Beethoven's Theatrical Quartets

Beethoven's middle-period quartets, Opp. 59, 74 and 95, are pieces that engage deeply with the aesthetic ideas of their time. In the first full contextual study of these works, Nancy November celebrates their uniqueness, exploring their reception history and early performance. In detailed analyses, she explores ways in which the quartets have both reflected and shaped the very idea of chamber music and offers a new historical understanding of the works' physical, visual, social and ideological aspects. In the process, November provides a fresh critique of three key paradigms in current Beethoven studies: the focus on his late period; the emphasis on 'heroic' style in discussions of the middle period; and the idea of string quartets as 'pure', 'autonomous' artworks, cut off from social moorings. Importantly, this study shows that the quartets encompass a new lyric and theatrical impetus, which is an essential part of their unique, explorative character. 'The book, which considers Beethoven's string quartets of the middle period through numerous lenses, not only fills a previously existing gap in research, but also breaks new ground in terms of presentation and methods: questions of aesthetics, performance practice and analysis are all covered, as well as the reception history and narrative poetics of the string quartets. This bringing together of multiple perspectives leads to significant gains in knowledge.' Bernhard Appel, Director, Beethoven-Archiv and Beethoven-Haus Publishers, Bonn 'Nancy November's study of Beethoven's 'middle' quartets offers many important and original perspectives. Each of the five central chapters is organized around a different general topic, providing welcome breadth to the whole. Her readings of these canonical chamber works in terms of Beethoven's consuming interest in theatrical music will engage both listeners and scholars.' James Webster, Cornell UniversityIntroduction; 1. Setting the scene: theories, practices, and the early nineteenth-century string quartet; 2. Curtain up: performing the middle-period quartets in Beethoven's time; 3. 'Not generally comprehensible': Op. 59 No. 1 and the drama of becoming; 4. 'With much feeling': song, sensibility, and rhapsody in Op. 59 No. 2; 5. 'Helden-Quartett': genre, innovation, and 'heroic' voices in Op. 59 No. 3; 6. Freudvoll und leidvoll: songful impetus and dualistic voice in the 'Harp' Quartet; 7. 'The quick-witted brevity of the genuine dramatist': Op. 95 and the idea of the fragment; 8. A tale of heroic emancipation? Reception narratives for the middle-period string quartets.