Record Review Podcast - Beethoven's String Quartet in F, Op. 18 No. 1

Download Beethoven's String Quartet in F, Op. 18 No. 1

Laura Tunbridge recommends her favourite recording of Beethoven's String Quartet in F, Op 18 No 1.

In Vienna at the end of the 18th century, Beethoven was in his late 20s, the supreme keyboard composer-improviser of his day. With dogged determination and a degree of circumspection he began picking off various genres over which the shadows of the late Mozart and the very much alive Haydn loomed large. With piano sonatas, piano trios and string trios under his belt, it took two laborious years to complete the Op 18 set of six string quartets. The first of the set was intended to make a big impression. Its imposing scale and wide expressive range are typical of the young Beethoven, including a restless dynamic energy and a tragic slow movement inspired, he said, by the tomb scene of Romeo and Juliet.

Published on Monday, 9th May 2022.

Available Podcasts from Record Review Podcast

Subscribe to Record Review Podcast

We are not the BBC, we only list available podcasts. To find out more about the programme including episodes available on BBC iPlayer, go to the Record Review Podcast webpage.