Beethoven completes String Quartet No. 14, Op. 131

Background. Beethoven's late period (1812–1827) included innovative works, with his late string quartets considered pinnacles of the genre. The String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 131, was completed in 1826. It was the last-composed of a trio of string quartets, written in the order Opp. 132, 130, and 131. Beethoven regarded this quartet as his favorite among the late quartets.

Composition. Beethoven turned to writing string quartets for Galitzin despite failing health. The first, String Quartet No. 12, premiered in March 1825. While writing the next, String Quartet No. 15, in April 1825, he was struck by sudden illness. The completion of Op. 131 occurred in 1826, following the composition of Opp. 132 and 130.

Reception. Beethoven remarked to a friend that he would find "a new manner of part-writing and, thank God, less lack of imagination than before." The work features a fugue containing the second tetrachord of the harmonic minor scale, the unifying motif of Beethoven's last string quartets. Joseph Kerman questioned whether the pianissimo sul ponticello writing in the scherzo was a sound Beethoven had heard or invented in 1826.