The initial theme of the Allegro con brio, which Riezler described as “deep,” does not have a particularly distinct character, but it supports and drives the entire movement with logical essentiality, giving it its dynamic quality. The second theme, while melodically individual, is less effective. The Adagio affettuoso ed appassionato is the most expansive and poignant section of the entire Op. 18. According to a tradition traced back to Amenda, Beethoven is said to have been inspired by the Shakespearean scene of Juliet and Romeo at the tomb; an unused sketch titled Les derniers soupirs, which might refer to this idea, has been mentioned in this context. In the third movement, as usual, a small schematic phrase gradually enriches itself, developing melodically, harmonically, and instrumentally. The Trio is interesting, where the rhythmic pattern of the entrance — the notes struck in octaves fortissimo, suggesting a connection to certain passages from the first and last movements of the Eighth Symphony — is followed by a smooth figurative shift in tonality from the first violin, played softly and legato. In the Finale (Allegro), with its lively lightness, a typical feature is the unfolding of a kind of cantilena derived from a terminal element of the second theme, which is similar to another melody Beethoven would use not too long afterward.

We should not forget the detail of a brief cantabile counterpoint that adorns the theme in its final reprise, ascending from the cello to the viola and the violins. The first version of this quartet, which has been mentioned, remained largely unknown for a long time. In 1874, L. Nohl began discussing it in his work Beethoven, Liszt und Wagner. In 1904, the descendants of the Amenda family allowed the publication of a portion of the development of the first movement; later, the manuscript, which had passed to the Beethovenhaus, was transcribed into score and fully published by Hans Wedig. It presents numerous and varied differences from the final version, in which several measures were omitted or replaced, and dynamic and interpretative markings, harmonies, polyphonic elaborations, and instrumental arrangements were modified. The total number of measures in the first movement is 329, as opposed to the current 313; the finale has 376 measures instead of 381, and, among other things, the counterpoint mentioned earlier is missing, which had been inserted into the theme in its last repetition. The title commonly given to it, Quartetto dei complimenti, reflects its character, provided one avoids falling into banal descriptivism. Grace and musical gestures not without a certain ceremonious polish, and everywhere a touch of humor: the jovial rusticity of Haydn, the salon elegance of Mozart, reinterpreted through the spirit of a new artist. The character of the Allegro reveals itself in this sense right from the start. The transition to the reprise, joyfully ascending in rhythm and harmony from the cello to the violas and violins, has a broad, pastoral feel. The gravity of the Adagio cantabile, which opens the second movement and seems to announce an expansive meditative section, is soon disproven, in a slightly burlesque way, by the Allegro in F major, which turns its respectful terminal figures toward a different course. A return of the Adagio brings back the solemn expression, to which even the burlesque seems to eventually submit itself peacefully. The Scherzo plays on the basis of a little theme that whirls about in the manner of the one in the Second Piano Sonata Op. 2. In the Trio, a figure of movement intertwines around the grim thematic seed, eventually linking it back naturally to the reprise of the first part. An interesting comparison can be made with the corresponding section of Mozart’s Quartet K. 499. In the Finale (Allegro molto quasi presto), which evokes the spirit of Haydn, one could say that the “compliment” has moved from the drawing rooms to the town squares, and even a bit to the suburbs and countryside. The rhythmic and harmonic expansion at the end of the first part enriches the energy of the cadences with a tumultuous succession and intertwining of figures, like a rustic dance at the height of animation.

The first in the chronological order, it is considered, in some respects (for example, for the prominent role of the first violin), the most respectful of tradition. The Allegro is rich in ideas, and the very entrance of the opening theme, on a dominant cadence instead of the tonic, departs from the more common practice, in a manner similar to what had already been done, on a larger scale, in the First Symphony. The almost austere character of the Andante con moto is sweetened episodically in the melodic ornamentation and the elegant interplay (see the staccatos of the second theme); however, its character remains more rooted in the realm of formal elaboration than in expressive depth. In the Allegro that constitutes the third movement, one can notice the slightly melancholic melodiousness of the first two sections (similar to the corresponding part of the Piano Sonata Op. 10 No. 3) and, in the Trio, the transition to the reprise with the unfolding of the cadential chord, suspended in detached ascending notes in the first violin and then descending in the pizzicati of the viola and cello. In the final Presto, we might detect figures and gestures of a saltarello or tarantella; however, Frimmel cites the Mozartian model of the Sonata with Fugue for piano and violin K. 402, and D’Indy finds the character of Bach’s old gigues. We can also observe the process of dissolution, followed by a sudden, new formation of the theme in the reprise; even more so, in the conclusion, the dispersion of both rhythm and the phrase itself, already full of animation.

