DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (May 31, 2020)

After writing the song Frage, or Question on the death of Beethoven, it took Felix Mendelssohn about six months to compose a major monument to Beethoven—his String Quartet No. 3 in A minor, Op.13.

We provide an audio that makes the comparison: https://soundcloud.com/user-385773006/a-teenage-composers-loving-vow-to-remain-true-to-beethoven-part-2

The first movement starts out with a slow theme that is reverential and sounds like Beethoven. A couple of minutes in, Mendelssohn plays the theme of ist es war? (Is it true?) from the song Frage. Compare it to Beethoven's Muss es sein? (must it be?) from String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, Op. 135.

We then compares the opening of the first movement (after a short introduction) of Beethoven's Op. 132 (String Quartet No. 15, which is also in A minor), with the opening of the first movement of Mendelssohn's Op. 13 (again after a short intro). The connection is hard to miss.

Then listen to the recitative-like section that is the transition from the movements 4 to 5 in Beethoven's Op. 132, with the recitative-like section, that is the transition from movement 3 to movement 4 in Mendelssohn's Op. 13.

Then compare the fughetta from the second movement of Beethoven's String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 95, with the fughetta from the second movement of Mendelssohn's Op. 13.

It ends with the incredible transformation of the quick 4th movement into a synopsis of the entire process.

We provide the entire quartet with score, for those whose curiosity is sufficiently piqued!