Ignaz Schuppanzigh

Ignaz Schuppanzigh (20 July[1] 1776 – 2 March 1830) was an Austrian violinist and friend of Beethoven, and leader of Count Razumovsky's private string quartet.

Prior to Beethoven, the quartet repertoire could be performed successfully by either competent amateurs or professionals with few rehearsals.

These difficulties include synchronized complex runs played by two or more instruments together, cross-rhythms and hemiolas, and difficult harmonies that require special attention to intonation.

When informed that Schuppanzigh had complained about a particularly difficult passage, Beethoven is said to have remarked, "Does he really believe that I think about his silly fiddle when the muse strikes me to compose?"

[3] Beethoven often joked about his corpulence, referring to him as 'Milord Falstaff', a comment aimed at both his weight and his propensity for food, drink and carousing.