Despite some inevitable signs of immaturity, these early piano quartets contain much attractive music, and Beethoven himself thought highly enough of some of the ideas in the C major Quartet to use them again, with little alteration, in his set of three piano Sonatas Op.2. Two passages from the opening movement reappear in the first movement of the C major Sonata Op.2 No.3, and the initial theme of the slow movement is reproduced at the start of the Adagio from the F minor Sonata Op.2 No.1. Ferdinand Ries incorrectly doubted the authenticity of these works as he considered that Beethoven 'could not have hashed up his sonatas from old themes'. The finale of Beethoven's C major Quartet follows the outline of the rondo from Mozart's Violin Sonata in the same key, K.296, and the material of their central A minor episode is remarkably similar.
1. Allegro vivace
2. Adagio con espressione
3. Rondo: Allegro
Christoph Eschenbach, фортепиано
Norbert Brainin, скрипка (Амадеус-квартет)
Peter Schidlof, альт (Амадеус-квартет)
Martin Lovett, виолончель (Амадеус-квартет)