11th Quartet, Opus 95, in F Minor
Allegro con brio—Allegretto ma non troppo—Allegro assai vivace ma serioso—Allegretto agitato.
This quartet is dedicated to Count Zmeskal, Beethoven’s willing secretary and man of affairs. Here in this work which stands on the border line between Beethoven’s second and third styles, we have the gruff and brooding Beethoven. The somewhat short opening movement is full of intense feeling. The Allegretto is calm and religious, ethereal in tone and contains a fine fugato passage. The third movement, which takes the place of a Scherzo, is dark in feeling and pervaded with gloom. A short Larghetto introduction leads into the Finale agitated and restless in character, but ending with a brilliant gleam of sunshine.