The WQXR Marathon of Beethoven String Quartets is a Great Achievement and Mandatory Listening! My favest ever set of this wonderful, trancendental music for sure!Thank you guys at WQXR for gifiting us with such wonderful performances and great recordings too!!! (great recordings are MANDATORY for this music and you did it flawlessly!) ❤❤❤❤
0:00 Adagio ma non troppo e molto espressivo 7:16 Allegro molto vivace 9:59 Allegro moderato 10:54 Andante ma non troppo e molto cantabile 25:57 Presto 31:00 Adagio quasi un poco andante 33:10 Allegro
Me and 7 other people played the 6th movement of this as a chamber piece in our last band concert and it sounded cool in different instruments (it was 3 flutes, 4 clarinets, and a bassoon)
One needs such great music, at least now and then. It has healing effects. How staggering Beethoven's achievements are! And how good the Afiara Quartet is!
I love how the audience applauded after the fifth movement! Sure it means they don't know the quartet like many of us - but I love their enthusiasm at hearing this wonderful piece for the first time!
Luke Cocchi Yes-I know it's unlikely,but I like to think that Beethoven somehow sensed that Schubert would die while listening to this at the age of 31,and so deliberately made the best bit at the 31-minute mark,as a way of honouring a fellow suffering composer of genius.But if that's what did indeed happen,I say,"Bravo Beethoven,a true genius indeed!"
31:00 Adagio quasi un poco andante is my heart breaking into 1000 pieces at the loss of dearly missed loved ones. I cry at very few things, but I cry now hearing the pain resonate with every bow stroke.
The genre of the string quartet, is the most pure essence of music. This is the greatest string quartet EVER, courtesy by the greatest composer ever. Period.
A very very greet Beethoven ' s masterpiece played by a very greet string quartet , the Afiara string quartet; thank you, WQXR, for sharing this video on UA-cam!
Well I have some great performances of this great Beethoven quartet on CD and I'm very picky. But I absolutely loved this. The fugue drew me in immediately with its passion, commitment and perfect (for me anyway!) tempo. The variations were sublime and the hymn-variation was, as it should be, the emotional heart of this movement, and of the whole quartet. The final sections of the movement took us right into those sunlit uplands! The presto was quirky, and, dare I say it, had me laughing out loud on occasion as the ensemble executed Beethoven's childlike wit perfectly. The finale was muscular and sinewy, bravely and boldly played exactly as it needs to be, but, in turns, very tender in its more reflective passages. Live music exactly as it should be in these late, quartets, passionate, edgy and seat-of-pants. I'm still mopping away the tears and I'll be looking out for all your stuff from now on. Thank you so much!
The Shwedagon Pagoda (began 15 centuries ago) in Yangon, Myanmar, is the world’s most expensive temple ever built: now plated with 60 tons of solid gold worth $2.4 billion in today’s money, it has a stupa whose crown is tipped with 5448 diamonds and 2317 rubies and whose very top, the diamond bud, is tipped with a 76-karat diamond. Beethoven’s music is the priceless Shwedagon Pagoda of music. His 600 works are the solid-gold plates of that temple, his 16 string quartets are the diamonds and the rubies of the crown of that temple, and his String Quartet No 14 in c#, Opus 131, is the 76-karat diamond tip of the diamond bud of that temple. The pagoda in Yangon will end someday but your music, beloved Beethoven, will continue forever in this universe out of an infinite number of universes…So, as the greatest writer ever, Shakespeare, says in the couplet of his Sonnet 18, “So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”
Not really overblown in my opinion, it is you who is perceiving it that way, as it is they who is perceiving the poster as lame. They were just expressing their opinion, and you yours. Though it is a trivial matter, I happen to agree with them, in my opinion the poster doesnt need to be there and I would prefer it that way, it is a bit silly and tacky. But I understand the circumstances and am appreciative to listen to all the music this event provided.
How about running BWV 1043 for two violas and cello quartet? This transcription is very good. I have watched all the concerts of Beethoven's WQXR and so lack the Brandenburg Concertos transcribed for Cello Quartet. It's a creativity that is worth to be executed, is something simply wonderful! How about posting it?
