Enjoy one of Beethoven’s most important string quartets – his Op. 59 No. 1 in F Major – in the comfort of your own home via Livestream. Livestream details will be included in your event confirmation.

This piece was written in 1808 as the first of three string quartets commissioned by Prince Andrey Razumovsky, who was then the Russian ambassador to Vienna. It marks the beginning of Beethoven’s so-called “Middle Period.” The quartet demonstrates a marked expansion both in scope and incomplexity from his earlier works in the genre, the six string quartets published as Op. 18. Its expansive opening movement is followed by a lively Scherzo that likewise displays elements of sonata form. After a rather melancholic slow movement, the lively finale incorporates a Russian theme in tribute to the Prince who commissioned it. Beethoven selected the particular theme from a catalogue that Razumovsky supplied, and transformed it in a variety of ingenious ways during the course of the movement.

In honor of the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth, DSO Resident Program Notes author, Principal Horn Player Gary Greene, Ph.D., will share a few thoughts about the importance of Beethoven’s string quartets in music history.

This event is organized by the DuPage Symphony Orchestra in partnership with the Wheaton Public Library.