Beethoven String Quartet Op. 132 in A Minor - Ariel Quartet (full)

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Beethoven: Quartet in A minor, Op. 132
Assai sostenuto - Allegro
Allegro ma non tanto
Molto Adagio - Andante Andante - Molto adagio - Andante-Molto adagio.
Alla Marcia, assai vivace
Allegro appassionato - Presto
Ariel Quartet
Live from The Cycle at CCM's Corbett Auditorium
March 29, 2014

[@sethtrombley235]

It’s difficult to not tear up every single time I listen to the third movement. Absolutely beautiful…

[@ArielQuartet]

Same here ❤

[@martincaracoche4657]

I think is the best movement written by Beethoven.

[@1193joao]

​@@martincaracoche4657 Indeed! I personally think it's the greatest artistic expression ever conveyed! This particular movement has made me company through joy and sorrow - and I always get the feeling that master L.V.B (even more AFTER the "climax"!) is somehow whispering in my ear, quietly at night, explaining through sound and emotion all of this: all the struggle, all the pain, all the joy, all the courage, all the changes, all the permanents... the human condition ... And then quietly tucks you in, and kisses you good night. Genius. More than 200 years later, thank you. Thank you to the quartet for an absolutely wonderful rendition Ps: sorry for the bad english

[@sayedattia113]

The last movement is so beautiful. It makes me cry when I listen to it

[@ArielQuartet]

Yes!! We feel the same ❤️

[@lilianwriterMemoirs]

With love and benevolence for your magnificent quartet. Lilian Duval

[@user-kz9tx9rs6d]

1. 00:09 Assai sostenuto - Allegro 2. 10:26 Allegro ma non tanto 3. 21:42 Molto adagio - Andante - Molto adagio - Andante - Molto adagio 4. 40:34 Assai vivace 5. 42:11 Allegro appassionato - Presto

[@ArielQuartet]

Thank you!

[@neilclarke7313]

This is the finest and most moving quartet playing I’ve ever heard.

[@ArielQuartet]

Thank you so much

[@JeremyGalloway]

The third movement is truly beyond description. So beautiful

[@jorgegarzaelli6238]

i AGREE WITH YOU

[@colorsofsound4782]

I know this is a very late comment, nevertheless I am in agreement. I found this out recently: Beethoven wrote that mov. specifically with divine inspiration. He titled it with thanks to the deities that saved him from his sickness (he thought he was surely going to die and most would've agreed if they knew his state of health at that time). One can also view this chorale-like mov. as an inner (perhaps subconscious?) reconciliation and reaffirmation of the Heiligenstadt testament written two and a half decades ago when he was in his late twenties. He who almost took his life due to the endless suffering endured for this long, saw a light at the end. I hope I didn't bore any reader too much with my blabbering, anyhow, I hope this added info can give someone the strength to continue living and living for the good in this world and not become too cynical or hateful because that strips away life itself and does no good to others nor oneself. Beethoven would not be who he was had he not been a fellow human of such suffering, virtue and love. That message rings starkly in my heart when I hear this movement.

[@lumenpraetorius4592]

Well said. No apologies necessary.

[@danasheys9300]

@@colorsofsound4782 i dont think Beethoven cared one b>t about humanity. HE lived in his own universe .Beyond all of us fools

[@concerned1]

Imagine saying to a woman: ‘You are truly beyond description. So beautiful.’ Indignant, the woman might reply: ‘Is that all you think I have to offer, my looks?

[@lolguytiger45]

This really speaks to the redemptive power of music.

[@Buford-kz7ky]

Was looking for this comment

[@tractotus]

Wonderful performance of this sublime masterpiece. No greater, deeper music has ever been written!

[@geegeedoc]

Movement 1- 0:00 Movement 2- 10:28 Movement 3- 21:44 Movement 4- 40:37 (attaca) Movement 5- 42:11?

[@antoniogentile250]

Movement 5 42.53

[@malcolmabram2957]

Thank you.

