Well, I have officially completed my second year as a Music major.

Hooray!

Anyway, as a kudos to the end of the year, a favorite from my favorite composer. Despite the fact that it is listed as No.1 when it was published, Beethoven's String Quartet in F Major, Op.18, No.1 was actually the second one he composed. The Op.18 collection is a series of six quartets that Beethoven published collectively to which he would earn a higher incentive. Whether that is true or not, the Op.18 collection is apparent evidence that Beethoven had mastered the "Classical Quartet" developed by Haydn and Mozart.

It is one of my favorites, though not the ultimate as that comes with the Op.59 "Razumovsky" Quartets and his later ones, including the famous Op.131 in C-sharp minor. I like this Quartet in particular for its second movement, it could describe how I feel looking back on this school year.

Below is the Alban Berg Quartet performing the first and second movements.

1.Allegro con brio


2. Adagio affettuoso ed appassionato


A story exists that Beethoven was inspired for this movement by the Tomb scene from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Whether that is true or not, it is one of the more beautiful adagio movements that he wrote among the Op.18 collection.