Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
String Quartet in E flat major Op. 74

Beethoven composed this quartet in the summer and fall of 1809, during the occupation of Vienna by the forces of Napoleon. Despite the general situation, he wrote a serene piece and dedicated it to his protector, Prince Lobkowitz. It is in the Prince’s palace that the quartet was performed for the first time.
It has been nicknamed the „Harp” quartet for the lyrical aura of its introduction and its dreamy tones. These are produced by pizzicato passages played over an arpeggio figuration. Its experiments in tone and formal modifications break open the classical principles of the genre. Its expression is a portent of Romantic feeling.
∙ Movement One opens with an introduction (Poco adagio) full of reflexive meditation. The theme of the movement itself (Allegro) has been derived from an initial questioning motif. The sonata form develops here over two lyrical themes shaped in polyphony. The entry of the second theme is precede by a bridge, the first occurrence of the “harp-like” pizzicata. The lyrical narration of the piece assumes a tone of passionate turbulence only in the development and in the extensive coda – so extensive that it almost achieves the position of the development’s counterpart. It is in the coda, too, that the “harp-like” passages come in full swing over five-octaves. The whole ends with a jesting event: a clash of the converging and diverging directions of the passages.
∙ Movement Two (Adagio ma non troppo) begins with a singing violin theme in a high register. Its melody is counterpointed by the other instruments mezza voce. The theme then returns twice, in ever-darker colours of the lower register and ever-different ornamentation. Its final appearance is accompanied by the “harp-like” pizzicata from the first movement. Two episodes occur between the themes. The initial noble severity of the song-like theme recedes before a mounting ardour appeased only in the coda.
∙ The dynamic Movement Three (Presto) is dominated by obstinate repetitions of a motif that carries associations to that of Fate in Symphony No. 5. It has the structure of a scherzo, yet a scherzo of demonic features and serious character. Its narration is twice interrupted by a ribald trio, written in double counterpoint technique.
∙ The final part of the quartet is comes as a surprise. Instead of a rondo or sonata form, it brings a theme with six variations and a coda (Allegretto con Variazioni) in a return of a serene and lyrical atmosphere. The variations are once vivid and forte, once piano, song-like and mild. The theme itself consists of a single motif and makes a discernible return in the coda alone.

Ewa Siemdaj