Beethoven-Zyklus III

Quatuor Ebène

Programme:
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet No. 2 in G major, Op. 18/2, String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135, String Quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 131

Composed in 1799, the String Quartet No. 2 in G major was the third of Opus 16’s six quartets, despite its numbering. Its graceful and gallant opening earned it the nickname »Komplimentierquartett«. However, with its rousing final movement, which sounds almost like a piano concerto or symphony, Beethoven had already begun to revolutionise the genre. Juxtaposed is String Quartet No. 16 in F major, the last work Beethoven completed. Although its creation in 1826 was overshadowed by personal crises, its often cheerful, almost pastoral character has led to it being interpreted as Beethoven’s attempt to adopt a wise, positive outlook after all the personal, family and health difficulties he had experienced in previous years. String Quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor, composed earlier, breaks new and unusual ground with its seven movements, which flow artfully into one another and are played almost without pause. Richard Wagner described the ecstatic finale as »the dance of the world itself« in which » wild pleasure, painful lament, the delights of love, highest bliss, woe, rage, ecstasy and sorrow« are united.

presented by dodenhof and swb
in cooperation with the Philharmonische Gesellschaft Bremen