Ludwig van Beethoven Complete String Quartets

It is difficult to label Beethoven as primarily a symphonist, chamber music composer, or piano composer. Practically every ensemble and form he used he produced masterpieces that reflect not only the music he wrote, but the music he wrote within the ensemble he chose. His music does not transcribe well at all.

A music lover needs to be acquainted with pieces from each of the ensembles to have any kind of grasp on the monumental influence that Beethoven has had on western music. Perhaps a good beginning would be the piano sonatas, but the string quartets have to have a place also.

From the early quartets to the last quartets, the amount and variety of music in the quartet opus alone is astounding. Like the other genres he composed in, some of his best music is in the string quartets.

One of the best ways to get the most out of this music is to follow along in the score. It is a good way to learn to follow more than one staff of music at a time, and is a good primer that can lead to full orchestral score reading. And the music...incredible!

A ton of music, a pittance of a price. Serious music lovers, take the hint! Highly recommended!


Perhaps the best bargain in music ever...   June 15, 2002
 18 out of 19 found this review helpful

Not every Dover score is a gem; some are merely reprints of earlier editions complete with the typographical errors that didn't get caught the first time around. But this edition of Beethoven's complete string quartets is of excellent quality, and for the price it may well be the best bargain in music ever. The music is incredibly important--superb pieces by one of the most gifted people to ever live. That all the quartets are included allows the student of these works to trace Beethoven's stylistic development in a single volume from the early quartets rooted in the Classical tradition through those absolutely innovative late quartets, which combined Baroque contrapuntal and formal elements with Romantic harmonies and Beethoven's own unique sense of rhythm and drama. (In addition to the originally published version of the final quartet with the new final movement suggested by his publisher, the Grosse Fuge is included also.) I recommend to all my music students and especially my composition students that they get these pieces and study them throughout their lives. I can honestly say that I have learned more from these quartets than from any other, similar body of music literature by a single composer; and even as a composer of twenty-first century music I am continuously educated and inspired by them.


A MUST   May 19, 2000
 19 out of 20 found this review helpful

This edition of the Beethoven String Quartets is by far the best value. It is a must for any musician. The music is carefuly researched, clearly marked, and printed on high quality paper for many years of use. This Dover edition is like all of the other Dover scores, OUTSTANDING! I use my copy all of the time and could not live without it. Thanks Dover. Jeffrey Noel Lastrapes, The Lindsayan String Quartet