The second of three quartets undertaken to a commission from Prince Galitzin, it occupied the major part of Beethoven’s attention from shortly after the completion of its predecessor in E flat major in February 1825. In the middle of April, however, he was struck down by an abdominal complaint so severe that he couldn’t go on working. After observing a strict diet ordered by his doctor - “no wine, no coffee, no spices of any kind” - he had recovered enough to return to the Quartet in A minor by the middle of May. By then, however, his plans for the work had undergone a radical change. What was to have been a quartet in the conventional four movements was now expanded and restructured to accommodate a long Molto adagio conceived as a “Hymn of thanksgiving from one who has recovered from an illness, in the Lydian mode” - as he so devoutly describes it in the score.

So, comparatively late inspiration though it was, the Molto adagio occupies a pivotal position, as if the work had been designed from the first to enshrine it. The first movement, for example, is dedicated to establishing the seriousness of the context in which the Molto adagio is to be set. Indeed, the four-note motif contemplated in the few bars of the slow introduction postulates a level of thinking deeper than the thematic material of the ensuing Allegro has time to take into account. The four-note motif relates only indirectly to the urgent first subject in A minor and not at all to the more serene second subject in F major. Where it does have a presence in the texture it is usually in disguise. At crucial points, however, like the beginning of the development and the beginning of the recapitulation, it emerges in the deliberate manner proper to it, as though it were always there if only they would stop and listen.

It is there in the A major scherzo too, even though the variant adopted by its obsessive main theme, which contracts the rising sixth to a third, might not be immediately recognisable. To make sure that the cross-reference is not missed, in the middle of the trio section, just before the return of the delightfully scored bagpipe episode, the action is interrupted by a change of metre from 3/4 to 2/2 and a brief but forceful and unmistakable reminder of the four-note motif.

By setting his “hymn of thanksgiving” in an ancient church mode Beethoven elevates it to a level beyond the reach of the rest of the work. It is remote even from the four-note motif, which can be accommodated in the Lydian mode only by using accidentals and so compromising the modal purity so scrupulously sustained in thirty bars devoted to the hymn on each of its three, increasingly elaborate appearances. In the two intervening sections Beethoven reverts to modern harmonies in an Andante that is of this world but still sublime as - in accordance with the “feeling new strength” inscription in the score - life runs into the octave leaps, the excited trills, the animated melodic and rhythmic figuration illuminated by the bright D major tonality.

The very positive A major march that follows seems to be an appropriate response to the situation. But an apparently casual reminder of the four-note motif provokes a dramatic violin recitative that leads directly into a far from happy Allegro appassionato.

Indeed, in its A minor harmonies and urgent rhythms, the emotional condition of the last movement seems little different from the first. Although it was at one time intended for an instrumental finale to the Ninth Symphony, the main rondo theme incorporates the rising sixth of the four-note motif which, as a whispered four-part discussion before the first return of that theme indicates, has not been forgotten. When it is recalled in a similar but longer passage later on it seems, as the tempo accelerates to Presto, to be responsible for stimulating a flight to a desperate A minor ending. The change to A major, secured and celebrated in a radiantly scored coda, is as logical, however, as it is inspired.