Ludwig van Beethoven completed his String Quartet No. 12 in E♭ major, Op. 127, in 1825. It is the first of his late quartets. Commissioned by Nicolas Galitzin over a year earlier, the work was not ready when it was scheduled to premiere. When it finally premiered by the Schuppanzigh Quartet, it was not well received. Only with subsequent performances by the Bohm Quartet and the Mayseder Quartet did it begin to gain public appreciation.

Ludwig van Beethoven's late string quartets are:Opus 127: String Quartet No. 12 in E♭ major (1825) Opus 130: String Quartet No. 13 in B♭ major (1825) Opus 131: String Quartet No. 14 in C♯ minor (1826) Opus 132: String Quartet No. 15 in A minor (1825) Opus 133: Große Fuge in B♭ major Opus 135: String Quartet No. 16 in F major (1826)