Ludwig van Beethoven - String Quartet No. 16, Op. 135

[@mduftube]

23:49 I love his direction to “repeat the second part if you wish,” this demanding, exacting, moody perfectionist who was so precise about his musical directions suddenly had a laid-back moment at the end of his life and he wrote this masterpiece. “No worries,” he seems to be saying, “it must be, so if you’re in the mood, go ahead play that section again. No pressure, though.” In my opinion the greatest and most fascinating composer who ever lived. His late work still sounds modern.

[@skylarlimex]

@@nickb220 i don't think it's strange at all! beethoven is truly one of the greatest composers

[@Eliza-yd7fi]

After Bach, but I agree

[@therealrealludwigvanbeethoven]

@@Eliza-yd7fi No, Beethoven

[@mduftube]

😂 @@therealrealludwigvanbeethoven

[@Eliza-yd7fi]

​@@therealrealludwigvanbeethovenbach is the father we are the children, mozart said. Since Bach is Bach's father, Bach certainly is the father! I rest my case.

[@LouieBeethoven]

Muss es sein? Ja! Es muss sein! Es muss sein!

[@GerhardBuecker]

@i9sixKills What is the meaning? Es gibt Dinge, die müssen einfach sein. Überall im Leben. Es gibt technische Entwicklungen, die einfach sein müssen. Weil sie vorherbestimmt waren. Aufgrund der vorherigen Erkenntnise. Es gibt menschliche Entwicklungen, die einfach kommen müssen, weil die Zeit für sie da ist.

[@Clemson-c5d]

Frédéric Chopin Louie remember me

[@a.534]

@@Magnus-t4j I think it's about art and his life decision to dedicate everything he had to music

[@powermod6772]

​@@Magnus-t4j No. Beethoven wrote the 4th movement on request by Schlesinger and wanted to have more money for it. Must it be (the money)? It must be. Schlesinger remembered a letter by Beethoven where he wrote something like: „Sehen Sie, was ich für ein unglücklicher Mensch bin, nicht nur, daß es was schweres gewesen es zu schreiben, weil ich an etwas anderes viel größeres dachte, und es nur schrieb, weil ich es Ihnen versprochen und Geld brauchte und daß es mir hart ankam, können Sie aus dem ›Es muß sein‹ entziffern“ ~ "See what an unhappy person I am, not only that it was difficult to write because I was thinking of something much bigger and only wrote it because I promised you and needed money, and that it was hard for me can be deciphered from the ›It must be‹"

[@PieInTheSky9]

The third movement of this may be the most stunningly beautiful thing I've ever heard.

[@erika6651]

I'd say a 3 way tie between this, the Cavatina from 130, and the 3rd movement from 132.

[@RDRussell2]

I agree with both of you. This present quartet, I hear in the third movement an end of life struggle, an acceptance, and the very gates of heaven opening before you. The way the D-flat chord is built around the opening note F (which is what makes it major, and thus THE crucial note) is somehow an yawning field, a stage upon which the drama is about to unfold. The choice of 6/8 suggests movement, and indeed the opening motif (starting at that third measure) has much movement, up and down, but never going anywhere. The middle section in C# minor is hesitant, a little frightened perhaps, but the acceptance eventually comes.

[@Dan474834]

Listen to the last movement of Mahler’s 3rd, based entirely on this movement.

[@TRIHEDRAL]

Beethoven’s string quartets is the single greatest accomplishment in all of classical music, in my opinion. Higher even, than Bach’s well tempered klavier

[@MrGar11]

yes

[@steve29roses]

That's saying something!!!! Beethoven LOVED the Well-tempered Klavier!

[@Keithustus]

It’s a bunch of quarters. A single accomplishment would be an opera or symphony for example. Or, as my vote goes to, Der Ring des Nibelungen as the greatest artistic accomplishment of humanity.

[@bobscomix]

A fair statement

[@NickPorter-ui7st]

I think Bach's Chaccone is the greatest thing ever written. It makes me weep like a baby.

