String Quartet No.14 in C# Minor, Op.131 (parts) by Ludwig van Beethoven
Urtext edition by Emil Platen. Published by Henle
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was the most influential and admired composer of the Romantic Era, and is considered today to be among the greatest composers of classical music to ever live. His music is known variously for its compositional rigor, sublime beauty, organic development, gripping urgency, and life-affirming, universal humanism. He left a significant mark on almost every classical genre he worked in, from string quartets to symphonies.
Beethoven's cycle of sixteen string quartets spans his entire compositional career and is often considered to be the most significant ever composed. His six late period quartets (Nos.12-16 and the Grosse Fuge) were his return to the form after a 10-year absence and his last major completed works, reaching a zenith of expression, complexity, and originality in his output. No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op.131 is one Beethoven's most innovative works and his personal favorite. It was also held in high esteem by Franz Schubert and Robert Schumann, who wrote that it, along with Op.127, stands ''on the extreme boundary of all that has hitherto been attained by human art and imagination.'' This masterpiece of the quartet literature is presented in this Henle urtext edition edited by Emil Platen. Parts only. Master level, grade 6.
