(J.R.) to which he responds, with the faster main theme of the movement, "Es muß sein!" That may be the point. Maurice Schlesinger (1798-1871) 5 (WoO 195). The whole movement is headed "Der schwer gefaßte Entschluß" (The Difficult Decision). (Must it be?) Under the opening chords, which are marked slow, Beethoven inserted the words ‘Muss es sein?’ (must it be?) 8 as a centerpiece of the concert which also offers works by Mozart and Bartók. Only the final movement of the Quartet Op. The String Quartet No. (It must be!). BEETHOVEN STRASSE MUSS ES SEIN ES MUSS SEIN! ), but as a player, when actually playing them, I find it hard not to take them seriously, whatever the question might mean. 135, by Ludwig van Beethoven was written in October 1826[1] and was the last major work he completed. Beethoven wrote the question “Muss es sein?” (Must it be?) September 1826 reiste Beethoven zu seinem Bruder Johann auf dessen Gut, dem Schloss Wasserhof in Gneixendorf, und vollendete dort das Quartett. it would appear that at the end of his life the inner Beethoven who expressed himself in music, was content. 135 fu composto da Ludwig van Beethoven nel 1826 e costituisce il suo ultimo importante lavoro. The two last movements especially together give a strong sense of coming to terms, and if the quartet is an intermezzo, it gives an impression of being one between this life and the next. “‘Es muss sein:” it must be. Beethoven’s determination and optimism are clearly present in this work. For the third movement, Beethoven used variation techniques; he also did this in the second movement of his Quartet op. (Must it be?) He encourages us to take Beethoven’s question seriously, and highlights the fact that Beethoven struggled with its exact wording: he initially hesitated between “der gezwungene Entschluss” (the forced decision) and “der harte Entschluss” (the hard-won decision) before settling for the one we know. The Allegro returns, dolce. Beethoven’s answer was in the form of a four-voice canon on the text: “Es muss sein! Let us now listen to the music. And, contemplating the very end, what better way to go than with a bang? 1889 vom Verein Beethoven-Haus gegründet, verbinden sich hier die Person von Ludwig van Beethoven mit der Pflege seiner Musik und der Erforschung von Leben und Werk des Komponisten. And the trivial response evoked the serious question, in an altogether different tone of voice – a question that surged from the very depths of the Beethovenian soul: ‘Should it be? A sketch from 1826 for a quintet in C major survives. 11. However, Lockwood (Beethoven – the Music and the Life, 2003) offers more extensive thoughts on the subject. 131, the pair of which would be a representation of the dualism of tragedy on one hand and comedy and acceptance on the other. Carlo Evasio Soliva (1791-1853) 3 (WoO 174). 135, following Kant, uses stock symbolism to enable him to ask the question whether mankind must at some point emerge from under self-imposed authoritarian political structures to assume a collective adulthood. The apparent contrast between the work and the circumstances under which the composer wrote it, brings another of his quartets to mind: the Op. No, it's optimistic or fatalistic. The development combines material from the exposition, and goes from an exuberant to an introverted and slightly troubled atmosphere, before the introduction returns, but this time fortissimo, and now accompanied by a violent tremolo in the violins (apparently one of the first times this effect, that would be highly popular during the rest of the century, had been used). Davon unterrichtet, antwortete Beethoven seinerseits lachend mit dem Kanon "Es muss sein". Lento assai e cantante tranquillo. 14, No. It is partnered by a falling and rising legato theme that bears a close thematic relationship to both the slow movement and the subsequent second theme, which is uncomplicated and good natured (Kerman calls it a “fairy march”). Regardless of whether Beethoven intended Op. And there is a further possibility that Beethoven, realising perhaps that one theme was a melodic inversion of the other, added the words later. There are indeed some indications that Beethoven didn’t intend his Op. Martin Winter), Beethoven - his spiritual development (Sullivan), The Beethoven Quartets (Kerman), Beethoven - the Music and the Life (Lockwood), Preface to the Henle score (Cadenbach). Beethoven had hier veel plezier over. es muss sein!' And works representing the composer’s last statements in a genre are certainly often something extraordinary, representing the pinnacle of the artist’s wisdom and technical ability. "Muss es sein?" 16 in F major, Op. The op. Beethovens Entscheidung, dem Wunsch seines Neffen zu entsprechen und ihn zum Militär gehen zu lassen, hatte Anteil daran, d… It must be!”) provided an emotional answer to the Bartók-Shostakovich conflict. / Es muss sein!