Beethoven: Late String Quartets Narratio Quartet

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827): String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 95:
• 1 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 95: I. Allegro con brio 05:16
• 2 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 95: II. Allegretto ma non troppo 07:38
• 3 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 95: III. Allegro assai vivace ma serioso 04:54
• 4 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 95: IV. Larghetto espressivo - Allegretto agitato 05:24
• String Quartet No. 12 in E-Flat Major, Op. 127:
• 5 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 12 in E-Flat Major, Op. 127: I. Maestoso - Allegro 07:31
• 6 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 12 in E-Flat Major, Op. 127: II. Adagio, ma non troppo e molto cantabile 14:37
• 7 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 12 in E-Flat Major, Op. 127: III. Scherzando vivace 07:55
• 8 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 12 in E-Flat Major, Op. 127: IV. Finale. Allegro 08:07
• String Quartet No. 13 in B-Flat Major, Op. 130:
• 9 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 13 in B-Flat Major, Op. 130: I. Adagio ma non troppo - Allegro 14:19
• 10 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 13 in B-Flat Major, Op. 130: II. Presto 02:19
• 11 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 13 in B-Flat Major, Op. 130: III. Andante con moto ma non troppo 08:23
• 12 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 13 in B-Flat Major, Op. 130: IV. Alla danza tedesca. Allegro assai 03:20
• 13 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 13 in B-Flat Major, Op. 130: V. Cavatina. Adagio molto espressivo 05:56
• Grande Fugue in B-Flat Major, Op. 133:
• 14 Beethoven: Grande Fugue in B-Flat Major, Op. 133: Allegro 17:20
• String Quartet No. 13 in B-Flat Major, Op. 130:
• 15 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 13 in B-Flat Major, Op. 130: VI. Finale. Allegro 10:05
• String Quartet No. 15 in A Minor, Op. 132:
• 16 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 15 in A Minor, Op. 132: I. Assai sostenuto - Allegro 11:02
• 17 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 15 in A Minor, Op. 132: II. Allegro ma non tanto 09:39
• 18 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 15 in A Minor, Op. 132: III. Molto adagio 16:00
• 19 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 15 in A Minor, Op. 132: IV. Alla marcia, assai vivace 02:36
• 20 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 15 in A Minor, Op. 132: V. Allegro appassionato 08:21
• String Quartet No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131:
• 21 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131: I. Adagio ma non troppo e molto espressivo 06:42
• 22 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131: II. Allegro molto vivace 03:40
• 23 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131: II. Allegro moderato (recitative) 00:50
• 24 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131: IV. Andante ma non troppo e molto cantabile 16:00
• 25 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131: V. Presto 05:56
• 26 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131: VI. Adagio quasi un poco andante 02:18
• 27 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131: VII. Allegro 07:28
• String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, Op. 135:
• 28 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, Op. 135: I. Allegretto 07:18
• 29 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, Op. 135: II. Vivace 04:15
• 30 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, Op. 135: III. Lento assai, cantante e tranquillo 06:44
• 31 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, Op. 135: IV. Der schwer gefaßte Entschluß. Grave, ma non troppo tratto - Allegro 08:13
• Total Runtime 04:00:06

Info for Beethoven: Late String Quartets

Viola de Hoog: My colleagues in the Narratio Quartet and I have been immersed in all of Beethoven’s string quartets for over fifteen years now. We experience time and again how Beethoven explored and then overcame the limits of the Classical style and the instrumental challenges that were prevalent at the start of the nineteenth century along new pathways. Opus 95 is a great example of exactly this. Beethoven himself stated in a letter to Sir George Smart, at the time an important musician in England, ”The Quartet is written for a small circle of connoisseurs and is never to be performed in public.”

Each of the five late quartets, from Opus 127 onwards, explores new forms, modulating to remotely distant keys, presenting hitherto unprecedented melodic arches and containing what were, at the time, unusually detailed dynamic instructions; different ways in which Beethoven was tearing himself away from the familiar style of the day. Beethoven composed these five quartets in a remarkably brief period, between 1824 and 1826.

"This is a truly special release that fully lives up to the promise of the Narratio Quartet's op. 18. It is a necessary purchase for all Beethovenians." (Fanfare)

"There is much to enjoy in the quartet's poised and stylish playing". (BBC Music Magazine)

Narratio Quartet

Narratio Quartet
The narrative of the Narratio Quartet began in 2009 when it was invited to perform Beethoven’s last five string quartets on five consecutive nights at the Early Music Festival Utrecht. It is precisely these late Beethoven quartets which are rarely played on period instruments, using gut strings and 19th-century bows.

Since then the quartet has worked backwards, as it were; it has now played the complete cycle of Beethoven quartets several times in the Netherlands and recently also in Switzerland. Their repertoire has expanded to the later 19th century with the three Brahms quartets in combination with Schubert, Schumann and Mendelssohn. In the course of 2024/2025 Challenge Records will release their recording of the complete Beethoven cycle played on period instruments.

Johannes Leertouwer
performs as a soloist, chamber music player and conductor. For many years he was concertmaster of Anima Eterna and the Netherlands Bach Society. He is artistic director and conductor of the Nieuwe Philharmonie Utrecht and violinist of Ensemble Schönbrunn since its foundation. In addition to teaching at the Conservatory of Amsterdam he is a professor at Seoul National University and obtained his doctorate in 2023 from the University of Leiden on research into the performance practice of orchestral repertoire by Johannes Brahms.

Franc Polman
is a violinist in the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century and has played in prestigious baroque orchestras such as Musica Antiqua Köln and Les Musiciens du Louvre. He is active in several chamber music ensembles. Polman plays on a number of Amsterdam violins from the seventeenth century, built by Hendrik Jacobs and Pieter Rombouts.

Dorothea Vogel
studied in Switzerland, the USA and London, where she has lived since her studies. She was violist of the Allegri Quartet for 20 years and is a member of the Primrose Piano Quartet. She also performs with the English baroque ensemble The Kings Consort. Dorothea teaches at the Royal Welsh College in Cardiff.

Viola de Hoog
is a versatile musician. Her international career takes place in the world of early music, but for 20 years she also travelled all over the world as a member of the renowned Dutch Schönberg Quartet. She is cellist of Ensemble Schönbrunn, principal cellist of the Nieuwe Philharmonie Utrecht and The Kings Consort. Viola has been professor of baroque cello, cello and chamber music at the conservatories of Amsterdam, Utrecht and Bremen since 1990.

Booklet for Beethoven: Late String Quartets