While the Beethoven string quartets are to chamber music what the plays of Shakespeare are to drama, even seasoned concertgoers can welcome guidance with these personal and sometimes enigmatic works. This collection offers Beethoven lovers notes on the listening experience of each quartet and a range of general perspectives.

Acknowledgments Introduction Perspectives Beethoven Quartet Audiences: Actual, Potential, Ideal JOSEPH KERMAN Performing the Beethoven Quartets in Their First Century ROBERT WINTER Beethoven: Beyond Classicism MAYNARD SOLOMON The Patrons and Publics of the Quartets: Music, Culture, and Society in Beethoven's Vienna LEON BOTSTEIN The Quartets in Performance: A Player's Perspective ROBERT MARTIN Notes on the Quartets MICHAEL STEINBERG The Early Quartets String Quartet in F Major, after the Piano Sonata in E Major, Op. 14 no. I String Quartet in F Major, Op. 18 no. I String Quartet in G Major, Op. 18 no. 2 String Quartet in D Major, Op. 18 no. 3 String Quartet in C Minor, Op. 18 no. 4 String Quartet in A Major, Op. 18 no. 5 String Quartet in B-Flat Major, Op. 18 no. 6 The Middle Quartets String Quartet in F Major, Op. 59 no. I String Quartet in E Minor, Op. 59 no. 2 String Quartet in C Major, Op. 59 no. 3 String Quartet in E-Flat Major, Op. 74 String Quartet in F Minor, Op. 95, Quartett[o] serioso The Late Quartets String Quartet in E-Flat Major, Op. 127 String Quartet in B-Flat Major, Op. 130 String Quartet inC-Sharp Minor, Op. 131 String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 132 Grosse Fuge for String Quartet, Op. I33 String Quartet in F Major, Op. 135 Glossary Index

"Reading The Beethoven Quartet Companion made me want to listen to the quartets again from a new sociological as well as musical perspective. It is an invaluable guide not only for professional and amateur musicians but also for anyone who is curious about culture and wants to find out more."—Yo-Yo Ma"These essays are the most readable, useful, and well-informed commentary available today on these masterworks. Michael Steinberg's 'program notes' to each quartet, directed at once to the musical beginner and to the expert, are as eloquent and persuasive as popular writing about music can get. . . . His essays are followed by equally expert and accessible contributions by other masters on The Master, providing literate music lovers with the context and equipment for a richer enjoyment and clearer understanding of these sixteen unique conversations among two violins, a viola, and a cello."—David Littlejohn, author of The Ultimate Art: Essays Around and About Opera"A fine collection of essays to assist the music lover in the seemingly endless quest to illuminate the Beethoven string quartets."—Arnold Steinhardt, The Guarneri String Quartet"This book delivers on the implied promise of its title—it provides a lively, readable, and wide-ranging introduction to the quartets. Readers at many levels of experience will find it profitable."—Lewis Lockwood, author of Beethoven: Studies in the Creative Process