The three Razumovsky (or Rasumovsky) string quartets, opus 59, are the quartets
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 ...
wrote in 1806, as a result of a commission by the
Russian ambassador in Vienna, Count
Andreas Razumovsky:
:*
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
They are the first three of what are usually known as the "Middle Period" string quartets, or simply the "Middle Quartets." The other two are
opus 74 and
opus 95. Many quartets record all five as a set.
Beethoven uses a characteristically Russian theme in the first two quartets in honour of the prince who gave him the commission:
* In Op. 59 No. 1, the "Thème russe" (as the score is marked) is the principal theme of the last movement.
* In Op. 59 No. 2, the Thème russe is in the B section of the third movement. This theme is based on a Russian folk song which was also utilised by
Modest Mussorgsky
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...
in the coronation scene of his opera
''Boris Godunov'', by
Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
in the introduction to act III of his opera
Mazeppa (opera)
''Mazeppa'', properly ''Mazepa'' (russian: Мазепа ), is an opera in three acts (six scenes) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Victor Burenin and is based on Pushkin's poem ''Poltava'', part of the cultural legacy of M ...
, by
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...
in the sixth movement of his 6 Morceaux for Piano Duet, Op.11 "Glory" ("Slava"), and by
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...
in his ballet ''
The Firebird
''The Firebird'' (french: L'Oiseau de feu, link=no; russian: Жар-птица, Zhar-ptitsa, link=no) is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1910 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev' ...
''.
* In the quartet Op. 59 No. 3, there is no Thème russe explicitly named in the score, but many commentators have heard a Russian character in the subject of the Andantino movement.
All three quartets were published as a set in 1808 in Vienna.
Reception
The quartets were generally received with uncertainty, as they deviated from the established genre of string quartets in their content and emotional range. However, one review published in 1807 stated that "Three new, very long and difficult Beethoven string quartets … are attracting the attention of all connoisseurs. The conception is profound and the construction excellent, but they are not easily comprehended."
''The Guardian''
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References and further reading
* Joseph Kerman, ''The Beethoven Quartets''. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1966.
* Robert Winter and Robert Martin, ed., ''The Beethoven Quartet Companion''. Berkeley, University of California Press, 1994.
See also
* List of compositions by Ludwig van Beethoven
The compositions of Ludwig van Beethoven consist of 722 works written over forty-five years, from his earliest work in 1782 (variations for piano on a march by Ernst Christoph Dressler) when he was only eleven years old and still in Bonn, until ...
* String Quartets Nos. 1–6, Op. 18 (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven's Op. 18, published in 1801 by T. Mollo et Comp in Vienna in two books of three quartets each,Kerman, Joseph (1967). The Beethoven Quartets. New York: Knopf. comprised his first six string quartets. They were composed between ...
* Late String Quartets (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven's late string quartets are:
:*Opus 127: String Quartet No. 12 in E major (1825)
:*Opus 130: String Quartet No. 13 in B major (1825)
:*Opus 131: String Quartet No. 14 in C minor (1826)
:*Opus 132: String Quartet No. 15 in ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:String Quartets Nos. 7 - 9, Opus 59 - Rasumovsky (Beethoven)
Opus 059