Although Beethoven did not live to see the publication of his String Quartets Op. 130 & Op. 133, he oversaw the production process, making corrections and putting the works into their final form.

The String Quartet Op. 130 is the longest piece within Beethoven's extensive chamber music oeuvre.Originally the Grose Fuge was meant to be the final movement of Op. 130.Beethoven's conversation books document the separation of the Grose Fuge from Op. 130, its replacement by a new finale and its assignment to a new opus number Op. 133.