Pitch Interpretation and Cyclical Procedures in Middle Beethoven

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Pitch Interpretation and Cyclical Procedures in Middle-Period BeethovenAuthor(s): Barbara R. BarryReviewed work(s):Source: The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 76, No. 2 (Summer, 1992), pp. 184-215Published by: Oxford University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/742311 .

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PitchnterpretationndCyclicalProceduresnMiddle-PeriodeethovenBarbara.Barry

I amnot atisfiedithmy reviousorks;fromow n amgoingotake newway.Beethoven,td.nLudwiganBeethovenseben,byAlexanderheelockhayerWrittennthe utburstf reativenergyollowingheHeiligenstadtcrisis,heEroicaymphonyhows eethoven'snewway"withtrik-ingpowerndclarity.tmarksnextraordinarydvancencomposi-tional echnique,na work funprecedentedize,weight,ndcomplexity.roadnspanyet oncisenconstruction,hefirst ove-ment s ntegratedymeans f motivicetwork,lear-cutnrhyth-mic rticulationnd ong-rangentonalmplication.verall,hework hows newbreadthf onception,time rame orexpan-sive hanhadpreviouslyeen ttemptedy ny omposer,imselfincluded.empomarkingsremore xtremehan susual or itherHaydn rMozart--thelowmovements a funeral arch,dagioassai, he cherzollegroivace.As well s moredvancedntech-nique, heEroicas alsomoretronglyefinedncharacterhanBeethoven'sarlierymphonies,ndthisndividualtampf haracterdefinitions toprovidehemodel or istinctivedentitynsubsequentmiddle-periodorks.Withinhe verall ork,ndividual ovementsaremore efinednmelodic, armonic,ndtexturalrofile,ndmorepersonalnexpressiveange. hesefeatures--technicalastery,har-acter efinition,ndexpressiveange-becomeistinctivelementsfBeethoven'stylend anguageromhemiddleeriodn.

The Eroica SymphonyTradition nd innovation:n theEroica hey redialecticallyelatedandinextricablyinked.The symphonicrameworks bothretained

184


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Middle-Periodeethoven85

andreinterpreted--byhe xpandedimensionsf hefirst ovement;bynew onceptsfdevelopmentn thedevelopmentection ndcoda;and nthevariationormf hefinale,y he nterpenetrationoffuguenddevelopment.ettheEroica ialecticmay eseenfromtwo ointsfview: ither romhe tandpointftradition,rovidingtheknownackgroundgainst hichnnovationeaningfullydiverges;rfromnnovation,hich rovidesheforegroundlaywithandagainstlassical ormsf tructurendprocess.y xtendingtraditionalormalrocedures,eethovenadforgedwork fpower-ful oherencendexpressiveange; et ome f heEroica's ostinnovativeechniquesere otunique oBeethoven,utmay efoundn ateMozartndHaydn.However,eitheromposersedthese echniquesonsistently,ordothey ormefiningtyleharac-teristicss theywere o do inBeethoven;ather,heyppearsspe-cial nstancesfformalxplorationrdevelopmentalechniques.Beethoven,y ontrast,ntegrateshementrallynto he tylendsyntaxftheEroicandreplicateshemnothermajormiddle-periodworks-whichringss back o the newway."On one evel, heremarkabledvancesntheEroicalearlyormnewway y ompari-sonwith eethoven'sirstnd econdymphonies.tthe ametime--whetheronsciouslyrunconsciously--theewway choesHaydn'similarescriptionfhisop.33quartets,hichmarkedheoldermaster'significantdvancesncompositionalechnique.'Whilein hisearlier orks eethovenadvied or omparisonithHaydnnthemajor enreshatHaydn advirtuallyreated,2ith heEroicaBeethovenstablishesimselfecisivelynhisown newway."

Two oftheprincipalnnovativeechniqueseethovensed ntheEroica re trategicitch einterpretationndcyclicalrocedures.They perateespectivelyt the womain onstructionalevels f hework-the ntrastructuralevel,which efersoprime omponentsndtheirelationshipsithinhefirst ovement;ndthe nterstructurallevel,whichhows,hroughothmaterialndprocedure,he onnec-tion f alient irst-movementlementso othermovements,ostnotablyothefinale.At the ntrastructuralevel, he omponentsf hefirstubjectform"clusteromplex"fprimelements,uch smotiveells,rhythmic,armonic,ndpitch lements-thepitches ftennspecifictessituras. hilepresentn someearlierworks,uchas theStringQuartet, p. 18,no. 1, andthePianoTrio,op. 1, no. 3, from heEroica n thefirst-subjectomplex orms definingharacteristicfmiddle-periodorks. he elementsperate n differentevelsof struc-ture; omeare used n immediateuccession, hileothersetup


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186 TheMusicaluarterly

implicationsormedium-nd ong-rangeesolution.naddition,le-mentsmay unctionndifferentaysccordingo context-forxam-ple,as connectorsrtoarticulateections. heprimelementsnthefirstubject,irst ovementf heEroica,re inearizationf riadicshapes,nboth oregroundnd s accompanyingigures;3he elloC-sharpnmm. and8,which equiresoth roximatend ong-range esolution;heupperegister-A-flatppoggiaturand tsderivations;4ndtheG-minorarmonynm.9.While hedissonant-sharp ill learlyeseminal orong-range armonicction,heway hat tresolvest theproximateevelin m.9 isalsoof rucialmportanceor hemovement.he celloC-sharpnmm. and8 risesoD in m.9;markedy sforzando,tis harmonizedssecond nversionminor,ii6.Againsthe iedcelloD, thefirstiolinsmove pa semitonerom to A-flatn m.10,makingnimportantppoggiatura,-A-flat.he innerine,movingown rom toF,contributeso theV76harmonyn m.10.This nturn esolveso inthenextmeasurend s confirmedyV-Iat the ndof hephrase.Thesignificancef heG-minor easures not xplainedycriteriafresolutionor hedissonant-sharp.ntermsfvoice-leadingndharmonicrogression,heG-minor easuresfunction-ally xtraneous;hediminishedeventhnC-sharpould e resolvedonto hefirstnversion-dominanteventhnm.10,soretainingheupper-lineppoggiatura,-A-flat,nd lsothe nnerine,G-F, thusbypassing.9. But pparentedundancysnot ctual edundancy.The inclusionfG minoruggestsnotherind fperspectivehantheunilinearirectionfharmonicrogression;ather,he ignificantcomponentsremappednto structural/temporalridnwhichheymay otbe used hronologically,utneverthelessreate heirwnintrinsicogic eferentially.5nderstatedt its nitialppearance,minor illhave rucial oles oplaynthemovement,nd ntheentire ork,oth s a harmonytsignificantunctures,ndalsowithinontextselatedo ts nitialppearance.heG-minorompo-nentnthefirstubject ields connectedroupf mplicationsepre-sentedy hefollowingchemata:1. asG minoriiior ii6) nE-flat, ovingoV7 orV76),thenI as at the nitial ppearance--thissre-presentedntheimperativeesturet theopening fthefinale,nd also at thebeginningfthefinaleoda;2. with hepitch aspart f heG-minorarmony,einterpret-ingandtransforminghe eading otefunction;


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3. withG minormovingoE-flat,ormingheprimehird -E-flat,ithers theunderlyingontourf section,ras astronglyresentoregroundeatureas in the ellofirstub-ject,mm. -4).

