The genius of Beethoven is probably notmost commonly associated with chambermusic. Indeed, for considerable stretches ofhis career he avoided the string quartet, amusical form with such an exalted status atthe time; he mostly took on the challengetowards the ends of what are oftenregarded as his two ‘creative periods’. Whenhe did, however, he was at the pinnacle ofhis chamber music abilities.The pieces in this collection can be groupedaccording to three distinct periods ofBeethoven’s life. The first set are to someextent indebted to Haydn and Mozart – asthe melancholic Op.18 No.6 shows inparticular – but equally show Beethovenstarting to forge a new path of his own. The(at the time) somewhat misunderstoodmiddle set stretch the quartet form to nearsymphoniclength, and add a level ofvirtuosity worthy of the concert hall ratherthan the traditionally private sphere ofchamber music. Finally, the last settranscend the composer’s previous quartetsboth in form and harmony to reach a level oftechnical abstraction that was notrecognised for its brilliance until after thecomposer’s life – a quality audible especiallyin the quartet in B flat major, whichBeethoven’s biographer referred to as a‘monster of quartet music’.The pieces are performed by the SuskeQuartett, a German quartet whosepopularity was at its height in the 1970s, andfor whom recording Beethoven was a stapleof their musical life: the recording career ofthe group’s original line?up both began andended with Beethoven pieces.

Suske Quartett:Karl Suske first violin,

Klaus Peters second violin

Karl?Heinz Dommus viola,

Matthias Pfaender cello