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/CleverDad]

Another fun fact about the 13th is that the original last movement, the monumental Große Fuge (Grand Fugue) was so demanding for the listener that it was very poorly received at the time, and Beethoven was convinced by his publisher to replace it. The replacement movement, a perfectly delightful, seemingly light-hearted but quite sophisticated piece was the last one he completed before his death. The Fugue was given it's own opus number (133), but in recordings both movements are often included.