Ludwig van Beethoven: Complete String Quartets Vol. 17

Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135 Belcea Quartet Corina Belcea, violin Axel Schacher, violin Krzysztof Chorzelski, viola Antoine Lederlin, cello 1. Allegretto 2. Vivace 3. Lento assai, cantate e tranquillo “Der schwer gefaßte Entschluß”: Grave, Allegro, Grave ma non troppo tratto, Allegro, 2/2, F major Ludwig van Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135, was composed quickly from June to September 18261 and published in September 1827 with a dedication to Johann Wolfmayer1, a merchant patron. It is the last of Beethoven’s quartets. The composer entitled it “Der schwergefasste Entschluss” (The Hard-Held Resolution). Composed after the great Fourteenth, the Sixteenth Quartet was never performed during its composer’s lifetime. It was created like all the other quartets of the last period by the Schuppanzigh group. Its composition was contemporaneous with family problems (attempted suicide by his nephew Karl2, for w