The article is devoted to the outstanding Austrian violinist Rudolf Kolisch
(1896–1978) and his main theoretical work Tempo and Character in
Beethoven’s Music. The article highlights the main information about
Kolisch’s creative biography, his contacts with Schoenberg and the per-
forming priorities of the Kolisch Quartet, one of the leading chamber
ensembles of the fi rst half of the 20th century. The review of the Kolisch’s
research, whose criticism is focused on disputing false interpretations,
features of the author’s analytical method, and the main points of his con-
cept, such as the understanding of tempo as an integrative component of
the artistic idea (character), the principles of the tempo-characters typol-
ogy and Beethoven’s metronome readings as an objective criterion for its
tempo intentions.
Keywords: Kolisch, Schoenberg, the Kolisch-Quartet, Beethoven, Tempo and Character, metronome, performing traditions.
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