Demystifying Beethoven's Große Fuge by Richard Atkinson

[hal9000]

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQcHPhYEoJY[/YOUTUBE]

Really great analysis on Beethoven's masterwork. Also, it's an interesting thought that he highlights by Warren Kirkendale, that the fugue shares similarity to thematical material in Opus 131 and 132, as well as of course being the original ending to Opus 130. Though some may argue that it belongs as the bookend to Opus 130, I do also think the fugue almost warrants its separation from it's original context, and it's pretty neat to think of it not as just the ending to Opus 130 but as almost a culmination of all of Beethoven's late string quartets, which are so rich in thought and expression that I don't think I will ever truly uncover everything about them.

[gprengel]

wow, what a great analysis of this awesome work! So helpful! It will be a huge joy for me to try to orchestrate also this gigantic work (after finsihing the Adagio from op. 59,2 what I am working on right now ...)

[Chris]

Thanks, hal9000 - if there's any work that deserves a close analysis, it's this one! Although this piece is complex and challenging, it had an immediately appeal for me, and I think it's probably my favorite work for string quartet.