New Heroic Style

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Introduction Op.59 string quartets, composed by Beethoven, which consists of Op59 No.1 in F, Op59.No.2 in E minor and Op59.No.3 in C, are also known as the “Razumovsky” Quartets, which is named after their dedicatee, “a Russian ambassador to the court of Vienna, Count Andreas Kyrillovitch Razumovsky” (Lockwood 313). “They were completed toward the end of 1806 and were published in January 1808 as Opus 59” (Soloman 260). As compared to string quartets that were composed before the “new heroic period”, Op.59 string quartets, or “Razumovsky” Quartets reflects a broader range of expression in the genre of string quartets. The three string quartets that were composed during the early 19th century, according to Soloman, represent a continuation of the heroic impulses as Beethoven expanded the quartet form beyond its traditional eighteenth century boundaries to a point where one may label these quartets as “symphonic quartets” (Soloman 260). According to Taruskin, “the great majority of Beethoven’s works, to the end of the first decade of the new century, was marked by the new heroic style.” In this essay, i will examine the “new heroic style” and how it is a response to the times in which he lived. In the second part of this essay, I will also attempt to evaluate the ways in which the quartets (Op.59) can be considered a “product” of the times using the discussion of forms, part writing, texture and other musical elements. The “New Heroic Style” The“New Heroic Style” is often associated with Beethoven in his middle period, which begins in the year 1802 and runs through to about 1812. It is a new musical approach and new compositional style that Beethoven developed in his writing of music in the “Heroic period”, which was during the start of the 19th century as Beethoven “was eager to test his abilities in the larger, more popular forms and to reach

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