Beethoven Quartet Cycle Concert III

× Beethoven’s three Razumovsky Quartets were composed for the Russian ambassador to Vienna and premiered by the Schuppanzigh Quartet. These works moved the genre to a new level: longer and more difficult, they test the virtuosity and stamina of any string quartet. The pieces were composed in the same heroic spirit as Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and possess a magnitude suitable for the grandest concert halls. As a gesture to Andreas Razumovsky, who commissioned the works, Beethoven incorporated Russian-themed music into all three.

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
String Quartet in F major, op. 59, no. 1, Razumovsky (1806)
Allegro
Allegretto vivace e sempre scherzando
Adagio molto e mesto
Thème russe: Allegro

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
String Quartet in E minor, op. 59, no. 2, Razumovsky (1806)
Allegro
Molto adagio
Allegretto
Finale: Presto

INTERMISSION

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
String Quartet in C major, op. 59, no. 3, Razumovsky (1806)
Introduzione: Andante con moto - Allegro vivace
Andante con moto quasi allegretto
Menuetto grazioso
Allegro molto

Calidore String Quartet: Jeffrey Myers, Ryan Meehan, violins; Jeremy Berry, viola; Estelle Choi, cello