Part III: Beethoven's Late Period - Music Beyond Space and Time

	The Emerson String Quartet with Bill McGlaughlin in the American Public Media studios.

Ludwig van Beethoven's music stands at the center of western culture, and his 16 string quartets make up the heart of that music. Over the next three weeks on Saint Paul Sunday, Bill McGlaughlin welcomes the world-renowned Emerson String Quartet as they guide us through Beethoven's astonishing string-quartet cycle.

Beethoven's late string quartets are among the most profound works in Western music, encompassing human life in all its conflict and joy. Join host Bill McGlaughlin and the Emerson String Quartet on Saint Paul Sunday for the third leg of our Beethoven journey - and discover just what makes these pieces so timeless.

As he entered the new century, Beethoven was a child of the Enlightenment, but he strode off along tangled path of Romanticism, a universe that prized mystery in place of reason, preferred darkness to light, and valued above all the passionate utterance of the individual. He is the emblem of the Romantic artist, and he makes us his companions on that journey. There is no clearer lens through which to view this journey than through the world of Beethoven's String Quartets.
- Bill McGlaughlin

This three-part series is accompanied by an extended Web feature, The Emerson Expedition, which explores the drama of Beethoven's musical development - his early, middle, and late years - and how his life reflected the changes taking place in 19th- century society. Bill McGlaughlin is your guide - and be sure to switch on the audio for some wonderful Beethoven as you browse.

About the Emerson String Quartet
Eugene Drucker, violin
Philip Setzer, violin
Lawrence Dutton, viola
David Finckel, cello

Web site: http://www.emersonquartet.com/

Musician Discography: Currently Available Releases

View photographs: photo 1 - photo 2