The most recisenddetailedxamplef omplementaryap-ping etween ovementsan be traced etweenhe peningsfthefirst ovementndthefinale;6oth sethe ame nderlyingschema--iii6-V7-I.While onnectedhrough atchingarmoniccontour,he wo peningsreneverthelesstrikinglyontrastedncharacter,nd nparticular,ntheway hatG minors used. nthefirst-movementpening, minors understatedspart fongoingharmonic otion;tthe utset f hefinale,t s blazonednanassertiveestureEx. 1).7

Op.55,EroicaFinale

m.473

ff .8f ,i .' ,Example1. Eroica ymphony,p. 55, finale: pening

Ifboth peningsontainrimetructurallements,he peningflourishfthefinalesdeliberatelyess omplexn mplicationshanthefirst-movementpeningnd,with irectmpact, akesxplicitthe onnectionetween minorndE-flat ajor-aconnectionhatwillbe reinforcednthe ourse f hefinalendrevisitedt thebeginningfthefinalecoda.8Theperemptoryigressionf hefinaleopeninglsoconfirmsetrospectivelyhat achof he hree -flatmovementspensnone rother aysmbiguously:hefirst ovementwith hedissonant -sharp hatundermineshekeyofE-flat;hescherzowith tsmetricalmbiguitynderscoredythepianissimodynamics,larifiednly t theoboe and first-violinheme scherzo,m. 9); thefinalewith ts"off-center"peningnwhich he eadingnote, D, is heardfirstnharmonized,hen nreferenceoG minor,


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188 The MusicalQuarterly

andbythe end oftheflourishfchordsfinale,mm.7-11), at a Dtwooctavesbelowtheopening itch s part f the dominant eventhof E-flatEx. 1). A middlegroundeature f theunderlyingchema sthebass inearizationf thedominanteventh fE-flat, hichanchors he dramaticpace-openingesturefa two-octave escend-ingD. The exuberant lourishf the finale pening ccordinglyevealsa dialectic etween onaldigressiont themusic's urfacend cohe-sion at its ubstructureEx. 2).

_O.L d.f.

iii4 linearizationf V7 I

Example2. Eroica ymphony,inale: nalytic eductionftheopening

The finale'spening ighD in the first iolin s also importantfor ts pecificessitura. ecurrencef a strategicitch t originaltessituranablesBeethoven o use it as a focalpoint o articulatesections rchange herhythmicmpetus.n the finale t the end ofthe firstugue,which tartstm. 117,rhythmic omentumncreasesandcontrapuntalextureimplifiess theparts oalesce mm.164-69); the nitialhighD, nowplayed ythe flutesm. 170), anticipatesa preparationfC minor iaVI-V. This is inturn eflectedo Bminor or he finale hemefromm. 76), which s stated irstn Bminor, henD major.Bymeans fthese ircumventedeys or hefinale heme, hepitchD reiteratesheopening essitura.t formsremarkableingebetween ontrapuntalndhomophonicexturesndshowsBeethoven'sonsummateontrol fpitch ndpacing.The sameD is stronglyeaturednthe centralG-minorpisode(m. 211) between he twofugues, hose rticulatedotted hythmsharmonizedythefinale assthemeoriginallytated izzicaton m.12, afterhe ntroduction).he basstheme henreversestsroleandbecomes hematicnC minor.9In contrasto thebeginningfthefinale, heopening f tscoda(presto,mm.431-35) isunderpinnedythesimplestorm ftheschema, ii-I (Ex. 3).10The scurrying,pace-openingesturet thebeginningfthe movementsrecalled, et ompressednrange romtwooctaves o a tenth, tartingrom instead ftheupperD. As


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Middle-Periodeethoven 89

well scompressingherange,talsocompressesnd implifiesheaction: nsteadf hedeliberateause n thedominanteventhfterthe peninglourishm.11),the odaopeningushesnto hedouble-function-flat, hich oth esolveshefirsthrasend ni-tiateshenext ne.By tartinghedescent nG, theframingitchesofthe oda's peningesturexplicitlyutlineheprimehird, -E-flat;his sa closedlementcorroboratinghe tyingp"functionfthe oda), ncontrasto the pen-endednessf ii -V76atthebegin-ning f hefinale. he codaopeningeads nto large-scaleeinforce-ment fE-flat ajor,s a clear-cutesolutionf onflictingndambiguouslementsnthemovement,ndparallelshe arge-scale"grounding"fE-flattthe ndof hefirst ovementm.631ff, irstmovement).he G-E-flatrimehird,ow nE-flat ajor,ecallstheverticalizationf hose itchesnthe peningwo hordsf hefirst ovement,hich ormhe peningramef hemovement,ndintheirubsequentinearizationnthefirst-subjectello heme. heprimehirdnE-flats also rticulatednthe ast wo hords f hefirst ovement-complementaryothe peningwo hords-whichprovidehe losingramefthemovement,nd, t a largerevel fframe,pan he ntire ork,romhe peninghords f hefirstmovemento the losinghordsfthefinale.

Finale CODA Prestom 431,d , , ,

_,.f.

backgroundharmonic chema d.f.

prime3rd

Example . Eroicaymphony,inale:oda, peningars,withnalyticeductionIntermsfpitchndregistralonnectionetween ovements,itis significanthat heechapp6A-flat eartheend of thefinaleopeningfortissimo,inalemm.8-9) is thesamepitch ndat thesametessituras thesforzando-flatnthe firstubject fthe firstmovementfirstmovement,m. 10). A closecomparisonan be drawnbetween hemodes fresolutionnthe twocases,althoughhemeth-


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190 TheMusicaluarterlyods nvolvedary,eflectinghedifferentharacteristicsf hefirstmovementndfinale.nthefirst-movementpening,he iedA-flat,whichounterpointshe ellofirst-subjecthemefirstiolins,mm.10-11),resolvesntoG ona weak eat m.11,thirduarterote)so that ts ense fresolutionserodedy tsweak ositionnthemeasure,ndwhen tnext ppearstm.13,theG issetover nunstableI. To balance he tressed-flat,heresolutioneeds hevoice-leadingto fall nto strongoot-positiononic,ndthis oesnotoccur-at east, othere.11 tthe ndof hefirstubjectm.15),the onic hord asE-flat,otG intheupperine.As well sresolvingheprecedinghrase,his onic lso nitiateshenext ne,so itserves ouble unctionetweenhe wo.Thepatternf xpectedutbypassedesolutionfA-flat-Gnthefirst ovements alsoreworkednthefinale. iven he lear-cut,rhythmicrofilef hefinale,t snot urprisinghat he ameA-flatishumorouslypotlightedy trongynamicsnd rticulation.t sfirsteft angingnthe ir nthe ntroductionmm. -9) andthensubsequentlynthe ombinationf hefinale hematicelements--theskeletalizzicatoass hemendthe yrical elodymm. 3, 95, 101,103)--so hatwhile heV7harmonyesolves,hepitchA-flatoesnot,ust s inthefirst ovement.xpectation,eflection,urprise-these re ll devices eethovenearnedromaydn, utBeethoven'suseof hem scombinedithong-rangeonal lanningndpitchreinterpretationhowingotonly is ompositionalkill, ut lso, ntypicallyaydnesqueituations,he mplicithallengefoutclassingthe ldermasterf he ymphonyn hisownground.he A-flatfm.103 s eftuspendedhen heV7harmonys resolvedo atm.107,but nthe nsuinghrase,eethovenhiftsheharmonicirec-tion owardhedominantfC minor,mphasizedy wo taccatochords,ortissimomm. 15-16) Ex.4). These hords ormn artic-ulativeoint osetoff hebeginningf hefirstugue. otably,hetopnotes f hese wo hordsre heresolvingitchG, but na dif-ferent,nexpectedontext.t is as ifBeethovenesolvesheV7 ntwo tageshat redeliberatelyutofphase: hefirstesolvesarmon-icallyo E-flattm.107,butwith -flat,otG, atthe op; he ec-ondresolveshepitchA-flatoG atmm. 15-16,but nthe ontextof hedominantfC minor.WhatBeethovensdemonstratingereis a subtle ontrolfpitch/registralssues, hich ometimes eshwithharmonic esolution,nd at other imes, s here,meaningfullyivergefromt to create new tonaldirection rto articulate newsectionof the movement. nderlininghe connection etween he outer


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m.103 m..107 m.116If IW0[1 I -- I6N