“ Diesen Gedanken notierte Beethoven eigenhändig auf einem seiner allerletzten großen Werke: dem Streichquartett Nr. Sein frühes Meisterwerk, das Trio in c-Moll, begleitete ihn ein Leben lang: er bearbeitet es viel später zu einem Quintett. 135 quartet was premiered by the Schuppanzigh Quartet in March 1828, one year after Beethoven's death. Here, the music’s resigned serenity (epitomized in its famous motto “Must it be? He asks: What is the meaning of the inscription? 16 in F-Dur, op. Whatever its significance, the piece runs the gamut of emotions: fury, […], delightful article with so many views on the controversial beautiful piece , thanks for it 🙂, Some reflections on an enigmatic question, Zorá Quartet review: A program that tells a story | Oregon ArtsWatch, Lewes Chamber Music Festival: The London Haydn Quartet | 13 June, 2015 | Lewes Classical. But what an intermezzo! Santa Maria Philharmonic: Spirited Symphonies: Es Muss Sein – Saluting Beethoven’s 250th Birthday We launch a year-long celebration of Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th birthday with his Symphony No. Dopo questo, solo l'ultimo movimento del Quartetto op. 135 (1826). 130 in order to perform the quartet at one of his chamber music soirées. As in the Ninth Symphony’s cello-bass recitatives and at various points in other late works, Beethoven is driving instrumental music to the limits of speech, making instruments ‘almost speak’ …. 127. Beethoven wrote the question “Muss es sein?” (Must it be?) Op. The “something much bigger” Beethoven states he had in his mind might very well refer to the suicide attempt of his “adopted son” and last real emotional tie to this world: his nephew Karl. Find Ludwig van Beethoven bio, music, credits, awards, & streaming links on AllMusic - Among the greatest of composers, Beethoven took… 135 to be his final statement or not, and in spite of any possible textual explanations of the “Muss es sein?” riddle, I find it hard to see its over-all effect as anything other than profound. The youngster was recovering in hospital during the sketching of the quartet. He was however prepared to reconsider if Dembscher paid the fee of fifty florins for the Schuppanzigh subscription concert retrospectively. This is all very well, of course: we musicians often tend to produce better and more heartfelt results when associating a work with a dramatic narrative from the creator’s life. Heraus mit dem Beutel!” (It must be! Juli 1826 überschattet. Sources: Beethoven’s String Quartets (Radcliffe), Beethoven’s Quartets (de Marliave), The Beethoven Quartet Companion (ed. In any case, it presents something of a conundrum for quartet players. The question raised here is, indeed, seen in the light of the profound peace which dominates the slow movement of this quartet. 2-4. 130, written as a replacement for the Große Fuge, was composed later. Tickets range from $45 for preferred seating, which holds seats in the front rows, to $15 for students. Es muss sein!" On the sheet music, the composer wrote ambiguous words: Muss es sein? We'll talk about the importance of Beethoven in a second. String Quartet No.16 in F major 'Muss es sein? The String Quartet No. Théodore Frédéric Molt (1795-1856) Composer Time Period Comp. ), scherzo o spunto di canone, aprile 1826, pubblicato in fac-simile nella Zeitschrift für Deutschlands Musikvereine und Dilettanten. 130, scritto per sostituire la Grande fuga, fu creato dal compositore prima della sua morte.. La prima esecuzione fu data dallo Schuppanzigh Quartet nel marzo 1828. Romain Rolland, Nobel-prize winner, biographer of Beethoven, and writer of Jean-Christophe (which is partly based on Beethoven’s life) said in a much quoted passage about the riddle: It is a common tendency of the German mind to wring a sententious and general signification out of the ordinary word in some daily use (I noted this in Jean-Christophe): so – your good German, when his servant brings him the mustard after dinner is over, and when he says – simply enough - ‘Too late,’ he catches himself and adds philosophically (I have heard him!) Sullivan (Beethoven – his spiritual development, 1927) suggests that the motto. El cuarteto le debe su nombre al título del último movimiento. ). It must be! Only the final movement of the Quartet Op. Take out your wallet!). The two Graves in the last movement, with their “Muss es sein?” motif, do perhaps give a certain theatrical impression, and maybe they also seem to induce the feeling of being slightly too serious for their own good (this is obviously in no way a criticism of Beethoven! COSI' DEV'ESSERE? The last works of composers often take on a special meaning in the eyes of posterity: think only of Mozart’s Requiem or Bach’s Art of the Fugue. We are romantics, and we need to be. are the words that Ludwig van Beethoven wrote in the score of his 16th string quartet, Op. 135: profound swansong - or something else entirely? It must be!) War Beethoven eine tragische Figur? There is no real conflict depicted in this last movement; the portentous question meets with a jovial, almost exultant answer, and the ending is one of perfect confidence. and the by blustering chords in the upper instruments (the Spanish Captain Spavento?). By Ludwig van Beethoven. 