It occupies a unique place in the series, not only because of the uncertainties surrounding the exact date of composition but also, and more importantly, due to the musical character of the pathetic element that dominates it, as in other Beethoven works in the same key of C minor. This immediate emotional accessibility contributed to its great success, although Beethoven, as with the Septet, seems not to have shown excessive satisfaction with it. The two main themes of the Allegro are complete, in both form and meaning, from the very first presentation: one in the aforementioned pathetic sense, and the second, in E-flat major, as its ideological complement. Also characteristic are certain passages of rhythmically repeated chords, occurring several times as typical figures of suspensive cadences or linking gestures. The Coda can be compared to the more impetuous ones found in the Piano and Violin Sonata Op. 31 No. 2 and the Fifth Symphony (first movement).

The Andante scherzoso quasi Allegretto, titled Scherzo, which replaces the usual slow second movement (while the third movement is a Minuet), is, like the one in the First Symphony, a rhythmic and melodic intertwining of light contrapuntal lines. The Minuet returns, with a greater variety of tonal colors, to the atmosphere of C minor. In contrast, there is nothing pathetic in the Trio in A-flat, with the alternating motif between the second violin on one side and the viola and cello in octaves on the other, under a typical arpeggiated accompaniment (each note struck in triplets) by the first violin. The resemblance of the refrain in the Final Rondo (Allegro) to that of the Pathetique Sonata is obvious; however, beyond this and the analogy with a few other formal elements, the two pieces are close due to a general affinity of spirit, despite the fact that the first appears more impetuous and the second is developed with greater refinement.

For Schering, this quartet was inspired by Euripides’ Medea. The protagonist, consumed by her desire for revenge against the unfaithful Jason, considers abducting and killing their children, who are also her own.

First movement: Despair and inner torment — Second movement: The children, their innocence; Medea’s emotion, farewell to the children — Third movement: Return of the fixed idea; struggle against tender feelings; delicate emotions thinking of the children — Fourth movement: The fury of Medea’s vengeful feelings. Hesitation, decision, frenzy. The children are killed.

In the enthusiasm with which it is introduced, the Allegro already reveals its joyful spirit. From this same perspective, we can observe the tonal formation and progression of the second theme, which reaches E major (a regular dominant key, where it then expands) from darker tonalities (E minor, G major), much like light making its way through a shadowed area. The title Minuetto at the beginning of the second movement is well-suited for the grace that blossoms from the intertwining of the violins, later expanding to the whole quartet and continuing in aspects of a Ländler. However, a rough imprint is marked in the middle of its course by a crescendo of rhythmically repeated notes, which are then abruptly halted on a fortissimo by a measure’s rest.

In the peaceful Trio, which maintains the character of the Ländler, Helm finds the melodic type of the Variations from the Piano Sonata Op. 26 and the third movement of the Trio in E-flat Major Op. 70 No. 2. It also recalls a Haydnesque theme that D’Indy has frequently discussed in reference to other Beethoven works. The theme of the Andante cantabile (a fragment of the D major scale within the interval of a sixth, modulating to the dominant and then, with a brief transition, repeated and concluded in the tonic) is developed in five variations, which (except for the second, entrusted to the first violin and following the old model of a soloistic display) are among the most interesting pages of the entire Op. 18. One only needs to think of the instrumental crescendo effect in the first variation, with the gradual overlap of imitations from the cello to the first violin; the murmuring of the divided violins (the “rustling of the forest,” as Wagner would put it?) in the third variation, based on the melodic hints from the cello and viola that “allude” to the theme without stating it outright; the harmonization in the fourth variation; the noisy movement mechanism of the fifth variation on the trills of the first violin, which made Bekker fantasize about Kermesse and student parties.

The Coda, developed on the theme in counterpoint, picks up its motif linearly at the end, concluding — like the Mozartian model — in the spirit of its original simplicity. The final Allegro has been particularly criticized for its lack of originality, especially for a theme of broad harmonies shared by all four instruments, introduced in the middle of the festive animation as a sudden call to gravity, resembling, as De Marliave put it, “deep organ chords in the midst of a celebration.” Its similarity to that theme — which is more melodically fluid in itself — featured in the development section of the Mozartian movement is undeniable, also for the way it is gradually absorbed back into the dominant movement. One can only note that while in Mozart this episode represents merely a happily poetic moment in the development, preluding the reprise, in Beethoven it constitutes the second thematic element, thus becoming an integral part of the exposition, surfacing in noticeable fragments during the development, and reappearing entirely with the usual transpositions in the reprise. In doing so, it fulfills an essential role, both in form and expression, within the overall structure.

It can be added that similar types of choral-like themes, more or less emphasized, developed and expressive, also appear in earlier Beethovenian works: the finales of the Pathetique Sonata (to which this one particularly resembles), the Septet, the Piano Trio in B-flat Major Op. 11 No. 3, and even some years later, like the first and last movements of the Kreutzer Sonata for piano and violin.