STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY

String Quartet in F major

Opus 135
Michaela van Blerk
11/19/2012
Beethoven’s last five string quartets are widely referred to as his “Late string
quartets”. He began composing the first, String Quartet no.12, in 1825, and finished
the last, String Quartet no.16 in October of 1826, merely a few months before his
tragic death. These five quartets make up the last completed compositions by
Beethoven and are considered by many to be among the greatest musical
compositions of all time. This essay will focus primarily on the last string quartet in F
major, opus 135. Many consider this string quartet to be more conventional and
classical that the other five of his late string quartets. It is on a smaller scale,
consisting only of four movements: Allegretto, Vivace, Lento assai and the last
movement most commonly known as “The difficult Decision”.

The opening movement is a classical sonata, comprising of many motives, which, as

the movement develops, move from instrument to instrument and combine together
as counterpoints. Measures 1-4 serve as the movement’s thematic introduction,
establishing a very significant motive. It would appear that this motive is very much
connected to themes in the finale. Measures 5-10 introduce the first theme of the
quartet. A prominent feature of this theme is that segments of the motive are
displaced among the viola and the violins, as well as the fact that the bass line does
not play a tonic on the downbeat until the end of the phrase in measure 10. This
creates a feeling of tension that is only resolved in measure 10 with the cadence.
The beginning of this theme (measures 5 and 6) consists of a series of ascending
arpeggiated thirds. Measures 17-25 are considered unusual for sonata form. It has
been described as “harmonically unstable and motivically fragmented”.

As the movement progresses, it seems to become more regular and continuous.

However there continues to be traces of irregularity, for example, in measure 54. The
development section begins in a somewhat fugal style where Beethoven combines
the theme with the quartets very first motive. The recapitulation of the movement
seems to exhibit a regularity that is unfamiliar to Beethoven’s other late string
quartets. In measure 109, Beethoven composes an eighth-note fugue subject in the
tonic, which is then followed in measure 113 with the same thing in the subdominant.
Beethoven also makes use of this element in various places during the fourth
movement of the string quartet.

The second movement is a scherzo and trio. The most conspicuous element of this
movement is the E flat which is played by all the instruments in unisons and octaves
for over six measures. The A section of the scherzo is an eight bar phrase in F
major, with the most prominent instruments being the first violin and the cello. This A
section returns many times throughout the scherzo, each time with the main voices
appearing in a different instrument. Due to this repetition of the A section, the form of
the scherzo is irregular. The trio has a large scale tonal structure which is less
conventional that the statements of the scherzo, and does not have a closed
harmonic structure, which makes the scherzo da capo a necessity. At measure 142,
there is a five note figure (F sharp, E, F sharp, G sharp, A) that is repeated
consecutively in the three lower voices 48 times. Some music crtics have used
Beethoven’s deafness to explain this bewildering passage.

The third Movement of this quartet is a set of slow variations in the key of D flat
major. This means that the entire movement is focused on developing a single
theme. The main theme is basically an eight bar unit, however it is extended on both
ends. The first two measures of the movement serve as an introduction to the theme,
where each instrument comes in playing a note of the D flat triad. The theme is also
extended in measures 10 and 11, with the cadence being restated twice. Each
variation following, consists of an eight bar sentence, with a two bar extended
cadence. At the end of the movement, Beethoven makes use of a two bar coda in
order to keep the movements symmetry.

The finale begins with a slow introduction, with the motive sounded in octaves by the
viola and cello. Beethoven then introduces the idea of a canon, beginning in the first
violin, viola, second violin and lastly, the cello at a distance of one beat apart. These
opening bars are both tonally and metrically ambiguous. The introduction ends in
pianissimo as all strings play octaves. The finale then continues with a surprising
allegro.
References

http://www.earsense.org/chamberbase/works/detail/?pkey=570

L. Lockwood. 2008. Inside Beethoven’s String Quartets. Harvard University Press.