Came here for the first movement. I would say a bit rushed with some phrase endings a little 'unfinished' but otherwise beautiful! You guys deserve a better recording space!
sorry for this- im definitely not one to point out wrong notes in a performance, but i thought I would mention this because it looks deliberate and so i was wondering- is there some sort of argument for the D natural the cellist plays at 1.34. Shouldn't it be a D Sharp??(?) anyone? :)
Agreed. But, no, this is what happens when the marketing department has no idea what they are marketing, which is a sad testament to the state of marketing for classical music.
Could do with a bit of EQ to remove some low frequency clumping about from the audience, constantly hearing stuff on the left hand side and thinking someone's in the room with me. Performance is great, though! \m/
The performance, overall is quite nice. One problem, the interpretation of the great Allegro (final movement) is a little stiff and lacks the median degree of tension or what will you. There should be more interplay, tighter ensemble, more voicing among the instruments. Less stiffness and let loose.
How unfortunate the video production and editing was so musically out of sync. (The opening fugue is a perfect example.) The camera shot and editing not quite where it needed to be when it needed to be there. As a classically trained pianist and video producer, it is obvious whomever edited this knew little about the score. We can all now see on youtube that classical music is produced, directed and shot like rock videos - a sad state. At least we can hear this wonderful performance through fine microphone placement. The musical joke worked quite well as evidenced by the applause (almost like the no-longer-available LaSalle performance). Overall - the performance was great; the video production so-so.
Another wonderful performance ruined by a cameraman who understands nothing about music, but instead uses the concert to showcase the techniques he learned in his video class. Musicians need to start taking control of video recordings of their performances. Best solution for small groups is to have the camera stationary showing the whole group at once and let viewers direct their gaze to where they feel is suitable.
I understand there is a need to involve one's whole body when playing music which requires so much concentration...however, some of it really seems like unnecessary showboating. Am I the only one thinking this? A fine performance either way though.
+DrGonzo2781 I would hope that they are moving due to an emotional connection to the music, but musicians like all people can be prone to vanity. It isn't unlikely for someone to do a lot of moving around as a natural response to the music however, and I prefer to be optimistic about people if at all possible.
Do you play in a string quartet? I do! And symphonies as well, both violin and viola. I do agree with you about excessive motion (I can't stand watching, for example, Nadia Salerno-Sonnenberg.) My wife and my friends tell me I am the great stone-face when I play. My major teachers (BTW I'm now 74, so my instruction was a while ago but included members of the Pro Arte String Quartet) pointed out that you don't just move the bow across the violin. Expert players will have a certain amount of movement of the violin for accents, sforzandi, etc. I'm not a deadpan as Heifetz (I'm not Heifetz either) but for most of us there is a certain amount of movement implicit in bowing which is (or should be) more than just arm and shoulder pressure. But I've been only playing for 64 years, 58 of them in adult symphony orchestras, what would I know about it, LOL
I just noticed the lame, tasteless and inappropriate "Obey-thoven" poster. This is what happens when clueless people try way too hard to be clever & hip.
Beethoven wrote this. If you mean he didn’t write it because they played it with a few mistakes then remember Beethoven‘s own quote: „To play a wrong note is insignificant. To play without passion is inexcusable!“
Well I have some great performances of this great Beethoven quartet on CD and I'm very picky. But I absolutely loved this. The fugue drew me in immediately with its passion, commitment and perfect (for me anyway!) tempo. The variations were sublime and the hymn-variation was, as it should be, the emotional heart of this movement, and of the whole quartet. The final sections of the movement took us right into those sunlit uplands! The presto was quirky, and, dare I say it, had me laughing out loud on occasion as the ensemble executed Beethoven's childlike wit perfectly. The finale was muscular and sinewy, bravely and boldly played exactly as it needs to be, but, in turns, very tender in its more reflective passages. Live music exactly as it should be in these late, quartets, passionate, edgy and seat-of-pants. I'm still mopping away the tears and I'll be looking out for all your stuff from now on. Thank you so much!
This is the piece that Schubert asked to hear before he died. Very beautiful.
It's kinda hard to believe that Beethoven was fully deaf when he made this music at that time. He's a totally in different level.
Yes! Unbelievable. The most SUBLIME String Quartet Ever! And n13 Absolurely Stunning too ...
The WQXR Marathon of Beethoven String Quartets is a Great Achievement and Mandatory Listening! My favest ever set of this wonderful, trancendental music for sure!Thank you guys at WQXR for gifiting us with such wonderful performances and great recordings too!!! (great recordings are MANDATORY for this music and you did it flawlessly!) ❤❤❤❤
I like the sound quality. It's so honest.
