This remarkable quartet, composed in 1809 and dedicated to the Prince Lobkovitz, is widely known under the title of the Harp Quartet on account of the remarkable pizzicato arpeggios in the opening Allegro. A short introduction is marked _sotto voce_. The _Allegro_ contains a brilliant cadenza for the Violin--Beethoven's only excursion into the virtuoso field in chamber music. The very beautiful _Adagio_ is Beethoven at his very best, whilst the _Presto Scherzo_ is curious in form, being arranged with varying _tempi_, thus, on the following plan:--_Presto_ C minor, _Più Presto-Trio_ C major, C minor, _Presto_ repeated, and again the C major, finishing with the C minor. This leads without break into a set of six variations: the second, notable for its lovely viola melody; and the sixth, organ-like in character over a cello pedal-point. 11th QUARTET, Opus 95, in F minor. _Allegro con brio--Allegretto ma non troppo--Allegro assai vivace ma serioso--Allegretto agitato._ This quartet is dedicated to Count Zmeskal, Beethoven's willing secretary and man of affairs. Here in this work which stands on the border line between Beethoven's second and third styles, we have the gruff and brooding Beethoven. The somewhat short opening movement is full of intense feeling. The _Allegretto_ is calm and religious, ethereal in tone and contains a fine fugato passage. The third movement, which takes the place of a _Scherzo_, is dark in feeling and pervaded with gloom. A short _Larghetto_ introduction leads into the _Finale_ agitated and restless in character, but ending with a brilliant gleam of sunshine. 12th QUARTET, Opus 127, in E flat. Dedicated to Count Nicolas von Galitzen. _Maestoso--Allegro--Adagio--Scherzando vivace--Finale._ Although probably published before his death, this quartet is generally classed with the posthumous ones which represent fully Beethoven's third style. Although all these quartets contain many orchestral effects, yet he never exceeds the limits of the true string quartet style. To say that string quartet writing is only an imperfectly filled-in sketch of orchestral idium is not correct; otherwise, when Beethoven had four instruments at his disposal, would he have written some of those spacious passages for three, or even two instruments only?