3 Facts About Beethoven’s Grosse Fuge and Its Publisher

The Grosse Fuge was originally the finale of Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 13, Op. 130. Beethoven’s publisher convinced him to replace it with a new finale.

The fugue was then published separately as a standalone work, Op. 133. This made it one of the few Beethoven pieces to be removed from its original context by publisher pressure.

The replacement finale is shorter and less demanding than the Grosse Fuge. Many modern performances still include the original fugue as the quartet’s finale, despite the publisher’s change.