Beethoven's String Quartet in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131

Beethoven's String Quartet in C-sharp minor Op. 131 (1826) is not only firmly a part of the scholarly canon, the performing canon, and the pedagogical canon, but also makes its presence felt in popular culture. Yet in recent times, the terms in which the C-sharp minor quartet is discussed and
presented tend to undermine the multivalent nature of the work. Although it is held up as a masterpiece, Op. 131 has often been understood in monochrome terms as a work portraying tragedy, struggle, and loss.

In Beethoven's String Quartet in C-sharp Minor, Op. 13, author Nancy November takes the modern-day listener well beyond these categories of adversity or deficit. The book goes back to early reception documents, including Beethoven's own writings about the work, to help the listener reinterpret and
re-hear it. This book reveals the diverse musical ideas present in Op. 131 and places the work in the context of an emerging ideology of silent or 'serious' listening in Beethoven's Europe. It considers how this particular 'late' quartet could speak with special eloquence to a highly select but
passionately enthusiastic audience and examines how and why the reception of Op. 131 has changed so profoundly from Beethoven's time to our own.

"Beethoven's String Quartet in C-sharp minor, Op. 131 (1826) is firmly a part of the modern-day canon, and also makes its presence felt in popular culture, notably in film (for example, A Late Quartet, 2012). Yet in recent times, the terms in which the work is discussed and presented tend to undermine the work's power. Although it is held up as a masterpiece, Op. 131 has often been understood in monochrome terms, as a work portraying tragedy, struggle, loss, and lack. This book takes the modern-day listener well beyond these categories of adversity or deficit. It goes back to early reception documents, including Beethoven's own writings about the work, to help the listener reinterpret the work and re-hear it. Analyses are geared towards allowing the reader to access earlier modes of listening and interpretation, those of listeners who celebrated the work precisely for its plenitude, its richness of invention or fantasy (in Beethoven's own words). As connoisseur listeners of Beethoven's day implied, Op. 131 is filled with diverse musical ideas (just like a fantasia), and with a new kind of string quartet writing that is calculated to promote sustained, engaged listening. Placing this work in the context of an emerging ideology of silent or 'serious' listening, in Beethoven's Europe, I consider how this particular 'late' quartet could speak with special eloquence to a highly select but passionately enthusiastic audience. I also examine how and why the reception of Op. 131 has changed so profoundly from Beethoven's time to our own"--

"Led by the perspective of listening, Nancy November offers a comprehensive study of Beethoven's string quartet in C sharp minor Op. 131, in which music lovers, students, and colleagues will find stimulating as well as new, and sometimes unexpected, information." -- Christine Siegert, Head of the
Beethoven-Archiv Research Centre, Beethoven-Haus Bonn

"Nancy November breaks open the discourse on fragmentation versus unity in Op. 131 with a new interpretive approach that focuses on the special relationship between work, performer, and audience, conceiving Beethoven's composition as a large-scale fantasy that requires sustained, attentive
listening. With her thought-provoking view of Op. 131, November undoubtedly offers a welcome enrichment to research on Beethoven's late work." -- Christian Speck, Professor Emeritus of Musicology, University of Koblenz