[@ban9nas177]

Movement 3 is of unbearable anguish and pain. Beethoven has plunged to the most profound depths of human soul, and has conveyed to us his deepest, innermost, and most personal feelings. There comes a time when these emotions can only be conveyed by music, for it transcends all else capable of describing it. A most profound outpouring of the soul. What may he had gone through to write this? (Along with string quartet 14)

[@LudwolfBeethozart1485]

24:08-24:30 Ludwig 's final message to this world before returning to the fabric of the universe 🌌 I'm in tears right now

[@Sam97812]

Not quite, he composed a replacement finale movement for String Quartet no. 13 in B-Flat Major, after this

[@vincenspurrier8380]

@@Sam97812 Beethoven did have the idea that was his final string quartet (last piece even), though when he composed this piece. Sure he may've composed the replacement finale, but I doubt Beethoven had the same attitude that he did creating this final movement. Even the "Es muss sein" could absolutely be interpreted as Beethoven realizing or accepting that he wouldn't be alive much longer.

[@prokill3453]

Beethoven been real quiet since this dropped

[@NovicebutPassionate]

"The F major Quartet, Op. 135 is almost half the length of the other late quartets, and Beethoven clearly wrote it as a relaxation after the tremendous strain of committing the others to paper. It does not attempt to plumb the depths of human experience, yet achieves something very near perfection in its own humorous epigrammatic way. It is not inappropriate that Beethoven should have taken leave of music in this unobtrusive way, like Samson 'calm of mind, all passion spent'." Roger Fiske, Chamber Music, Edited by Alec Robertson, Penguin Books, 1965, P. 136-37. "The first, second, and fourth movements are rather a fluent play of brilliant but irresponsible wit. By way of contrast, the Adagio, in spite of its circumscribed form, is one of the most profound expressions of Beethoven's genius that his work can offer, and the quality of its inspiration shows that he wrote it with an instinctive foreboding of the end. Nevertheless, this quartet was not actually the last composition from the Master's pen." Beethoven's Quartets, Joseph de Marliave, Translated by Hilda Andrews, Dover reprint 2004, P. 355-56.

[@RichardASalisbury1]

So what was his last completed composition?

[@NovicebutPassionate]

@@RichardASalisbury1 The finale of Bb Major Quartet, Op. 130 because the publisher had rejected the original finale ("Grosse Fuge"), agreeing to publish it separately if Beethoven provided a new finale for Op. 130 which Beethoven did reluctantly.

[@davidecarlassara8525]

Who else is celebrating his 250th birthday by listening to this masterpiece?

[@robboticsvoneskklik3633]

l'm too young to celebrate my 250th birthday.

[@davidecarlassara8525]

@@robboticsvoneskklik3633 hahahaaha you got me

[@davidrehak3539]

Ludwig van Beethoven:16.F-dúr Vonósnégyes Op.135 1.Allegretto 00:05 2.Vivace 06:22 3.Lento assai, cantante e tranquillo 09:50 4.Grave, ma non troppo tratto - Allegro 17:39 Alban Berg Vonósnégyes

[@davidrehak3539]

Köszönöm az értékelést

[@banduyvicslog2501]

The last piece to say goodbye the world by the greatest composers of all time Beethoven

[@olavtryggvason1194]

Perhaps - maybe not. As far as I am informed Beethoven set his signature under his last completed work 2 days before he passed away. And this work was his string quartet in C sharp minor op 131. The opus numbers are not always strictly in the true order of time. They were set by the publishers, and these string quartets were published in print most probably post mortem.

[@satosmi9408]

@@olavtryggvason1194 Op 135 is often seen as the last completed work. I believe they have evidence to say that, maybe diaries or autographs.

[@alexx3940]

Actually his last piece is the 10th symphony which is not completed

[@Mehrshad84]

​@@alexx3940this string quartet is his last completed work

[@medea2693]

I've just started reading, "House of Leaves" & "Muss es sein?" is the way it begins before it even begins. Naturally, I had to look the phrase up, which eventually led me here (I am no stranger to this kind of rabbit hole-- I discovered the novel by way of the author's sister, Poe, & her album, "Haunted")...

[@erika6651]

One moment humorous, the next, painfully introspective. Ironic, stunning. Can this music honestly be compared to any other's? We praise Bach's musically complexity and Haydn and Mozart's invention, but there is something all the more satisfying about Beethoven's final compositions that make them incomparable to anything that came before them, or afterwards. It helps they had no direct imitators, which has allowed them to retain their unique qualities.

