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Rating: Written in 1785, at the age of fifteen, the 3 Quartets for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello WoO 36 complete the first maturation phase of Beethoven during the Bonn period.
With these three works, we are faced with a piece less accomplished compared to the even younger compositions that precede them, specifically the 9 Variations for Piano WoO 63, the 3 Piano Sonatas WoO 47 (already reviewed on these pages), and the draft of the Piano Concerto and Orchestra in E-flat major WoO 4, which can be heard on CD in the reconstruction by Willy Hess.
Beethoven himself was aware that he had written nothing but consumer music, so much so that he decided not to publish these Quartets, also prompted by the advice of his violin teacher Franz Ries and in coherence with the strict judgment he would maintain throughout his life regarding which of his works were truly worthy of being presented to the public.
The review and interest in these youthful works could, in fact, end here. However, further exploration is recommended both for those familiar with the composer's more mature works, particularly the Piano Sonatas, and for those curious to delve into the Master's personal compositional processes, even in the shadow of a majestic figure like Mozart, who accompanied him in his youth.
All three Quartets are imbued with brief musical hints, melodic ideas, or harmonic inspirations, not always easily identifiable, which will be found in many Piano Sonatas, such as those from opus 2, the Pathetique, or the Sonata quasi una fantasia op 27 no. 1.
As previously mentioned, a "laboratory," a collection of study materials never forgotten as they are valid and will resurface in the memory of the adult composer, but combined in a completely different form and substance.
This unfinished nature prominently emerges from all three Quartets, starting with the first, in E-flat major, where a chamber-like cohesion is absent due to the predominance of the piano over the "ensemble," with the strings supporting the melodic part. The contrast also emerges between the strong tension expressed in the "Allegro con Spirito," in the second position, and the light character of the variations that conclude the work, these too characterized by the predominance of the soloist, be it piano, violin, or cello.
The Quartet in D major WoO 36 no. 2 presents a more complex and articulate formal structure but does not fully exploit the potential of the ensemble, revealing too evidently the disharmonious "struggle" between piano and strings, with the former not conversing with the latter but rather overshadowing them.
Certainly more interesting is the Quartet in C major WoO 36 no. 3, which demonstrates a greater Beethoven-style imprint, recognizable especially in the theme of the Adagio, which will pass, with small variations, into the corresponding theme of the Sonata op. 2 no. 1 (sample).
Few reference editions on CD of these Quartets. Certainly good is the performance by members of the Amadeus Quartet with Christoph Eschenbach on piano, although the not recent recording reveals a lack of brilliance and spatial placement of the instruments, resulting in a decidedly non-audiophile experience.
Members of the Amadeus Quartet (strings), C. Eschenbach (piano), T: 59'28, Deutsche Grammophon, 1969, ADD
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