String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135

E1006602

String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135 is Ludwig van Beethoven’s final string quartet, noted for its concise form, introspective character, and the enigmatic “Muss es sein?” (“Must it be?”) motif in its last movement.

All labels observed (2)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf chamber music composition ⓘ
string quartet ⓘ
approximateCompositionYear 1826 ⓘ
approximateDuration 22–25 minutes ⓘ
associatedLanguage German ⓘ
associatedQuestion “Must it be?” ⓘ
belongsToCycle Beethoven string quartets ⓘ
belongsToSubgroup Beethoven late string quartets ⓘ
catalogueNumber Op. 135 ⓘ
composer Ludwig van Beethoven ⓘ
containsMotif “Muss es sein?” ⓘ
“Must it be?” ⓘ
followsWork Große Fuge, Op. 133 ⓘ
String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132 ⓘ
genre classical music ⓘ
string quartet ⓘ
hasForm four-movement classical cycle ⓘ
hasNickname “Muss es sein?” quartet ⓘ
historicalSignificance Beethoven’s last completed major work for chamber ensemble ⓘ
instrumentation cello ⓘ
two violins ⓘ
viola ⓘ
isAmong Beethoven’s late string quartets ⓘ
isFinalWorkInCategory Beethoven’s last string quartet ⓘ
key F major ⓘ
languageOfTitle German ⓘ
lastMovementFeature enigmatic “Muss es sein?” motif ⓘ
movement I. Allegretto ⓘ
II. Vivace ⓘ
III. Lento assai, cantante e tranquillo ⓘ
IV. Grave, ma non troppo tratto – Allegro ⓘ
movementCount 4 ⓘ
notedFor concise form ⓘ
introspective character ⓘ
philosophical character ⓘ
use of the motif “Muss es sein?” ⓘ
numberInSeries 16 ⓘ
opusNumber Op. 135 ⓘ
period Late Beethoven ⓘ
placeInComposerOutput one of Beethoven’s last completed works ⓘ
questionAnswerMotif “Muss es sein? – Es muss sein!” ⓘ
requiresEnsemble string quartet ⓘ
scoring string quartet ⓘ
style early Romantic ⓘ
late Classical ⓘ
titleLanguage German ⓘ
tonalCenter F major ⓘ
typicalPerformanceContext chamber music recital ⓘ
concert hall ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Beethoven string quartets → includes → String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135 ⓘ
String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132 → followedBy → String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135 ⓘ
Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 12 in E-flat major, Op. 127 → relatedWork → Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135 ⓘ
linked to: String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135
works of Ludwig van Beethoven → includesWork → String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135 ⓘ