Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Endless invention, and a vision of things to come. Beethoven's last two string quartets in his early ...

When we finally see the return of concerts, shared experiences by full audiences, everyone together, the moment will be less for fireworks than for thanksgiving. Let us begin, then, with Beethoven as ...

Life isn’t always puppies and kittens (she stated sagely). Sometimes, it can be downright tough – maybe your family is falling apart and you’re a famous composer and you’re going deaf. We’ve all been ...

Why should Beethoven’s string quartets have come to represent the pinnacle of achievement in western classical music? After all, this is a modest, intimate format involving just four players, better ...

The offseason Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival concerts feature five fun, challenging works from the composer’s early period.

The Budapest String Quartet has always been my standard-bearer for chamber music. I grew up listening to their recordings, and especially admired not only their gorgeous sound, but also the uncanny ...

In the spring of 1825, when Beethoven was 54, he became terribly sick. He was in bed for a month and he wrote to his doctor, "I am not feeling well ... I am in great pain." The doctor put Beethoven on ...

Ludwig van Beethoven, String Quartet No. 6 in B-flat major Op. 18 No. 6. Budapest String Quartet (Mono, 1952) Sony Dmitri Shostakovich, String Quartet No. 8 in C minor Op. 110. Borodin String Quartet ...

For the last two years of his life, Beethoven's world was dark and silent. His health was completely shot. And his emotional state was worse. He'd failed in his relationship with his nephew Karl, and ...