Ludwig van Beethoven took the string quartet, initially codified by Joseph Haydn, to another level with his distinctive approach to the form. The four voices (2 violins, 1 viola, 1 cello) of the traditional four movement work became far more subjective or
individual and the form itself extended into 5 and 6 movements. The 16 quartets written by Beethoven can be divided into four periods as follows:
Opus 18: No. 1 in F major No. 2 in G major No. 3 in D major No. 4 in C mino No. 5 in A major No. 6 in B♭ major
Opus 59 (Rasumovsky):
No. 7 in F major No. 8 in E minor No. 9 in C major
Other middle period quartets: No. 10 in E♭ major, Op. 74 (Harp) No. 11 in F minor, Op. 95 (Serioso)
Late quartets: No. 12 in E♭ major, Op. 127 No. 13 in B♭ major, Op. 130 No. 14 in C♯ minor, Op. 131 No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132Große Fuge, Op. 133 No. 16 in F major, Op. 135
The No. sequence doesn't necessarily correspond with the date of composition. They're more of a categorical convenience.
For example, No. 14 was the last in a trio of quartets written in the order,
Op. 132 (No. 15),
Op. 130 (No. 13) and
Op. 131 (No. 14).
Op. 131 was apparently Beethoven's favorite so why not start there? Actually, it was unintentional as the live version by the Danish String Quartet on YT caught my attention first. Let's listen to their take and then the
Alban Berg and
Juilliard Quartets, two well regarded interpretations currently streaming on Spotify (and/or most music streaming platforms), and then, perhaps, a trashed version of No. 14 just to get a well rounded idea of what can, cannot or should not be done with one of Beethoven's best loved pieces. If anyone has any other ensemble suggestions/recommendations please contribute!
The Danish Quartet, for a contemporary ensemble, gives an admirable performance of which I can find zero fault - but then I haven't listened to the Berg or Juilliard versions of this one in a while. But without more ado,
Opus 131: