Beethoven Quartet Cycle III

The Razumovsky Quartets

Beethoven’s three Razumovsky quartets were composed for the Russian ambassador to Vienna. These works moved the genre to a new level, testing the virtuosity and stamina of any string quartet. The pieces were composed in the same heroic spirit as Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, and as a gesture to Andrey Razumovsky, who commissioned the works, Beethoven incorporated Russian-themed music into all three. 

For information about the preceding Inside the Quartets with David Finckel, click here.