[@josearriola7491]

No words can explain this music. Kind of perfection.

[@colingordon8265]

What is a 'kind' of perfection?

[@supdawg6102]

@@concerned1 to express how perfect it is

[@seandavies467]

Words are merely constructed signifiers which point towards the actuality. So you are correct, words can not explain or express music as music is not a construct in the same way that words and meaning are.

[@lumenpraetorius4592]

Perhaps a certain type of perfection.

[@danasheys9300]

@@seandavies467 everyone knows that...... jeeezzzz

[@autumnleaves2766]

Great performance of a masterpiece. I imagine that the later Beethoven Quartets must represent huge challenges for the performers. It never ceases to amaze me what the great Ludwig van Beethoven was capable of composing even after having begun to lose his hearing in his mid 20s, and how his deafness was often mistaken for rudeness. It is known that Beethoven could be difficult but he had so much to contend with: deafness, other serious health problems, endless changes of address, political turmoil in the background, the custody battle over his nephew Karl, the harmful effects of his difficult upbringing. If he were alive now, one wonders whether he might be diagnosed with severe depression and even autism ? He overcame so much to create some of the greatest music ever written. Rest in peace Ludwig van Beethoven. I

[@josepholeary3286]

Notice how much the performers enjoy their individual lines. I met a horn player who denounced Elgar's (usually highly esteemed) orchestration because it is torture for the performers!

[@ruudmeijns7895]

Very well said.

[@colorsofsound4782]

I know this is a very late comment, nevertheless I am in agreement. I found this out recently: Beethoven wrote that 3rd mov. specifically with divine inspiration. He titled it with thanks to the deities that saved him from his sickness (he thought he was surely going to die and most would've agreed if they knew his state of health at that time). One can also view this chorale-like mov. as an inner (perhaps subconscious?) reconciliation and reaffirmation of the Heiligenstadt testament written two and a half decades ago when he was in his late twenties. He who almost took his life due to the endless suffering endured for this long, saw a light at the end. I hope I didn't bore any reader too much with my blabbering, anyhow, I hope this added info can give someone the strength to continue living and living for the good in this world and not become too cynical or hateful because that strips away life itself and does no good to others nor oneself. Beethoven would not be who he was had he not been a fellow human of such suffering, virtue and love. That message rings starkly in my heart when I hear this movement.

[@voiceboxes1825]

Amen.

[@nodders1]

God bless for the comment. I've suffered with depression my whole life (difficult childhood & all sorts) and like Beethoven really came close to ending it all a few times. Unlike Beethoven I have no great talents, no great gifts to offer mankind. No greater purpose. Just a normal, modest, life, full of suffering. It also took me a long time "to get into" classical music. I don't play an instrument. I can hardly tell a major from a minor. But, God do I love the late quartets! It's the pinnacle of the romantic period. All that perfect composition. The utter & mesmerising usage of dissonance. So ahead of its time. And the absolute delight of how the music circles through despair to utter joy and then back again. And you can just see Beethoven's all life journey come together in one piece of near perfect music. So expressive & personal, and yet so masterly and well-written. From first to last note. And he wrote this when he was deaf & near his end. Only supernatural Hope could have inspired him & guided his hand. It's the very definition of heroic virtue. I live on for that same little glimmer of hope. And this piece really reminds me of its existence & power when the darkness is almost all encompassing. So thank you Her Beethoven for having walked that path and come out with this sublime Consolation. May everlasting joy be with you now.

[@lawrencetaylor4101]

My Radiology professor, Lindsay Rowe, always used Beethoven as he described Paget's Disease, an abnormal growth of bony tissue in adulthood. Often the first sign is that the patients hat is getting smaller. In Luigi's case, his bony auditory canals started growing and crushing the nerve, first causing tinnitus and then eventual deafness. He would also be suffering from extreme joint pains. And he gave us these gifts.

[@ArielQuartet]

Fascinating!

[@gurthbruins6411]

Totally satisfying, magnificent performance of what is probably the greatest piece of music ever written.