0:00 Adagio ma non troppo e molto espressivo
7:16 Allegro molto vivace
9:59 Allegro moderato
10:54 Andante ma non troppo e molto cantabile
25:57 Presto
31:00 Adagio quasi un poco andante
33:10 Allegro
At his request, this was the very last work Schubert heard as he lye on his deathbed in 1828 aged just 31.
My brain assumes they just put on a CD. But no...they had to play it right there right in front of him. Fascinating
and he had his last meal, a glass of orange juice and bagel. Amazing.
Probably the greatest work of Beethoven, with the Great fugue.
there is just something so moving about this piece
My love of Beethoven's music just keeps getting deeper.
The adagio at 31:00 always makes me think of Band of Brothers.
***** Exactly. :)
One of the best shows ever made, this scene where they were playing is perhaps one of the most meaningful.
It evokes his 3rd Symphony!
Silvia Takahashi Indeed :)
You mean the section with "Mozart" in it? :)
A marvelous performance of what is arguably the greatest of all Beethoven quartets.
Me and 7 other people played the 6th movement of this as a chamber piece in our last band concert and it sounded cool in different instruments (it was 3 flutes, 4 clarinets, and a bassoon)
One needs such great music, at least now and then. It has healing effects. How staggering Beethoven's achievements are! And how good the Afiara Quartet is!
I love how the audience applauded after the fifth movement! Sure it means they don't know the quartet like many of us - but I love their enthusiasm at hearing this wonderful piece for the first time!
It is one of my favorite pieces by Beethoven
especially at the 31 minute mark.
Luke Cocchi Yes-I know it's unlikely,but I like to think that Beethoven somehow sensed that Schubert would die while listening to this at the age of 31,and so deliberately made the best bit at the 31-minute mark,as a way of honouring a fellow suffering composer of genius.But if that's what did indeed happen,I say,"Bravo Beethoven,a true genius indeed!"
31:00 Adagio quasi un poco andante is my heart breaking into 1000 pieces at the loss of dearly missed loved ones. I cry at very few things, but I cry now hearing the pain resonate with every bow stroke.
I don't see how people sit and watch this so calmly. I feel myself moving along with the musicians. I want to feel like them.
The sixth and seventh movements always gives me chills
The genre of the string quartet, is the most pure essence of music.
This is the greatest string quartet EVER, courtesy by the greatest composer ever.
Period.
Welll said! ❤
A very very greet Beethoven ' s masterpiece played by a very greet string quartet , the Afiara string quartet; thank you, WQXR, for sharing this video on UA-cam!
The film brought me here. A nice touch to have Maestro's portrait displayed behind the players. He seems to be among them, a well as his music
I agree... the portrait is a lovely touch.
Very beautiful piece
Peace of mind at last
the beginning sounds so deep and sad, and knowing he was completely deaf when he wrote this, i literally cried LOL....
always amazes me how seemingly random the 4th movement is - just how many themes does it have, how many extraordinary changes of mood and style
chrish12345. Just one theme really. It's a theme and variations, it just develops alot.
My favourite movement
Well I have some great performances of this great Beethoven quartet on CD and I'm very picky. But I absolutely loved this. The fugue drew me in immediately with its passion, commitment and perfect (for me anyway!) tempo. The variations were sublime and the hymn-variation was, as it should be, the emotional heart of this movement, and of the whole quartet. The final sections of the movement took us right into those sunlit uplands! The presto was quirky, and, dare I say it, had me laughing out loud on occasion as the ensemble executed Beethoven's childlike wit perfectly. The finale was muscular and sinewy, bravely and boldly played exactly as it needs to be, but, in turns, very tender in its more reflective passages. Live music exactly as it should be in these late, quartets, passionate, edgy and seat-of-pants. I'm still mopping away the tears and I'll be looking out for all your stuff from now on. Thank you so much!
The Shwedagon Pagoda (began 15 centuries ago) in Yangon, Myanmar, is the world’s most expensive temple ever built: now plated with 60 tons of solid gold worth $2.4 billion in today’s money, it has a stupa whose crown is tipped with 5448 diamonds and 2317 rubies and whose very top, the diamond bud, is tipped with a 76-karat diamond.
Beethoven’s music is the priceless Shwedagon Pagoda of music. His 600 works are the solid-gold plates of that temple, his 16 string quartets are the diamonds and the rubies of the crown of that temple, and his String Quartet No 14 in c#, Opus 131, is the 76-karat diamond tip of the diamond bud of that temple.
