Ludwig Van Beethoven - Grosse Fuge, Op. 133, Part I

As I promised to upload more pieces, please welcome Ludwig Van Beethoven and his Große Fuge(Grosse Fuge), Opus 133!
He wrote this piece when he was completely deaf a short time before he died, in 1825-1826.
The Große Fuge is a single-movement composition for string quartet by Ludwig van Beethoven.
Beethoven originally composed the massive fugue as the final movement of his String Quartet No. 13 (Op. 130). However, the Fugue was so demanding of contemporary performers and unpopular with audiences that Beethoven's publisher urged him to write a new finale for the string quartet. Beethoven, notorious for his stubborn personality and indifference to public opinion or taste, acquiesced to his publisher's request on this occasion and published the Fugue as a separate opus number, opus 133. He then wrote a finale that replaced the Fugue, which is considerably lighter in character, more akin to the other movements of the opus 130 quartet. Today, performances of the quartet include either the Fugue or its replacement movement.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grosse_fuge

This is my third video, after Pachelbel's Canon:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6wpPk8qk3uQ

and Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=WdLoTPUNtD0

I see you enjoy the pieces from your very lovely comments. It encourages me to upload more^^

BTW, this(the Fuge) is one of my favorites. I have first heard this piece in the movie "Copying Beethoven".
I enjoyed the movie very much, highly recommended. Really, one of the bests^^
Cast:
Diane Kruger -- Anna Holtz
Ed Harris -- Ludwig van Beethoven
Matthew Goode -- Martin Bauer
Phyllida Law -- Mother Canisius
Ralph Riach -- Wenzel Schlemmer

I hope you would enjoy this top class music! :)
You can download the wave file here:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=E4IDTFV4
(It's the full version..)
Have a nice day :P

Category:

Music

Tags:

• classical
• Ludwig
• Van
• Beethoven
• Grosse
• Fuge
• Große
• Violin
• Orchestra
• piece
• Op.
• 133
• Opus
• Composition
• Viola
• Violoncello
• Cello

[PacoPiernas]

this is amazing, i love this fugue, i think is the best of beethoven...just amaced...sublime!

[nmrd123987]

Completely agree!^^

[D4v1d800]

Very fancy music!and on the description of the video I acually learned something O.O

[nmrd123987]

Thank you

[SpyVi]

@maricahn And again, this IS a fugue, and it HAS counterpoint. It is not the baroque style counterpoint, but counterpoint is, essensially, puting "point againts point", such an advanced studed would know that.

[develish16]

@maricahn once again, you are limiting the style of the fugue to the baroque style. whereas in reality, a fugue is as I told you before, i.e. the multi-voice playing of the theme. It is essentially a developed form of a canon and what you are referring to is a type of fugue which prevailed throughout the baroque period

[maricahn]

@develish16 @crosseneric @SpyVi

This is not a fugue, my point stands. A fugue has to have COUNTERPOINT and has not to be have the romantic shit "here up here soft here faster etc". It's an attempt to fugue, but with so much espression and lack of baroque resourcism that it becomes not a fugue. As a privileged and hard-working self-student of advanced counterpoint I can clearly see this is not a fugue and this is not even musically worthy as a fugue would be. Period.

[develish16]

@maricahn You are utterly stupid and musically ignorant... A fugue is any piece of music in which you would have 2 or more voices playing in a parallel manner, i.e. the first voice plays the theme then the second voice follows in the next few measures and plays the theme again and so on... SO THIS IS DEFINITELY A FUGUE !!!

[crosseneric]

@maricahn okay man please dont post a comment with out proper knowledge on the subject. True this is not a common fugue but it has everything required of a fugue. He did this on perpose so we can understand how vastly stretched and twisted he was feeling at the time with his nephew Carl trying to commit suicied and such. He took the idea and rules of a fugue (his life) and messed with it as much as he could (to symbolize what he was feeling) but still keeping it a fugue

[tediiiiiiiiiiii]

I dont see how someone can dislike a piece like this?! I have no fucking idea how Beethoven has come with this idea and what was in his head. Admire him!

[LvBnumber1]

love it very nice <3

[SpyVi]

@maricahn ...this IS a fugue. It doesn't matter if you thing it's ugly, it's still a fugue. Surely it's way off baroque's sense of beauty and music. Try listening carefully or with the sheet music to follow along and you will make out everything-voices, themes etc. As I see it, this actually has emotion, it bears meaning. Bachs fugues, for example in the WTC, are more like "music for music", they are a grand play between themes, but not much emotion coming out of it. I still like them though :P

[S0NNABEND]

Beethoven himselfe named this a fugue!

[maricahn]

Guys, seriously, THIS IS NOT A FUGUE.

Bach fugues are fugues, this is other different thing.