Ludwig van Beethoven - Grosse Fuge, Op. 133

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven (17 December 1770 -- 26 March 1827)
Performers: Talich Quartet
Year of recording: 1977

Fugue for string quartet in B flat major ("Grosse Fuge"), Op. 133, written in 1825.

Beethoven's Grosse Fuge {Great Fugue} was originally to have served as the finale to the String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major, Op. 130 [uploaded on this channel]; in fact, that work was first performed with this monumental creation as its sixth and concluding movement. However, the Grosse Fuge, a complete entity in its own right, proved too difficult for the performers and for some members of the audience. Moreover, it seemed an outsized finale for the relatively modest quartet. Beethoven subsequently produced a new final movement for the quartet, an attractive Rondo more in keeping with the spirit of the entire work.

The Grosse Fuge, eventually published as an independent work, is one of Beethoven's crowning achievements in the medium of chamber music. The work opens with an introduction, or "overtura." Here the mood is dramatic, effectively setting the stage for the whole work. The main theme -- heroic and defiant, powerful and self-confident -- is presented in four different versions. First, it is played fortissimo, in an emphatic, assertive manner, which will reemerge as its definitive guise in the coda. The subsequent accounts of the theme gradually become calmer and quieter.

The first fugal section is a double fugue marked Allegro. Here the main theme competes against another subject, which is also fiery and assertive. Their struggle, which includes substantial development, continues fortissimo. The second section, marked Meno mosso e moderato, is also a double fugue, its lyricism providing effective contrast to its predecessor. Here a new theme emerges from the counterpoint of the main melody. The third section, marked Allegro molto e con brio, features further struggle in which the theme eventually falters and seems to disintegrate. The second subject from the first fugal section emerges and appears to take control. Eventually, the main theme is rejuvenated in a passage marked Meno mosso moderato, and the signs of struggle fade in the two Allegro subsections that follow. The coda features the main theme in its original version, but now expanded and clearly triumphant. The mood turns reflective and mysterious, and suddenly the second subject appears, supported by the main theme. The work ends powerfully and magnificently.

The Grosse Fuge is dedicated: "Dem Cardinal Erzherzog Rudolph gewidmet".