Editing Fugue (section)

==== Beethoven ====
[[File:Beethoven Op 131.png|thumb|400px|Beethoven, Quartet in C{{music|sharp}} minor, Op. 131, opening fugal exposition. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlFYC1U5viw Listen]]]
[[Ludwig van Beethoven]] was familiar with fugal writing from childhood, as an important part of his training was playing from ''[[The Well-Tempered Clavier]]''. During his early career in [[Vienna]], Beethoven attracted notice for his performance of these fugues. There are fugal sections in Beethoven's early piano sonatas, and fugal writing is to be found in the second and fourth movements of the ''[[Symphony No. 3 (Beethoven)|Eroica Symphony]]'' (1805). Beethoven incorporated fugues in his sonatas, and reshaped the episode's purpose and compositional technique for later generations of composers.<ref>{{harvnb|Graves|1962|p=65}}</ref>

Nevertheless, fugues did not take on a truly central role in Beethoven's work until his late period. The finale of Beethoven's [[Piano Sonata No. 29 (Beethoven)|''Hammerklavier'' Sonata]] contains a fugue, which was practically unperformed until the late 19th century, due to its tremendous technical difficulty and length. The last movement of his [[Cello Sonatas Nos. 4 and 5 (Beethoven)#Sonata No. 5.2C Op. 102.2C No. 2|Cello Sonata, Op. 102 No. 2]] is a fugue, and there are fugal passages in the last movements of his Piano Sonatas in [[Piano Sonata No. 28 (Beethoven)|A major, Op. 101]] and [[Piano Sonata No. 31 (Beethoven)|A{{music|flat}} major Op. 110]]. According to [[Charles Rosen]], "With the finale of 110, Beethoven re-conceived the significance of the most traditional elements of fugue writing."<ref>[[Charles Rosen|Rosen, Charles]] (1971) ''[[The Classical Style]]'', p. 501. London, Faber.</ref>

Fugal passages are also found in the ''[[Missa Solemnis (Beethoven)|Missa Solemnis]]'' and all movements of the [[Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)|Ninth Symphony]], except the third. A massive, dissonant fugue forms the finale of his [[String Quartet No. 13 (Beethoven)|String Quartet, Op. 130]] (1825); the latter was later published separately as Op. 133, the ''[[Große Fuge]]'' ("Great Fugue"). However, it is the fugue that opens Beethoven's [[String Quartet No. 14 (Beethoven)|String Quartet in C{{music|sharp}} minor, Op. 131]] that several commentators regard as one of the composer's greatest achievements. [[Joseph Kerman]] (1966, p.&nbsp;330) calls it "this most moving of all fugues".<ref>[[Joseph Kerman|Kerman, Joseph]] (1966), ''The Beethoven Quartets''. Oxford University Press</ref> [[J. W. N. Sullivan]] (1927, p.&nbsp;235) hears it as "the most superhuman piece of music that Beethoven has ever written."<ref>[[J. W. N. Sullivan|Sullivan, J. W. N.]] (1927) ''Beethoven''. London, Jonathan Cape</ref> [[Philip Radcliffe]] (1965, p.&nbsp;149) says "[a] bare description of its formal outline can give but little idea of the extraordinary profundity of this fugue ."<ref>Radcliffe, P. (1965) ''Beethoven's String Quartets''. London, Hutchinson.</ref>