135 in September 1827, wrote in a letter in 1859: Regarding the enigmatic phrase Muss es sein? Op. Radcliffe (Beethoven’s String Quartets,1965) irreverently lists some previously suggested interpretations: Suggestions have included ‘Must I die?’, ‘Must I go to the trouble of writing another movement?’, ‘Must I pay my laundry bill?’, ‘Must I let you have more money?’ (to his cook). We do not know, and are not meant to know in any specific sense, what is being asked and answered. It must be!). So what about Beethoven’s Op. Am 28. is a summary of the great Beethovenian problem of destiny and submission. Beethovens Musik hat sich zwar entwickelt, aber es war immer Beethoven. It was Beethoven’s grandfather who had first settled in Bonn when he became a singer in the choir of the archbishop-elector of Cologne; he eventually rose to become Kappellmeister. Es muss sein! The Allegro has by some commentators being characterised as either “ironic” or “forced”, but in my eyes the completely honestly good-natured second theme certainly excludes the former idea, even if the recurring “Es muss sein!” statements have a certain touch of jauntiness. He points out that, according to Karl Holz, Beethoven used to speak in an “imperial style” and speculates that: It is not far-fetched to imagine Beethoven asking and answering the question ‘Must it be?’ to himself and perhaps to others, expecting no explanation and giving none. and as the quicker main theme arrives, ‘Es muss sein!’ (It must be! Wonderfully Haydnesque in its clarity and wit, it boasts one of the most glorious slow movements Beethoven ever wrote. The performance of the work takes around 22–25 minutes. (It must be! What follows is a summary of the propositions of some noted commentators, and finally some thoughts of my own. Beethoven begann mit ersten Skizzen für das Quartett im Juli 1826; diese Arbeit wurde vom Suizidversuch seines Neffen Karl am 30. that arises in the last quartet, I think I can explain its significance better than most people, as I possess the original manuscript with the words written in his (Beethoven’s) own hand, and when he sent them he wrote as follows; ‘You can translate the Muss es sein as showing that I have been unlucky, not only because it has been extremely difficult to write this when I had something much bigger in my mind, and because I have only written this in accordance with my promise to you, and because I am in dire need of money, which is hard to come by; it has also happened that I was anxious to send the work to you in parts, to facilitate engraving, and in all Mödlingen (he was living there then) I could not find a single copyist, and so have had to copy it out myself, and you can imagine what a business it has been!…’ I remember the letter very clearly, and without possibility of doubt; unfortunately it disappeared in 1826, when my house was burnt down. But Beethoven had found his solution to the problem, and he treats the old question here with lightness, even the humour, of one to whom the issue is settled and familiar. – Allegro ("Es muss sein!") Das Beethoven-Haus in Bonn ist Gedächtnisstätte, Museum und Kulturinstitut mit vielfältigen Aufgaben. […] grandeur and intimacy, and so on. Grave, ma non troppo tratto ("Muss es sein?") 135. The answer is a resounding “It must be!”, […] last major work, the String Quartet in F Major, bears Beethoven’s mysterious riddle: Muss es sein? Beethoven ya no pensaba entonces en el monedero de Dembscher. – Grave, ma non troppo tratto – Allegro (F minor – F major), This page was last edited on 28 August 2020, at 19:58. Ludwig van Beethovens späte Streichquartette: das Quartett in F-dur op. 16 in F major, Op. 130, written as a replacement for the Große Fuge, was composed later. Kerman (The Beethoven Quartets, 1966) suggests the comedy, which is so apparent in the Allegro, already starts in the “Muss es sein?” introduction, imagining characters from commedia dell’arte: To my ear the image is operatic enough: a recitative for Pantalone, punctuated first by dubious stirrings (Mélusine perhaps?) (Must it be? As soon as the answer appear in the Allegro, the question is immediately put in a new light, but it can, for me, only in hindsight be regarded with a smile. 130 after it. Many thanks to Ivan Moseley. 1 by Beethoven, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=String_Quartet_No._16_(Beethoven)&oldid=975486648, Articles needing additional references from August 2019, All articles needing additional references, Articles with International Music Score Library Project links, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz work identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, "Der schwer gefaßte Entschluß". If it is forced, it is in the most humorous way. In a terrific and sudden change of mood the violins set off with the “Es muss sein!” motif (an inversion of the “Muss es sein?”), now Allegro in the parallel major key. which was no enigma at all! 135, in F major. 