Ludwig van Beethoven - Grosse Fuge, Op. 133

- Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven (17 December 1770 -- 26 March 1827) - Performers: Talich Quartet - Year of recording: 1977 Fugue for string quartet in B flat major (“Grosse Fuge“), Op. 133, written in 1825. Beethoven’s Grosse Fuge {Great Fugue} was originally to have served as the finale to the String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major, Op. 130 [uploaded on this channel]; in fact, that work was first performed with this monumental creation as its sixth and concluding movement. However, the Grosse Fuge, a complete entity in its own right, proved too difficult for the performers and for some members of the audience. Moreover, it seemed an outsized finale for the relatively modest quartet. Beethoven subsequently produced a new final movement for the quartet, an attractive Rondo more in keeping with the spirit of the entire work. The Grosse Fuge, eventually published as an independent work, is one of Beethoven’s crowning achievements in the medium of chamber music. The wo