"Reading The Beethoven Quartet Companion made me want to listen to the quartets again from a new sociological as well as musical perspective. It is an invaluable guide not only for professional and amateur musicians but also for anyone who is curious about culture and wants to find out more."--Yo-Yo Ma "These essays are the most readable, useful, and well-informed commentary available today on these masterworks. Michael Steinberg's 'program notes' to each quartet, directed at once to the musical beginner and to the expert, are as eloquent and persuasive as popular writing about music can get. . . . His essays are followed by equally expert and accessible contributions by other masters on The Master, providing literate music lovers with the context and equipment for a richer enjoyment and clearer understanding of these sixteen unique conversations among two violins, a viola, and a cello."--David Littlejohn, author of The Ultimate Art: Essays Around and About Opera "A fine collection of essays to assist the music lover in the seemingly endless quest to illuminate the Beethoven string quartets."--Arnold Steinhardt, The Guarneri String Quartet "This book delivers on the implied promise of its title--it provides a lively, readable, and wide-ranging introduction to the quartets. Readers at many levels of experience will find it profitable."--Lewis Lockwood, author of Beethoven: Studies in the Creative Process

Beethoven's Middle String Quartets consist of the three Razumovsky quartets (Opus 59), as well as the "Harp" (Opus 74) and "Serioso" (Opus 95) quartets. The quartets were written between 1806 and 1810 and show the development of Beethoven's "heroic" style that was common to many of his later symphonic works. These are the Performer's Edition scores of each of the five quartets in one paperback edition. The scores feature clean, modern typesetting for ease of reading and studying.

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.

"An unabridged republication of five works from Volumes 1 and 2 of Serie 6: Quartette feur 2 Violinen, Bratsche und Violoncell of Ludwig van Beethoven's Werke. Vollsteandige kritisch durchgesehene euberall berechtigte Ausgabe. Mit Genehmigung aller Originalverleger, originally published by Breitkopf & Heartel, Leipzig, [1864-90]."

Beethoven followed in the footsteps of Haydn, father of the string quartet, and created what is now regarded as one of the finest collections of masterworks in the string quartet genre. From the early quartets, reminiscent of some of Mozart's quartets, to the soaring and emotional late quartets, these works have become favorites of both performers and audiences around the world. This collections includes the full scores for all 16 string quartets as well as the Grosse Fuge. Early String Quartets: String Quartet No. 1 in F Major (Op. 18, No. 1) String Quartet No. 2 in G Major (Op. 18, No. 2) String Quartet No. 3 in D Major (Op. 18, No. 3) String Quartet No. 4 in C minor (Op. 18, No 4) String Quartet No. 5 in A Major (Op. 18, No. 5) String Quartet No. 6 in Bb Major (Op. 18, No. 6) Middle String Quartets: String Quartet No. 7 in F Major (Op. 59, No. 1) String Quartet No. 8 in E minor (Op. 59, No. 2) String Quartet No. 9 in C Major (Op. 59, No. 3) String Quartet No. 10 in Eb Major "Harp" (Op. 74) String Quartet No. 11 in F minor "Serioso" (Op. 95) Late String Quartets: String Quartet No. 12 in Eb Major (Op. 129) String Quartet No. 13 in Bb Major (Op. 130) String Quartet No. 14 in C# minor (Op. 131) String Quartet No. 15 in A minor (Op. 132) String Quartet No. 16 in F Major (Op. 135) Grosse Fuge (Op. 133)

String Quartets in Beethoven’s Europe is the first detailed study of string quartets in late-eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century Europe. It brings together the work of nine scholars who explore little-studied aspects of this multi-faceted genre. Together, this book’s chapters deal with compositional responses to Beethoven’s string quartets and the prestige of the genre; varied compositional practices in string quartet writing, with a particular emphasis on texture and performance elements; and the reception of Beethoven’s string quartets ca. 1800. They include discussions of quartets composed for the amateur and connoisseur markets in Beethoven’s Europe; virtuosity, the French Violin School, and the quatuor brillant; the relationship between quartet composers and their audiences during Beethoven’s era; and the cross-pollination of quartet styles in Europe’s musical centers such as Vienna, Paris, and St. Petersburg.