String Quartet No. 12 (Beethoven)
Commissioned by Nicolas Galitzin over a year earlier, the work was not ready when it was scheduled to premiere.A cellist himself, Galitzin strove to play Beethoven's music, waiting impatiently for him to compose at whatever price he saw fit.[1] Galitzin's commission brought Beethoven back to composing in the string quartet genre after a 10-year absence, and suspended his financial woes.Beethoven replied to Galitzin on January 25, 1823, requesting 50 ducats for three quartets: Opp.Each of its bars stresses a rising step until ultimately C is reached in the first violin with an elaborate trill leading to the Allegro.[4] The immense second movement, marked Adagio, ma no troppo e molto cantabile, is in the subdominant key of A♭ major.[6] The scherzo's trio is a Presto of a kind Beethoven did not use very often, though it is similar in sound and phrasing to some of his bagatelles from the contemporary Op.127's premiere was scheduled for a concert on January 23, 1825, but the quartet was still unfinished at this time.After the premiere, Schuppanzigh wrote to Beethoven saying he didn't want to present it until it was perfect.