Beethoven's Mozart Quartet

Abstract

The literary critic Harold Bloom coined the term "anxiety of influence" to cover stages in the emancipation of poets from their powerful forebears. Much has been written on the shadow cast by Beethoven over later nineteenth-century composers, but Beethoven too had to come to terms with powerful influences. It has long been recognized that the slow movement of Beethoven's String Quartet, op. 18, no. 5, is modeled on that of Mozart's String Quartet in A major, K. 464. Here it is shown that in fact, the imitation involves not only the slow movement but all four of the movements. This provides an opportunity to examine in detail Beethoven's technique of reinterpreting his model. Indeed an examination of Beethoven's "anxiety" at different stages of his career may lead us to a closer understanding of his creative development. Toward the end of his life Beethoven imitated one of the movements from K. 464 again. Here may be seen the final stage in the confrontation of his anxiety.