Beethoven: String Quartet in B-flat major, Op. 130, and the "Grosse Fuge," Op. 133

Ludwig van Beethoven’s String Quartet Op. 130 was the third and last of the quartets commissioned by and dedicated to the Russian Prince Nikolas Galitzin (1794–1866). It was composed in 1825 and, unusually, contains six movements. Initially the finale was an enormous fugue, but the following year, Beethoven decided to publish this separately with a different opus number (Op. 133) and compose a replacement finale, since he felt the fugue deserved to be heard on its own.

Introduction

Most of Beethoven’s string quartets contain only four movements (the traditional number, established in his teacher Joseph Haydn’s string quartets), and Op. 130 is the only one with six full independent movements. The second and fourth are quite short and light, but the fifth is a profound and expressive slow movement. There has been much debate about which of the two finales is preferable or more appropriate, but Beethoven himself decided that the original finale, known as the Grosse Fuge (Great Fugue), deserved to be heard separately, and he replaced it with a shorter—but still substantial—movement before publication. The widely held assumption that this change was made through pressure from the publisher, Mathias Artaria (1793–1835), is highly doubtful; it seems to have been entirely Beethoven’s own decision.

History 

Beethoven began work on Op. 130 immediately after his previous Galitzin quartet, Op. 132 in A minor (the opus numbers are out of order), around June 1825. After composing the first two movements he had no clear idea about what would follow, and he planned a highly expressive slow movement in D-flat major to come third. After working for about a month (July–August) on just the theme of this movement, he replaced it with a much lighter “Andante” (moderately slow movement) in D–flat major, as the third movement, and transposed the original one to E-flat major, as the fifth movement, “Adagio”, preceded by a dance-like movement entitled “Alla danza tedesca.” This had originally been sketched in A major, for Op. 132, but was now transposed to G major for Op. 130. The fifth movement is headed “Cavatina”: a type of slow, expressive aria found in contemporaneous Italian operas. For the finale, Beethoven sketched over a dozen possible themes, but eventually decided on a fugue, based on a theme he had previously considered for the finale of the first Galitzin quartet, Op. 127 in E-flat major. Although the theme was now reduced from an original 18 notes to just eight, the fugue gradually grew to an enormous size, and instead of finishing the work within about 12 days as anticipated, Beethoven took more than three months, till around December 1825.

The first performance took place on March 21, 1826, and much was well received—especially the two short movements, which were encored—but the fugue caused bewilderment and incomprehension, though Beethoven was particularly proud of it. It was therefore suggested that an arrangement for piano duet be made, to aid understanding. Beethoven asked Anton Halm (1789–1872) to do this but was dissatisfied with the result, and therefore resolved to make his own arrangement. Meanwhile the whole quartet was prepared for publication by Mathias Artaria, who paid Beethoven 80 ducats for it. After hearing it twice more in August, Artaria found the work thoroughly enchanting and the fugue completely comprehensible. By this time the printed proofs, including the fugue, had been checked at least six times. These comments, documented in Beethoven’s conversation book (used for communication because of his deafness) completely undermine the oft-repeated claim—made in 1857 by Beethoven’s assistant Karl Holz (1798–1858)—that the publisher had asked for a new finale. Holz is known to have been unreliable, and at times told deliberate lies.

Beethoven: Quartet in B-flat major for Strings, Op. 130

Beethoven finally made his own piano four-hands arrangement of the fugue in August 1826 and sold it to Artaria in early September for 12 ducats (a reduced price, as Halm had to be paid too). Because this version was to appear as a separate work—and was a particularly fine one—Beethoven felt that the version for strings should also appear separately, rather than at the end of a lengthy quartet. This is evidently what induced him to compose a replacement finale, for it was only then that the new movement was first suggested. It was composed in October–November, and was first performed around December 21, 1826. The whole quartet, with its new finale, received its premiere on April 22, 1827, after Beethoven’s death in March. The original finale was issued separately, in May, as a Grande Fugue tantôt libre, tantôt recherchée (“Great Fugue, sometimes free, sometimes learned”), at about the same time as its piano arrangement (Op. 134) and Op. 130 (with the new finale). The fugue was dedicated to Beethoven’s friend Archduke Rudolph (1788–1831), and has become known as the Grosse Fuge, though this German title is not found in any of the original sources.

