String Quartet op. 130, in B-flat major / Grosse Fuge op. 133, in B-flat major

Album by Ludwig van Beethoven & Cleveland Quartet

String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat major, Op. 130, and the Grosse Fuge, Op. 133, are late works for string quartet by Ludwig van Beethoven, completed in 1826 with the Grosse Fuge published separately as Op. 133 in 1827. They exemplify Beethoven's late-period style through expansive, often discontinuous structures, dense contrapuntal writing, stark tonal contrasts and heightened rhythmic complexity, with the Grosse Fuge originally conceived as the quartet's finale and presenting an extended, highly polyphonic fugue that stands apart from conventional classical quartet practice.