Example. Eroicaymphony,inale:pproacho the irstugue yhalf-stepotionmovements,hefinale -flat-G everseshefirst ovement'sirst-subject -A-flatppoggiaturat the ame egister.Left angingt thebeginningf hefinale,hen esolvednthewrongey, he chapp6 -flatontinuallyrong-footss nourexpectationsf resolutionoG inthekey fE-flat.tsresolutionmighteexpectedt thereturnf hekey fE-flatfterhe entralaction fthe wo uguesdominantedal,mm. 28-48,resolvingoE-flat, .349).The dominant inor inthnddominanteventh(mm. 47and348) that repareheE-flatoco ndante o havecertainarallelsothe ntroduction'sominanteventhmm. -11),but t this oint, lthough-flatspresentnthe nnerines,t sstudiedlyvoideds theupperramingitch.WhenA-flat-Goesoccur,t s notonlyn thewrongey, ut nthewrongegisteroo,asthebass f hat dd, eeminglynterpolatedtick-tock"ectionnA-flatm.404).The bass alls o G (m.420),dynamicsiminishopianissimo,ndthefortissimoodabrusquelyurstsn m. 431).While e-presentingheA-flat-Gnanotheregisterndcontext,hesectionrioro the oda sa reworking,utnot resolutionEx. 5).The A-flat romhe nitial ominanteventh assofar otbeentrulyesolvedt theright egisternd ntherightey, ndalthoughthe odaprestotartsn G at theright egister,t sagainnthewrongonal ontext.t isan indicationfBeethoven'sarge-scalecontrolftime ndpacinghat hefinal esolutiono G inthekey fE-flatccursnlynthefinalhords f hemovementm. 461).Atan octave igher, is alsoat the op fthepenultimatehord,nd tfalls oE-flatn thefinalhord,o that he ast wo hordsgainreinforceheprime hird, -E-flat, owfirmlyased n the tonickey.Itbecomes ncreasinglylearthat ne of thewaysBeethovenestablishesarge-scaleonnectionwithinndbetweenmovementssbythereinterpretationfstrategicitches nd motivic roupsnd


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m.404

Prestom.431 m.435m.420

bII iin G minor

IV iii V IinEbmajor

Example5. Eroica ymphony,inale: he A-flat rolongationrior o thecodathroughhe reiterationfpitches ndprimentervalst specific egis-ters.12While llustratedndetail n thepresentontext f theEroica,these echniques avewider pplicationnthe structurallanningfothermportantorksnBeethoven'smiddle eriod, s maybe seenin thediscussionelow.As well as creatingarge-scaleonnectionwithinnd betweenmovements,trategicitches re often sed as points fformal rticu-lation n the first ovement, hichmaybe demonstratedurtheryBeethoven's se of the A-flat-Gmotifnthe slowmovement.n theC-minor uneralmarch,t isprimarilybassmotion,VI-V, whichoccurs hree imes uringhe course fthemovement.n the firstwoofthese, esolutiono C minor s either ubvertedr destabilized.Only n the final ppearance,n thecoda,does resolutionakeplace.This is comparableo thefinale,where ull esolutionf A-flatntheright ey nd at theright egisters similarlyvoideduntil heend ofthe movement.The first se of A-flat-Gnthe slowmovement ccurs fter heopening tatementfthe funeral-marchhemenC minor,with tscomplementaryhrasem. 17) inE-flatmajor.The return o C minorispreparedythe bassA-flat-Gmm.22-30), but the resolutionotheexpected minorsbypassed hen heC is replaced s V7 in Fminor.


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While hefirstse smore short-rangeinkingection,hesecondndthirdses, othmore ramaticallyrepared,re lsousedto delineateormalections.hesecond seof hebassA-flat-Goccursnthe econdarge -minorectionfterhemaggiore.fterthe xtendedugatostartingt m.114)theres a full adence n Gminor,brieftatementf hefirst easuref hefuneral-marchthemem. 154),a risenpitch oA-flat,till otto oce, henthunderousnharmonized-flatncello ndbasses,olidifiedn thenextmeasurey n A-flathordwith laringrumpetndhorns-acoup o suddennd ntrusivelyramatichattbringsomind herescue all nFidelio.3The bassA-flatalls oa dominantedal(starting. 168),overwhich hefuneral archeturnsor hereca-pitulationm.173).Paradoxically,heG, which esolvesheA-flat-Gppoggiatura,lsounsettleshefuneral-marchhemeyformingheunderlyingominantedal,which estabilizeshe ecapit-ulation.Comparehe imilarroceduref herecapitulationfthefirst ovementf heAppassionataonata ver dominantedal.) tisalsoa paradoxhat heA-flat-Gection, hich onnectso therecapitulationnddramatizeshereturnfthefuneral-marchheme,does oby nintenseupturef heprecedingexturenddynamics.In a differentay, utneverthelesss a developmentaleature,this hatteringntrusionecalls he earingff-beatforzandihat up-turehe exturef hefirst-movementevelopmentrioro theresta-bilizationftexturendkey or heE-minorevelopmentheme.nfact, he womovementshownterestingarallelsfformalprocedure-ofuguerfugatonthedevelopmentectionorequiva-lent) fthemovement,ollowedy loud, orcefullicingcrosshetexture,nturn ollowedy consolidation,onallyndthematically.(This chematicutline llows or hevitalndividualityfmaterialandhandlinghat nformsothmovements.)he second -flat-Gaccordinglyrticulatesherecapitulationf he lowmovementhileusingheresolvingitchG to destabilizehereturno C minor.For he hird seofA-flat-G,hough,he ppoggiaturarticu-lates formalectionf hemovement,nthis asethe oda,but talso llows he xpectedtable esolutiono C minorotake lace.Asimilarnterruptedadence fV-VI occurs t thebeginningf hecoda m.209),buthere heA-flateversesheproceduref heprioruse,bya diminuendondreduced ynamics, ianissimo,na tick-tock ection hat nticipateshetick-tockection f the finale rior oits oda. Bya series fchromaticairedhalf teps-C-D-flat,B-C,F-F-sharp-thebass movesdownto G andthenresolves oC minor(m. 223) (Ex. 6).


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FuneralMarchm.208 m.223

cresc.V VI V i

Example6. Eroica ymphony,uneralmarch: assprolongationfthe A-flat-G ppoggiaturaEarlier t wasnoted nconnectionwith heA-flat-G ppoggia-tura hat hesecondC-minorection smoredeveloped-inboththespecificnd widersenses--thanhe first-minorection, ndcon-tains fugato tartingn F minorm. 114),which icksup theF-minor eferencerom he first-minorection thefirst easurefthefuneral-marchhemen F minor,m. 31). Thisfugatomaybe seenina generalense s part fBeethoven's ewconcept fdevelopment,which snotrestrictedomotivic ragmentationndrecombinationrtomore requentnd unstablemodulations,ut to theuse of contra-puntal iscourse s a principalmeans fre-presentingndworkingutthematerialndevelopmentnddevelopmental-typeections.Morespecifically,hefugaton theslowmovementarallels hefirst-movementugaton thedevelopmentection,which lso startsn Fminorfirstmovement,m. 236). Like theend of the slow-movement

fugato,hefirst-movementugatonds n a cataclysmicuptureftexturerior o tonalconsolidationnd clarificationor he E-minor-developmentheme.But ftheslow-movementugatoonnects ackto the first-movementugato,t also connects orwardo the twofinale uguesnC minor hatflank he centralG-minorpisode-thefirstn the bass themefinale,m. 118), thesecondon the bass themewith he yricalmelodys counterubjectfinale,m. 266; see Ex. 7).Extreme islocationnd restabilizationn the remote ey fEminorn the firstmovementreevents entral o a developmentec-tionofpreviouslynprecedentedengthndpower.4Central n twodifferentespects: irst,nBeethoven's ewrange fdevelopmentalprocedures,which can encompassextremes fregister, issonance,extension,and reintegration. he tremendous racturingnd subse-quent restitutionf tonal and thematicorder howBeethoven'smostradical and innovative treatment fdevelopment.These events cru-ciallyexpose the development ection's extremediversitynd distance


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Finale Cl. as sounding) Vln.2m.117

A Vln. . . ? .

o.Bnm. 266Ob. Hn.1 as sounding)

Vln.2

Via.

Example . Eroicaymphony,inale:he inaleuguesfromhemovement'spening. tthe ame ime,he xtremeonaldistancefE minor rom-flat ajorscounterbalancedy highlevel f ntegration.heE-minorhemesbuilt npreciselyhe ameunderlyingontoursthefirstubject,ndthis nderlyingnityro-vides basefor he ssentialiversityf he wo hemestthemusic'ssurface.15See Ex. 8.)Second, swell sbeingentraloBeethoven'sost adicalconceptfdevelopment,heE-minorhemetandsentralnpositioninthedevelopmentection. hreemain ey reaseadupto t, ndthree ollowromt, o itstands ull enterna plan fremarkablesymmetry.naddition,ll theprincipaley reas nthedevelopmentare inkedy hirds.hosewhichpproachminor romhebegin-ning f hedevelopmentescendy hirds16ndhaveonepitchncommon etweenachpair ftriads. fterhedevelopmentheme,one furtherhird escentompleteshe qual ntervalrom toC anoctavebelow,followedhenbytherise hroughey reas thirdapart, his imewith woofthethree itches fthetriad ncommon.The prime hird f theopening hords nd firstubjectnowtakeon anewdimensionfmeaning,s the ntervalmappingf arge-scaletonalorganizationor hewholedevelopmentection Ex. 9).


