String Quartet No.13 - V. Cavatina

Ludwig van Beethoven, (1770 - 1827), born in the city of Bonn, Germany, was the predominant musical figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras, widely regarded as the greatest composer who ever lived.

Rooted in the Classical traditions of Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, his art reaches out to encompass the new spirit of humanism and incipient nationalism expressed in the works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich von Schiller, his elder contemporaries in the world of literature; the stringently redefined moral imperatives of the German philosopher Immanuel Kant; and the ideals of the French Revolution, with its passionate concern for the freedom and dignity of the individual. He revealed more vividly than any of his predecessors the power of music to convey a philosophy of life without the aid of a spoken text; and in certain of his compositions is to be found the strongest assertion of the human will in all music, if not in all art.

Though not himself a Romantic, he became the fountainhead of much that characterized the work of the Romantics who followed him, especially in his ideal of program or illustrative music, which he defined in connection with his Sixth (Pastoral) Symphony as “more an expression of emotion than painting.” In musical form he was a considerable innovator, widening the scope of sonata, symphony, concerto, and quartet; while in the Ninth Symphony he combined the worlds of vocal and instrumental music in a manner never before attempted. His personal life was marked by a heroic struggle against encroaching deafness, and some of his most important works were composed during the last 10 years of his life when he was quite unable to hear. In an age that saw the decline of court and church patronage, he not only maintained himself from the sale and publication of his works but also was the first musician to receive a salary with no duties other than to compose how and when he felt inclined.

Beethoven moved to Vienna in 1792 to study with Joseph Haydn; despite the prickliness of their relationship, Haydn's concise humor helped form Beethoven's style. His subsequent teachers in composition were Johann Georg Albrechtsberger and Antonio Salieri. In 1794, he began his career in earnest as a pianist and composer, taking advantage whenever he could of the patronage of others. Around 1800, Beethoven began to notice his gradually encroaching deafness. His growing despondency only intensified his antisocial tendencies. In later years, Beethoven was plagued by personal difficulties, including a series of failed romances and a nasty custody battle over a nephew.

Yet after a long period of comparative compositional inactivity lasting from about 1811 to 1817, his creative imagination triumphed over his troubles. Beethoven's late works, especially the last five of his 16 string quartets and the last four of his 32 piano sonatas, have an ecstatic quality in which many have found a mystical significance. His works also include the celebrated 9 symphonies; the opera Fidelio; 2 masses; 5 piano concertos; a violin concerto; 6 piano trios; 10 violin sonatas; 5 cello sonatas; and several concert overtures.
Beethoven's epochal career is often divided into early, middle, and late periods, represented, respectively, by works based on Classic-period models, by revolutionary pieces that expanded the vocabulary of music, and by compositions written in a unique, highly personal musical language, incorporating elements of contrapuntal and variation writing while approaching large-scale forms with complete freedom. Though certainly subject to debate, these divisions point to the immense depth and multifariousness of Beethoven's creative personality. He profoundly transformed every genre he touched, and the music of the nineteenth century seems to grow from his compositions as if from a chrysalis. A formidable pianist, he moved the piano sonata from the drawing room to the concert hall with such ambitious and virtuosic middle-period works.

Even in the second half of the nineteenth century, Beethoven still directly inspired both conservatives (such as Johann Brahms, who, like Beethoven, fundamentally stayed within the confines of Classical form) and radicals (such as Richard Wagner, who viewed the Ninth Symphony as a harbinger of his own vision of a total art work, integrating vocal and instrumental music with the other arts).

In many ways revolutionary, Beethoven's music remains universally appealing because of its characteristic humanism and dramatic power.

Ludwig van Beethoven
String Quartet No.13 in B-Flat Major, Op.130, V. Cavatina (Arr. for string orchestra)
Performed by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Wilhelm Furtwängler, Conductor

Видео String Quartet No.13 - V. Cavatina канала juancitoamericano