[@HeelPower200]

This quartet is pure direct expression. To be honest it defies words. This is what any music creator aspires to do. Expression of intellect, emotion and totality of human experience.

[@sylvainpenard9354]

00:05 : Allegretto 01:34 : 2e thème (tierce et quarte) demi ton au violoncelle 01:50 : fin de l'exposition, enchaînement direct avec le développement 02:40 : fausse réexposition (comparer avec 00:13) 03:18 : Réexposition 06:23 : Deuxième mouvement - Vivace 07:26 : section centrale 08:06 : la majeur caractère populaire 09:51 : Troisième mouvement lento assai, cantante et tranquillo 12:44 : Variation 2 section en do# mineur 14:30 : section en réb majeur (Elgar Nimrod) 17:39 : Quatrième mouvement - Grave ma non troppo tratto 18:48 : Allegro premier thème 19:14 : Deuxième thème en la majeur 19:44 : Reprise 20:42 : Développement 21:48 : Réexposition Grave 22:50 : Allegro premier thème 23:13 : Deuxième thème en ré majeur puis fa majeur 23:53 : Question posée pour la dernière fois et réponse dans la coda

[@prof.jasonsaid2718]

Beethoven's last string testimony ... To Eternity with All the haunting harmonies make me speechless ..but the Adagio makes my heart bleed always

[@aarondrayer548]

Where is the adagio you are talking about?

[@prof.jasonsaid2718]

@@aarondrayer548 the the 3rd movement. It is the base that Hector Berlios structured his symphony FANTASTIC AROUND IT

[@chrish12345]

they were not his 'last notes'

[@prof.jasonsaid2718]

I said" his last notes to eternity" not his last notes the he composed thx

[@prof.jasonsaid2718]

notes That he composed Thanks

[@juanaragon3695]

Es Muss Sein

[@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji]

Wow Beethoven literally be going up by whole tones (the scherzo). Nothing other than Mozart's A Musical Joke reminds me of this.

[@davidmehnert6206]

I know I’m not alone in admitting this is my favorite Beethoven string quartet.

[@mcrettable]

Eric Ness 13 easily my favorite with grand fugue

[@herculesborboles]

This quartet,was the finest Beethoven's work,before he died.

[@wllm4785]

Oooh, I don't know....I think it's a tie; this and op. 131.

[@lordspongebobofhousesquare1616]

@@wllm4785 op. 131, especially the first movement. The only time I've shed a bit of tear from listening to music.

[@NotMozart1685]

@@herculesborboles As opposed to his works done after he died? His decompositions😂?

[@oviyank3242]

On hearing this ,I can feel how van Beethoven was understand the music soul fully,no words... Just feel it...♥️

[@JBMUSICEXP]

14:30 is my favorite part but I guess he had to walk us there first. How beautiful

[@ianhansen6840]

I can't believe I'd never heard the third movement. The last dozen bars moved me to tears... Amazing performance, that!

[@cellosean]

Better late than never.

[@seongmin_choi1123]

I think the 3rd movement is the best of this quartet. It is almost equivalent to his every slow movements.

[@richardcoiner3888]

The restraint of the first violin is remarkable. The desire to blend rather than showboat. Wonderful. I do think the cello is mixed too low.

[@lucifervalentine275]

Mixed? is the audio altered?

[@LavaMLG]

@@lucifervalentine275of course, its a recording!

[@Hmmmmmmm02]

the third movement resembles mahler's 3rd symphony finale!!!

[@jackdomanski6758]

You’re right. Also ever notice how the very beginning of the 4th’s Ruhevoll mirrors the beginning of the quartet in the first act of Fidelio?

[@Arcadia91]

In the third movement i though: "Mahler, is that you?"

[@mattbalfe2983]

Brahms also seems to invert it in the 2nd movement of the 4th.

[@saraa980]

Milan Kundera brought me here😂

[@stevesewful]

thank you. thank you. so amazing to see the score too. and so privileged to be able to hear this incredible music.

[@olla-vogala4090]

My pleasure really, Steve :)

[@humamghassib2685]

Altogether, this is another gem of a video. A supergreat masterpiece played by a great ensemble. No wonder it has been said that this quartet would have heralded a fourth period for Beethoven had he lived longer!

