Beethoven and the Battle with Form The Violin Concerto Theme 1 Theme 1 T1 Theme 1 In D Major Transition Transition T2 Transition Op 61 (1806) Theme 2 Theme 2 Theme 2 Cadence Cadence T3 T4 Cadenza Presented by Akram Najjar (Thanks to the Hospitality of Samir Khayat)
Karaz w Laimoon Presented by Akram Najjar (Thanks to the Hospitality of Samir Khayat)
This talk was given earlier, in a shorter form in Karaz w Laimoon Activities: Monday Talks, Music Club, Cine Club, Book Club, Trips, etc. Visit www.karazwlaimoon.com Go to Music Club / Beethoven Violin Concerto (At Samir Khayat s) You can download this whole presentation! 3 / 46
Agenda --- Tonight 1) Placing Beethoven and the Concerto in Context 2) Critical terms and definitions + Musical examples 3) The Sonata Allegro Form 4) The First Movement of the First Piano Sonata + Musical examples 5) The Beethovenian Breaking Point 6) 8 Creativity Strokes by Beethoven + Musical examples 7) Movement 1 / Movement 2 / Movement 3 8) The Full Concerto by Sergey Katchatryan + Full Video 4 / 46
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Beethoven s Life Line and Key Milestones 57 years Bonn (22 years) Vienna (35 years) 1770 78 92 97 02 06 1827 First Vienna Trip Settles in Vienna for Good Deafness Starts Heiligenstadt Testament Violin Concerto 6 / 46
The 3 Beethoven Periods by Year + Opus Number Op 1 to 27 28-95 96-138 Early (32 yrs) Middle (42 yrs) Late (57 yrs) 1770 02 12 1827 Heiligenstadt Testament 7 / 46
The Concerto s Neighbors in the Middle of the Middle Period Op 55 - Symphony No 3 in F Eroica 1801 Op 56 - Triple Concerto in C 1804-05 Op 57 - Sonata No 23 in F min Appassionata 1804-06 Op 58 - Piano Concerto No 4 1805-06 Op 59 - The 3 Rasumovsky Quartets 1806 Op 60 - Symphony No 4 in B flat 1807 Op 61 - The Violin Concerto in D major 1806 Op 62 - Coriolan Overture 1807............... Op 67 - Symphony No 5 in C min 1808 Op 68 - Symphony No 6 in in F major ("Pastoral") 1808 OP 69 - Cello Sonata No 3 in A major 1808 8 / 46
The Reason for the Concerto Franz Clement was a great violinist and a close friend of Beethoven Clement gave Beethoven advice when composing Fidelio The Concerto was written for him BUT dedicated to Stephan von Breuning, a childhood and lifelong friend The Concerto reflected Clement s expertise: Lyricism and warmth making the violin sing High register No acrobatic virtuosity Sometimes you can hear the violin whistle in this Concerto Writing for Clement had a major influence on the Form of the Concerto At least on the Massive First Movement: 26 minutes 9 / 46
The Structure of the Concerto Movement 1: Allegro non Troppo (D maj) (Sonata Allegro Form) (26 minutes) Movement 2: Larghetto (G maj) (Theme and Variations) (10 min) Movement 3: Rondo Allegro (D maj) (10 min) 10 / 46
Classical Works consist of Movements and Movements consist of Sections The Whole Work Each Movement Movement 1 Movement 2 Movement 3 Movement 4 Section Section Section Section 11 / 46
Classical Form and Sections of Typical Movements Beethoven followed standard textbook style Classical Forms 1) Sonata Allegro Form: Exposition / Development / Recapitulation Not for Sonatas --- And not for Allegros just a bad naming 2) Ternary Forms: A - B - A or A - B - A - C - A - B - A 3) Theme and Variations: A - A - A - A - A - A 4) Rondos: A episode A another episode A... 12 / 46
What are Themes? Themes: small units of notes. Not complete melodies. Beethoven s 5 th Symphony: the Fate Motif Beethoven s 3 rd (Eroica) Symphony: first movement Beethoven s 7 th Symphony: second and third movements Melodies are usually longer and have a completeness about them not usually found in themes Several themes can make up a melody 13 / 46
What are Cadences? Cadence = a musical phrase announcing the end of a section or a movement It can be final: like Amen.... Or the end of Happy Birthday.... It can be an interim temporary cadence It can even be a false or a tricky when a composer wants you to think there is an end coming soon but then restarts in a different way Cadence NOT = CADENZA CADENZA = a section in a Concerto for Soloists to improvise on their own There are two in this Concerto: end of Movements 1 and 3 Note: at the end of a Cadenza, the soloist plays a TRILL to warn the Conductor Note: there is a superposition of themes in the first one 14 / 46
What are Transitions = Modulations = Bridges? This is a passage from one section to the next Purpose: to introduce the next section OR Purpose: to take the work from one key to another The 3 terms are almost interchangeable We will use Transition 15 / 46
Beethoven and Classical Forms: Let us compare two works by Beethoven The First Movement of: Sonata in F minor Op 2 No 1 The First Movement of: Violin Concerto in D Major Op 61 We will then ask the question: What happened between Op 2 and Op 61? 16 / 46
