Beethoven by Joseph Karl Stieler, 1820 Photo: Public Domain
Beethoven's 'Sextet for two horns and string quartet in E flat, Op 81b' was composed in 1795. There was a long delay between composition and publication of his two sextets, and it's thought that perhaps it was only in 1810, after having 'proven himself' as a composer of sonatas, string quartets, and symphonies that Beethoven considered that the publication of his sextets would not harm his reputation.
There are three movements and in the final rondo Beethoven seems to unite town and country worlds - the aristocratic intimacy of the string quartet contrasts with the horns' hunting call, evoking the mountains and forests so characteristic of German Romanticism.
Recorded 12 July 2020 in St Andrew's on The Terrace, Wellington by RNZ Concert
Producer: David McCaw
Engineer: Darryl Stack
