Pieces › Ludwig van Beethoven

String Quartet No. 7 in F major, Op. 59 No. 1 “Razumovsky”

II. Allegretto vivace e sempre scherzando.

Ludwig van Beethoven · 1806 · B♭ major · 476 bars · 633 chords analysed

Commissioned by Count Razumovsky, the Russian ambassador in Vienna; the finale uses a Russian folk tune. Its huge scale puzzled the first players.

Beethoven's 16 string quartets trace his whole life. The six of Op. 18 (1798–1800) master the classical style he inherited from Haydn and Mozart; the middle quartets stretch it; the late quartets (1825–26), written when he was completely deaf, are among the most searching music ever composed.

Keys visited: B♭ major, A♭ major, C♭ major, D minor, A major, F major, F minor, C minor, D♭ major, B major, G♭ major, A minor, G minor, E major, B♭ minor, E♭ major, E minor.