CCLXVI. BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van (1770-1827)
This the penultimate work of the Master (after this, he composed a new finale for Op. 130 to replace the Grosse Fuge, Op. 133 [see Post CXLIV], which was published as a stand-alone work).
Der schwer gefaßte Entschluß (The Difficult Decision)
Muss es sein? (Must it be?)
Es muss sein! (It must be.)
Not much doubt about what was on Beethoven's mind here, written a year before his death.
**
Ah, but the story has deeper roots!
The above mentioned Op. 130 was premiered at house quartet party by Ignaz Schuppanzigh on March 21, 1826, when the Grosse Fuge still served as the final movement.
An wealthy Austrian music-lover by the name of Ignaz Dembscher wanted a copy for his own house party. Beethoven -- as usual with determined chutzpah -- insisted that Dembscher pay the full subscription price, since he had missed the premiere.
"50 florins," said the violinist Karl Holz (who was Beethoven's secretary at this time).
"Must it be?" replied Dembscher ...
**
In a letter from the summer of 1826, Beethoven wrote to Holz:
"Holz! -- Bring wood! Tomorrow very early the least dangerous of all persons (his trusted old housekeeper) will bring money for that purpose. Must it be Herr __________ and agent? It must be!"
Listen to WoO 196a -- the Es muß sein! canon.
First Movement
Considering that an immortal like Beethoven was contemplating his disappearance from life, this is quite breezy music! Haydn-like, yet notice he waits until Bar 10 before coming to a full tonic cadence!
The movement is flushed with delightful nuances like the two 32nd-note grace notes which first appear in Bar 2 of the first violin. These occur throughout the movement as does a change of rhythm to 16th-note triplets, super-effective in passages like this one:
Second Movement
One of Beethoven's favorite devices -- syncopation -- is front-and-center for this wonderul vivace! The off beats produce that peculiar feeling of something completely unbalanced for most of the movement. The second violin enters first on a preparatory beat, then the viola a beat later, and one beat after that the first violin. The cello plays a merry, bumpy line, anchoring the 3/4 feel.
The pink star is the shocking, accented unison E-Flat which leads off the next section.
The unison E-Flat is hammered on for a few bars, and then Beethoven simply moves it back to an E-natural and continues the three-beat motif.
Notice how he transfers the skipping line started by the cello on to the violins (purple star)
becoming more prominent:
until it is finally a unison accompaniment to a rumbling, wildly skipping, arpeggiated F Major triad in the first violin:
Third Movement
Originally planned as an 8th movement for Opus 131 [see Post II], Beethoven wrote 54 bars of some of the most exquisite beauty ever composed for the string quartet.
Here's the entire movement.
Note how he shifts to the enharmonic parallel minor of C-Sharp Minor midway (the key of Op. 131). Also note the heart-wrenching first violin part on the last page. Under a chromatically downward-moving cello part, the violin reaches for the heavens (circled high B-Flat) and descends back down to earth -- rises again momentarily -- and dissolves into a D-Flat Major chord ...
Fourth Movement
Must it Be?
Yes, It Must.
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