If I Could Choose Only One Work By...BEETHOVEN

It Would Have To Be...String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp Minor, Op. 131
This work is the goal towards which Beethoven was striving throughout this life, a perfect synthesis of musical language and expressive power.

The List So Far...
1. Ravel: Ma Mère l’Oye (Mother Goose Ballet)
2. Bruckner: Symphony No. 7
3. Schubert: String Quintet in C major
4. Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4
5. Mahler: Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection”
6. Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker
7. Debussy: Preludes for Piano (Books 1 & 2)
8: Handel: Saul
9. Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro
10. Brahms: String Sextet No. 2 in G major
11. Vaughan Williams: Job
12. Bach: Goldberg Variations
13. R. Strauss: Four Last Songs
14. Berlioz: The Damnation of Faust
15. Haydn: “Paris” Symphonies (Nos. 82-87)
16. Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen
17. Beethoven: String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp minor

[poturbg]

There is a brief scene near the end of HBO series Band of Brothers in which a German quartet sits among the rubble of their destroyed town and plays the 6th movement of Op. 131. Then they pack up their instruments and leave the scene. Incredibly moving...

[A.J]

'After this, what is left to us to write!' - Schubert, after listening to the 14th string quartet while he was dying.

[djbabymode]

You can tell he wasn't going to say "The Ninth" because he's not wearing a tie.

[larsbagger]

Good choice! I totally get why the work in question would have to be one of the late quartets. My favorite is no 16 in F major. The transition from F major to Db major in the beginning of the slow movement is just magical, and when it changes to C# minor in one of the variations: OMG! That is just such an emotional place for me. My favorite recording is the studio version with Alban Berg Quartet. Just love that recording!

[loganfruchtman]

The finale is one of my favorite pieces in classical music. Glad you chose this quartet. The Band of Brothers scene where they play the sixth movement is heartbreaking. Schubert had the original Schuppanzigh Quartet play this piece as he was lying on his deathbed and said “What is there left to write after this?”

[romanleon]

My pick is the arietta from sonata 32, which i consider the greatest, sublime, solemne, deepest piece of music ever written

[johanr]

I really enjoy this series. David’s argument for string quartet No.14 is very interesting. Agreed, it has to be one of the late string quartets. Almost with the same argumentation, my choice would be string quartet No.13, with the original grosse fuge as last movement. What tips the balance is that die e grosse fuge is forever contemporary, incomparable to any fuge before it.

[flexusmaximus]

Good choice Dave, I can understand why it would be the c sharp minor quartet. But for myself, it would be the ninth symphony. After all, its shadow, in length, drama, and form influenced so many composers after him, Bruckner, Mahler, Dvorak etc. But after all the quartet would be on my short list too.
Paul

[rickcavalla]

One of the most interesting things about Beethoven's late quartets is the emotional directness of them. They are complex and unusual in design and structure, and you can certainly spend a lifetime analyzing that. But if you are a musical ignoramus who has no idea what is going on, you are free to ignore all that. Just listen to these quartets! They sound amazing and are emotionally engaging. To make such difficult music be eminently listenable is a big feat. After I heard No. 14 for the first time, I had two simultaneous reactions: "What the heck was that?" and "Whatever it was, I want to hear it again!"

[joncheskin]

I originally thought 9th Symphony because it seemed to tie together many of the themes of his life--the heroic struggle, the democratic element in music, avant-garde experimentation (first symphony with chorus). and also exemplar of his late style. If you are looking for the actual best piece of music however, it is completely arguable that the String Quartet is more ingenious and more all-encompassing. Tough to choose only one work.

[SZ-eflz]

Yesss - exactly my choice 🙂 As Schubert lay dying this was the work he wanted to hear.

[quinto]

Great choice, Op.131 is so darn special..

[michelangelomulieri]

As Furtwangler, or even Bernstein, said Beethoven’s string quartets are the height of his music output. A sort of a lifetime diary where interpreters and listeners can find the answers to the great questions of a human being existence. Fully agree with this choice!

[LyleFrancisDelp]

I love that work and would definitely choose it over any of the symphonies, but I must confess that I lean more toward the Piano Concerto #4. Such and utterly charming work and I just couldn't live without it. If I were to be forced to choose a symphony instead, it would be the 4th.

[petermarksteiner]

Excellent choice, and convincingly argued why this is the one! My personal favourite is Op. 132 (using opus numbers, just to annoy you) with its majestic slow movement. If people annoy you with Opus, Hoboken, Koechel numbers etc., you may just tell them: KV 231! Cancrizans is especially fond of long tempo indications, and the fourth movement of Op. 131 must hold the world record: Andante ma non troppo e molto cantabile - Più mosso - Andante moderato e lusinghiero - Adagio - Allegretto - Adagio ma non troppo e semplice - Allegretto.

[mrassilyer]

I just discovered this quartet #14 orchestrated for the Vienna Phil conducted by Bernstein. He thought it was one of his best recordings.

[caiofabiomachadomaiadasilv]

Hello Dave. Good choice. I’m enjoying so much this videos. Can’t wait for Schumann…

[ericleiter]

Very good choice and very good reasons for this choice...so many works, like you pointed out, could have been here but yes, the culmination of a life's work is contained in this great masterpiece and you've got to love the String orchestra recording by Bernstein too, just stunning!!!

[rudilindner]

Thank you for this choice! As an old geezer I have a place in my heart for the book about Beethoven by J N W Sullivan, who has an interesting view of the late quartets…probably old hat today but fascinating for his time. I might have chosen the last movement of opus 109, but I agree with you.

[mhc]

It may not be one of Beethoven's most revolutionary or transcendent works, but the 4th Piano Concerto covers both the piano and symphonic realms in one go -- and it's easily one of Beethoven's most beautiful (and enduring) pieces. I find it difficult to believe that the 4th piano concerto would piss anyone off, the almighty Cancrizans included.