No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

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.

No description available.

This study argues that the dialectic and the metamorphosis of the basso del tema and tema in Beethoven’s Eroica Variations, Op. 35 mirror the stages of the philosophical thought of German Idealism. The philosophical systems of the post-Kantian generation were housed in the values of the Goethezeit, in which the concept of self was regarded as fundamental for the worldview. In Germany these systems generated a new intellectual ethos that merged cultural nationalism with the glorification of the self (Burnham). Beethoven’s music gave reliable expression to the values of the Goethezeit, depicting the self as a spiritual entity with a constitutive autonomy, a possibility for self-transcendence, and a fundamental condition of struggle for freedom. While research has focused on Beethoven’s heroic style (Broyles) and the philosophy of his music (Adorno), there is very little literature on the relationship between Beethoven’s music and the philosophical thought of the time. In 1930 Schenker discussed the use of the Eroica theme in the Eroica Variations (Marston): first, the material is stated in its simple form; then, rhythmic structure, dynamics, tempo, texture, and key transform it. Schenker considers the large-movement form rather than the theme, giving emphasis to the basso del tema. This study proposes an analysis of Op. 35–focusing first on the first fourteen variations and then on the fifteenth variation and on the fugue individually–as the musical statement of the philosophical thought of the Goethezeit and offers a discussion on the historical perspectives in Op. 35. Then, the study applies the proposed philosophical and historical analysis of the Eroica Variations to explain how an interpretation based on critical theory can help concert performers develop a deeper understanding of such a demanding piece of repertoire. Finally, the study examines the Eroica Variations as one of the most substantial concert pieces for piano by Beethoven and of the beginning of the nineteenth century, and offers suggestions on how to meet the musical and technical challenges of the piece. / Music Performance

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.

Die Studie zeigt auf Grundlage der überlieferten Quellen die Entstehungsgeschichte von Beethovens Oratorium Christus am Oelberge op. 85 auf. Komposition und Revision des Werkes werden auf chronologischer Ebene sowie durch eine neue Quellenbewertung dargestellt. Im ersten Band werden die Forschungsergebnisse zu den einzelnen Quellen dargelegt. Mehrfache Eingriffe und Zusätze in das Libretto werden untersucht und bewertet. Auch die komplette Neutextierung aus der Kopistenabschrift wird eingehend analysiert. Im Kontext der musikalischen Quellen werden die beiden überlieferten Partiturhandschriften beschrieben, um ihre teils eigenen und teils miteinander verketteten Überlieferungsformen und -wege darzustellen. Zu jeder dieser beiden Quellen wird die Situation um Beethovens Revisionsarbeit dargestellt, da sie voneinander abweichende Stadien überliefern. Zum Abschluss der Quellendiskussion werden die Skizzen, die Originalausgabe und ihre Entstehungsgeschichte sowie die fehlenden Glieder in der Filiation näher betrachtet. Im zweiten Band wird eine wissenschaftlich-kritische Neuausgabe der Partitur von Christus am Oelberge vorgelegt. Dem Notentext liegt als Hauptquelle die Kopistenabschrift der Partitur zu Grunde. Sie gibt die revidierte Fassung des Oratoriums wieder. Aus den überlieferten Quellen ist die erste Fassung des Oratoriums nicht komplett zu rekonstruieren. Die Abschnitte, für die es möglich ist, werden im Anschluss an die Partitur wiedergegeben. Darüber hinaus wird ein Lesartenverzeichnis zur Verfügung gestellt, welches spezielle Sachverhalte der Quellen darstellt und kommentiert, sowie Begründungen für die editorischen Entscheidungen liefert. In drei Anhängen werden Materialien zu Beethovens op. 85 dokumentiert. In Anhang 1 findet sich eine Synopse der verschiedenen Textstadien und -fassungen des Librettos. Der zweite Anhang fasst – ebenfalls in tabellarischer Form – alle nachgewiesenen Aufführungen des Oratoriums im 19. Jahrhundert zusammen; allein die Zahl der Konzerte spricht hier für sich. Rein dokumentarischen Charakter hat der dritte Anhang, dessen Materialsammlung in direktem Bezug zum vorherigen steht. Chronologisch sortiert werden die Konzertberichte, Rezensionen und Konzertanzeigen wiedergegeben. / The work explores the genesis of Beethoven’s oratorio Christus am Oelberge op. 85, based on the surviving sources. The composition and revision of the work are not only discussed chronologically but also taking the new source situation into account. The first volume expounds the results of research into the individual sources. Several changes and additions to the libretto have been examined and evaluated. The complete new text in the copyist’s manuscript are also analysed in depth. In the context of the musical sources the two surviving score manuscripts are described, to show how their provenance is partly separate but also connected. The state of Beethoven’s work on the revision is also laid out for each of these sources because they represent different stages. To conclude the discussion of the sources, the sketches, original edition and its genesis as well as the missing links in the filiation are more closely discussed. The second volume contains a scholarly critical new edition of the score of Christus am Oelberge. The main source for the musical text is the copyist’s manuscript of the score. It reproduces the revised edition of the oratorio. The first version of the oratorio cannot be fully reconstructed using the surviving sources. The passages for which it has been possible to do so are given at the end of the score. Furthermore there is also a critical commentary which lays out special aspects of the sources and provides a commentary on them, as well as giving reasons for the editorial decisions. Three appendices document materials on Beethoven’s op. 85. Appendix 1 contains a synopsis of the different stages and versions of the libretto. Appendix 2 summarizes all of the proven performances of the oratorio in the 19 century (also in a table); the number of concerts speaks for itself. The third appendix has a purely documentary character; the material it contains is directly connected to that of the previous appendix. Reports, reviews and notices of concerts are given, sorted chronologically.