[@timothythorne9464]

olla-vogala I love being able to follow the score. That wonderful (although nearly tuneless) scherzo is far more complex than I had realised.

[@Beatrizfdso]

Poor Tomas...Sabina and Tereza got he really mad :(

[@orcrider92]

Don't spoil bro

[@ivancadena3031]

I am here because I like this composition and love to return here from times to times to listen to it once and again.

[@timothythorne9464]

Ivan Cadena it's pretty impressive. That first movement is perfectly constructed, with not one note too many, and not one note out of place.

[@pedroa.cantero9449]

«La experiencia humana que Beethoven interioriza sin cesar, sin cesar reenvía hacia las profundidades, atrapa a su evolución creadora, penetra su obra, subvierte el sentido» . André Boucourechliev da en el clavo. La existencia del compositor concierne tanto al ser como a la obra. De ese permanente desafío, sin respiro, surge una fuerza expresiva feroz. La voz del genio clama en las alturas. «Es muss sein! …» . Soledad de las cimas. En tamaño reto, nuestro Tondichter destiló en el son tanta poesía que alma y cuerpo vacilan ante lo irremediable, devorados en holocausto mesiánico. ¿Qué sería Dios sin las preces humanas? Viento maltrecho, polvoroso grimorio, malva marchita. El pensador deja en su música honda reflexión sobre lo humano. Frente al Absoluto, hallé en ella senda y consuelo. «Revelación más alta que toda sabiduría». El dolor puede ser redimido en la esperanza, pero el clamor divino ¿dónde encontrará sosiego? De aquel sueño salí como entré, indemne. Gracias a esta agreste súplica que renuevo tantas cuantas veces recuerdo aquel primer encuentro con este cuarteto sobre la planicie del Vercors, tras cosechar setas a la tarde y sentarnos mano a mano para gozar de un plato fragante, acompañado de un Pouilly-Fuissé y, sin prisa alguna, escucharlo a todo volumen hasta caer rendidos. Impaciente, al alba, mientras Georges aún dormía, para acompasar sus sueños volví a colocar la aguja del gramófono. Seguí entonces el camino que marcaban las cuerdas hacia la misma herida del costado que desde siglos sangra sobre cálices preciados y la encontré vacía -pangelinguagloriosi… Solo ante tamaña ofrenda comprendí cuanta energía costó al “emparedado” en vida tramar tan trágico lamento -arquitectura etérea-, la cuestión crucial de la que esperaba ser redimido y, en ella misma, absuelto. «La verdad sobre mí hablaba desde una profundidad estremecedora» (F.N. Ecce homo ) .

[@pod831]

¿Cometió un terrible error al no tener hijos para continuar con su legado? Espero que no haya sido extraña.

[@alexandreluizalves]

amazing... brentano string quartet plays this one also beautifuly. He, the master Beethoven, knew what real love is, he knew how to love mankind, and how to reach deep in people's heart, forever.

[@Dexter26958]

24:21 The the last notes that Beethoven ever wrote.

[@wodzimierzwosimieta2758]

His last finished piece/movement is actually finale of op. 130 which He composed as a replacement for Grosse Fuge.

[@ericdew2021]

My favorite of Beethoven's quartets.

[@siamakanbarani4977]

For years i didn't understand the late quarters. I have been living symphonies, especially ninth and eroica , and all of sudden a window opended in my mind and shed the light on them. Now i appreciate them all.

[@dedikandrej]

Thats What i like About classical music 😁

[@adonisadmirer2752]

Is it just me who interpreted the "Muss es sein? Ja! Es muss sein!" as the dramatisation of his nephew's decision? Denn welcher Entschluss wäre des Selbstmords schwieriger zu fassen?

[@livreprisionero3746]

Tô aqui por causa do kundera... vou Tb..?

[@nzriot]

I'm here because of a devotion from *Devotions From The World Of Music 2000 by Patrick and Barbara Kavanaugh* (October 30th) that suggested I listen to this next time I'm feeling lonely (Beethoven was always a bachelor and perhaps I will be also).

[@kennylaboy4400]

I am here because I love classical music.

[@Alexander-iq5yq]

Is 06:33 a joke by Beethoven? It sounds like the musicians suddenly stop to tune their instruments.

[@zRawrasaurusREXz]

10:09, Mahler clearly liked this part a bit!

