Today we highlight Ludwig van Beethoven’s String Quartet in C-sharp minor, Op. 131, focusing on its extraordinary first movement (Adagio ma non troppo e molto espressivo). Beethoven opens with a fugue subject stated alone by the first violin, a fragile and haunting line that soon unfolds into a deeply introspective contrapuntal dialogue. Each instrument enters in turn, weaving a web of imitation and inversion, creating one of the most profound fugues in chamber music. Far from a mere exercise in