Quartet for 2 violins, viola, violoncello (B flat major) op. 130

The fifth movement of this string quartet has been on a journey through space since 1977. It is on a recording on board the Voyager II spacecraft and is intended to introduce life on Earth to aliens. No wonder, since this fifth movement was Ludwig van Beethoven's favourite piece. Allegedly, a friend of his witnessed the composition: "He really composed it with tears of melancholy ... and confessed to me that never before had his own music made such an impression on him ..."