Fantastic finale
Beethoven’s finale to his first published quartet (Op. 18, No. 1) is a thrilling ride that is bursting with musical ideas, exciting contrapuntal passages, and surprises galore. It is a fitting finish to this glorious quartet that shows versatility, humour, surprise, and deep emotion.
Beethoven’s First Quartet
In 1787, at the age of 17, Ludwig van Beethoven left his native Bonn, Germany to travel to the musical epicentre of the world: Vienna. In going there, he had intended to study with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Unfortunately, Beethoven’s Viennese séjour was cut short to only two weeks when he was abruptly called back home because of his mother’s death. Before he could return to Vienna a few years later, Mozart had met his untimely demise.