The following set of string quartets is generally referred to as 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...

's Late String Quartets, including the Grosse Fuge (which also exists in a piano transcription, opus 134):

• Opus 127: String Quartet No. 12 in E flat major
  String Quartet No. 12 (Beethoven)
  The String Quartet No. 12 in E major, op. 127, by Ludwig van Beethoven, was completed in 1825. It is the first of Beethoven's late quartets. There are four movements:#Maestoso — Allegro#Adagio, ma non troppo e molto cantabile#Scherzando vivace...
  
   (1825)
• Opus 130: String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major
  String Quartet No. 13 (Beethoven)
  The String Quartet No. 13 in B major, op. 130, by Ludwig van Beethoven was completed in November 1825. The number traditionally assigned to it is based on the order of its publication; it is actually the fourteenth quartet in order of composition. It was premiered in March 1826 by the Schuppanzigh...
  
   (1825)
• Opus 131: String Quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor
  String Quartet No. 14 (Beethoven)
  The String Quartet No. 14 in C minor, Op. 131, by Ludwig van Beethoven was completed in 1826. About 40 minutes in length, it consists of seven movements to be played without a break, as follows:#Adagio ma non troppo e molto...
  
   (1826)
• Opus 132: String Quartet No. 15 in A minor
  String Quartet No. 15 (Beethoven)
  The Quartet in A minor, Op. 132, by Ludwig van Beethoven, was written in 1825, given its public premiere on November 6 of that year by the Schuppanzigh Quartet and was dedicated to Count Nicolai Galitzin, as were Opp. 127 and 130...
  
   (1825)
• Opus 133: Große Fuge in B flat major for string quartet
  Große Fuge
  The Große Fuge , Op. 133, is a single-movement composition for string quartet by Ludwig van Beethoven. A massive double fugue, it originally served as the final movement of his Quartet No. 13 in B major but he replaced it with a new finale and published it separately in 1827 as Op...
  
   (1826), originally the finale to op. 130
• Opus 135: String Quartet No. 16 in F major
  String Quartet No. 16 (Beethoven)
  The String Quartet No. 16 in F major, op. 135, by Ludwig van Beethoven was written in October 1826 and was the last substantial work he finished. Only the last movement of the Quartet op. 130, written as a replacement for the Große Fuge, was written later. It was premiered by the Schuppanzigh...
  
   (1826)

Overview

Beethoven composed these quartets in the sequence 12, 15, 13, 14, 16, with quartets 15 and 13 being written simultaneously. The first three of the quartets (numbers 12, 13 and 15) were commissioned in 1822 by Prince Nicholas Galitzin

Galitzine

For Orthodox clergyman and theologian, see Alexander Golitzin.The Galitzines are one of the largest and noblest princely houses of Russia. Since the extinction of the Korecki family in the 17th century, the Golitsyns have claimed dynastic seniority in the House of Gediminas...

, who in a letter dated 9 November 1822 offered to pay Beethoven: "..what you think proper" for the three works. In his reply of 25 January 1823, Beethoven stated his price: 50 ducats for each opus.

Appraisal

These six quartets (counting the Große Fuge) comprise the last major, completed compositions by Beethoven, and are widely considered to be among the greatest musical compositions of all time. The musicologist Theodor Adorno, in particular, thought highly of them, and Igor Stravinsky

Igor Stravinsky

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....

 described the Große Fuge as "an absolutely contemporary piece of music that will be contemporary forever". Wagner

Richard Wagner

Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...

, when reflecting on Op. 131's first movement, said that they contained some of the saddest music he knew. Also, it is said that upon listening to a performance of the Op. 131 quartet, Schubert remarked, "After this, what is left for us to write?".

Recordings

Ensembles that have recorded all the late string quartets by Beethoven include;

Alban Berg Quartet, EMI (studio early 80s)

Alban Berg Quartet, EMI (rec. live 1989)

Alexander String Quartet, Foghorn Classics

Amadeus Quartet, DG

Barylli Quartet

Borodin Quartet, Chandos

Budapest String Quartet, Bridge (rec. 1941-60)

Budapest String Quartet, Sony (rec. 1958-61)

Busch Quartet, various labels (rec. 1933-41; no Grosse Fuge)

Cleveland Quartet, RCA (1970s)

Cleveland Quartet, Telarc (1990s)

Colorado Quartet, Parnassus (rec. 2004-06)

Emerson String Quartet, DG

Endellion String Quartet, Warner Classics (2005-06)

Gewandhaus-Quartett, New Classical Adventure (rec. live 1985-98)

Guarneri Quartet, RCA

Hagen Quartett, DG

Hollywood String Quartet, Testament

Hungarian Quartet, (1953 mono) EMI

Hungarian Quartet, (1960s stereo) EMI

Juilliard String Quartet, CBS studio late 60s

Juilliard String Quartet, CBS (rec. live 1982)

Kodaly Quartet, Naxos

Lasalle Quartet, DG (reissued on Brilliant Classics)

Leipziger Streichquartett, MDG

Lindsays, ASV

Medici Quartet, Nimbus

Melos Quartett, DG

Orford String Quartet, Delos

Orion String Quartet, Koch Classics (2008)

Petersen Quartett, Capriccio

Prazak Quartet, Praga

Quartetto Italiano, Decca

Smetana Quartet, Supraphon

Suske Quartett, Berlin Classics

Takács Quartet, Decca (2005)

Talich Quartet, Calliope

Taneyev Quartet, Boheme

Tokyo String Quartet, RCA (1993)

Tokyo String Quartet, Harmonia Mundi (2010)

Vanbrugh Quartet, Intim Musik (1996)

Vermeer Quartet, Teldec, (rec. 1984-89)

Vegh Quartet, (1952 Les Discophiles Français) Music & Arts

Vegh Quartet, (1972 Telefunken) Naïve-Astrée

Wihan Quartet, Nimbus

Yale Quartet, Vanguard

External links

An analysis of the antecedents of the late quartets in Haydn's string quartets. Also http://intimatemusic.blogspot.com/2011/04/haydn-did-it-first-continued.html