135 was, however, not finished in Mödlingen but in Gneixendorff, so the contents of that Beethoven letter might be not entirely exact. Beethoven's musical output has traditionally been divided into three periods, a classification that dates to the first years after the composer's death in 1827 and was formalised with the publication of Wilhelm von Lenz's influential work Beethoven et ses trois styles (Beethoven and his Three Styles). [2] Under the introductory slow chords in the last movement Beethoven wrote in the manuscript "Muß es sein?" Moritz Schlesinger, who published Op. Im Oktober 1826 verarbeitete Beethoven das Motto "Es muss sein" im Schlusssatz seines letzten Streichquartetts op. - all that you desire; all that commands your thought and weighs upon it; ‘the difficult decision,’ the order of Destiny, the acceptance of life…. 135 quartet was premiered by the Schuppanzigh Quartet in March 1828, one year after Beethoven's death. Es muss sein! Kundera tells you about the origins of the phrase as a motif in one of Beethoven's songs; you can read all about it in Part 5, Chapter 8. ‘Too late: as ever in this life!’ Beethoven re-read that “Es muss sein!” under a much more general interpretation. Es muss sein! The op. COSI' E'! Caricature of Beethoven by J. P. Lyser (1825), International Music Score Library Project, String quartet arrangement of Op. The argument shares the defect of all such attempts to set a ‘programme’ to absolute music. It must be! The work is on a smaller scale than the other late quartets. Dembscher schrok: “Muß es sein?” Holz: “Es Muß sein”. Dembscher is reported to have asked “Muss es sein?”. This time the “Es muss sein!” motif appears after a gradual loss of energy, piano, at a point where the music seems uncertain where to go, before regaining confidence. ). (Rivista per società musicali e dilettanti tedeschi) di Gassner (Karlsruhe), 1844, 3° parte, poi a suo tempo da Thayer, recentemente da M.A.F. Overview. El cuarteto de cuerda n.º 16 en Fa mayor Opus 135 "La difícil decisión" de Beethoven es el último de su ciclo de 16 cuartetos de cuerda.Fue escrito en 1826 y estrenado en marzo de 1828.Ese fue el último trabajo importante del compositor. “For Beethoven, as for the greatest literary artists, above all his beloved Shakespeare, comedy is not a lesser form than tragedy but is its true counterpart, the celebration of the human in all things.”. Die Niederschrift ist durch einen Eintrag in einem Konversationsheft auf um den 1. Op.135: III. WoO 196 “Es muss sein!” (Deve essere! A statement of resignation to mortality, some infer: Beethoven did indeed die about six months later. Ese mismo motivo fue un año más tarde la base de la cuarta frase de su último cuarteto opus 135. Es muss sein is an important concept in Unbearable Lightness, so you should make sure you're comfortable with it. Es liegt hier natürlich die Frage nahe, „was“ genau denn sein „muss“. 131, in July 1826. timidly acknowledges the piteous roar in the low instruments … To this comedy the Allegro offers no serious answer. In a famous anecdote told by Beethoven’s friend Karl Holz (who also was a member of the Schuppanzigh Quartet), a musical amateur named Ignaz Dembscher is reported to have asked Beethoven for the parts for Op. As one of those deft demonstrations of analytic philosophy, the question is rephrased and shown never to have amounted to a true question in the first place. Sein Werk ist ein Monument. Ed è qui che Beethoven, quasi lamentandosi come un bambino che non vuole finire di mangiare le verdure, gli chiese “Muß es sein?” e l’editore, quasi rimproverandolo, rispose “Es muß sein!”. When the relationship was over or, you know, mostly over, I tried searching the novel for clues as to how it should resolve, a possible parallel narrative that would give me some kind of sentimental insight. But there is a faint possibility of sentimentalising a piece that the composer did not necessarily know to be his last. We cannot miss the feeling that something basic is afoot, but we cannot define it in words or concepts. Beethoven’s infamous secretary Anton Schindler reports that the question was asked by Beethoven in response to his housekeeper’s demand for more money, but he also offers the alternative explanation that it was a request from Beethoven for more money from his publisher. 