Composition for string quartet by Ludwig van Beethoven
"Great Fugue" redirects here. For the piece by J. S. Bach, see Great Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, BWV 542.
Grosse Fuge
String quartet by Ludwig van Beethoven
Title page of the first edition of the Grosse Fuge, published in Vienna by Matthias Artaria in 1827 (in French, with the title Grande Fugue and Beethoven's French name "Louis")
English
Great Fugue
Key
B♭ major
Opus
133
Form
Fugue
Composed
1825
Dedication
Archduke Rudolf of Austria
Duration
About 16 minutes
Scoring
String quartet
Premiere
Date
1826
Performers
Schuppanzigh Quartet
Live performance
Merel Quartet at Tonhalle, Zürich, 3 July 2013: Mary Ellen Woodside and Julia Schröder, violin; Ylvali Zilliacus, viola; Rafael Rosenfeld, cello
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The Grosse Fuge (German spelling: GroßeFuge, also known in English as the Great Fugue or Grand Fugue), Op. 133, is a single-movement composition for string quartet by Ludwig van Beethoven. An immense double fugue, it was universally condemned by contemporary music critics. A reviewer writing for the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung in 1826 described the fugue as "incomprehensible, like Chinese" and "a confusion of Babel".[1] However, critical opinion of the work has risen steadily since the early 20th century and it is now considered among Beethoven's greatest achievements. Igor Stravinsky described it as "an absolutely contemporary piece of music that will be contemporary forever".[2]
The Grosse Fuge was originally composed as the final movement of Beethoven's Quartet No. 13 in B♭ major, Op. 130, written in 1825; but Beethoven's publisher was concerned about the dismal commercial prospects of the piece and wanted the composer to replace the fugue with a new finale. Beethoven complied, and the Grosse Fuge was published as a separate work in 1827 as Op. 133. The work was composed when Beethoven was nearly totally deaf, and is considered to be part of his set of late quartets. The Grosse Fuge was first performed in 1826, as the finale of the B♭ quartet, by the Schuppanzigh Quartet.
Music analysts and critics have described the Grosse Fuge as "inaccessible",[3] "eccentric",[4] "filled with paradoxes",[5] and "Armageddon".[6] Critic and musicologist Joseph Kerman calls it "the most problematic single work in Beethoven's output and ... doubtless in the entire literature of music",[7] and violinist David Matthews describes it as "fiendishly difficult to play".[8]
^Solomon (2003), p. 35.
^Stravinsky & Craft (1963), p. 24.
^B. H. Haggin, quoted in Chamber Music Northwest Archived 21 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine
^Kinderman (1997), p. 306[incomplete short citation]
^Levy (2007), p. 130.
^Arnold Steinhardt, in Miller (2006), p. 40
^Kerman (1979), p. 279.
^Matthews (2006), p. 28. For a discussion of the technical and musical difficulties of the fugue, see § Performance challenges.
The GrosseFuge (German spelling: GroßeFuge, also known in English as the Great Fugue or Grand Fugue), Op. 133, is a single-movement composition for string...
130 (1825); the latter was later published separately as Op. 133, the GroßeFuge ("Great Fugue"). However, it is the fugue that opens Beethoven's String...
133: GroßeFuge in B♭ major for string quartet (originally finale of Opus 130) (1825) Op. 134: Piano arrangement (4 hands) of the GroßeFuge, Opus 133...
of Beethoven's Op. 130 string quartet (with its original ending, the GrosseFuge, Op. 133) and Schubert's string quintet D. 956. The performance was filmed...
composer's life and is said to have influenced decisions on pieces such as the GroßeFuge. The violinist Joseph Böhm recalled that for the premiere of the ninth...
of The Marriage of Figaro; Beethoven's arrangement of his monumental GroßeFuge for piano four hands; Schumann's working draft of his Symphony No. 2;...
electric instruments. Notable works for string quartet include: Beethoven's GrosseFuge, Op. 133 Merel Quartet at Tonhalle Zürich, 3 July 2013: Mary Ellen Woodside...
the String Quartet No. 13, Op. 130, composed to replace the difficult GroßeFuge, which was published separately as Opus 133. Shortly thereafter, in late...
Piano Sonata No.9 for string quartet. Conversely, he also arranged his GrosseFuge (one of his late string quartets) for piano duet. The American composer...
1960 [2V=AS]; LP Col M5S-677; CD reissue Sony 88697776782. Beethoven: GrosseFuge in B flat major, Op. 133: rec 1920s with different personnel rec 7/5/1951...
previously recorded, including Opus 130. The Busch Quartet never recorded the GrosseFuge, Opus 133; an arrangement was recorded by the Busch Chamber Players,...
was a replacement, composed at the suggestion of his publisher, of the GroßeFuge, the original finale. He began the piece in September, and sent the manuscript...
Martin in the Fields 1975 Columbia Masterworks Beethoven Symphony No. 4 / GrosseFuge Academy of St. Martin in the Fields 1975 Philips Haydn 12 Name Symphonies...
Noise as Permanent Revolution, points out that Ludwig van Beethoven's GrosseFuge (1825) "sounded like noise" to his audience at the time. Indeed, Beethoven's...
String Quartet No. 13 in B♭ major, Op. 130 in its original form with his GrosseFuge (later Op. 133) as the final movement, given by the Schuppanzigh Quartet...
Giselle 55,46 Marius Petipa after Jean Coralli & Jules Perrot Adolphe Adam GrosseFuge 27 Hans van Manen Ludwig van Beethoven Hobson's Choice 34,28,42 David...
1819 and Carlo's nephew Matthias (1793–1835) published the composer's GroßeFuge in 1827. The dispute with Beethoven highlights the role the company played...
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