6 String Quartets, op. 18
Ludwig van Beethoven's Op. 18, published in 1801 by T. Mollo et Comp in Vienna in two books of three quartets each, comprised his first six string quartets. They were composed between 1798 and 1800 to fulfill a commission for Prince Joseph Franz Maximilian Lobkowitz, who was the employer of Beethoven's friend, the violinist Karl Amenda. They are thought to demonstrate his total mastery of the classical string quartet as developed by Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The order of publication (numbering within the opus) does not correspond to the order of composition. Beethoven composed these quartets in the sequence 3, 1, 2, 5, 4, 6. See:
String Quartet No. 1 in F major
String Quartet No. 2 in G major
String Quartet No. 3 in D major
String Quartet No. 4 in C minor
String Quartet No. 5 in A major
String Quartet No. 6 in B♭ major
Movements
- String Quartet no. 1 in F major, op. 18 no. 1: String Quartet no. 1 in F major, op. 18 no. 1: I. Allegro con brio
- String Quartet no. 1 in F major, op. 18 no. 1: String Quartet no. 1 in F major, op. 18 no. 1: II. Adagio affettuoso ed appassionato
- String Quartet no. 1 in F major, op. 18 no. 1: String Quartet no. 1 in F major, op. 18 no. 1: III. Scherzo. Allegro molto
- String Quartet no. 1 in F major, op. 18 no. 1: String Quartet no. 1 in F major, op. 18 no. 1: IV. Allegro
- String Quartet no. 2 in G major, op. 18 no. 2: String Quartet no. 2 in G major, op. 18 no. 2: I. Allegro
- String Quartet no. 2 in G major, op. 18 no. 2: String Quartet no. 2 in G major, op. 18 no. 2: II. Adagio cantabile - Allegro - Tempo I
- String Quartet no. 2 in G major, op. 18 no. 2: String Quartet no. 2 in G major, op. 18 no. 2: III. Scherzo. Allegro
- String Quartet no. 2 in G major, op. 18 no. 2: String Quartet no. 2 in G major, op. 18 no. 2: IV. Allegro molto, quasi Presto
- String Quartet no. 3 in D major, op. 18 no. 3: String Quartet no. 3 in D major, op. 18 no. 3: I. Allegro
- String Quartet no. 3 in D major, op. 18 no. 3: String Quartet no. 3 in D major, op. 18 no. 3: II. Andante con moto
- String Quartet no. 3 in D major, op. 18 no. 3: String Quartet no. 3 in D major, op. 18 no. 3: III. Allegro
- String Quartet no. 3 in D major, op. 18 no. 3: String Quartet no. 3 in D major, op. 18 no. 3: IV. Presto
- Quartet for 2 Violins, Viola, Cello no. 4 in C minor, op. 18 no. 4: Quartet for 2 Violins, Viola, Cello no. 4 in C minor, op. 18 no. 4: I. Allegro ma non tanto
- Quartet for 2 Violins, Viola, Cello no. 4 in C minor, op. 18 no. 4: Quartet for 2 Violins, Viola, Cello no. 4 in C minor, op. 18 no. 4: II. Andante scherzoso quasi allegretto
- Quartet for 2 Violins, Viola, Cello no. 4 in C minor, op. 18 no. 4: Quartet for 2 Violins, Viola, Cello no. 4 in C minor, op. 18 no. 4: III. Menuetto. Allegretto
- Quartet for 2 Violins, Viola, Cello no. 4 in C minor, op. 18 no. 4: Quartet for 2 Violins, Viola, Cello no. 4 in C minor, op. 18 no. 4: IV. Allegro - Prestissimo
- Quartet for 2 Violins, Viola, Cello no. 5 in A major, op. 18 no. 5: Quartet for 2 Violins, Viola, Cello no. 5 in A major, op. 18 no. 5: I. Allegro
- Quartet for 2 Violins, Viola, Cello no. 5 in A major, op. 18 no. 5: Quartet for 2 Violins, Viola, Cello no. 5 in A major, op. 18 no. 5: II. Menuetto
- Quartet for 2 Violins, Viola, Cello no. 5 in A major, op. 18 no. 5: Quartet for 2 Violins, Viola, Cello no. 5 in A major, op. 18 no. 5: III. Andante cantabile
- Quartet for 2 Violins, Viola, Cello no. 5 in A major, op. 18 no. 5: Quartet for 2 Violins, Viola, Cello no. 5 in A major, op. 18 no. 5: IV. Allegro
- Quartet for 2 Violins, Viola, Cello no. 6 in B-flat major, op. 18 no. 6: Quartet for 2 Violins, Viola, Cello no. 6 in B-flat major, op. 18 no. 6: I. Allegro con brio
- Quartet for 2 Violins, Viola, Cello no. 6 in B-flat major, op. 18 no. 6: Quartet for 2 Violins, Viola, Cello no. 6 in B-flat major, op. 18 no. 6: II. Adagio ma non troppo
- Quartet for 2 Violins, Viola, Cello no. 6 in B-flat major, op. 18 no. 6: Quartet for 2 Violins, Viola, Cello no. 6 in B-flat major, op. 18 no. 6: III. Scherzo. Allegro
- Quartet for 2 Violins, Viola, Cello no. 6 in B-flat major, op. 18 no. 6: Quartet for 2 Violins, Viola, Cello no. 6 in B-flat major, op. 18 no. 6: IV. Adagio "La malinconia" - Allegretto quasi allegro

