Beethoven, Große Fuge (complete, Great Fugue), op. 133, string quartet (animated score)

Ludwig van Beethoven's Große Fuge (Great Fugue), opus 133, accompanied by an animated score.

FAQ

Q: Where can I get free sheet music for this piece?
A: You can download score and parts from IMSLP:
http://tinyurl.com/op133dover

Q: Where can I learn more about this piece?
A: The Wikipedia article is pretty good
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grosse_fuge
and this New Yorker article about a recently discovered manuscript is interesting
http://tinyurl.com/newyorkergrossefuge

Q: Who is performing?
A: I don't know. I licensed this recording from Royalty-Free Classical Music (dot com) through Shockwave (dot com), and they don't say who their performers are.

Q: I'm having trouble following the rhythm.
A: I'm not surprised; it's highly syncopated. I've done a couple of versions with barlines in them. First, here's a bar-graph-only version with barlines:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7q8t6K5ygw
Next, here's a version with both balls and barlines:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHxukzT31do
If you don't like the balls, here's a bar-graph-only without barlines:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnjvJDi8BPg
And, here's the original (bar-graph with balls, but no barlines):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6s0Mp7LFI-k

Q: Is there a way I could make the bar-graph scores myself?
A: The Music Animation Machine MIDI file player will generate this display; you can get the (Windows) software here:
http://www.musanim.com/player/
There are lots of places on the web where you can get MIDI files; I usually go to the Classical Archives site first:
http://www.classicalarchives.com/

Q: Could you please do a MAM video of _________?
A: Please read this:
http://www.musanim.com/all/MAMRequests.html
.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• counterpoint
• transcendent
• genius

[barc0deblankblank]

Hear it on acid, change your view about music forever. Amazing piece, just brilliant details and perhaps overwhelming for the slow thinkers. You really need to grasp and visualize each single note at the same time, measuring their harmonic differences in your brain - do it fast enough and you'll get a delightful sense of serenity. I find myself listening to this daily for the past year or so.

[smalin]

@barc0deblankblank One of the handful of peak experiences of my life was hearing one of Beethoven's late string quartets on acid (back in the 1970s, when I could get it).

[CrossbowManD]

I showed this song to my friends and they hated it I love this piece it is my favorite by beethoven

[smalin]

@CrossbowManD Well, I guess you either have to find different music to listen to or different friends. ;-)

[odiumimbues]

my debt collector called and i had this in the background on high.. ahahahaha you can imagine the smile on my face.

[soyviejodenme]

your eyes melt after a watching it for a couple minutes

[pentafusion]

@LtCrunch42 It's a fugue. EVERYONE has the melody! ;)

[LtCrunch42]

I'm trying to figure out which one has the melody at which times...

[maxoda]

It´s like I am playing Classic Hero!!! \o/

[dalmationham]

@shaenoffline glad i was of some help! this song is confounding. i read on wikipedia about what fugue is in the first place - chase and follow of different themes. so that is most recognizable in the part that i mentioned. but yeah. i'll stick with waldstein and the moonlight sonata. ha!