[@olivierdrouin2701]

I don t think so, but thé most Amazing and incredible harmonies in thé three , probably , even i do prefer thé beach boys onès.

[@robinmunro47]

Agreed...heavenly 🙂

[@lightespeed]

When I was a lad in the Army, I was a Beethoven nut and I tried to track down & visit all the houses where Beethoven had lived, I didn't succeed, but found a lot but far from all, it took me all over Austria and Germany, there were 57 houses altogether, one for each year of his life. This has to be my favourite quartet of any composer.

[@LoriCitro]

could you send me a list of addresses and house that you visited? I would be very much interested in that! [e-mail]

[@bicycleetc9436]

The guy on the left is so expressive. Loved the piece.

[@thanemacinnes8188]

😢😢always. Go. Back. To this.quartet

[@ArielQuartet]

Us, too ❤️

[@bach_solo]

Incredible! Such a unity of thought and sound and feeling! Almost like a single person with eight hands and four instruments plays it. Bravo! Very emotional, yet thought out and crisp performance!

[@freddelameilleure2969]

One of the great masterworks of all time, played by master musicians. Thx

[@englemanart]

Sublime. Amazed that one person can write this. Amazed that four people can play this. Amazed that four instruments can have this affect on me. Bravo.

[@ArielQuartet]

Thank you, we keep being amazed by the person who wrote this and inspires us to dive deeper!

[@ianlloyd6812]

One can see (and hear) the passion and discipline these artists need to share this beauty with us

[@ArielQuartet]

All or nothing :)

[@cogent4645]

Haunting, engaging and yet sublime, this group has brought new heights to this masterpiece of "Thanks Giving". This will be a Classic in the era of social media! Cherish!

[@garygrohowski1304]

The third movement is such a very harmonic richness..

[@luisfrodrimaz]

Beethoven - Quartet No. 15 in A minor ("Heiliger Dankgesang"), Op. 132, written in 1825 1 - 00:10 - Assai sostenuto - Allegro -09:49 2 - 10:27 - Allegro ma non tanto -19:48 3 - 21:43 - ''Heiliger Dankgesang eines Genesenen an der Gottheit, in der Lydischen Tonart''. (''Canto de acción de gracias ofrecido ala Divinidad por un convaleciente, en modo lidio'') - 21:43- Molto Adagio(coral)- 25:24 -Andante -27:27-Molto adagio(coral) - 31:21-Andante- 33:37-Molto adagio (Actually the molto adagio coral appears 7 times, the last in a very ecstatic way ) -39'33 4 - 40:36 - Alla marcia, assai vivace ... 5 - 42:11 - Allegro appassionato

[@strutherhill]

Thanks for posting this. Very handy! Some of the most sublime music ever written or performed.

[@rubeng9092]

Thx

[@claudeproulx]

A treasure String Quartet JEWEL! The listener can appreciate the delightful intonation, technical brilliance, melodic sound of harmony and beauty! An overwhelmingly graceful and masterful performance.

[@flavianofloris4459]

Cello is amazing!

[@bonymerinoloo1353]

One of my favorite melodies by Beethoven.

[@sandromancini1951]

Il mio BRAVO all'Ariel Quartet per questa esecuzione dell'op. 132 di Beethoven

[@russellbrickey7698]

Excellent. I am envious of the talent on that stage.

[@ArielQuartet]

Thank you for your kind words!

[@billgrange3189]

Arguably the greatest single musical work, wonderfully played. I was having a fraught day and this music lifted my spirits no end. Well, Beethoven usually does!

[@gioragoldberg3980]

Amen!

[@b.-k.w.1129]

@hij stupid undifferentiated comparison that does not do justice to any of the named

[@billgrange3189]

@@b.-k.w.1129 ???

[@hermes537]

I used to live in a remote farm, we bred lambs and when visitors came to stay, the big leg of lamb appeared on the table. Once the visitors started chewing and delighting in the meat, conversation flagged, and something akin to what happens in this string quartet took place: an insane digging into the substance of the meal. I can feel each phrase as if it were a cannibal banquet...

