The String Quartet No. 7 in

F major F major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor. The F major scale is: : F major is the ...

, Op. 59, No. 1, was written by

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

and published in 1808. This work is the first of three of his " Rasumovsky" cycle of string quartets.Grove, G., p. 244, and p. 270 under the heading "''Original Publisher.''": "Bureau des Arts et d'Industrie of Schreyvogel & Co., Pesth, 1808."

Overview

This work is the first of three quartets commissioned by prince

Andrey Razumovsky Count (later Prince) Andrey Kirillovich Razumovskyrussian: Андре́й Кири́ллович Разумо́вский, , german: Andreas von Rasumofsky (2 November 1752 – 23 September 1836) was a Russian Imperial diplomat who spent man ...

, then the Russian ambassador to Vienna. This quartet is the first of Beethoven's middle period quartets and departs in style from his earlier Op. 18 quartets. The most apparent difference is that this quartet is over forty minutes long in a typical performance, whereas most of Beethoven's earlier quartets lasted twenty-five to thirty minutes. Furthermore, this quartet notoriously requires a greatly expanded technical repertoire.

Form

It consists of four movements: # Allegro (F major) # Allegretto vivace e sempre scherzando (B♭ major) # Adagio molto e mesto - attacca (F minor) # "Thème Russe": Allegro (F major) The first movement is in an expansive

sonata form Sonata form (also ''sonata-allegro form'' or ''first movement form'') is a musical structure generally consisting of three main sections: an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation. It has been used widely since the middle of the 18th c ...

, including a ''fugato'' in the development and lasting nearly twelve minutes even though it forgoes the then-customary repeat of the exposition. The opening cello melody has its tonality only weakly defined, with the first cadence establishing the key of F major only occurring several bars into the movement. Another feature of the first movement is the delayed emotional recapitulation. As became one of Beethoven's many tools for emotional manipulation, delaying the grandiosity of the recapitulation for several bars after the establishment of the tonic key allowed Beethoven to heighten expectation of a definitive statement. While both the majestic slow third movement and the fourth are also in sonata form, the second movement

scherzo A scherzo (, , ; plural scherzos or scherzi), in western classical music, is a short composition – sometimes a movement from a larger work such as a symphony or a sonata. The precise definition has varied over the years, but scherzo often re ...

is formally one of the most unusual movements of Beethoven's middle period, easily classifiable as being also in sonata form. The final movement is built around a popular Russian theme, likely an attempt to ingratiate the work to its Russian commissioner.This theme also appears, with a difference in accent and emphasis, as a main theme in the finale of Anton Arensky's Symphony No. 1 in B minor.

References

External links

*
Performance of String Quartet No. 7
by the

Borromeo String Quartet The Borromeo String Quartet is an American string quartet, in residence at the New England Conservatory since 1992. They have performed throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia, at numerous festivals and in many distinguished chamber mu ...

from the

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts, which houses significant examples of European, Asian, and American art. Its collection includes paintings, sculpture, tapestries, and decorative arts. It was found ...

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format {{Authority control String quartet 07 1806 compositions Compositions in F major

Overview

Form

References

Further reading

External links