Beethoven’s (1770-1827) String Quartet Op. 18 No. 6 in B Flat Major, opens with energy. The 2nd mvmt begins with a lyrical theme, soon replaced by melancholy, unanticipated accents and silences. The 3rd mvmt is a “tour de force” of syncopation. The 4th mvmt begins with brooding, bold harmonies and harsh dynamic contrasts, followed by a serene Allegretto, evoking a Viennese ballroom. The brooding may reflect B’s unhappiness over his recent deafness. B intended the Quartet Op. 95 in F Minor only for connoisseurs, since it employed compositional techniques then (1810) considered experimental, but which he used in his later works: shorter developments, use of silences, metric ambiguity, seemingly unrelated outbursts, and more freedom with tonality. The Quartet Op. 135 in F Major, composed in 1826, is B’s last substantial work. The 1st mvmt contains particles of motifs that don’t grow into regular themes. The Allegretto is dominated by fragments. The Lento has hymn-like chants. Under the introductory slow chords in the last mvmt, which B titled, “The Difficult Decision,” he wrote, “Must it be?” to which he responds, with the faster main theme of the mvmt, “It must be!”