[@MB-pm4xe]

The sound, the performance and, it goes without saying, the piece, all sublime.

[@antoniogentile250]

Ariel siete meravigliosi tutti e quattro!!!

[@ArielQuartet]

Thank you!!

[@janebrenner590]

Once more, a superb and moving experience......!

[@saidius]

Did you know that this quartet became an inspiration to a classic novel. Not just an inspiration but also its plan. The book is "A Mind At Peace" (original name "Huzur" (peace/serenity in Turkish)) Most of the people don't know it but the author put this music behind his novel's words secretly.. The novel has four main episodes. The episodes' changing emotions are same with this track's emotions, identically and respectively! And the author does not even reveals this. He 'explains' op132 in the novel. But he does not even 'tell the name' of it.He only describes the music

[@88RJA]

The piece also figures in “Adrian Leverkühn’s Testament” from Thomas Mann’s Dr. Faustus Chapter XX. Mann wrote "At bottom..every one of the four players has to be a Paganini and would not have to know not only his own part but the three others' as well, else it's no use."

[@olivierdrouin2701]

Thank you. I will search if it is translated in french. Dans un biopic français et dans un film d Alessandro barrico , le heiliger dankgesang est utilisé pour dire l émerveillement de l amour , et on ne peut faire de plus grand compliment a cette musique que dire que qu elle vaut encore mieux que cela !!!

[@billgrange3189]

This quartet marks the pinnacle of all music in my opinion...and, of course, the playing of the Ariel Quartet does full justice to it.

[@tractotus]

You're right. This sublime masterpiece is one of the deepest most profound treasures of all of World culture

[@malcolmabram2957]

Matter of opinion. Of course. But I would not challenge this statement. 14:58 is out of this world.

[@marcussaemann9819]

really fantastic performance

[@helenawilliams8752]

WOW, a treasure String Quartet JEWEL! The listener can appreciate the delightful intonation, technical brilliance, melodic sound of harmony and beauty! An overwhelmingly graceful and masterful performance.

[@Ferenz111]

Great performance of the music which is at the highest summit in this world

[@victoriamiskolczy6336]

Divine playing, all of you! The non-vibrato chords in the slow movement are so beautiful... gives me goosebumps!

[@vaughanosgan2623]

Grande presentation of one of the greatest quartets of all......An amazing work Indeed Bravo Bravo players...Love that Cellist

[@ArielQuartet]

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks so much!

[@sandroveronese2042]

it's wonderful to hear the music and see the musicians play. Because music must be listened to but also seen

[@rowancrew2934]

Beautiful performance of this masterpiece.

[@ArielQuartet]

Thank you!

[@fredhoupt4078]

Excellent performance, passionate, engaged, pulsating with vigor. In my view, Beethoven's last works, including his late Bagatelles and late quartets, are the pinnacle of Western musical expressions, ideas and forms. They will age as well as the best of daVinci and Michelangelo.

[@victorlabsky2104]

There are no superlatives the express the impact of Beethoven´s music. We are witnessing a real time machine. Immagine, two or three hundred years from now this music will certainly be alive and uplifting also the future generations. Thank you, Ariel Quartet, for a marvellous performance. Your love for music, dedication and precise work represent a real visual delight. Brave e bravi!

[@jorgegarzaelli6238]

Sure!!!

[@jorgegarzaelli6238]

Je suis toutellment d accord avec toi

[@szymonszymob706]

Truly great! Gotta love that piece

[@hermes537]

loving it daily

[@soundknight]

Thank u for entertaining me whilst I do my Sunday Aussie BBQ, this was truly beautiful.

[@ArielQuartet]

This word is amazing 🥲 so glad you enjoyed it!

[@JohnHarmer]

wonderful playing of a sublime masterpiece

[@MegaFount]

Truly spectacular performance. I love this piece with its variations and incredible harmonies. It really gets into your soul. Wonderfully played and thoroughly enjoyed. One I will listen to many times over.

