Beethoven String Quartets: No. 15 Op. 132, No. 16 Op. 135 - The Busch Quartet / Recordings: 1933-1937 / Strings Audio CD 1999 / QT 99-402

UPC 8011662914637

The String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132, by Ludwig van Beethoven, was written in 1825, given its public premiere on November 6 of that year by the Schuppanzigh Quartet and was dedicated to Count Nikolai Galitzin, as were Opp. 127 and 130. The number traditionally assigned to it is based on the order of its publication; it is actually the thirteenth quartet in order of composition.

The String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135, by Ludwig van Beethoven was written in October 1826 and was the last major work he completed. Only the final movement of the Quartet Op. 130, written as a replacement for the Große Fuge, was composed later. The work was premiered by the Schuppanzigh Quartet in March 1828, one year after Beethoven's death.

The Op. 135 quartet is the shortest of Beethoven's late quartets. Under the introductory slow chords in the last movement, which is headed "Der schwer gefaßte Entschluß" (The Difficult Decision), Beethoven wrote in the manuscript "Muß es sein?" (Must it be?) to which he responds, with the faster main theme of the movement, "Es muß sein!" (It must be!).

Tracklist:

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)

String Quartet No. 15 in A Minor Op. 132 (1825)

1. I. Assai sostenuto. Allegro (09’15)

2. II. Allegro ma non tanto (08'15)

3. III. Molto adagio (19’40)

4. IV. Alla marcia, assai vivace (01’52)

5. V. Allegro appassionato (06’00)

String Quartet No. 16 in F Op. 135 (1826)

6. I. Allegretto (06’57)

7. IT. Vivace (03’17)

8. II. Lento assai e cantante tranquillo  (10’30)

9. IV. Grave ma non troppo. Allegro (01’52)

• Violins - Adolf Busch, Gosta Andreasson
• Viola - Karl Doktor
• Cello - Hermann Busch