String Quartets Nos. 7 - 9, Opus 59 - Rasumovsky (Beethoven)
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The three "Rasoumovsky" (or "Razumovsky") string quartets, opus 59, are the quartets Ludwig van Beethoven wrote in 1805-1806, as a result of a commission by Count Andreas Razumovsky:
- String Quartet No. 7 in F major, opus 59, no. 1
- String Quartet No. 8 in E minor, opus 59, no. 2
- String Quartet No. 9 in C major, opus 59, no. 3
They are the first three of what are usually known as the "Middle Period" string quartets, or simply the "Middle Quartets." The other two are opus 74 and opus 95. Many quartets record all five as a set.
A peculiarity of the Razumovsky set of quartets is that Beethoven uses a characteristically "Russian" theme in the first two quartets in honor of the prince who gave him the commission. In opus 59 no. 1, the "Thème russe" is the principal theme of the last movement; in opus 59 no. 2, the "Thème russe" is in the "B" section of the third movement, the scherzo (and happens to be a tune which Mussorgsky also used in Boris Godunov). In the quartet opus 59 no. 3, there is no "Thème russe" explicitly called out in the score, but many commentators have heard a "Russian" character in the subject of the second movement, the Andantino.
All three quartets were published as a set in 1808 in Vienna.
Beethoven has seriously moved on from his first experiments with the form (the early Op.18 set of six quartets). This is truly inspired music with flashes of inspiration shining through the musical forms/structures (which are still fairly traditional in comparison with the eccentric structures of the sensational Late Quartets). The Op.59 set is very rewarding to listen to with countless beautiful moments and 'touches'.
[edit] References and further reading
- Joseph Kerman, The Beethoven Quartets. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1966. ISBN 0-393-00909-2
| String Quartets by Ludwig van Beethoven |
|---|
| String quartets, Op. 18 | Op. 18 No. 1 | Op. 18 No. 2 | Op. 18 No. 3 | Op. 18 No. 4 | Op. 18 No. 5 | Op. 18 No. 6 |
| String quartets, Op. 59 ("Rasumovsky") | Op. 59 No. 1 | Op. 59 No. 2 | Op. 59 No. 3 |
| Middle period quartets | Op. 74 ("Harp") | Op. 95 ("Serioso") |
| Late quartets | Op. 127 | Op. 130 | Op. 131 | Op. 132 | Grosse Fuge, Op. 133 | Op. 135 |
| Arrangement by Beethoven of Op. 14 No. 1 |
