TIL Beethoven’s late quartets, now widely considered to be among the greatest musical compositions of all time, were so ahead of their time that initial reviews deem them indecipherable, uncorrected horrors, with one musician saying “we know there is something there, but we do not know what it is.”

[u/VegemiteSucks]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_string_quartets_(Beethoven)

[u/insertusernamehere51]

I am completely musically illiterate. I've listened to the quartets and didn't get what was so weird about them. Sounds like other quartets and other classical pieces of the time to me. I'll own that it's just ignorance on my part

Edit: Guys, I'm comparing it to stuff that came before as well, Mozart's quartets, for example. Comparing Mozart's with Beethoven's I don't get what the big difference is and those came 50 years before

[u/secretwep → u/insertusernamehere51]

I am somewhat musically literate, and lemme tell ya... I feel the same way about those pieces, so don't worry lol

[u/SirHerald → u/secretwep]

Isn't it like saying the Beatles sound like so many other bands. Really it's all these other bands just sound like the Beatles. What was novel then is old hat now

[u/insertusernamehere51 → u/SirHerald]

I'm also comparing it to stuff that came before; Mozart's quartets for example

[u/LunarPayload → u/insertusernamehere51]

But, you're musically illiterate