Beethoven for a Later Age : Living with the String Quartets

273 Pages·2016·0.797 MB·English

by  Edward Dusinberre

Beethoven for a Later Age

BEETHOVEN FOR A
LATER AGE
Living with the String Quartets
Edward Dusinberre
The University of Chicago Press
Chicago
Edward Dusinberre has been the first violinist of the Takács Quartet
since 1993, and he is an artist-in-residence at the University of
Colorado Boulder.
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
© 2016 by Edward Dusinberre
First published in 2016 by Faber & Faber Ltd
All rights reserved. Published 2016.
Printed in the United States of America
25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 1 2 3 4 5
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-37436-9 (cloth)
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-37453-6 (e-book)
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226374536.001.0001
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dusinberre, Edward, 1968– author.
Beethoven for a later age : living with the string quartets /
Edward Dusinberre.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-226-37436-9 (cloth : alkaline paper) -- ISBN 978-
0-226-37453-6 (e-book) 1. Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770-
1827. Quartets, violins (2), viola, cello. 2. String quartet.
3. String quartets—Analysis, appreciation. 4. Takács
Quartet—Biography. 5. Bowed stringed instrument
players—Biography. I. Title.
ML410.B42D87 2016
785’.7194092—dc23
2015034534
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992
(Permanence of Paper).
To Beth and Sam

Art demands of us that we do not stand still.
Ludwig van Beethoven, on the late quartets
They are not for you, but for a later age!
Ludwig van Beethoven, on the Opus 59 quartets
Members of the Takács Quartet
Gábor Takács-Nagy, first violinist, founding member,
1975–92
Károly Schranz, second violinist, founding member,
1975–present
Gábor Ormai, violist, founding member, 1975–94
András Fejér, cellist, founding member, 1975–present
Edward Dusinberre, first violinist, 1993–present
Roger Tapping, violist, 1995–2005
Geraldine Walther, violist, 2005–present
viii
Contents
Members of the Takács Quartet viii
List of Musical Examples x
Prologue: Opus 131 1
1 Audition: Opus 59, no. 3 15
2 Joining the Quartet: Opus 18, no. 1 44
3 Fracture: Opus 59, no. 2 81
4 Re-creation: Opus 127 128
5 Convalescence: Opus 132 171
6 Alternative Endings: Opus 130 201
Acknowledgements 239
Notes 243
Bibliography 251
Index 255
ix