The pagoda in Yangon will end someday but your music, beloved Beethoven, will continue forever in this universe out of an infinite number of universes…So, as the greatest writer ever, Shakespeare, says in the couplet of his Sonnet 18,
“So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”
beautiful just beautiful
A most engaging and spirited performance. Bravo!
The Cello takes me to heaven. Al the SQ is so great, but the score for the cello is super outstanding.
That last movement is spellbinding.
E' vero Beethoven non ha scritto questo per noi, ma per un ascoltatore che forse non esisterà mai.
heart warming to see/hear the asian players as representatives of their cultured knowledge and worldly sophistication
Beautiful musics are much better than garbage musics arround us.
The andante Is so good
30:53
"Let me clap before the others!"
"Oh, they are clapping! Let me clap, too!"
...
"Oh, shit!"
mais que c'est beau !!! ♥ ♥ ♥
VERY ENJOYABLE MUSIC !
Valerie Li and Yuri Cho, violins; David Samuel, viola; Adrian Fung, cello
Seems like a lot of the audience listened to it for the first time :)
Charles Mo why?
Charles Mo Okay, i know now why, hahaha
35:16
Bravo!
good taste in music
31:00 for all you Band of Brothers people
Awesome!
super your all~~~
A Treasure!
El despistado es usted, que no tiene la sensibilidad para ver la genialidad de este cuarteto.
30:53 not yet....
That viola player....C-C-C-C-C-Combo Breaker!
Si, esto es música.
6:27 something happened that freaked out the 1st violinist. I don't hear anything, but she is disturbed.
+Realistic Speakers a note went off-tone.
Beethoven thought this was his most perfect piece of music.
Feste Lear how you know it?
Not really overblown in my opinion, it is you who is perceiving it that way, as it is they who is perceiving the poster as lame. They were just expressing their opinion, and you yours. Though it is a trivial matter, I happen to agree with them, in my opinion the poster doesnt need to be there and I would prefer it that way, it is a bit silly and tacky. But I understand the circumstances and am appreciative to listen to all the music this event provided.
CAPTAIN NIXON BROUGHT ME HEEEEEERE.
@31:00
Band of brothers anyone?
In un quartetto così difficile è impossibile non commettere qualche errore
How about running BWV 1043 for two violas and cello quartet?
This transcription is very good. I have watched all the concerts of Beethoven's WQXR and so lack the Brandenburg Concertos transcribed for Cello Quartet. It's a creativity that is worth to be executed, is something simply wonderful!
How about posting it?
I'll tell you one thing about the krauts, they sure clean up good.
very slow and nice
a partir del minuto 31, grandioso
Keith Stevenson composed this while deaf! amazing
Came here for the first movement. I would say a bit rushed with some phrase endings a little 'unfinished' but otherwise beautiful! You guys deserve a better recording space!
sorry for this- im definitely not one to point out wrong notes in a performance, but i thought I would mention this because it looks deliberate and so i was wondering- is there some sort of argument for the D natural the cellist plays at 1.34. Shouldn't it be a D Sharp??(?) anyone? :)
definitely a mistake, there were plenty of others in this performance.
It is correct. The inset of the cello asks for a natural D Measure 14 in the part.
The d sharp comes later. it has still 4 sharps this movement.
The sequence of these measures are: c , e sharp, f and then down to d natural, c
Joe Zeitlin "To play a wrong note is insignificant. To play without passion is inexcusable." - Beethoven
Agreed. But, no, this is what happens when the marketing department has no idea what they are marketing, which is a sad testament to the state of marketing for classical music.
Share with any Babies you know
L'esecuzione è onesta, ma nessuna punta di diamante
Could do with a bit of EQ to remove some low frequency clumping about from the audience, constantly hearing stuff on the left hand side and thinking someone's in the room with me. Performance is great, though! \m/
The performance, overall is quite nice. One problem, the interpretation of the great Allegro (final movement) is a little stiff and lacks the median degree of tension or what will you. There should be more interplay, tighter ensemble, more voicing among the instruments. Less stiffness and let loose.
Obwohl ein bisschen langsam im ersten Satz, ist das Tempo überall angemessen.
Though a bit slow in the first movement, the tempo is overall appropriate.