What is the Sonata Allegro Form? The Sonata Allegro Form is a form applied to a single movement Most First Movements are in Sonata Allegro Form BUT it has been found in other movements The Form has nothing to do with Sonatas nor with Allegros! It is found in Concertos, Symphonies, Trios, Quartets, Overtures, etc. The form started life in the early classical period: CPE Bach / Haydn (mid/late 1700 s) It was immediately adopted and is still common 17 / 46
The Standard Sonata Allegro Form (Mozart / Haydn / Beethoven / Schubert) 1) Exposition 1) Expo Repeat 2) Development 3) Recap Introduction Theme 1 Transition Theme 2 Cadence Theme 1 Transition Theme 2 Cadence T1 T3 T2 T4 Theme 1 Transition Theme 2 Cadence Coda 18 / 46
Sonata Allegro for Concertos is Different. It Contains a Double Exposure Exposure 1 is for the Orchestra Exposure 2 is for the Soloist In Expo 2, some new material is often written for the Soloists The two exposures are normally very similar in structure But Beethoven and normal do not mix Exception: Beethoven s Op 58 Piano Concerto No 4 starts with the Soloist! Exception: Beethoven s Op 73 Piano Concerto No 5 (Emperor) the soloist and orchestra start together 19 / 46
Sonata No 1 (Op 2) in F minor (1793) Movement 1 No introduction Beethoven goes straight to Theme 1 Not even a coda (or maybe a very very short one) Themes 1 and 2 are very simple they are not full melodies! Theme 1 goes up a scale then curls a little. Theme 2 almost reverses theme 1: down and curl Transition from T1 to T2 is a simple modulation It takes us from F minor to A major (the key whose relative minor F minor is) The Cadence after T2 is a simple phrase which closes the Exposition Beethoven repeats the Exposition VERBATIM 20 / 46
The Sonata Allegro in Sonata 1 1) Exposition 1) Expo Repeat 2) Development 3) Recap Theme 1 Theme 1 T1 Theme 1 Transition Transition Transition Theme 2 Theme 2 T2 Theme 2 Cadence Cadence Cadence All in 3 min 10 seconds
1806: 13 years later, Beethoven writes the Violin Concerto. NOTHING as simple as above. Why?
What happened between Op 2 and Op 61? 1802: Beethoven realized he was going severely deaf and was about to kill himself. (Heiligenstadt Testament) Beethoven was severely constrained by Classical Forms. Overcoming deafness while overcoming Mozart and Haydn was his release! One Solution: Beethoven kept the external form reasonably the same But he destroyed it from the inside.... 23 / 46
Creativity 1: Overall Structure Movement 1 is massive and much longer than the other 2: Movement 1 = 26 while 2 and 3 are around 10 minutes each Movement 2 is usually a Scherzo (Ternary) A B A Here, it is a Theme and Variation (usually reserved for final movements) Even its structure does not follow a standard Theme and N Variations There is a theme B and it comes in the middle (not like Double Variations) There are interlude that are not variations (like episodes in Rondos) 24 / 46
Creativity 2: The Themes of Movement 1 It is usual with Beethoven to use short themes to manipulate and develop We heard some before In the concerto, we have two highly lyrical melodies for Themes 1 and 2 They are long and complete and similar They are in the same key (where they are supposed to be in D and A) They are difficult to develop and we will not hear them manipulated Problem: how can he develop Themes 1 and 2 extensively? Solution: he does not. He keeps them intact but develops other components, ingeniously 25 / 46
Same Problem: Different Solutions 73 years later, Tchaikovsky writes his own Violin Concerto in D major No one can write songs in large works as well as he does But Tchaikovsky is facing a problem: German structures / construction / formal composition versus Russian melodies and lyricism He could not avoid the first.... but he was a master of the second He introduced two most beautiful themes because he cannot help it Beethoven wanted the Concerto to be lyrical (as a choice) + for Clement 26 / 46
Solutions? Tchaikovsky: But the melodies are more than great.... He respected the form nut his transitions, cadences and developments are Boring / Over-ornamented / Not related to the Two Themes Beethoven: Changes the overall structure of the Concerto Movement 1 is highly constructive Movement 2 is melancholic and lyric while Movement 3 is almost a dance Development is applied to transitions / drum taps / cadences / codas Small themes are tackled and developed 27 / 46
Creativity 3: Development in Movement 1 Drum Taps (the 4 beats) are used as Intros / Base lines / Part of melodies / Transitions (and by different instruments) Transitions are expanded into several sections They are almost development sections on their own Cadences are also expanded into several sections Even Codas are extensive (in all movements) Transitions, Cadences and Codas borrow themes from each other They are made up of small themes Love Song Dialog + Escalator theme + Downward theme New material is introduced anywhere and also developed 28 / 46
