Composed in 1800 at the age of 30, this first set of quartets belongs to the same period as the great C minor Symphony, No. 5. The music of No. 1 is Mozartian in type, very charming, and the scoring is light and graceful. The _Adagio_ is very beautiful, and one can feel in it the future Beethoven. Indeed we almost arrive at maturity in the episode in D flat in the _Finale_, where Beethoven uses the melody which he again took up in his ballet "The Men of Prometheus" and in his Third Symphony. 2nd QUARTET, Opus 18, No. 2, in G. major. _Allegro--Adagio cantabile--Scherzo--Allegro molto quasi Presto._ This quartet is even more like Mozart and Haydn than No. 1, except for the fact that Beethoven keeps his music in rather higher registers. The _Adagio_ is not so Beethovenish as the slow movement of No. 1, but it contains an episode marked Allegro. The _Finale_ is full of spirit, but it is not the Beethoven in the "unbuttoned" mood of the later works. There is some effective work for the G string on the 1st Violin, for Paganini had already cast his glamour over Europe. 3rd QUARTET, Opus 18, No. 3, in D. _Allegro--Andante con moto--Allegro--Presto._ This beautiful quartet, composed a year later than the first two, already points to the maturity of the second period, especially in the first movement. The _Andante_ opens with a lovely melody for the 2nd Violin on the G string; restraint and broadness in playing should be the player's aim here. Parry refers to the fine balance of form in this Quartet in his article in Groves' Dictionary. The _Scherzo_ is here marked _Maggiore--Minore--Maggiore_. The _Presto_ is full of Beethoven spirit and handling, in one passage in particular, having spaciousness, which is such a striking feature in the final quartets. 4th QUARTET, Opus 18, No. 4, in C minor. _Allegro ma non tanto--Scherzo--Menuetto--Rondo._ Written in Beethoven's favourite key, C minor, this quartet is remarkable for its melodiousness. It has no slow movement and contains both a Scherzo and a Minuet, the former marked Andante Scherzoso quasi Allegretto and opening in a Fugato style reminiscent of the Andante of the First Symphony. Both this and the Minuet contain the characteristic Sforzandi, especially that on the third beat of triple time. The Prestissimo Coda brings the Finale to a powerful conclusion. 5th QUARTET, Opus 18, No. 5, in A. _Allegro--Minuet--Air and Variations--Allegro._ This quartet is chiefly remarkable for its lovely _Andante_ and set of variations on the beautiful theme which has all the natural feeling of a genuine folk-song. The first variation is _Fugato_; the second has sparkling triplets for the 1st violin; the third woodland murmurs, whilst the cellos and violas occupy themselves with the melody.