When Beethoven wrote the last notes of the alternative finale for his Op. 130 String Quartet in the autumn of 1826 – the original ‘Grosse Fuge’ had been deemed outlandishly difficult by audiences and critics – he could not possibly have imagined it would be the final piece of music he completed.
Soon after finishing it, the composer hitched a ride on awas immediately summoned when he arrived back at his apartment in Schwarzspanierstrasse.