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Istmvt.Developmenttheme

(key ignatureomitted orA- clarity)

Ist ubjectfromhe oda) (end fmvt.)

Example8. Eroica ymphony,irst ovement:matchingontoursf thedevelopmentheme ndthefirstubjectmm.48-52 m.170 m. 20 m. 84 m. 00 m. 08 m. 22 m. 30 m. 88Dev. heme= ,, I

V C maj Abmaj E min C maj--- C min Ebmin GI maj V of Ebl,

Example 9. Eroica Symphony,firstmovement: tonal planningof the developmentsectionGivenBeethoven'sadical pproachnotherways t this unc-ture, t isno surprisehatwhat s arguablyhemost emarkablexam-pleofpitchreinterpretationnthe entirework ccurshere, t thepreparationfthedevelopmentheme.The long-rangeonnectionbetween -flat ndE minorssimple, et xtraordinarilyffective.


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m.281

approach o thedevelopmenthemeThe tonicE-flatsrespellednharmonicallys D-sharp nd isreinter-preted s the eadingnote ofE minorEx. 10). Thisreinterpretationmakesxplicitndcomprehensiblehe hoice fE minor or hedevelopmentheme. hough omprehensible,t isnotpredictable,but shows superblyreativemusical ogicthat eizes n unforeseenpotentialndforgesew onalnterpretationsndmodes f xpres-sion.Overan even arger erspectivef themovement, inturnbecomeshe eading ote or heF-minortatementf hedevelop-ment hemen thecoda-a key hat s thesecondaryominantfE-flatii in ) and,viathe ong tructuralominantf hemovement(mm. 03-30), s themeans f tsultimateesolution.What ppliedo theEroica--theialecticalnterplayf raditionand nnovation,he xpressiveelineationnd ndividualizationfmovements-appliesquallyothemiddle-perioduartetsndpianosonatasike heWaldsteinndtheAppassionata.heseworkshowcreativeensionetweentylend yntax,resentingonflicteadon,yetmaintainingquilibriumnthework. he Eroica hows efini-tively hatBeethoven ad movedbeyond hefinelyurnedhrase ndgracefulontinuityf he lassicaltyle;"1here requalitativeiffer-encesnexpressiveange etweenhe lowmovementfMozart'sG-minorymphony,.550, ndthe lowmovementf heEroica,and ntheregistralpan, ramaticower,ndcomplexityetweenhefirst ovementfMozart's-minoriano onata,K. 457,andthefirst ovementf heAppassionata.Conflict ecomes hecenter f nstrumentalrama, nd theconflictngenderednthefirst ovementequiresome eciprocitynthe ast, hroughitherntensificationrresolution.nthemiddle-period orks, ovementsremorendividuallyharacterizedhannBeethoven'sarlierworks, utthey realsomore losely onnected sa whole,nparticularetweenhefirst ovementndthefinale.Consequently,redominantharacteristicsfmood ndmaterialn


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198 TheMusicaluarterlythefirst ovementreofteneworkedrresolved,rboth,nthelast. ntheAppassionata,onflicts notreleasedrresolvednthefinale,ut he ntensityf he utermovementsssustainedo theveryndof hework.ntheE-minorazoumovskytringuartet,p.59,no. 2, conflictsdispelledntheplay f hefinaley ts onalwrong-footingnddrivingiderhythm.

RazoumovskyStringQuartet,Op. 59, No. 2The first ovementf heE-minorazoumovskyuartetpenswithstrongwo-chordesture,ollowedy wo renchant,wo-measurepianissimohrases,hefirstnE minor,he econdntheNeapolitanFmajor. achphrasesself-contained,triadicutlinelosed yperfectadence. achone sstarklyetoff y measure'sestwithoutanymodulatingink etweenhem. s well s inthis uartet,hisstrikingseof -bIIalsocharacterizeshe peningfother eethovenmiddle-periodorks,ncludingheAppassionatandtheF-minorStringuartet,p.95.Theunfoldinglan f hefirstmovement--itsealizationsdramaticction ndformaldesign--iseterminedy ventsresentedatthe utset f hemovement.n the nehand, hese vents repitchnd ntervalpecific;heyonsistftheharmonicpen-endedness,-V6, ndthe pace-openingnterval-B ofthefirstwochords,ndthe ppoggiatura,-F-natural,nthe uncturef hefirsttwophrases.heNeapolitanets pa dissonantlement hich on-flicts ith hediatonicupertonic-sharpnddestabilizeshe onickey. t formshemeans f eadingutof nd way rom minor. ycontrast,he ppoggiatura-B (violin ,m.10)willbe seen onpage202)to reverseheprocedureyprovidingheway ack oE minor.On the ther and, herealizationf hemovement'sormalstructurehroughontrolftonal igressionnd ong-rangeisso-nance ependsnthe ntentionalmbiguityf he pening.What sthefunctionf hefirstwo hords?rethey frame,s in theEro-ica,oranintroduction?rethefirstwo hrasesn E minorndFmajorn introduction,rare hey art fthefirst-subjectaterial?Or dothey,nsomemoreomplex ay,uggestnintroductionhilebeing art f hefirstubject?18By mmediatessociation,he twochords t thebeginningf thequartet ecall heopening f theEroica:bothare metricalmarkers,which stablishhetempo ndpacing;both re heraldic allstoattention,nnouncinghework; othareopening ramesmatched y


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Middle-Periodeethoven 99two oncludinghordsoundingut hemovementandalso, nthecaseoftheEroica,hefinaleswell).But he uartetontains, oreovertly,t least rimelementsf ntervalndharmonyhatwill eused odemarcateheprincipalectionsf hefirst ovement,hebeginningfthedevelopmentection,ecapitulation,ndcoda.Theuseof nopeningrameettingff hemain art fthemovementidnotoriginateith eethoven;aydn adused t with leganttylenhisG-majoruartets,p.33,no.5, andop. 76,no. 1,toproviden"endbeforehebeginning."ut nboth hesenstances,hegesturesfullylosed,nd tswittyffectependsnthefinalityf heperfectcadence,whichtopshemovementeforethasgotunderway.Beethoven,owever,ses he onventionsf heframendthe ntro-ductionsknownepartureoints,ike he cceptedndfamiliarfeaturesf formalconography,ndtransformshem nthe ndivid-ualforegroundfop.59,no.2. Drawingnassociationsfmetricalimpulse,estureoattention,nd ntroduction,eethoven akesheopeningomponentseparatedntime, ut ntegratedncontentotherest f hemovement.heinitialmaterial,hich enerateshemovement,saccordinglyresentedgainsthebackground,nd nthe ikeness,fframend ntroduction-aemarkablenstancef heretentionndtransformationfformalunction.19AfterWagnerndMahler,travinskyndCage,wemay indtdifficultorecapturehe ense fdaringttack,f ubversiveonflictand tructuralesolutionnthegreat orksfBeethoven'siddleperiod.Mozartttemptednly arelyoundermineonal rocedures:intheG-minorymphony,. 550,first ovement,tthebeginningof hedevelopment,ndmore adically,tthe ame lace, nthefinale;nd ntheB-flatianoConcerto,. 595,first ovement,tthebeginningf hedevelopment.ozart,owever,irtuallyeverdoes oat thebeginningf movement,ithhepossiblexceptionsofthe peningf heDissonantuartet, . 465,whose hromaticintroductionsboth xceptionalnd nexception,ndtheFantasynC, K. 475 but hen antasiesive composerreateroeticicense).Theromantics,hodrew requentomparisonsetweeneethovenandShakespeare,ay avebeenmore ighthan hey new,houghnot ntheir igh-flownoeticizingfworksndartist,ut nthenubof onstruction.20nMacbethndOthellohe eeds fdiscontent-power, mbition, evenge--areresentt thevery eginningftheplay, t firstnfocusednthemeans ftheir ealization,ut ncreas-ingly evelopedndifferentramaticituations.Whilerespectinghedistinctivenessfeachartforma point tressednGotthold phraimLessing's aocodn),21 one couldargue hatBeethoven's eroicmiddle-


