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In the field of edition philology a diverse range of digital approaches is being put to the test. Taking Ludwig van Beethoven as a basis, this article demonstrates the limits of printed editions and presents preliminary considerations for a genuinely digital edition of his works. Various versions of the Ninth Symphony, the publisher Sigmund Anton Steiner’s publication concept for the Seventh and Eighth Symphonies and Wellingtons Sieg, which incorporated arrangements for highly diverse scorings, as well as the use of single numbers from the opera Fidelio in other music theatre works of the time, all serve as examples. The significance of metatexts and connections in terms of materiality are also discussed. Conceptional principles of such a Digital Beethoven Edition would include an inclusive approach allowing for multiple perspectives, which greatly expands both the number of sources on which an edition is based and the potential for insight, in contrast with traditional editions.

In its second module, „Beethovens Werkstatt“ deals with five of Beethoven’s compositions which exist both in their original versions and as authentic arrangements (Piano Sonata op. 14/1 arranged for string quartet, Septett op. 20 and Trio op. 38, Opferlied op. 121b and Bundeslied op. 122 as piano reductions, Große Fuge op. 133 as arrangement for piano for four hands op. 134). To demonstrate Beethoven’s arrangement practices, the original version of each work is synoptically linked with its arrangement in a digital edition called „VideApp Arr“. Through digital tools for comparison the relationships between the two versions can be investigated from different perspectives. It becomes visible how the versions are related to each other both by „invariance“ (text elements with the same structure), by „variance“ (text elements with a similar structure) and, in special cases, also by „difference“ (text elements without corresponding parameters). Each view within the „VideApp Arr“ is generated from the underlying MEI data.

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This dissertation argues for a reappraisal of Beethoven’s middle period using the chamber music written between 1806 and 1815 to advance a new paradigm of “middleness.” I argue that Beethoven’s creative output was profoundly influenced by the circumstances of life in Vienna 1806-15. Napoleon’s eastward-advancing armies brought about the end of the Holy Roman Empire and undertook multiple bombardments of the city of Vienna itself, profoundly disrupting both the established social order and daily life. Unlike other scholarship that has made similar claims of influence on Beethoven’s oeuvre, this project does not seek to ascribe programmatic readings or political aspirations to Beethoven’s music, but rather to suggest that the effects of these events were echoed in the composer’s approach to manipulating musical time and conveying musical subjectivity. The stylistic developments that occurred in Beethoven’s music in this period are reflective of currents of upheaval and historical rupture that have been discussed in historiographic and critical literature on early nineteenth century Europe by such scholars as Reinhart Koselleck, Lynn Hunt, and Peter Fritzsche. These developments in Beethoven’s style are seen most clearly in his chamber music, a compositional venue notable both for its experimental potential as well as timbral and textural richness. To support formal and topical analyses of these works, I develop and advance a new paradigm for understanding “middleness.” Using tools from literary criticism, including work by Harold Bloom and Julia Kristeva, I conceive a framework for middleness that posits it as a fundamentally disruptive impulse. This paradigm provides artistic “middleness” with a stature comparable to oft-discussed “lateness” and opens pathways for potential future study. I furthermore theorize that, if middleness is disruptive, the nature of an artist’s disruptive middle style is heavily dependent on the context in which it occurs. Beethoven’s middle style therefore reflects the context of temporal dislocation and social change in which it occurs. Taking this into account, I consider anew questions of style in Beethoven’s middle period, which runs roughly concurrently with the period of Napoleonic upheaval in Vienna. Rather than relying on the idea of the “heroic” style, which is the most commonly cited archetype for Beethoven’s middle-period music, I establish a more capacious framework that allows for understanding even the non-heroic middle period works as part of a larger artistic current. In these works, we see a profusion of genres and topics related to improvisation, as well as new approaches to employing introductions and codas in sonata form movements. Movements from the String Quartet Op. 59 no. 3, the Piano Trio Op. 70 no. 2, the String Quartet Op. 74 “Harp”, the Violin Sonata Op. 96, the Piano Trio Op. 97 “Archduke,” and the Cello Sonata Op. 102 no. 1 are used as examples of Beethoven’s particular disruptive middle style.

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Beethoven is widely considered to be one of the most influential composers of all time. His compositions denote a crucial turning point in the history of western music, and his influence can be discussed in numerous ways - musically, technically, theoretically and even philosophically. This treatise discusses one of the primary aspects of Beethoven's influence on later generations: the way that his symphonies contributed to the expansion of the genre and, consequently, to the development of the orchestra. Included is a detailed analysis of his nine symphonies, an overview of his personal life, and an exploration of the historical, social, and political time in which he lived. This thesis collects and examines relevant documents in order to inquire about and better understand the changes and innovations that transformed the standard orchestra of the eighteenth century, opening the doors to the symphonic music of the Romantic Era. / by Daniel Padua. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 200?. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Beethoven's complex manipulation of formal structures, especially his tendency to build important connections and transformative continuities between non-adjacent sections of musical works, may be seen to function as an attempt to control and sometimes to distort the listener's perception of both the narrative process of musical directionality, as well as the subjective interpretation of time itself. Temporal distortion often lies at the heart of Beethoven's complex contrapuntal language, demonstrated equally through the composer's often enigmatic disruption of phrase-periodic gestures, as well as by occasional instances of overtly incongruous temporal shifts. The "Krakow" collection of compositional sketches for Beethoven's String Quartet in E-Flat, Op. 127, provides a number of instances of "non-linear" or "multi-linear" musical continuity. The term "Krakow" sketches, when referenced in this dissertation, specifically designates the group of Beethoven manuscripts possessed by the Biblioteka Jagiellońska in Krakow, Poland, but which formerly were held by the Royal Library in Berlin. Structural voice-leading analyses are provided for selected portions of the "Krakow" collection; these analyses are then compared to voice-leading graphs and analytical reductions of the corresponding material from Beethoven's published versions of the same musical passages. In some cases the sketches supply almost complete texts, for which critical transcriptions are included as extended examples within the dissertation. The primary analytical technique applied to both compositional sketches as well as to complete musical texts derives from Heinrich Schenker's theory of structural voice-leading and graphical reduction. An important method of critical assessment, from which a number of theoretical arguments are developed, is the contention that Beethoven's contrapuntal language, at least in regard to the op. 127 String Quartet, relies heavily upon a temporal distortion of both form and phrase-periodic gestures, requiring the listener to actively re-construct the continuity of Beethoven's subjective formal archetypes.