| String Quartet No. 10 (beethoven) |
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NAMING The nickname "Harp" refers to the characteristic Pizzicato sections in the Allegro of the first movement, where two members of the quartet alternate notes in an Arpeggio , reminiscent of the plucking of a Harp . Like so many nicknames for Beethoven's works, this is one the publisher cam up with. FORMAL ANALYSIS OF MOVEMENTS Movement I (Poco Adagio; Allegro) This movement is in Sonata Form . Intro Exposition (mm. 25-77) 1st tonal area, Eb (mm. 1-29) Pizzicati lead transition to tonal area 2 2nd tonal area, Bb (mm. 52-) Closing (mm. 70-77) In keeping with tradition, there is a repeat of this short exposition. Develolpment (mm. 78-139) Recapitulation (mm. 140-205) Coda (mm. 206-262) This coda is huge, which is a typical Beethoven characteristic. Movement II (Adagio ma non troppo) Movement III (Presto) This movement is in Scherzo form. Scherzo (mm.1-76) c minor Trio (mm. 77-169) C major Scherzo (170-245) Trio (246-338) Scherzo (339-467) Movement IV (Allegretto con Variazioni) Back in Eb Major again, yay! This is a theme and variations, and follows the typical form. The coda begins at m. 142. DISCUSSION The first movement, of about ten minutes duration, is one of the best examples of Beethoven's management of musical tension. The short Adagio introduction (24 bars long) is not tightly thematically integrated with the rest of the movement; it serves a similar function to the Introduzione of the first movement of Op 59 No 3 . The main motifs of the Allegro are the lyrical melody appearing several bars from the beginning, and the pizzicato arpeggios played by two instruments accompanied by repeating quavers played by the other two. At first, these two themes appear thematically and rhythmically unrelated. It is only the last fifty bars that the listener discovers that Beethoven's true purpose is for them to be played simultaneously, beneath a schizophrenic violin part, to generate the climax of the movement. SOURCES FOR FURTHER READING These sources contain information specifically about the Op. 74 quartet.
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