Page:Rolland - Beethoven, tr. Hull, 1927.pdf/219

 between Beethoven's second and third styles, we have the gruff and brooding Beethoven. The somewhat short opening movement is full of intense feeling. The Allegretto is calm and religious, ethereal in tone and contains a fine fugato passage. The third movement, which takes the place of a Scherzo, is dark in feeling and pervaded with gloom. A short Larghetto introduction leads into the Finale agitated and restless in character, but ending with a brilliant gleam of sunshine.

Although probably published before his death, this quartet is generally classed with the posthumous ones which represent fully Beethoven's third style. Although all these quartets contain many orchestral effects, yet he never exceeds the limits of the true string quartet style. To say that string quartet writing is only an imperfectly filled-in sketch of orchestral idium is not correct; otherwise, when Beethoven had four instruments at his disposal, would he have written some of those spacious passages for three, or even two instruments only?

The opening movement has a double subject—