Beethoven: String Quartet No. 13, Opus 130, First Movement

Mariya Grigorova Delyakova, Mathematics and Computer Science, CC’21
When I first listened to the section, starting at 1:45, in Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 13, Op. 130, First Movement, (https://youtu.be/f7jpSN8BDug?t=105), I was immediately reminded of folklore dancing. For my presentation, I chose a visual media response that shows dancers dressed in Bulgarian costumes that are dancing a traditional folklore dance (starting at 1:30 https://youtu.be/zI1ouWP98bA?t=91). The fast tempo that begins at 1:45 in Beethoven’s, Op. 130, together with the quick quadruple meter, reminded me of the fast jump-like movements from folklore dancing, and I thought the Bulgarian dance fit very well with the musical piece. In the video we can see the brisk movements of the dancers – they move forth and back by rhythmically jumping from one foot to the other, they turn around, pass below each other’s hands, and overall we can see a lot of movement and energy. This can even start to feel a bit busy and chaotic, as the dancers move in all directions, interact with each other, and spin around, while constantly jumping. Because of that, I thought the dance aligned well with the lively disjunct melody starting at 1:45 in Beethoven’s Op. 130. Just like the melody, which ascends, and descends in wavelike contour, the dancers move everywhere. Lastly, the overall feeling conveyed by the melody is very positive, which is emphasized by the major mode. This is also reflected in the video, which displays the constantly smiling performers and their lively movements.