135 was Beethoven’s last complete quartet: he went on to write the alternative movement for Op. and the answer, “Es muss sein!” (It must be! Must it be? This is marvellously researched, however I believe every authority cited misses an obvious point about “Muß es sein?” and “Es muß sein!” Beethoven felt challenged by the critical reaction to Immanuel Kant’s Third Critique (the “Critique of Judgment,” 1790) to create an order of music that, for the first time, would be able to stand with lyric and epic poetry as a means to express the most exalted human emotions, … The ensemble’s founder Gidon Kremer directs op.131 from the violin, while Mario Brunello conducts op.135 and adds two contemporary pieces, one by Léo Ferré, ‘the revolutionary, anarchic, inspired singer-songwriter and great lover of Beethoven’: Muss es sein? Ja, ja, ja, ja! Period: Classical: Piece Style Classical: Instrumentation 2 voices (Nos. La frase “es muss sein!” le sonaba cada vez más majestuosa, como si la pronunciase el propio Destino. Hij heeft direct een canon op dat motief geschreven; en het motief komt in 1826 ook in de conversatieschriften voor, onder andere bij een meningsverschil met zijn huishoudster over het huishoudgeld. Beethoven was the eldest surviving child of Johann and Maria Magdalena van Beethoven. But because Dembscher had failed to attend the première of the work, Beethoven refused. August 1826 zu datieren. Es muss sein. The family was Flemish in origin and can be traced back to Malines. It has at a first glance little of the all-enveloping-statement-of-life-and-death character of Schubert’s last chamber work, his String Quintet, but is in some ways more like an intermezzo, unpretentious and fairly humble in scale. Beethoven is viewed as a transitional figure between the Classical and Romantic eras of musical history. and the answer, “Es muss sein!” (It must be! So the question invariably arises: Must what be? […], This is marvellously researched, however I believe every authority cited misses an obvious point about “Muß es sein?” and “Es muß sein!” Beethoven felt challenged by the critical reaction to Immanuel Kant’s Third Critique (the “Critique of Judgment,” 1790) to create an order of music that, for the first time, would be able to stand with lyric and epic poetry as a means to express the most exalted human emotions, aspirations and even philosophical questions; the result is his late period. Must it be?’ Must what be? 135 quartet to be his final one, but the first of a new set*. But even the composers’ last statement in a particular genre often inherits a mystical aura that wouldn’t necessarily have been so radiant or obvious had the composer lived on to compose more (they did not seldom leave this world young). Il Quartetto per archi n. 16 in Fa maggiore op. The phrase is German and translates to, "It must be." The coda is a version of the second theme, now pizzicato and pianissimo, before the “Es muss sein!” motif reappears, first hesitantly, and then in a triumphant fortissimo. Maybe Beethoven was telling himself that this was the final quartet he would write as he felt he had said everything he had to say in that mode? Ludwig van Beethoven 5 (WoO 195). The canon was composed at about the same time as finishing Op. Some commentators have seen it as a pendant to Op. Under the introductory slow chords in the last movement Beethoven wrote in the manuscript "Muß es sein?" 48 Beethoven gave a name to his quartet's final movement, Der schwer fasste Entschluss. Beethoven auf dem Rhein: "Es muss sein – Fast eine Liebesgeschichte" Beethoven auf dem Rhein : "Es muss sein – Fast eine Liebesgeschichte" 05.03.20, 09:58 Uhr 74 “Harp” quartet, which Beethoven composed under terrible suffering during the siege of Vienna. Johann Martin Usteri (1763-1827) Language German Dedication 1 (WoO 186). 135, by Ludwig van Beethoven was written in October 1826 and was the last major work he completed. The “Muss es sein?” theme is initially presented in a Grave by viola and cello, and repeated in increasing intensity before the short introduction quietens down and is suspended on the dominant in a pianissimo. * In fact Op. But all of the above is of course only words. – Diese Frage wie auch deren zweifache Beantwortung "Es muss sein! The scoring suggests an opera orchestra, but in a gauche way that has to be understood as parodistic (or self-parodistic: Beethoven could have been thinking of the Ninth Symphony) … None of this is very funny, perhaps – with Beethoven, the broader the joke the less effective – until Es muss sein! Ihm sind Dinge passiert, die man tragisch nennen muss… And says about the finishing bars of the coda: It is though Beethoven is laughing at himself and at his audience for taking this little motif so seriously, and making such a mystery out of his whimsical Muss es sein? to which he responds, with the faster main theme of the movement, "Es muß sein!" Musical Style and Innovations. And the little coda marks the ending (and indeed the whole piece), twinkly-eyed and humorous as it might be, with honesty and kindness. 135. Yes, yes, yes, yes! de Marliave (Beethoven’s Quartets, 1928) thinks along similar lines: [T]he mysterious preface was enough to intrigue the curiosity of listeners and critics, who see in it as a result a meaning that it does not possess. And the key to the true character of this enigmatic work might lie in the interpretation of its last movement, over which Beethoven famously wrote two short musical motifs and a title: (The resolution reached with difficulty: Must it be? If we may judge from this quartet [….]