if you have never heard such a thing before of course you should give yourself the gift of Quartet No. 13, Op. 130, which contains the Große Fuge. If you know it then you already know and you're done for. If you aren't usually a string quartet listener and aren't sure you'll be into it, give the first minute a shot up through when they just SAW AT IT and open up a big hole in your heart and go back to something dainty and quiet. then try skipping ahead to the 2nd movement at 10:07 and try and tell me you aren't turning your headphones up to get that shit packed more tightly into your mind.
my cellist brother told me to work up to the fugue, it is an absolutely monstrous piece of music. No. 10 Op 74. is a lot of fun. i use No. 16. Op. 135, the 4th movement when i have taught about auditory fusion and harmonic resolution and some non-music students said they didn't know string quartets could be fun to listen to before that.
i think the fugue might appeal to people more interested in noise music and metal than average, it is notoriously hard to play because it asks you to do stuff with string instruments that you usually aren't supposed to do. the instruments feel pain at points, the musicians definitely do, it gets claustrophobic and it's a bit of a clusterfuck but it also feels like a cavern of needles in my mind and through all the holes pours the absolute wonder of what can exist in this world
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkwaVH06flA
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