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period orksftenhow tthebeginningf piece ome eaturefpitch, armonic,rregistralissonance,hich reaksnto, runder-mines,ontinuityn anunexpected,nd t timesadical,ourse faction.TheNeapolitanear he peningf heE-minorazoumovskyQuartets ust uch subversiveeature.fterts nitialppearancestherepeatf hefirsthrase,hepitch -naturalsrecontextualizedsthe eventhfV7 nC, dramatizedy wide egistralpan etweenthe uter arts,ortissimoynamics,nd two-octaveeapdown oF,resolvingntoE-flatEx. 11).Thismove utofE minoro C via theNeapolitansreworkedxtensivelyt thefocal oint f hedevelop-ment.A dynamicndregistraledgepens ut nboth irectionsndisemphasizedy he ffbeathythmicislocations,hichllresolveat thepowerfulortissimon C (m. 107).Notonlys theNeapolitanrecontextualizedspart ftheverticalarmonyfV7,but hebassline lsomakes linearizationfthedominanteventhn ts rivetoward (Ex. 12).Given hat hemove o C isthe entralctionnthe entralection f hemovement,can beregardeds the onal"subset"f hemovement,unctioningsanoppositeolar orcewhichn turn ulls ack oE minor.22hefunctionfC asa subsetisconfirmedt thebeginningf he oda mm. 08b-9),where heopeningwo hordsf hemovement,-V6,andthe pace-openingfifthrere-presentedn thekey fC (Ex. 13).

Example 1. StringuartetnE minor,azoumovsky,p.59,no.2,first ove-ment:xpositionInthe oda,primelementsrebroughtack, nd tthebegin-ning f he oda, wo uch eaturesrepresentedogether-thepen-ing wo hordsnC andtheirreparationy heNeapolitann thecontext fV7 (in C). C major, esited s VI in E minor,spulledbacktoE minor ia V then inthetonickey; his onalaggregatepatternshe first ovementndmakes xplicable he sameformationreworkednsistently,ndin a lighterein, n the finale.23


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m.102 103 104 105 106 07

DevelopmentA '

linearizationf V7openinghythmicotive

Example12. Razoumovskyuartet, o. 2, firstmovement:evelopment,entral oint,withdrive oC majorm.08b

Example13. Razoumovskyuartet, o. 2, firstmovement:eginningfthecodaSometimesnelementspitch-specificas inE-F-natural);sometimest iscontour-specific--thats, the ame interval s used, notat theoriginal itch,but n ininversion,etrograde,r on other caledegrees.heNeapolitanppoggiaturaE-F-natural)enerateshe

followingerivationsEx. 14):

Example 4. Derivationsf heNeapolitanppoggiaturaAtthe ndofthe xpositionsecond imem.)and tthe ndoftherecapitulationfirstimem.),theNeapolitansrecontextualizedaspart fB-flat7,ndthe peningwo hords f hemovement,i-V6, rerestatednE-flat ajorEx. 15). D-sharp,sthe eadingnote ofE minor,srespelled nharmonicallys E-flat,o thatpart ftheoriginal ominant, ofE minor,srecontextualizeds tonic nE-flat t thisformaluncturef the movement. hisstunningmovefollows similar rocedureo thefirstmovement ftheEroica t thedevelopmentheme, ut ntheRazoumovsky,hemove sfrom


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endofexposition2ndtimem.)m. 69b

endofrecapitulation1sttimem.)m.209a. ..

o, - 'O I-

Example15. Razoumovskyuartet, o. 2, firstmovement:econtextualizationsf theNeapoli-tanappoggiaturaminor oE-flat, hereas n theEroica, hekeys re n thereverseorder-E-flator hetonic,E minor or hedevelopmentheme.Bothcasesdepend n thereinterpretationnd enharmonicespellingfD-sharp/E-flat;nd inthe caseofop. 59, no. 2, theopening wo"marker"hords repreparedt thedevelopmentndend of thereca-pitulationyrecontextualizingheNeapolitan.The opening wochords f themovement ave a bass ine ofE-D-sharp; nd it s thislinewhich sprojectedverthe ong-rangeections f themovement,overtheexpositionndtherecapitulation--the-sharp espelledenharmonicallys E-flat. he other rincipallement f theopening,theNeapolitan, erves s themeans fpreparinghe E-flat yformingpart f tsdominant. evelopmentnd coda also use therecontextual-izedNeapolitan, ut nthedominant reparationfC, thesubsettonalcenter fthe movement.C is alsopart ftheappoggiatura-B, firsteard tm. 10,violin2. While C as a tonalcenter rovides secondaryolar ttrac-tionawayfrom minor, heappoggiaturarovideshe means freturn o the tonickey, nthecoda. In a movemento tightlywroughthythmicallyndtautly rawn onally,he return oE minormust eestablishhetonickeywith orrelativetrengthnd definition.The action spresented ith heutmostconomyndimpact. he


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codaopensnC, thebassprolongedhroughseries fhalf-stepmotionsmm. 09-27).C falls o B (m.229)--an nsistentlyrepeatededal-dominanteventhndninth-andore-presentsheappoggiaturarom .10. B isextendedor full levenmeasures,with hedynamicevel ncreasingo fortissimondtheregistralpanstretchingntheupper art gainsthe onstrainingass.Tension sincreasedy he ame ff-beathythmicatternetweenheupperand ower airs f nstrumentss wasused n thedevelopmenttthebuild-uppproacho C major. heC-B appoggiaturasnotonlypresentedorizontallynthe limactic easuresf he ustainedomi-nant, ut t salsoverticalizedetweenhe uter artsna dominantminorinth f mmenseowerndgrindingissonanceEx. 16).

m.10Vln. I /,, -

Vln. II

CODA -f -ff I if P

Example16. Razoumovskyuartet, o. 2, first ovement:oda, climax t the structuraldominantThis limaxsthe tructuralominant,hehinge f hemove-ment,fter hichhe onic eturnsith hemelodicirst-subjectmaterialrom . 13. Inthe xposition,hatmaterials sited ver

I4, andthe ucceedingixteenth-notehraseetweenirstiolin ndviola mm.16and17)containingheNeapolitaneadsnto notherpairofopen-endednterrogativehords. n thecoda,the samefirst-subjectmaterials stated vertheroot-positiononic, nd the suc-ceeding hrase, owinfirstiolin, urnsheNeapolitan ack ntothecontext fE minor. he movementndswith woE-minorhords,theclosing rame hatbothparallels heopening wochords ndresolves heopenness f -V6.


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204 TheMusicaluarterlyThepotentialf heNeapolitans structuraleterminantnd

subversivegents not xhaustedy hefirst ovement.nthe thertwo -minor ovements,he cherzondthefinale,treturnsoplaya significantole. It isworthotinghat t sabsent romheE-majorecondmovementndfromheE-majortheme-russe"ec-tions fthe cherzo;eethoven ost robablyanted o retainheNeapolitanor heE-minor ovementss a special ind f haracter-izationf onflict,nd ubsequentesolution.)he harmonicatternof he ntrusivelatupertonic,-natural,nd tsforcefulesolutionsa dominant inor inth, hichostronglyharacterizeshefirstmovement,s ncisivelyeplayednthe cherzo.ollowinghe hinge"structuralominant,hediatonic-sharpeturnsor he adentialmeasureshat estabilizeminorEx. 17).

m. 17 -

SII I I-ff

/ % ( over he pan fff 5the section)

Example 7. Razoumovskyuartet,o.2, scherzo:heNeapolitannd he tructuralominantComplementation,e-presentation,eworkingf trategicelements-allf heserepresentnthefinale.hesubsetenter isinsistentlyhrustnto ttentiony hewrong-footingpening,nd tcrucialrticulativeointshemovementlsoreworksheNeapolitan.Infact,hefinalehowsemarkableew nterpretativeoles or ,which onnecttcloselynpitch rfunctiono F-natural.hesecondsubjectf hefinale,orxample,asa strong eapolitanlement.nthe xposition,he econdubjectmm. 0-78)is n thekey fBminor, o theNeapolitan itch or hatkey s C. This means hatC,thesubset itch f thefirstmovementnd thewrong-footingpeningofthefinale, ow assumes new role as theNeapolitan f B minor(Ex. 18).


