Overview
Beethoven composed these quartets in the sequence 12, 15, 13, 14, 16, with quartets 15 and 13 being written simultaneously. The first three of the quartets (numbers 12, 13 and 15) were commissioned in 1822 by Prince Nicholas Galitzin, who in a letter dated 9 November 1822 offered to pay Beethoven: "..what you think proper" for the three works. In his reply of 25 January 1823, Beethoven stated his price: 50 Ducats for each opus.
Read more about this topic: Late String Quartets (Beethoven)