Feeling is at its height in the ‘German dance’ of the fourth movement, Alla danza tedesca. While the 3/8 time is constantly irrigated by three quavers in every part, Beethoven singles out the third of these, shortened to a semiquaver in the first violin, to differentiate the motif through its phrasing, suggestive of a kind of apnoea. Subsequently, this intermittent breathing, indicated by the rhythmic writing, communicates brief suspensions of the discourse that infiltrate the other instruments, giving the impression of imperceptible swoons brought on by a surfeit of sentiment. The effect is truly poignant in this movement, where Beethoven’s melodic gift, often reputed ungrateful, bursts forth in all its splendour, yielding nothing to the pure musicality of a Mozart or a Schubert, yet always retaining that architectural force, that builder’s spirit which cannot resist exploring the possibilities of such melodic material through variations that disrupt the rhythm with incredible syncopations. 45 QUATUOR YSAŸE
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