Who??
Karl Holz was second violin in the Schuppanzigh Quartet for the performances of the late quartets; he became both Beethoven’s copyist and his secretary for the final two years of the composer’s life.
He is significant for two main reasons: firstly, there are his reminiscences of working with the older Beethoven, and then – perhaps, more importantly – for having convinced (with the support of the publishers) the curmudgeonly composer that placing an enormous fugue as the finale of the third Galitzin quartet (Op. 130 in B-flat) was, after the previous five movements, too much for both the listening skills of the audience and the physical endurance of the string quartet. Beethoven begrudgingly saw the force of this argument and produced a less challenging end for the work.
These days it would seem that both audiences and quartets are made of sterner stuff; the piece is now often performed (as below) with its original fugal finale.
0:10 Adagio ma non troppo — Allegro
13:44 Presto
16:00 Andante con moto, ma non troppo. Poco scherzando
23:10 Alla danza tedesca. Allegro assai
26:48 Cavatina. Adagio molto espressivo
35:42 Grande Fugue
(long pauses between movements)
…and for those of you who prefer Beethoven’s substitute finale (which, incidentally, was the last music he ever wrote)…
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The Art of Listening 