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Ingenuitys demonstratednmanyronts:he econdubjectnE minor-arecapitulatoryeature-comesack nthedevelopment(m.216),not n therecapitulation.hisplacementndicatesot oFinale,ndubject,xpositionm.70

Example 8. Razoumovskyuartet,o.2,finale:xposition,econdubjectmuch nexchangeffunctionetweenevelopmentndrecapitula-tion, ut he nterpolationf recapitulationlementn thedevelop-ment.na movementhereurprisend ngenuityreof he ssence,this sonefurthernstancef technicalirtuosity,ith eethovenreorderinghe lementsf onatandrondo esignnan individualsolutionfdazzlingkill.ntheE-minorppearancef he econdsubject,heNeapolitanitchs F-natural.he secondubjectsextendedy stronglyarkedour-measurehrase, ynamicallyigh-lightingmajornd tsdominant. SinceC majorsalsotheNea-politanfBminor,ne could ay his assage ncapsulatesothses ftheNeapolitan,s well s theNeapolitannd tsdominantEx.19).m.232 4- L -

f f f f

Example 9. Razoumovskyuartet,o.2,finale:nterlockingses f heNeapolitan

The most tunningseoftheNeapolitan, hough, omes nthecoda,where tisreintegratedntoE minor. ikethehammered-outdominantminor inth nthefirstmovement,hisNeapolitan s thedramaticnd structuralinge f thefinale.t reworksreciselyle-ments rom hescherzo-strong ynamicsndsudden ynamicchange,wideregistralpan-but morepowerfully.he extremeange


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206 TheMusicaluarterlyof hefortissimoeapolitanscutoff y shocking easure'silence,then heV ofE minoromesnsoftly.ilence, swell s thepitchandharmoniclementsromhefirst ovement,sanotherlementinthis owerfuleturnEx.20).24This earingeapolitanigurendits esolutionn E minorulfillsll thefunctionsf heNeapolitansfromhebeginningf hework-exceptne. Thecodahasone astcard oplay.n the astpage fthe core,nefinal eferenceotheNeapolitanppearsspart f nascendinghromaticine nthefirstviolin rom toE'. Themovementinishesithhree airs fperfectcadences:hefirstasF-sharp-Gntheupperine, oraisingheF-naturalo tsdiatonic-sharpndresolvingt toG; the econd asD-sharp-Entheupperine, eversingheE-D-sharpf he peningi-V6at thebeginningf hework;he hirdair f adences allsfifth,-E, reversinghe pace-openingesturef hefirst ovement.The circlesnow losed.

m. 40

f ff ff P

Example0. Razoumovskyuartet,o.2,finale:odaDrama,onflict,esign-theseeaturesharacterizeheworksf

Beethoven'siddleeriodhat allwithinhedescriptionf heroic."To say hatMozart'slegantracefulnessrHaydn's ittyquipagehavevanishedn theface f more owerfulusicalonceptionsoundsike truism,ut ruismsrerarelyhe nly ruth. hedescriptionheroic"its ddlynthe houldersf heFourthndPastoralymphonies,hePiano onatanF,op.54,or theC-majorRazoumovskyuartet,p.59,no.3,worksmallernframe, orerelaxedndgracefulnstylehan heir igger-bonedeighbors.utdrama ndconflict,he haracterizingeaturesf heheroiconcept,are entralotheEroica ndFifthymphonies,heE minor azou-movskyuartet,heWaldsteinndAppassionataiano onatas.The AppassionataSonata

Thenature,rratherhe tatus,f onflicts treatedifferentlyn theAppassionataonata hannthe thermiddle-periodorksust ited.


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Middle-Periodeethoven07IntheEroicandtheE-minorazoumovskyuartet,irst-subjectle-mentsre ightenedndpartiallyransformednthefinale. hisreworkingnturnffectsheformalesignf hefinale here heunderlyingframework--respectivelyvariationnd onata ondo- sshapednto highlyndividualescoringf heform. heWaldsteinSonata eleasestsfirst-movementntensityn thefinaley wonder-fullyxpansiveondo.25nly ntheAppassionatasconflictnre-solved. onflictn thefirst ovementstaken p n thefinalendreplayedna correspondinglyntense ode, utwhile hefirst-movementonal ppositionf ontrastedeyssresolved,hedis-course f onflictsnot.26At thebeginningf hefirst ovement,wo istinctlementsarepresented:irst,he inearizationfthe onic-triadminorsfollowedirectlyy heflatupertonic-flat ajor, orminghehar-monicuncture-J I. Thesecondlements themordent-D-natural-C, hichsa variantf hemovement'srimemordent,C-D-flat-C. venmore loselyhan heEroica r theE-minorazou-movskyuartet,hefinale f heAppassionatasa directeworkingffirst-movementlementsna movementfparallelntensity,atherthan reinterpretativeeworkingna lighterein-an intentionalmatchingfmode ndmaterialhat nderscoreshe yclic ature fthework. otonlywill irst-movementlements,articularlyheNeapolitanndtheprimemordent,eturnrominentlynthefinale,but here ill lsobe closeparallelsfformallacementndpacingbetweenhe womovements.Thedevelopmentsf he womovementsividlyllustrateheseparallels.nbothnstances,onflictscentralothedramaticctionof hedevelopment,ith heNeapolitantsmost owerfulgent orengenderingensionnddeflectingonal irection.nthefirst-movementevelopment,heNeapolitanitch, -flat,ppearsnthecontextfB-flat inortm. 115.By risingassmotion, -VI, theNeapolitansthen onallyeinforcednG-flat ajor. mmediately,tisrespellednharmonicallysF-sharp,ndforhefirstimenthemovement,trises oG inthekey fC. Thecumulativenergyfthis ntensificationruptsnto weepingiminishedeventhsndcli-maxes ntohammeredortissimo-flats-C,he atteregmentf hemovement'srimemordent,owmagnifiedt its tructuralominant.(Compare his mphaticegment ith tsbleached-bonesersion ttheendof therecapitulation.)rolongedhroughhesweepingineofdiminishedevenths nd thestructuralominant, resolves o F onlyat therecapitulationEx. 21).The central ctionofthedevelopment aybe seen,therefore,stheconflict etween hechromatic I and thediatonic upertonic.


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208 TheMusicaluarterly(octaves mitted or larity)

1stmovementdevelopment

(bass implifiedochord utlines)

m.115 m. 118 mm. 19-20 mm. 21-22 130-34 m.136 Recap. byoctaver o- displacement)upperine

m.122 m.130 mm.134-39(also 144-57)bass, primemordent diin....

Example 21. Appassionata onata, op. 57, firstmovement:long-rangeuse of the Neapolitan andthe primemordent;analyticreduction of these elements

form point frelaxations part fthe dominant armonyf Fminor, o that onflict etween he two upertonicsspolarized, utnot resolved.In thefinale evelopment,heNeapolitanG-flats again t thecenter fconflictgainstG-natural. usts in the first-movement


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mordentn theNeapolitanitch,recontextualizedinBI minorFinale m.123. 126developmentI f

primemordent

m.130 I 132 m. 133

mordentsegment

Neapolitanmordentnsubdominantn Bbminor

theNeapolitanf F-minorhighlightedn differentontexts

Example22. Appassionataonata,finale: evelopment,nterlockingsesof theNeapolitan

Neapolitanmordentm. 1436-

nF6 6. ,

inversionf mordent

Example23. Appassionataonata,finale: evelopmentection, heNeapolitanmordentdevelopment, -flatppearsnthecontext fB-flatminor, utherereplayshe work's ther rime lement, hemordent,n theNeapolitan itch na sharplyondensed ocus f the twomain truc-tural omponentsftheoutermovements.See Exx. 22, 23.)


