Beethoven was sitting in a bar after the 1826 premiere of his String Quartet No. 13 when some buddies sat down next to him.
The final movement, the Fuge, was a little hard to digest, they told the maverick German composer, who had spent his entire career upending conventional wisdom in his compositions. The friends suggested he might want to reconsider and rewrite the ending. Reluctantly, and largely because of pressure from his publisher, he agreed and recast the finale. The Fuge, clocking in at 20 minutes, then became a work unto itself called the “Grosse Fuge.”
OK, so Shanghai Quartet cellist Nicholas Tzavaras might be taking literary liberties in the retelling of Beethoven’s decision, but on Thursday, Feb. 13, he and his quartet will perform the Fuge as part of an all-Beethoven quartet program with Arizona Friends of Chamber Music.
“We’re looking forward to it,” Tzavares said. “It’s very exciting. I love Tucson.”
This is the quartet’s first Tucson concert since it was here as part of the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music’s winter festival in 2013. They are among several quartets on the Friends’ 2019-20 season performing Beethoven’s string quartets.
Each ensemble was invited to perform two concerts of Beethoven quartets to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth.
The Shanghai Quartet kicks off their turn on Wednesday, Feb. 12, with three works that Tzavares said showcases Beethoven’s composing life, from his early “String Quartet No. 3” in D major to the 12 in E-flat major.
On Thursday, they return with the No. 7 in F major and the infamous 13 in B-flat Major that spun off the Grosse Fuge.
“It’s an amazing piece, but it’s challenging,” said Tzavares, who has been with the quartet since 2000.
The Tucson programs were curated largely by Arizona Friends, which wanted to ensure that by season’s end in April, Tucson will have experienced all 16½ Beethoven string quartets.
Sixteen-and-a-half?
Yep, Tzavares said. The Gross Fuge is regarded as not quite a quartet but since it was spun off the 13th quartet it’s often referred to as a half quartet.
Tzavares said his group, which has been based in the United States since 1985, is playing a lot of Beethoven this year as part of the worldwide birthday celebration.
“If I had to pick a composer who I had to listen to and that was it, it would be Beethoven. He’s a genius and his music is so remarkable. He is just brilliant and his string quartets are unbelievable,” he said.
The Shanghai Quartet had planned to perform Beethoven quartets in Hong Kong and Shanghai following their Tucson concerts.
But those events were canceled due to the Coronovirus outbreak that has become a worldwide health crisis.
The quartet also was forced to pull out of a Chinese recital tour in March because of the crisis.
