The String Quartet No. 13 in B♭ major, Op. 130, by Ludwig van Beethoven was completed (in its final form) in November 1826.[1] The number traditionally assigned to it is based on the order of its publication; it is actually Beethoven's 14th quartet in order of composition. It was premiered (in its original form) in March 1826 by the Schuppanzigh Quartet and dedicated to Nikolai Galitzin on its publication in 1827.
Movements
Beethoven originally wrote the work in six movements, lasting 42–50 minutes, as follows:
Adagio, ma non troppo – Allegro (B♭ major)
Presto (B♭ minor)
Andante con moto, ma non troppo. Poco scherzoso (D♭ major)
Alla danza tedesca. Allegro assai (G major)
Cavatina. Adagio molto espressivo (E♭ Major)
Große Fuge (Grande Fugue op.133): Ouverture. Allegro – Meno mosso e moderato – Allegretto – Fuga. [Allegro] – Meno Mosso e moderato – Allegro molto e con brio – Allegro (B♭)
(Nomenclature: "danza tedesca" means "German dance", "Cavatina" a short and simple song, and "Große Fuge" means "Great Fugue" or "Grand Fugue".)
The work is unusual among quartets in having six movements. They follow the pattern of movements seen in the Ninth Symphony and occasionally elsewhere in Beethoven's work (opening, dance movement, slow movement, finale), except that the middle part of the cycle is repeated: opening, dance movement, slow movement, dance movement, slow movement, finale.
New finale
Negative reaction to the work's final movement at the first performance, and his publisher's urging, led Beethoven to write a substitute for the final movement, a contredanse much shorter and lighter than the enormous Große Fuge it replaced. This new finale was written in the late autumn of 1826, during a relapse into severe illness,[2] and is the final complete piece of music Beethoven composed before his death in March, 1827. It is marked:
Finale: Allegro in B♭ major
Beethoven never witnessed a performance of the quartet in its final form; it was premiered on 22 April 1827, nearly a month after his death.
The original finale was published separately under the title Große Fuge as opus 133. Modern performances sometimes follow the composer's original intentions, leaving out the substitute finale and concluding with the fugue.[3] British composer Robert Simpson argues that Beethoven's intentions are best served by playing the quartet as a seven-movement work, with the Große Fuge followed by the replacement finale.[4]