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Strikingarallelsetweenhe utermovementsf heAppassio-nata redemonstratedymatchingormallacementf alient ar-monic eaturesndthe ontextualeworkingf heNeapolitan.arbeyondeneralimilaritiesfmood ndexpressiveelineation,heseprecise arallels ake iable hedescriptionf hework scyclic orminwhichhefinalerovides completearianteworkingf hefirstmovement.nvariationorm,hevariationnormatively,nclassicalstyle-exhibitshe amekey lanning,hrasetructure,armonicprogressions,nd arge-scaleormalectionss the heme, hile lab-oratingexturendchangingegister,rticulation,nddynamics.hevariantonceptlsoopens pa largerimensionfformalntegrationfor he onata s a whole;ust sprimeirst-movementlementsrereworkedinthemannerfdevelopmentndvariant)nthefinale,otheprincipallementsfthe lowmovementre laboratedbutwith-outdevelopment)na setofvariations.hile ndividualariationsnthe lowmovementre elf-contained,hemovementverallsnot,but he ndof he lowmovementeads nto hefinalena way om-parableothe low-movementink othefinale f heF-majorazou-movskyuartetF-minor,p.57,andF-major,p.59,no. 1;theclosenessf ompositionaleriod illmake uch arallelsf omposi-tional rocedurenderstandable).27etthe wo ransitionsrediffer-ent ntheway he womovementsre onnected:he lowmovementof he uartetissolvesut na swirlf laborateigurationhat inesdown nto he rillnitiatinghefinale. t the ndof he lowmove-mentf heAppassionata,he peninghemeeturns,ut ts esolu-tion s blurredy wohazy iminishedevenths.hese ame hords,hammeredut hirteenimes ortissimot thebeginningf hefinale,shatterhe ereneeposendconsonancef hevariation ovement.Dynamicupture,hough,sanchoredypitchontinuity.-flat,hepitchndkey enterf he lowmovement,scarriedhroughothediminishedeventhsndfalls oC on the urningixteenth-noteig-urewhich eraldshe hematictatementf hefinale.his uncture,D-flat-C,orminghinge etweenhe womovements,akes p,atalargerevel, hemordentntersection-flat-C, hich sthe tructuralhinge f hefirst ovement.Justswith evelopmentections,o therecapitulationndfinaleodaboth e-presentndcompresstrategiclementsromhefirst ovement.he codapresentshefinallash f he upertonicandwrenchestback ntotheconstraintsf F minor.

Someof thetechniques iscussed erewith eferenceo impor-tantworksn Beethoven'smiddle eriodwerenot nthemselvesec-


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Middle-Periodeethoven11essarilyew,norhadtheyriginatedith im.For xample,hefavoredarmonichiftfunmediated-ii (althoughot lat1)whichBeethovensedvirtuallyshisown tyleharacteristicortronglydefinedirst-movementpeningsintheAppassionata,ndthe tringQuartets,p.59,no. 2, andop.95,asexamples)adbeenused yHaydnt thebeginningf hefirst ovementnd lso t thebegin-ning fthe econdmovement-cherzando-fhisC-majortringQuartet,p.33,no.3. Expandedimensionsndcontrapuntalenrichmentfdevelopmentan befoundnthefirst ovementfMozart's-Major tringuintet, . 515, nthefirst ovementsndfinalesfhisG-Minorymphony,.550, ndJupiterymphony,.551.What snew nBeethoven'siddleeriodsthe onsistentlyexpandedormalrameworksdistinctromndividualnstances;heversatilitynddaring ithwhich erearrangeshemodulesfformalentities,et etainsheirnderlyingoherencend ense f nternallogic; ndtheuseof trategicitchess axial entersround hichmovementsbuilt ndfrom hich tdivergesy ontextualeinter-pretationntonew nd urprisingey reas28oform,requently,hestructuralinge f hemovement.Inthemiddle-periodorks,eethovenifferentiatedhefourmovementsf he uartetnd ymphonyy harplyefinedharacter-ization, et, onversely,rewloser elationshipsetweenirst ove-ment ndfinale,indinghem y imilarrrelatedmood,ndevenmore, y hereinterpretationfprimeirst-movementlementsnthefinale. his ompositionalrocedureroduceskind f yclic orm,but neconceptuallyifferentromchubert's andererantasyrfromater ineteenth-centuryorksikeLiszt's -minoronata.Beethoven'sxpansionfdimensions,fdynamicndtempo anges,has as its ontextheretentionfformalesignnd tructuralrinci-ples.Thestrongndividualizationfmovementss set gainstheconcern or he rganicormftheworkverall. ccordingly,arge-scale ntegrationf heoutermovementsependsor ts ffectntheinternalormalutonomyf achmovementnd ts pecificelinea-tion f haracterndmaterial--inherelationshipf elf-standingpartso a larger hole.Brahmsnderstoodhis eemingormalara-dox, s,ina differentay, idMahler.)Beethoven'siddle-periodorksormhe ntersectionfpopularappealandhigh rt,ofthedirectmpact f ndividualxpressiveaffectndthemost igorouseworkingfformal esign.Theymarkchange nboththecomposer'swnworking, veritable newway,"and in listeners'ubsequenterceptionfsymphony,onata, ndstringuartet,whichmustnowtake nto ccount s revisedontex-


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212 TheMusicaluarterlytualbackgroundheEroica,heAppassionata,ndtheRazoumovskyQuartets.ymeans f heir ramatizationfmusicalctionnd nno-vativeompositionalrocedure,heseworksentralizehedynamicshiftndirectionromheAgeofEnlightenmentotheAgeofRevo-lution.Notes1. Ina note o hispublisherrtarian3 Dec. 1781,Haydn escribedhe ixquar-tets nop.33as"composedna quite ew nd pecialway"Georg eder,Einver-gesseneraydn-Brief,"aydn-Studien,no.2 [1966]: 14).Whetheraydnntendedthis escriptionoconveyew ompositionalxpertisenquartet ritingnthe p.33set,hisfirstnthegenrennearlyenyears,rto serve s a publicityambitorattractingxtraales--orossiblyoth-remainsnopen uestion.2. James ebster,TheFalling-OutetweenaydnndBeethoven:heEvidenceof he ources,"nBeethovenssays:tudiesnHonorf lliotorbes,d. Lewis ock-wood ndPhyllis enjaminCambridge:arvardniversityress,984), -45.3. Thesemay eseen nFritzassirer,eethovennd ieGestaltLeipzig,925),3-7, 9, 12, 17-19,23-26.4. Cassirer,,8-14, 21-22,26-27.5. Lewis ockwoodxplainsheseignificantplanted"eaturesnthe ollowingway:The ategoryhat havenmindan e haracterizeds"compositionaltrategy."y hisreferoBeethoven'seployment,spart f he esignf hismovementEroica,irst ove-ment],f ertainmall-scaleoregroundnits fmusicaltructuren such ways to hapethe argeronformationf hemovement,singhem swidelyeparatedointsf onnec-tion nd ssociationhat re utsidehe equentialormsf xpositionndrecapitulation.Thus hemportancef particularusicaldeamaye rojectedverongime-spans,nd vertheboundariesf he amiliararge-scaleivisionsf hemovement.emphasis ine, 6)Lewis ockwood,'Eroica' erspectives:trategyndDesignn theFirst ovement,"inBeethoventudies,ol.3,ed. AlanTysonCambridge:ambridgeniversityress,1982), 5-105.6. The detailedomplementationetweenhe irstubjectf he irst ovementand he inale ass heme asbeen hownyLewis ockwood,Beethoven'sarliestSketchesor heEroicaymphony,"usicaluarterly7 (1981):457-78.Hepro-poses hat hePianoVariations,p.35,which ere irtuallyompletehenBeethoventartedis nitialketchingor heEroican theWielhorskyketchbook,providedconceptuallan or he inale. egoes n tosay, furthermore,he inale,or tsmaterial,snot nly hekey o the hape nd haracterf he ymphonys awhole, ut lso nfluencests hematic aterialswell, speciallyhe peninghemeof he irst ovementllegro"461).7. TheopeningsrediscussedyWallace erryn "FormalrocessndPerformanceintheEroicantroductions,"usic heorypectrum0 1988):3-18. BerryegardstheG-minorpeningf he inales a necessaryiversionaryactic etweenheE-flatclosuref he cherzond heE-flatey f he inale,uthe doesnot onsiderheessentialeferentialityfG minor,itherothe irst ovementrtothe entralolethekey laysn the inale.


