Beethoven for Yom Kippur?

Somehow, in my 40-plus-year passion for classical music, I have never before stumbled across this theory. But now that I know, it’s definitely out there. A Google search turns up plenty.

There are those who speculate that Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp Minor, Op. 131, contains a quotation from the Yom Kippur melody “Kol Nidre.” It’s certainly possible.

When the first Reform synagogue opened in Vienna in 1825, the theory posits, Beethoven was approached to supply a cantata. He never committed, though it appears he did devote some time to the study of Jewish music. However, by 1825, he was already stone deaf.

It’s also been speculated that, as a younger man, in Bonn, he happened to be sweet on Rachel Levin, the daughter of a wealthy jeweler, who traveled in artistic circles. The two met in Teplitz at a gathering of poets, musicians, and intellectuals. Levin’s parents were opposed to Beethoven pursuing a relationship. Levin would distinguish herself as a radical thinker, gaining notoriety for her rejection of bourgeois values. Ironically, she later converted to Christianity to marry the biographer Karl August Varnhagen von Ense. Was Beethoven looking back, perhaps still carrying the torch?

The melody of “Kol Nidre” was first written down in Berlin in the 18th century, but its origins reach back deep into the Middle Ages, perhaps earlier. Legend has it that the tune has remained unchanged since Moses climbed down from Sinai.

The alleged quotation appears in the sixth movement of Beethoven’s quartet. I’m not sure I’m entirely convinced. If it is indeed true, which would be very cool, I wish that the composer would have gone for broke, à la Max Bruch, rather than simply feinting at the melody.

Yom Kippur begins at sundown. The Day of Atonement marks the culmination of the Jewish High Holy Days, ten days of awe and repentance. Observed with fasting and prayer, it is the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.

Beethoven, String Quartet No. 14, Movt. VI: Adagio quasi un poco andante (1826)

Max Bruch, “Kol Nidrei” (1880)

Jacob Weinberg, String Quartet No. 2, Movt. II: “Yom Kippur” (1950)

Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek, “Symphonic Variations on Kol Nidre” (1929)

Part I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKA30FrX4jU
Part II https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF_B66dAS04

Arnold Schoenberg, “Kol Nidre” (1938)