[@sjdalcom]

20:02 I like this part

[@carldemers3995]

I am here because .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Beethoven.

[@DPCR00]

8:06 :)

[@BecentiComposer]

Its the best

[@marichristian1072]

Magnificent work. Alban Berg Quartet is without equal here. Thank you so much olla-vogala.

[@olla-vogala4090]

+Mari Christian Happy you like it Mari, and I agree their performance here is fantastic!

[@marichristian1072]

+Olla Vogala: Attention to the dynamics of the piece is so wonderful!

[@olivierdrouin2701]

Absolutely not agree with you. Prosaic interprétation.

[@sherylsmithflower]

Lots of work to make this. Thank you for doing it!

[@timothythorne9464]

Sheryl Smith I love all of Beethoven's music, but this quartet may be the single most enjoyable work by the great composer. And regrettably it was his last major work.

[@shin-i-chikozima]

Emotion is in my soul , and ---

[@pakalwaters9605]

2021 and here we are, surfing the covid waves!! we still alive! Es muss sein!!!! hell yeah!

[@theantonioexperience]

Lento assai breaks my heart

[@MarcelloSevero]

21:47 hits you like an anvil to the head

[@harrisonbrown1043]

one of the things in the late quartets that has me half-convinced beethoven was an alien or from the future

[@mlconlanmeister]

@@harrisonbrown1043 Beethoven is seen as heralding the Romantic period, but I think he flew by that period and seemed to use Romantic era motifs as if with nostalgia!

[@pelodelperro]

Marvelous.

[@robertobenedetti1328]

Vecchi ricordi, grandi emozioni. Il vinile ha fatto una brutta fine. Grazie.di cuore. 🎩

[@slvsfr]

Robert J Lichtenberger hosted a show on WGBH in Boston. I listened on my drive from Keene, NH to Waltham, MA. I met this tune driving to work. I had to hunt it down after that.

[@federicozimerman8167]

cesar franck's majestic d minor symphony opens with a three note motif just like the beginning of this quartet s final movement. not a coincidence.

[@klop4228]

Franck's piece begins on the tonic, though, not the third

[@pod831]

Frank is trite compared to Beethoven

[@ethansaltmere]

Anyone ever noticed how beethoven parodies a part of the main subject of the op.131 first movement theme in the main subject of the last movement of this ??!! just like op.110 slow movement parodying the 2nd movement theme! sublime hilarity!! haha!

[@elie2133]

"Hahaha we're laughing between intelectual" :b Seriously though, Ill have to check that out but it reminds me of mozart's a musical joke where he too, parodies things people do in music. So music can be funny too!

[@chrish12345]

I would dispute both of those claims, utter nonsense.

[@ethansaltmere]

@@chrish12345 maybe the first one but surely not the second...

[@satosmi9408]

@@chrish12345lol then prove its nonsensical

[@fiddlersontheramp5417]

An idiot: I think the opus 132 iii movement, is not as good as op. 135. The World:

[@marhalabszar]

17:19 Hungarian railways signal? :D

[@gwion35]

Found this piece trying to figure out a page from a book called House of Leaves. So glad I did. I've listened to a lot of Beethoven's pieces, and this is a beautiful one.

[@ProfFeinman]

If you do find yourself in an easy going mood and don’t want to ponder the state of the world, try the third movement. It will fix that for you.

[@paulbrowning-s1x]

I absolutely love this piece in its entirety and I love the Alban Berg's rendition of it. I don't know anything written by him that's so light-hearted, playful and joyful as the 2nd movement; it dances.

[@olivierdrouin2701]

Ne serait ce pas la sublime expansion de 14"30 à 15'45 qui serait le thème cache des variations Enigma , de Edward Elgar. ?

[@embellirMemphis]

I have the 3-vinyl record set in pristine condition - Beethoven Quartet No. 16 in F Major (Op. 135) Budapest String Quartet Columbia Masterworks Set M-489 - needs a great home!

[@userxv]

House of Leaves brought me here

[@Lobiwankenobi]

It must be!

[@lirpa5459]

Are we supposed to read, and listen to this at the same time?

