Beethoven-a-thon (4/29/23)

What is a Beethoven-a-thon you might ask? No, not all nine symphonies but, nonetheless, this was nine Beethoven string quartets spread out over six hours (see -thon, above). The nine quartets were played by nine different string quartets, so you’re not getting all 36 names. All of the string players were from the Juilliard first year String Quartet Survey class.

As listed in the program:
Opus 18 no 1; Opus 59 no 2; Opus 59 no 3
~~~~~~~~
Opus 132; Opus 18 no 2; Opus 18 no 5
~~~~~~~~
Opus 18 no 3; Opus 95; Opus 59 no 1

As you can see, there was not a lot of info on/about the quartets—no dates, no list of movements, etc., so I did minimal online research, but I think it is slightly interesting. Beethoven – 1770–1827. Opus 18 – 1801 (publication date); Opus 59 – 1808 (publication date); Opus 95 – 1810 (either written or published, I did not do a deep dive); Opus 132 – 1825 (composition date).

First, I think all of the quartets were in four movements – fast, slow, fast, fast. That said, I only scribbled notes for a few of the quartets before deciding that my notes would become boringly repetitive. Opus 18 no 1 was played by an all-female quartet (more on that later). The first movement was a combination of muscular and lyrical. The second was slower and poignant. The third was quicker but still subdued in some parts while the fourth was bright, lively and fun.

Opus 59 no 2 had one male player. That said, of the 36 performers, ten were male, and only one was black—I’m not saying that’s right or wrong; I’m just stating facts for what they’re worth. On to the second piece. The first movement had a strong opening followed by a somewhat brooding section. I noticed that this sounded more ‘as one’ to me, and wondered whether it was the players or Beethoven’s maturing style. I really think it was the latter, seven years later than Opus 18. After a brief re-tuning, the second movement was quiet and haunting, the third lively but not boisterous, with the fourth cheerful and bright.

Opus 59 no 3 had only one female player. Go figure. The first movement had a somber opening followed by a quicker but still serious section. The second movement caught my ear because about three-fourths of the cello part was pizzicato (plucked strings, not bowed). While mostly serious, the movement ended playfully with all four instruments plucking the last two notes. The third movement was full and joyful … and then I stopped writing because I was simply repeating myself just as Beethoven did.

A strange sight to me in the printed program was the fact that Opus 95 listed Violin A and B (rather than Violin 1 and Violin 2) but my cursory searches did not lead me anywhere. One more mystery to explore.

All in all, a fun day if a bit heavy in all-Beethoven. But I knew what I was getting into before I went. And it was free, at Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts. I’m a lucky fellow.

ConcertMeister