Es muss sein! A statement of resignation to mortality, some infer: Beethoven did indeed die about six months later. WoO 196 “Es muss sein!” (Deve essere! 8 as a centerpiece of the concert which also offers works by Mozart and Bartók. We'll talk about the importance of Beethoven in a second. 2-4. 135 quartet was premiered by the Schuppanzigh Quartet in March 1828, one year after Beethoven's death. 135. It must be! String Quartet No.16 in F major 'Muss es sein? 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). Only the final movement of the Quartet Op. Only the final movement of the Quartet Op. 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!) The canon was composed at about the same time as finishing Op. The apparent contrast between the work and the circumstances under which the composer wrote it, brings another of his quartets to mind: the Op. Under the opening chords, which are marked slow, Beethoven inserted the words ‘Muss es sein?’ (must it be?) 135: profound swansong - or something else entirely? 135 quartet to be his final one, but the first of a new set*. Im Oktober 1826 verarbeitete Beethoven das Motto "Es muss sein" im Schlusssatz seines letzten Streichquartetts op. On the sheet music, the composer wrote ambiguous words: Muss es sein? ). – Grave, ma non troppo tratto – Allegro (F minor – F major), This page was last edited on 28 August 2020, at 19:58. 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. 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? That may be the point. [2] Under the introductory slow chords in the last movement Beethoven wrote in the manuscript "Muß es sein?" Let us now listen to the music. The String Quartet No. It must be!). COSI' E'! Op. 14, No. He was however prepared to reconsider if Dembscher paid the fee of fifty florins for the Schuppanzigh subscription concert retrospectively. And, contemplating the very end, what better way to go than with a bang? And there is a further possibility that Beethoven, realising perhaps that one theme was a melodic inversion of the other, added the words later. Regardless of whether Beethoven intended Op. A sketch from 1826 for a quintet in C major survives. Sources: Beethoven’s String Quartets (Radcliffe), Beethoven’s Quartets (de Marliave), The Beethoven Quartet Companion (ed. 11. The family was Flemish in origin and can be traced back to Malines. 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. 130, written as a replacement for the Große Fuge, was composed later. 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. 135 in September 1827, wrote in a letter in 1859: Regarding the enigmatic phrase Muss es sein? 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? 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. Sein frühes Meisterwerk, das Trio in c-Moll, begleitete ihn ein Leben lang: er bearbeitet es viel später zu einem Quintett. (Must it be?) 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. 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. Must it be? Beethoven was the eldest surviving child of Johann and Maria Magdalena van Beethoven. Davon unterrichtet, antwortete Beethoven seinerseits lachend mit dem Kanon "Es muss sein". The whole movement is headed "Der schwer gefaßte Entschluß" (The Difficult Decision). – Allegro ("Es muss sein!") It must be!) 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 wrote the question “Muss es sein?” (Must it be?) BEETHOVEN STRASSE MUSS ES SEIN ES MUSS SEIN! 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? Die Niederschrift ist durch einen Eintrag in einem Konversationsheft auf um den 1. 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. Beethoven’s answer was in the form of a four-voice canon on the text: “Es muss sein! And the little coda marks the ending (and indeed the whole piece), twinkly-eyed and humorous as it might be, with honesty and kindness. Am 28. Period: Classical: Piece Style Classical: Instrumentation 2 voices (Nos. 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. La frase “es muss sein!” le sonaba cada vez más majestuosa, como si la pronunciase el propio Destino. 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. It must be!”) provided an emotional answer to the Bartók-Shostakovich conflict. ), but as a player, when actually playing them, I find it hard not to take them seriously, whatever the question might mean. The phrase is German and translates to, "It must be." Beethoven’s determination and optimism are clearly present in this work. and the answer, “Es muss sein!” (It must be! (It must be!). "Muss es sein?" Op.135: III. 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. 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). 130 in order to perform the quartet at one of his chamber music soirées. ), scherzo o spunto di canone, aprile 1826, pubblicato in fac-simile nella Zeitschrift für Deutschlands Musikvereine und Dilettanten. 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. The Allegro returns, dolce. 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. 135, by Ludwig van Beethoven was written in October 1826 and was the last major work he completed. We do not know, and are not meant to know in any specific sense, what is being asked and answered. Es muss sein is an important concept in Unbearable Lightness, so you should make sure you're comfortable with it. The op. (Rivista per società musicali e dilettanti tedeschi) di Gassner (Karlsruhe), 1844, 3° parte, poi a suo tempo da Thayer, recentemente da M.A.F. Here, the music’s resigned serenity (epitomized in its famous motto “Must it be? 135 was Beethoven’s last complete quartet: he went on to write the alternative movement for Op. 130, written as a replacement for the Große Fuge, was composed later. 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. 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?) The performance of the work takes around 22–25 minutes. Ihm sind Dinge passiert, die man tragisch nennen muss… The op. to which he responds, with the faster main theme of the movement, "Es muß sein!" 135, in F major. Find Ludwig van Beethoven bio, music, credits, awards, & streaming links on AllMusic - Among the greatest of composers, Beethoven took… which was no enigma at all! The work is on a smaller scale than the other late quartets. Yes, yes, yes, yes! But because Dembscher had failed to attend the première of the work, Beethoven refused. Wonderfully Haydnesque in its clarity and wit, it boasts one of the most glorious slow movements Beethoven ever wrote. If it is forced, it is in the most humorous way. (J.R.) Es muss sein! […], 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. Grave, ma non troppo tratto ("Muss es sein?") - all that you desire; all that commands your thought and weighs upon it; ‘the difficult decision,’ the order of Destiny, the acceptance of life…. 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! 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). “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.”. es muss sein!' 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? Beethovens Entscheidung, dem Wunsch seines Neffen zu entsprechen und ihn zum Militär gehen zu lassen, hatte Anteil daran, d…