[@garfreed]

Profoundly beautiful.

[@michaels7889]

This has always seemed to me to be the most strenuous of all the Beethoven quartets. A lovely sustained performance even that Allegro apassionato that starts so happily and Fur Elise style but seems ultimately to dissolve into chaos, not the playing - the music! By strenuous I meant to play not to listen to. They fit very neatly into one's psyche. Listening there is no fatigue with a performance such as this; one is carried along. These late Beethoven quartets were an early introduction for me to the medium when I was about 19. Later I learned to play them (though failing this level of skill).

[@sergioa64a]

I have heard that this quartet is a preparation for his tenth symphony.

[@juliyabelyanevich7066]

Guys you play fantastic. Bravo. I love so much the energy swirling in every new sentence. Amazing work, and fabulous body language. TOP

[@ericstricker5503]

Passionate, moving, and beautiful! I can’t help but think that if Beethoven himself heard your expression of his sublime music he would have been very pleased.

[@ArielQuartet]

Thank you for your kind words!

[@hermes537]

it is becoming my Sunday soiree

[@mauricioabadi1410]

An incredible walk for all kind of emotions.

[@jackhousman6637]

Amazing music-making. Wonderful. A splendid introduction to music that is new to me.

[@krugos1978]

I love this work, this and Op.131 are my favorite Beethoven quartets (I can't decide which one I like the most). Very moving performance, beautiful job, thank you for sharing!

[@centralshaft801]

So powerful, thank you

[@user-pj7rq8ii3p]

この音楽は、聴けば聴くほどハマる。いわゆる噛めば噛むほど味が出るスルメのような作品だと思います。

[@markmanning2545]

The chords of the second movement are like the ligaments of a giant. The eye of the Cyclops is upon us at all times!

[@minggao5002]

The best quartet

[@HamiltonProvonsha]

Thank you for this.

[@adamtryczynski]

Sounds great!

[@joedeegan3870]

Beautiful !

[@davehorse6344]

I love this piece and have always favoured my recording by the Lindsays. But I have to say, the Ariel quartet have swept me away with this wonderful performance. All four of you play this beautifully, excellent individual performances combining into a superb sum of parts. Thank you.

[@Lemma01]

The Lindsays were my introduction, too: mid- to late-Seventies, when they were at Sheffield, then Manchester. They had an annual stint at the (Old) Victoria Theatre in Stoke on Trent. I was a teenager, but their Bartok and Beethoven was so out of the usual run of productions, they seamed from another world. Working as a volunteer, collecting ticket stubs and beer glasses, I heard every performance for free. I had no idea how lucky I was. And I entirely agree with your sentiments.

[@origemar]

Beethoven é indecifrável e introspectivo, leva-nos a esferas de enorme grandeza e profundidade. O absoluto está presente nessa obra e, como que chegamos a tocá-lo no coração.

[@kristian.kalmanlehto]

Pense que nao existe alguma outra musica de mesmo qualidade.

[@sennapod9]

Absolutely incredible!

[@thanemacinnes8188]

an. integrated. and. rich. intimacy. that. astounds. one

[@lauriem5118]

A cry speaks louder than words.

[@JoseMedina-sv8uy]

Sublime. Primera vez que escucho a Ariel Quertet. Muchas Gracias por compartir.

[@ArielQuartet]

Gracias!

[@ruivog]

Perfection exists.

[@RobSinclaire]

Magnificent!!

[@gerardomuro100]

meravigliosi

[@Judymontel]

Thank you.

[@joaquinmarambiofuentes53]

Beautiful!!

[@escobarcarl7420]

Siehe: Thomas Mann "Dr. Faustus", 21. Kapitel. Das kluge Essay über Opus 132 stammt offenbar von Adorno. - Zur Interpretation des Ariel-Quartetts: Für mich eine Sternstunde! Bravo!

