Beethoven for a Later Age: Living with the String Quartets

Warm and personable Pvtgripwd In this book Edward Dusinberre provides tremendous insight into the mind of a musician and the life of a string quartet. In the film "A Late Quartet," Christopher Walken describes the extraordinary complexity of performing Beethoven's Opus 131 string quartet. Beethoven demanded that the entire piece - seven movements - be played without pause. Inevitably, Walken's character explains, the instruments fall out of tune, forcing each musician to adapt his/her own playing to the demands of the instruments and the playing of the other musicians. In the film, this is a powerful metaphor for life and Dusinberre does a beautiful job. For String Quartet Fans Only To have the slightest interest in this book, you will have to be a string quartet addict If you qualify, it is unique.Ed Dusinberre is first violinist of the Tacacs Quartet, one of the world's elite groups. I am especially interested because I've had season tickets to the Tacacs for a few decades. Enthusiast warning!During those decades, I've mused on many questions. Quartets work together more closely than spouses. How does this work out? What does it do to a quartet when a member needs to be replaced? How do they rehearse? What do they think about as they prepare something as monumental as a late Beethoven? Why do they no. A very intimate story CessnaPilot95 I thoroughly enjoyed this book for its intimacy, which is one reason I love watching and listening to a string quartet in concert. I try as much as possible to sit close to the performers, and this book brought me even closer to these extraordinarily talented and accomplished musicians. The author cleverly intertwines his autobiographical perspective as first violinist of the Takacs Quartet with intriguing accounts of Beethoven's composition and early performances (and performers) of his string quartets. The book is filled with fascinating descriptions of people and events in Beethoven's life interspersed with deeply person

 Fascinating certainly to someone working in another artistic realm entirely.”  . “A richly detailed portrayal of the intimate workings of a great string quartet, in this case the magical Takács, as revealed to us through the recollections of its first violinist

In an accessible style, suitable for novices and chamber music enthusiasts alike, Dusinberre illuminates the variety and contradictions of Beethoven's quartets, which were composed against the turbulent backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars and their aftermath, and he brings the technical aspects of the music to life.Beethoven for a Later Age vividly shows that creative engagement with Beethoven’s radical and brilliant quartets continues to be as stimulating now as it was for its first performers and audiences. Beethoven’s sixteen string quartets are some of the most extraordinary and challenging pieces of music ever written. Originally composed and performed between 1798 and 1826, they have inspired artists of all kinds—not only musicians—and have been subject to endless reinterpretation. But what is it like to personally take up the challenge of these compositions, not only as a musician, but as a member of a quartet, where each player has ideas about style and expression? To answer this question, Edward Dusinberre, first violinist of the renowned Takács Quartet, offers a rare peek inside the workings of his ensemble, while providing an insightful history of the compositions and their performance.Founded in Hungary in 1975 and now based in Boulder,