Join the World Chess Hall of Fame as we continue our Beethoven 250th Festival with a live-streamed performance of his masterful String Quartet No. 14 in C# minor, Op. 131. This virtual performance features St. Louis Symphony Orchestra members Kristin Ahlstrom & Eva Kozma, violins; Shannon Williams, viola; Bjorn Ranheim, cello.
Completed in 1826, the Op. 131 quartet is widely recognized as one of the greatest works in all of classical music. In fact, it was Beethoven’s favorite of his late quartets and he is quoted as saying that in its composition he found “a new manner of part-writing and, thank God, less lack of imagination than before”. Imaginative is quite an understatement in looking at this groundbreaking work which defied all previous convention. Written in seven movements, all played virtually without pause, the work seems to evoke the entirety of human emotions and experience. Though not published or publicly performed during Beethoven’s lifetime, the work was performed privately for Franz Schubert on his deathbed. Upon hearing it he remarked, “After this, what is left for us to write?”
2020 marks the 250th birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven, one of the most beloved and influential composers of all time. Countless musicians, ensembles, and performing arts organizations around the world will honor his incredible legacy. The World Chess Hall of Fame celebrates with a multi-concert festival dedicated to some of the composer's greatest works, including his Late String Quartets performed by members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.
String Quartet No. 14 in C# minor, Op. 131 (1826)
- Adagio ma non troppo e molto espressivo
- Allegro molto vivace
- Allegro moderato - Adagio
- Andante ma non troppo e molto cantabile - Più mosso - Andante moderato e lusinghiero - Adagio - Allegretto - Adagio, ma non troppo e semplice - Allegretto
- Presto
- Adagio quasi un poco andante
- Allegro
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