Beethoven has been a lifelong source of inspiration for David Matthews, so it was natural for him to take a bagatelle by his hero as the starting point for his own monumental String Quartet No 11, a set of 13 variations, similar in scale to Beethoven’s late B flat Op 130 and C sharp minor Op 131 quartets. It’s a startling, broad work, travelling towards its blazingly optimistic finale via all manner of dance forms and even a touch of serialism, with a profound reworking of the cavatina from the Op 130 quartet at its core. It’s a tremendous achievement; revering Beethoven while taking him gently by the hand and leading him into the 21st century.
