Beethoven String Quartet, Op. 132, Part 1
Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast
Joshua Weilerstein
4.9 • 2.1K Ratings
🗓️ 31 August 2023
⏱️ 45 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
I had long hesitated to write a show about any of Beethoven’s late string quartets. These are pieces that professional quartets spend the better part of their careers grappling with, struggling with, failing with, and much more rarely, succeeding with. They are some of the most extraordinary pieces of art ever conceived of. 5 quartets, Opus 127, Opus 130, Opus 131, Opus 132, and Opus 135, all written near or at the end of Beethoven’s life, arguably representing the pinnacle of everything Beethoven achieved. They explore not only every conceivable emotion, but they dig down into the core of those emotions, defiantly refusing to skim the surface and daring to ask and then answer the fundamental questions of life and death. Everyone has a favorite Late Beethoven Quartet, but mine has always been Opus 132, and so this week I’m taking the opportunity to take the leap into Late Beethoven. We’ll discuss Beethoven’s situation as he recovered from a life-threatening illness which he was sure was going to be his end, the unusual 5 movement structure of the piece, and this week, the first two movements of the quartet, the first of which, to me, defines everything that Sonata Form can do to express emotion and a narrative in a piece of absolute music. Join us!
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to Sticky Notes, the Classical Music Podcast. |
| 0:09.5 | My name is Joshua Weilerstein, I'm a conductor, and I'm the Chief Conductor of the Allborg |
| 0:13.4 | Symphony, and the Music Director of the Phoenix Orchestra of Boston. |
| 0:17.3 | This podcast is for anyone who loves classical music, works in the field, or is just getting |
| 0:21.7 | ready to dive into this amazing world of incredible music. |
| 0:25.4 | Before we get started, I want to thank my new Patreon Sponsors, Jan Les, Samantha, |
| 0:30.6 | Andrea, Marla, Isabelle, Steve, Janus, Mark, Henry, Jeff, Anno, Janet, Bargav, and |
| 0:39.0 | all of my other Patreon Sponsors for making Season 9 possible. |
| 0:43.2 | If you'd like to support the show, please head over to patreon.com slash the Keynote's |
| 0:47.1 | Podcast. |
| 0:48.1 | And if you are a fan of the show, please stick a moment to give us a rating or review |
| 0:51.1 | on Apple Podcasts. |
| 0:52.8 | It is greatly appreciated. |
| 0:55.4 | If you are listening to this on a Thursday, then you might be listening as I am conducting |
| 0:59.0 | my very first concerts as Chief Conductor of the Allborg Symphony in Denmark, which we're |
| 1:04.0 | doing in this program with the Warjack's New World Symphony, William Grant Stills, First |
| 1:07.8 | Symphony, and the Barbara Violin Concerto with Sonoco Miriam Velda. |
| 1:11.9 | It's been a joy working with them all week, and I am so looking forward to my work as |
| 1:16.4 | Chief Conductor with this wonderful orchestra. |
| 1:19.2 | For the show today, I've noticed sometimes that people are not quite aware of how deep the |
| 1:23.0 | archive goes of my show. |
| 1:25.7 | So I've brought back an old episode from 2019 on Beethoven's Opus 132 Strinkortet, one |
... |
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