String Quartet No. 4 (Beethoven)

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Beethoven's String Quartet No. 4 in C minor, Op. 18, No. 4, was written in Vienna between 1798 and 1800 and published in 1801. It is part of the Op. 18 set, which is dedicated to Joseph Franz von Lobkowitz. This quartet is the only one in Op. 18 written in a minor key, and its mood is intense and dramatic, like other C minor Beethoven works such as the Pathetique Sonata and the Fifth Symphony.

There are no surviving drafts for this quartet, which makes its early history uncertain. Some scholars think it may be the last quartet Beethoven wrote for Op. 18.

Movements:
- First movement: a serious, dramatic sonata-form movement.
- Second movement: a lively scherzo with strong counterpoint (a fugal feel), not a slow movement.
- Third movement: a minuet with trio, with a serious character; the trio features a shift in how the melodies are spread among the instruments.
- Fourth movement: a rondo finale that revisits the main theme, ending with a fast, bold coda and frequent shifts between C minor and C major.

Overall, the quartet showcases Beethoven’s counterpoint and the lively, interwoven dialogue of the four instruments within a compact four-movement structure.