69. Late Great Show

Beethoven went straight from finishing the Grosse Fuge to composing the ground-breaking C sharp minor Quartet with its seven movements played without a break. There is a perfect symmetry about Beethoven answering the spectacular questions posed by the Grosse Fuge with a second fugue of Bach-like purity. This time Beethoven changed his approach and he repeatedly sketched the new quartet’s overall shape and tonal structure in total contrast to the unplanned way in which movements were tacked onto each other in Op.130. The majestic Adagio presentation of his other-worldly theme proceeds with successive entries until gently attaining its full sonority. At the centre of this progression is a still small voice that is the answer to all the storms and earthquakes in Beethoven’s life.

All works performed by Signum Quartet