String Quartet No. 1 (Beethoven)
Encyclopedia
The String Quartet No. 1 in F major, Op.
18, No. 1, was written by Ludwig van Beethoven
between 1798 and 1800 and published in 1801. It is actually the second string quartet
that Beethoven composed.
The quartet consists of four movements:
According to Beethoven's friend Karl Amenda, the second movement was inspired by the tomb scene from William Shakespeare
's Romeo and Juliet
. The quartet was heavily revised between the version that Amenda first received and the version that was sent to the publisher a year later, including changing the second movement's marking from Adagio molto to the more specific Adagio affetuouso ed appassionato. Of these modifications, Beethoven wrote:
The theme of the finale is almost directly borrowed from the finale of his earlier string trio, Op. 9 No. 3 in C minor; the themes are very closely related and the resemblance is obvious even on a first hearing.
Opus number
An Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...
18, No. 1, was written by Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
between 1798 and 1800 and published in 1801. It is actually the second string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
that Beethoven composed.
The quartet consists of four movements:
- Allegro con brio
- Adagio affettuoso ed appassionato
- ScherzoScherzoA scherzo is a piece of music, often a movement from a larger piece such as a symphony or a sonata. The scherzo's precise definition has varied over the years, but it often refers to a movement which replaces the minuet as the third movement in a four-movement work, such as a symphony, sonata, or...
: Allegro molto - Allegro
According to Beethoven's friend Karl Amenda, the second movement was inspired by the tomb scene from William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
. The quartet was heavily revised between the version that Amenda first received and the version that was sent to the publisher a year later, including changing the second movement's marking from Adagio molto to the more specific Adagio affetuouso ed appassionato. Of these modifications, Beethoven wrote:
- "Be sure not to hand on to anybody your quartet, in which I have made some drastic alterations. For only now have I learnt to write quartets; and this you will notice, I fancy, when you receive them."
The theme of the finale is almost directly borrowed from the finale of his earlier string trio, Op. 9 No. 3 in C minor; the themes are very closely related and the resemblance is obvious even on a first hearing.