Home / Music / Prince Nikolai Galitzin commissioned Beethoven's late string quartetsMusic linernotes album music alban-berg-quartetPrince Nikolai Galitzin commissioned Beethoven's late string quartetsPrince Nikolai Galitzin, a Russian aristocrat and amateur cellist, commissioned the first three of Beethoven’s late quartets by letter in November 1822. Search Amazon As an Amazon Associate, Work Notes may earn.Related NotesBeethoven's middle quartets are longer, bolder, and more complex than the Op. 18 setBartók's six string quartets span his entire careerBartók's 'night music' passages evoke insects and birds in the string quartets — nature as dissonanceBeethoven's Grosse Fuge was booted from its own quartet by the publisherBeethoven's Op. 74 is called the 'Harp' quartet for its pizzicato arpeggiosExploreNoisextra is Masonna, a central figure in JapanoiseBlow is Keren AnnCalling Elvis is Mark Knopfler, the Dire Straits frontmanFelt is Nils Frahm's solo piano albumGumshoe is Samantha Crain, an Oklahoma folk-rock singerPrevious Radiohead recorded OK Computer vocals in a mansion's stone entrance hallNext Portishead's Dummy won the Mercury Prize and sold 3.6 million copies