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Middle-Periodeethoven 138. On theEroicaketchbook,ottebohmotes hat alltheversionsof he pen-ing f he inale]redifferent,ut heyllagreenstartingnthedominantfGminorndreachinghedominantfE flat"my ranslation,1).Gustav ottebohm,Ein kizzenbuchusdem ahre803 Leipzig: reitkopfndHirtel, 880).9. Theres aninterestingarallelfprocedureetweenhe wo ugues.heB-minor/D-majortatementsf hemelodichemerovidefocal oint etweenheendof he irstuguendthe ead-inmaterialo theG-minorpisode. fterheG-minorpisode,heC-majortatementf he ombinedhemesm.258)providestransitionnto he econd ugue.he firsttatementollowsccordinglyromhe irstfugue;he econd tatementrepareshe econdugue.10. For discussionf ying-uplementsnd implificationoessentials,eeJosephKerman,Notes n Beethoven'sodas,"nBeethoventudies,ol.3,ed. AlanTyson(Cambridge:ambridgeniversityress, 982),141-59.11. The A-flatitchn tsdefinedessituras eft angingt the nd f he xposi-tion, tboth irstnd econd imemeasures.toccursrieflywithnenharmonicG-sharpnthebass,m.181),rises o A-naturalm.185), nd s eft nresolvedsastrategicitch ntilhe astmeasuref hedevelopment.tresolvesntoG over hechord fE-flattthebeginningf he ecapitulationmm. 97and398),which asimpliedt the utset f hemovement.he final ominantf hemovementm.681)reiterateshis ignificant-flattpitch,nd t s resolvedt mm. 89 and690.Of nterests theveryast hord f hemovement,hich asE-flatetweenheouterarts,hus uplicatingn a largecale hepitchnd essiturat the ndof hefirstubject-theubtlenterconnectionetweenmall-nd arge-scalelosure.12. See Ernst ster,RegisterndLarge-Scaleonnection,"ournalfMusic heory5 (1961):54-71;andOrinGrossman,OrganictructurenSonata orm," ournalfMusic heory2 1968):164-83.Osteromments:One mightwell ask inthecourse fhisdiscussionfkeyboard orks] hyno examples romorchestralompositionsere ited. hereplysthatnorchestralompositionsegisterlaysa lessignificantolenpointingut r rovidingarge-scaleonnections,hantdoesnkeyboardompositions.hereasonmay e that he rchestra,ith uch great arietyfmeans t ts isposal,oesnot equirehe seof egistero the ame xtentsthemorepoorlyndowedeyboardnstrument.66)It spossibleo take he ppositeiew, hat norchestralorks, ithheirreaterrangef imbrend exture,efineditchesnspecificegistersay rovidemeansof tructurallarification,point fformalrticulationnthemovement.13. Fidelio,ct2,scene (NewYork: over, 984), 00-201.14. Nottebohmotes hatnthe ketchesor he irst ovementf heEroicaheclimaxriorothedevelopmenthemeecomesncreasinglyissonantnd ynco-pated romketchosketch,ssentiallyontrastingt withhe ntroductionf hedevelopmenthemeNottebohm,0).15. Therelationshipf hedevelopmenthemeothe irstubjectsdiscussedyRobert . Meikle,ThematicransformationntheFirst ovementfBeethoven'sEroicaymphony,"usic eview2 (1971):205-18.16. I am ndebtedoLewis ockwoodor ointingut his eature.t isofparticularinteresthat hedevelopmentectionf heAppassionata,irst ovement,lsoout-lines ey reas escendingy hirds.his snoted yHeinrichchenker,ree om-position,rans.nd d.Ernst sterNewYork: ongman,979), ig. 14,no. 8.


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214 TheMusicaluarterly17. Thismoveway romhe lassicaltyleoesnot mplyhat eethovenouldnotreturno tbydeliberatehoice. hethird azoumovskyuartetnd heHarpQuartetp.74,areboth xamplesf more racefultylen a smallerramehan heheroic orks. he heroic eriodsnot otallyubsumedyheroic orks:he roicasfollowedy heFourthymphony,heFifthy hePastoral,ndbetweenheWald-steinndAppassionataonatassthegraceful-majoriano onata, p.54.The uni-lateral iew f heheroiceriod astendedoobscurehoseworks hich o nothavethegreatowerndrhetoricf he dd-numberedymphoniesromhree o nine. fBeethovenonsideredis ighthymphonybetter"han is eventh,tgives spause o considerhat emay avebeen singriteria ore ide-rangingnd ubtlethanwefrequentlyo.18. Far romophistry,heseuestionsearch oclarifyhe nterpretativeeaningof omplex usichat orrowsromxistingonventionsnd ransformshemnanindividual,reative ay. he same uestions ay e raisedbouthe peningf heA-minortringuartet,p. 132, s about p.59,no.2. Inmany ays,heA-minorquarteteworksompositionalssuesaisedy heE-minoruartetndhaskinshipnits estlessirst-movementharacteralthough orextremenddisjunctnthe aterquartet),nthe ereneymn-likelowmovementmoreharacteristicf he atequartetshan hose f hemiddleeriod),nd na finalehat eworksome f hepotentialityf he irst ovement.19. SeeLiniHiibsch,udwiganBeethoven:ieRazoumovsky-Quartettep.59Nr. ,F-Dur, r. , E-Moll, r. ,C-DurMunich:Wilhelmink, 983), 3.20. A sense fdramaticctionwithinonata esignsdescribedyPhilip owns:"Thefirst ovementof he roica]ucceedsnreconcilinghe ormal,patialequire-mentsf he raditionallyonceivedonata orm ith discursive,arrative,emporaldrama"585).Philip . Downs,Beethoven'sNewWay' nd heEroica," usicalQuarterly6 (1970):585-604.Reprintedn TheCreative orldfBeethoven,d.PaulHenry angNewYork: orton,970), 3-102.21. Gottholdphraimessing,aocoin1766), nGesammelteerke,0vols, d.PaulRill Berlin: ufbau,968), rans. orothyeichLondon: xfordniversityPress,965).22. Theodor elm, eethovenstreichquartetteLeipzig:iegel, 910), 2.23. In the ketchesor he inalef heRazoumovskyuartet,p.59,no.2,Notte-bohm oteshat hedriverom majoro E minorsa constanteaturehroughhesketchersions.ottebohm,weiteeethovenianaLeipzig:ieferiedermann,887),84-5.24. It ssignificanthat hemeasure'silencefterhe irstwo hordst the egin-ning f he irst ovementoesnot ppeart the ecapitulation;he wo hordsregivenherewice,escored,ndfillednby ixteenthotes, ortissimo.ossibly,hatsilence asbeen aved orhe oda.25. InBeethoven'sateworks,similaratternf ntensityndreleasen ncreas-inglyfflorescentextures reworkedntheC-minoriano onata, p. 111.26. Czernyeportshat eethovenonsideredheAppassionataisgreatestianosonata ntilhe ompositionf heHammerklavieronata, p. 106.TheAppassionatawas lso he ast imehat e used he hree-movementbstractast-slow-fastatternfor piano onata. p. 79 s more sonata acile;p.81a,LesAdieux,spartially


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programmatic.heHammerklavierxtendsllnorms,hile achof hePiano ona-tas, pp.101,109, nd110,departsromhe reviousattern.heSonatas,pp.78, 90,and111, re lltwo-movementorks. heAppassionatasthe ast, ossiblythegreatest,f he hree-movementonatasn the ast-slow-fastesign. zernysquotednAlexander heelockhayer,ife fBeethoven,ol.1,ed. Elliott orbes(Princeton:rincetonniversityress,967), 07.27. For discussionf he ransitionf he lowmovementnto inalenthePianoSonata, p.57,and he tringuartet,p.59,no. 1,see Lewis ockwood,"Beethovennd heProblemfClosure: ome xamplesromheMiddle-PeriodChamber usic," eitrigeuBeethovensammermusik,ymposiumonn 984(Munich: enle, 987), 54-72.28. Anotherxamplef his ontextualeinterpretationf trategicitchess theuseofG-flatn the irst ovementf heF-major azoumovskyuartet,p.59,no.1,and ts ubsequentonal esitingntheE-flat inoruguenthedevelopmentec-tion.

Pitch Interpretation and Cyclical Procedures in Middle Beethoven

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