[@kenoliver8913]

The other well known literary reference to this piece is the scene in Aldous Huxley's "Point Counterpoint" where a devout Christian tries to persuade a sceptical friend that God exists simply by playing a recording of the Heilige Dankgesang ...

[@josevillela6439]

Simply sublime.

[@ArielQuartet]

❤️

[@LuigiFontanaMDPhD]

Wonderful interpretation....

[@sandromancini1951]

In 2007 the American Record Guide described the Ariel Quartet as “a consummate ensemble gifted with utter musicality and remarkable interpretive power” and called their performance of Beethoven’s Quartet Op. 132 “the pinnacle of the competition.” (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariel_String_Quartet)

[@rf224-abc]

"“I have the A minor Quartet on the gramophone, and I find it quite inexhaustible to study. There is a sort of heavenly, or at least more than human gaiety, about some of his later things which one imagines might come to oneself as the fruit of reconciliation and relief after immense suffering; I should like to get something of that into verse before I die.” - T.S. Eliot

[@ArielQuartet]

Wasn’t aware of that quote: thanks for sharing!

[@hermes537]

I cant stop listening to this...

[@rf224-abc]

i want to be your friend then

[@hermes537]

let's!@@rf224-abc

[@rnnyhoff]

Just an extraordinary performance by splendid, unanimous artists. Playing as one of this classic of human creative genius. To think the guy was deaf when he wrote this. Mind numbing.

[@ArielQuartet]

Thank you so much!

[@user-fi5nl6sx4v]

Maravilloso

[@ArielQuartet]

Thank you so much!

[@mihaelaminulescu]

Thanks heartily

[@ArielQuartet]

thank you for listening!

[@JorgeRamos-ip6jw]

I listen this cuartet while I read Platón writing. I am sick, but music and philosophy Is cure for my soul .

[@ArielQuartet]

Wishing you all the best!

[@johannawhitmore1760]

Sublime.

[@ArielQuartet]

Thank you!

[@williamfonda5608]

Played with feeling

[@ArielQuartet]

thank you!

[@williamfonda5608]

@@ArielQuartet You are Very Welcome

[@williamfonda5608]

PS it is one of my favorite works

[@hankwest3002]

Wow, its a crazy piece man, i hear little jolly parts then freakin pitch black sadness

[@hakamjiroudy4083]

Excellent.

[@ArielQuartet]

Thank you!

[@agseu3668]

Excelsa música!

[@user-wu1my4nk6g]

いま作曲されたばかり、と思える新鮮さ。考え抜かれているが、晦渋さはなく、明晰だ。生理的に気持ちのよい音で快感が得られる。見事だ。

[@abbaquantum431]

Magnificent!

[@ArielQuartet]

Thank you!

[@lauriem5118]

A suppressed cry speaks loudest of all.

[@ArielQuartet]

❤️

[@jorgegarzaelli6238]

En aquella epoca Beethoven fue una revolucion francesa con un profundo espiritu aleman, por demas internacional como la musica

[@alvarogarciabarbosa3199]

Grandes felicitaciones para Ariel S Q. En mi barra Hisense 250W los oía a 4 metros de distancia. Beethoven sonó como nunca lo había escuchado. Gracias, thank you, merci, grazie, Danke!!!!

[@ArielQuartet]

Thank you for your kind words!

[@user-nc5ir7dq8t]

잘 들었습니다 132번 3악장 제일 좋아합니다 Korea

[@r.s.4942]

Sphärenmusik für alle Ewigkeiten....

[@dsantuc]

Great Heiliger Dankgesang. I had tears in my eyes.

[@ArielQuartet]

❤️

[@igalflint]

Etern peace.

[@antoniosilva7083]

Excelentes! A música de Beethoven e os intérpretes!

[@ArielQuartet]

Thank you!

[@steve29roses]

If that 3rd movement isn't pure spiritual music, then I just don't know what is!

[@steve29roses]

The 3rd movement of Opus 135 is even more tender and spiritual as he says goodbye to the world.

[@ArielQuartet]

It is!!