Form and Analysis

The first movement begins with a slow introduction, which returns several times during the main sonata-form “Allegro” section, creating an unusually close relationship between slow and fast passages. The following “Presto” (very fast) movement in B-flat minor is in scherzo-and-trio form, with the trio section in B-flat major and a different meter (the beat now divided into three instead of two), but the same tempo. The return of the scherzo section is slightly decorated, and there is a brief coda. The third movement, an “Andante” in a slightly irregular sonata form, seems to begin in B-flat minor before settling in D-flat major. The main theme is initially played by the viola then taken over by the first violin, while rich and elaborate accompaniment persists throughout.

The fourth movement is in G major, a very sharp contrast from the previous D-flat. Like the second movement, it is in scherzo-and-trio form, with the central section this time in C major. The style is that of a tedesca—a popular German dance in 3/4 meter—and in the coda Beethoven singles out individual bars from the theme, briefly even putting them in reverse order! The highly expressive “Cavatina” that follows (fifth movement) is essentially an aria for the first violin, whose part could, without difficulty, be sung by a mezzo-soprano. The most remarkable passage, marked “beklemmt” (“heart-oppressed”), occurs when the music moves to C-flat major: here the first-violin melody conflicts rhythmically with the triplets in the other three instruments, and is interspersed with gasps of silence. The original theme then returns. In the new finale (B-flat major) the opening theme begins by outlining an unrelated G-major triad recalling the key and character of the fourth movement—and it then makes playful use of the more closely related keys of C minor and E-flat major; but the movement is much more substantial than the fourth: it is in sonata form with a repeated exposition. 

In the original finale, the Grosse Fuge, a brief “Overtura” (“Overture”) presents the main eight-note theme, played successively at four different speeds, followed by a massive “Fuga” (“Fugue”). This consists of three large sections that run together without a break, as if the fugue is in three movements. The first section is consistently very loud,  withthe main theme contrasted by a jagged countermelody. The second section is consistently soft, much slower, and in G-flat major instead of B-flat major. The much longer third “movement” has a jig-like rhythm in 6/8, with a regular 16-bar main theme that is immediately repeated, andis heard twice more later on. But the theme is disguised by being shared between alternating first and second violinsand accompanied by snatches of the fugue theme; hence, it is often overlooked by commentators. Towards the end, the music is twice interrupted by fragments of the previous two “movements” of the fugue, but it concludes with a lengthy section back in the 6/8 meter.

Critical Thoughts 

A striking feature about Op. 130 is the sharp contrast between each of the six movements. Analysts can find tenuous connections between them, but each is thoroughly independent. This applies to both finales, even though they are so different from each other. The Grosse Fuge can seem bewildering or problematic, even today, but if it is heard as three movements in one—which is rarely done in descriptions and analyses—it is much easier to follow. Some writers have argued that Beethoven was wrong to replace the Grosse Fuge with a new finale, but their views are somewhat colored by Holz’s implication that Beethoven did so reluctantly under pressure from Artaria. Now that we know this is not what happened, Beethoven’s decision makes a great deal of sense, and the Grosse Fuge is arguably better heard as a separate work—a context in which it will not risk overshadowing the wonderful “Cavatina.” It was not an integral part of the original idea for the quartet, having emerged only after many other possibilities had been considered. The replacement is far from diminutive and is well-proportioned in relation to the rest of Op. 130. 

Legacy

Although the Grosse Fuge puzzled initial audiences and was therefore rarely performed for most of the 19th century, it has come to be regarded as a supreme masterpiece. The most famous comment about it was made by Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971): that it is “absolutely contemporary” and always will be. This view is now widely accepted and repeated. The main bone of contention is which finale to use for Op. 130. Until the 20th century the new finale was normally used, since this is how it was published and circulated. In more recent times, however, many ensembles have preferred to substitute it with the Grosse Fuge—as a more interesting challenge.

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Article by Barry Cooper