[@NateSassoonMusic]

some parts of the second movement sound startlingly contemporary

[@bsharpmajorscale]

Or modern composers sound startlingly Beethovenian. :P

[@thisismyname007]

I’m here because I’m reading Philip K. Dick’s We Can Build You. The protagonist is given some pills by a psychologist- “Hubrizine” - which induces a state of mind like unto listening to this piece.

[@nicolasm7114]

Thank you very much, olla-vogala.

[@stargazer4790]

muss es sein?

[@PaginasLetea]

2 ou 3 choses que je sais d'elle

[@ricardotoledo8834]

Beethoven, poder e fúria. Paixão e drama. Genialidade em sua essência.

[@Gioconda144]

This is beautiful

[@timothythorne9464]

Gioconda144 the Grave intro to the finale is just about the most ghostly music I've ever heard, even more than the great "Ghost" trio. It's utterly different from what follows, which is just abounding in joy.

[@paulawalsh8921]

Why hasn’t anyone ever added lyrics to this beauty ⭐️

[@Ivan_1791]

17:41 Why isn't the E indicated with a natural sign?

[@RajeshBansal0]

@olla-vogala Thank you for providing this work in this form for the benefit of our Beethoven family

[@StuartSimon]

Is the main section of the finale really marked C? I find it impossible to believe that is anything other than an error, because it is always played alla breve. And the alla breve is a real two-to-the-bar and not a simple injunction to emphasize the third beat of four slightly more, as it sometimes seems to be.

[@demertzis2694]

is this his last composition?

[@agnesbaervoets3803]

liefhebber v deze mooie muziek. speel zelf een beetje classic .kleine werken v grote meesters. Ontspanning!

[@olla-vogala4090]

+Agnes Baervoets Leuk om te horen, bedankt voor de comment!

[@guizimnatale]

9:50

[@Refrescospepito]

Is this the "muss es sein" quartet?

[@jernejoblak7633]

yes

[@nfornick]

有無聽咗 my little airport 而嚟？

[@ASclassical]

10:08 pure beauty...

[@nicolasm7114]

I don't understand the very end, with the pizzicati. I didn't expect this effect.

[@pedromunozmoya3383]

Parece música oriental

[@i9s3m8]

J'aime beaucoup cette chanson, surtout le deuxième mouvement.

[@마니여터버중독이다]

죽기전에 생샤펠에서 이 곡을 듣고 싶다

[@wolfgangamadeusmozart8293]

Who is here because the movie "Copying Beethoven"? Very great movie!

[@serenityrahn5656]

just imagine being in the audience for the premier of Symphony No. 9 in D Minor.

[@harryparks8395]

"malacoda knee deep in the lilies" Samuel Beckett

[@baileyreidrickman]

6:34 John Adams’ “Absolute Jest” brought me here ;)

[@TGMGame]

18:52 it's an e natural not an e-flat.

[@LouieBeethoven]

Ah, the Lento....

[@timothythorne9464]

LouieBeethoven it's a wonderful, extended hymn

[@santiagodelrivero4904]

Is a symphony, love it.

[@1964ALCOZER]

Top of the world

[@markmanning2545]

This music lights up all the crackpots.

[@ketanfernandes4094]

Was this his last composition ever?

[@harrisonbrown1043]

Yes, other than the final movement of the Op. 130 quartet which he wrote to replace the Grosse Fuge.

[@tarikeld11]

0:56 Symphony no 6

[@samdoherty2284]

Oh yeah. In the background, violin ii, viola and cello

[@averyj3247]

The scherzo sounds so much like that symphony to me.

[@averyj3247]

That is a very standard accompaniment that Beethoven essentially used as part of a melody in the 6th symphony. Genius indeed.

[@artemusica-rafaelpassos1476]

Muito bom!

[@Trombosilbo]

subnormal

[@enriquesanchez2001]

Exquisite perfection...

[@umityildiz5549]

Thanks Kundera

[@slailhan4491]

çok.. güzel sadece

[@agseu3668]

Miss es sein? Sim, o que tem de ser tem muita força... Oiço por vezes ecos do scherzo da Nona, mas é tudo extraordinária música e um espírito elevado.

[@johnphillips5993]

18:52 borrowing from op.131

[@satosmi9408]

Yes, and appears already in 17:45

[@satosmi9408]

I was a bit wrong, only the first half of the idea is there

[@jonnyf5469]

HOUSE OF LEAVES