Beethoven: Six String Quartets, Op. 18/Henle

Category: String Quartet, Two Violins, Viola and Cello ** Composer: Beethoven, Ludwig ** Title: Six String Quartets, Op. 18 ** Publisher: Henle Verlag URTEXT Edition ** Edited by: Ernst Herttrich and Paul Mies ** Difficulty: A5/A6.

The six works in Beethoven's Op. 18 cycle of quartets, also called the "Lobkowitz" quartets (after their commissioner), are his earliest works in the string quartet medium, and are exemplary of his "early period" style, which was decidedly Classical and very much about the melodic line. Major keys are employed for all but No. 4 (in C Minor), which is dark and stormy in character. Also included in this collection is a unique string quartet transcription of his Piano Sonata, Op. 14, No. 1.

Contents:
* Quartet No. 1 In F Major
* Quartet No. 2 In G Major
* Quartet No. 3 In D Major
* Quartet No. 4 In C Minor
* Quartet No. 5 In A Major
* Quartet No. 6 In B-Flat Major