크레이지한 연주 경의를 표합니다 op131이란 이런거죠 다만 관중들 수준이 연주를 못따라감
How unfortunate the video production and editing was so musically out of sync. (The opening fugue is a perfect example.) The camera shot and editing not quite where it needed to be when it needed to be there. As a classically trained pianist and video producer, it is obvious whomever edited this knew little about the score. We can all now see on youtube that classical music is produced, directed and shot like rock videos - a sad state. At least we can hear this wonderful performance through fine microphone placement. The musical joke worked quite well as evidenced by the applause (almost like the no-longer-available LaSalle performance). Overall - the performance was great; the video production so-so.
Another wonderful performance ruined by a cameraman who understands nothing about music, but instead uses the concert to showcase the techniques he learned in his video class. Musicians need to start taking control of video recordings of their performances. Best solution for small groups is to have the camera stationary showing the whole group at once and let viewers direct their gaze to where they feel is suitable.
The seventh mov is so stacatto they decepcioned me... u.u
A Late Quartet.
練習のたまものでしょうね。美しい。欲を言えば、もう少し艶のある響きが欲しい。でも、アンサンブルは素晴らしい。
平均律かなぁこれも。
TwoSet brought me here
I HATE THAT THEY DON T KNOW THE PIECE!!!!!! GRRR....
I understand there is a need to involve one's whole body when playing music which requires so much concentration...however, some of it really seems like unnecessary showboating. Am I the only one thinking this? A fine performance either way though.
+DrGonzo2781 I would hope that they are moving due to an emotional connection to the music, but musicians like all people can be prone to vanity. It isn't unlikely for someone to do a lot of moving around as a natural response to the music however, and I prefer to be optimistic about people if at all possible.
Yes you are!
Whatever, you don't speak for the interwebs
Do you play in a string quartet? I do! And symphonies as well, both violin and viola. I do agree with you about excessive motion (I can't stand watching, for example, Nadia Salerno-Sonnenberg.) My wife and my friends tell me I am the great stone-face when I play. My major teachers (BTW I'm now 74, so my instruction was a while ago but included members of the Pro Arte String Quartet) pointed out that you don't just move the bow across the violin. Expert players will have a certain amount of movement of the violin for accents, sforzandi, etc. I'm not a deadpan as Heifetz (I'm not Heifetz either) but for most of us there is a certain amount of movement implicit in bowing which is (or should be) more than just arm and shoulder pressure. But I've been only playing for 64 years, 58 of them in adult symphony orchestras, what would I know about it, LOL
Largo ma non troppo
lol
第三楽章で素人でもわかる大きなミスが出た（第二バイオリンの失音）。実演でもこれは珍しいはずで、奏者も悔いているだろう……。あとカメラがほんとひどい。曲を知らない人が適当に撮ってる（なんかの自動撮影なのか？）。これなら固定カメラの方がよい。
I just noticed the lame, tasteless and inappropriate "Obey-thoven" poster. This is what happens when clueless people try way too hard to be clever & hip.
Para los despistados: Beethoven no escribió esta porquería.
Lamentable.
Rufo Cermoles pues, si el la escribió o no, es mi obra favorita jaja
Rufo Cermoles ¿Porqué dices éso?
Wat
Beethoven wrote this. If you mean he didn’t write it because they played it with a few mistakes then remember Beethoven‘s own quote: „To play a wrong note is insignificant. To play without passion is inexcusable!“
Beethoven is so overrated.
:0
Reuben Natal Are you fkin serious??
+Reuben Natal
Reuben, please look of the video "Defending Beethoven" by Orchestration Online. I think you will have a different opinion by the end.
+Reuben Natal And who is the greatest for you then?
Your ma's overrated.
Well I have some great performances of this great Beethoven quartet on CD and I'm very picky. But I absolutely loved this. The fugue drew me in immediately with its passion, commitment and perfect (for me anyway!) tempo. The variations were sublime and the hymn-variation was, as it should be, the emotional heart of this movement, and of the whole quartet. The final sections of the movement took us right into those sunlit uplands! The presto was quirky, and, dare I say it, had me laughing out loud on occasion as the ensemble executed Beethoven's childlike wit perfectly. The finale was muscular and sinewy, bravely and boldly played exactly as it needs to be, but, in turns, very tender in its more reflective passages. Live music exactly as it should be in these late, quartets, passionate, edgy and seat-of-pants. I'm still mopping away the tears and I'll be looking out for all your stuff from now on. Thank you so much!