String Quartet in E flat major, Op.127

The first performance of the late Quartet in E flat met with a disappointingly cool reception – not surprisingly, since so much in it was contrary to expectations. No one could have predicted that the transition between the opening Maestoso and the following Allegro would assume such importance. The structure of the Adagio, though in theme-and-variations form, must have seemed perverely elusive. The last two movements would have been less problematic – a Scherzando vivace conforming to type at least in its scherzo-and-trio shape and a Finale in uncomplicated sonata-form with a radiant Allegro con moto coda.

The first performance of Beethoven’s late Quartet in E flat met with a disappointingly cool reception. The leader of the Schuppanzigh Quartet maintained that it was not his fault but he still got the blame for it from the angry composer. Apart from the obvious technical difficulties, aggravated by the late delivery of the score, the problem for Schuppanzigh must have been in understanding and interpreting a concept so contrary to expectations. A slow introduction was common enough, it is true, but no one could have expected that the transition from the firmly double-stopped E flat major chords of the Maestoso to the tenderly lyrical opening bars of the Allegro would become the focus of the composer’s attention. Its two further appearances are of far more structural significance than any of the conventional sonata-form landmarks.

Schuppanzigh’s audience would have known many slow movements in variation form but none based on a theme as extended and as seriously expressive as that of the Adagio ma non troppo. Nor would they have known one so elusive in structure. The last two movements would have been less problematic. The Scherzando vivace conforms to type at least in its scherzo-and-trio shape, eccentric though it is in its obsession with one rhythmic figure in the outer sections and its relentless pursuit of the first violin in the Presto middle section. The Finale happily follows its uncomplicated sonata-form course until – the ultimate inspiration – the radiant Allegro con moto coda elevates it to a new level of euphoria.

The first performance of the late Quartet in E flat met with a disappointingly cool reception. Ignaz Schuppanzigh, who had fought hard to secure the new work for the opening of his 1825 season in Vienna, maintained that it was not his fault. Certainly, having been forced to withdraw the piece from his January concert because the score was not ready on time, he had had little opportunity to rehearse it even for the March concert. Beethoven was not there but was so angry with Schuppanzigh that he insisted that the second performance should be led by Joseph Böhm and that, deaf though he was, he should supervise the rehearsals himself. This time it was a great success.

Apart from the obvious technical difficulties, the problem for Schuppanzigh - apparently working, unlike Böhm, without the benefit of the composer’s advice - must have been in understanding and interpreting a concept so contrary to expectations. A slow introduction was common enough, it is true, and the transition from the firmly double-stopped E flat major chords of the Maestoso to the tenderly lyrical opening bars of the Allegro can only have roused admiration for the exquisite quality of Beethoven’s textural imagination at that point. No one, on the other hand could have expected that this Maestoso/Allegro transition would become the focus of the composer’s attention. Its two further appearances (in G and C major respectively) are of far more structural significance than such conventional landmarks as the entry of the second subject, which has no sharply defined personality, or even the recapitulation of the main theme, which happens as if by accident shortly after the second recall of the Maestoso material.

Schuppanzigh’s audience would have known many slow movements in variation form but none based on a theme as extended and as seriously expressive as that of the Adagio ma non troppo in A flat major. Nor would they have known one so elusive in structure. As Beethoven presents it, as a continuous development in one tempo and one key except in the conspicuously different central area - the Andante con moto with its luxuriant violin duet followed by the Adagio molto espressivo in a profoundly meditative E major - it could almost be taken as a ternary design.

The last two movements would have been less problematic. The Scherzando vivace conforms to type at least in its scherzo-and-trio shape, eccentric though it is in its obsession with one rhythmic figure in the outer sections and its relentless pursuit of the first violin in the Presto middle section. As for the Finale, it happily follows its uncomplicated sonata-form course until - the ultimate inspiration - the radiant Allegro con moto coda elevates it to a new level of euphoria.