Late Beethoven: Opus 132

The very young Leonkoro Quartett is a rising star in the world of string quartets, having recently won several awards. The Berlin-based ensemble has received much praise for their performances of Beethoven’s music. Beethoven’s opus 132 – published as his fifteenth string quartet, but in reality the thirteenth he wrote – includes the moving “Heiliger Dankgesang eines Genesenen an die Gottheit”. The healthy and energetic members of the Leonkoro Quartett are now looking at this Himalayan piece of quartet literature from a contemporary perspective.

In Jan Caeyers’ excellent biography of Beethoven, the chapter on the late string quartets is entitled “The Discovery of Heaven”. This is fitting, as these quartets, like Mulisch’s novel, open up a world beyond comprehension. Beethoven’s music expresses the essence of love and pain more powerfully than words ever could. At the height of his creativity, he explores the boundary between thinking and feeling, between matter and spirituality.