The multi-movement structures of Beethoven’s instrumental works include some of the most obvious manifestations of his originality as a composer. His very first Viennese publications—the Piano Trios op. 1 and the Piano Sonatas op. 2—adopt the four-movement cycle that had previously been associated primarily with the symphony. And in his last five string quartets he transformed the conventional multi-movement cycles almost beyond recognition, particularly in the seven-movement Quartet op. 131, in which each movement runs directly into the next. This study investigates Beethoven’s compositional approach to multi-movement structure, with the aim of gaining a better understanding of the underlying principles that influenced his musical decisions. Particular attention is given to an aspect of his sketching process that has received relatively little scholarly attention: multi-movement plans. These plans were generally sketched at an early stage in the compositional process, and outline preliminary ideas for the different movements of a work as a whole. Although Lewis Lockwood hypothesised that such plans were particularly frequent amongst Beethoven’s sketches from 1800 to 1804, until now there has never been a detailed study of their role within Beethoven’s sketching process throughout his career. This study reveals that multi-movement plans were a regular feature in sketches for instrumental works from 1800 onwards, and that they served a variety of purposes within the compositional process. Multi-movement plans from all stages of Beethoven’s compositional career are transcribed and examined for what they can reveal about his conception of multi-movement structures.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:603173 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Buurman, Erica |
| Contributors | Cooper, Barry; Herissone, Rebecca |
| Publisher | University of Manchester |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/beethovens-compositional-approach-to-multimovement-structures-in-his-instrumental-works(9efc31c0-a545-4a66-8045-d975f1119f7b).html |
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