Creativity 4: The Weird Structure of Movement 1 We will see after these slides that the Soloist s Exposition is most unusual Beethoven disrupts the parallel structure between Expo 1 (orchestra) and Expo 2 (soloist) He creates a most unusual structure... More soon 29 / 46
Creativity 5: Harmonic Innovation Classical forms have standard harmonic relationships Example: Sonata Allegro Form --- say, our Concerto in D major Theme 1 will be in D major Theme 2 will be in A major (which is the dominant or the key of 5 th note of D) Themes 1 and 2 are in D major in the Expo Beethoven does not always respect that (all shown in the subtitles) Theme 2 is in D major and the second half is in D minor Drum taps are sounded in D sharp, very far from D major In Exposure 2, he goes into distant keys... C major, etc. Musical analysis articles spend most of their time analyzing key relationships and harmonic structures This is too complex to handle in this talk 30 / 46
Creativity 6: The 4 Drum Taps The Concerto starts with 4 beats on the Tympani There are 4 in one bar and 1 starts theme 1 in the 2 nd bar First, they are a rhythmic statements Then they are used as accompaniments, transitions or counterpoints They are expressed by different instruments Sometimes they are expressed as 4 beats, and sometimes as 5 Once, they are truncated into 3 notes (I will point it out) Beethoven is using non-melodic material for development 31 / 46
The 4 Drum Taps in Other Works Piano Concerto No 4 in G (Op 58) String Quartet No 7 in F (Op 59/1) Razumovsky Symphony No 5 in C min (Op 67) AND as we showed... the First Sonata! And many others... 32 / 46
Creativity 7: White Spaces It is important to think of the things that an Artist does not do but that we expect him to do Beethoven does not use Counterpoint / Fugal Writing in this highly lyrical piece We should compare it with Tchaikovsky s Violin Concerto in D Written in 1878, or 72 years later Virtuosity is not emphasized Complex melodies are not used Themes are not contrasted (as they are similar in nature) 33 / 46
Creativity 8: Duration of Movements But Beethoven still has a problem.... Movement 1 was conceived to be highly complex while retaining the required lyricism.... Movement 1: 26 minutes Movement 2: 10 min Movement 3: 10 min How to balance the 3 movements? 34 / 46
Movement 1: Allegro non Troppo (D maj) (Sonata Allegro Form) Massively large movement Maintains the Global structure of Sonata Allegro Form BUT destroys our expectation of the internal structure of the sections Highly lyrical No competition between the soloist and the orchestra Contains a Cadenza for the soloist 35 / 46
Exposure 1: Orchestra Intro T1 Transition T2 Cadence Drum Taps Lyric Escalator (3) Downward Slope Tutti (in 2 parts) Lyric (Major) Lyric (Minor) Drum Taps Tutti Rise Dialog Drum Taps start as rhythmic unit Themes are lyrical but broken down into small units T1 and T2 are never contrasted against one another very similar Theme 2 is repeated in D minor (unusual, already it is supposed to be in A major) OK, this is more complex than Movement 1 in Sonata 1 But what about Exposure 2 (Soloist)? 36 / 46
Exposure 2 for the Soloist Should we not Expect Duplication of Exposure 1? Ex1 Intro T1 Transition T2 Cadence Drum Taps Lyric Escalator (3) Downward Slope Tutti (in 2 parts) Lyric (Major) Lyric (Minor) Drum Taps Tutti Rise Dialog Ex2 Intro T1 Transition T2 Cadence Drum Taps Lyric Escalator (3) Downward Tutti (in 2 parts) Lyric (Major) Lyric (Minor) Drum Taps Tutti Rise Dialog 37 / 46
Since when does Beethoven do things the way we expect?
Exposure 2: Starts normally then duplicates parts of Exposure 1 Ex1 Intro T1 Transition T2 Cadence Drum Taps Lyric Upward Rise (3) Down Slope Tutti (in 2 parts) Lyric (Major) Lyric (Minor) Drum Taps Tutti Rise Dialog Ex2 Intro Solo T1 Transition T2 New Cadence Lyric Upward Rise (3) Down Slope Tutti (in 2 parts) Lyric (Major) Lyric (Minor) Drum Taps Tutti Rise Dialog Pt 4 + Pt 5 + Pt 6 Transition T2 Cadence Intro Development Tutti (in 2 parts) Lyric (Major) Lyric (Minor) Drum Taps Tutti Rise (C Major) Dialog Solo 39 / 46
The Development Development is made up of 4 Sections + 1 Cadence The sections use Themes 1 and 2 They also use material from earlier Transitions and Cadences The 4 parts are very lyrical Part 2 is almost like a Chopin Nocturne Most of the genius of this movement is in the manipulation of keys.... Harmonic ambiguity That is too complex to discuss (at least for me) T1 T2 Transitions Cadences 40 / 46
Recapitulation We expect the Recap to have the same structure as the Exposition It only has a single run (not a double expo) It borrows structures from Exposure 2 and mixes them with Exposure 1 Not a single section is like its earlier counterpart All are developed New Item: a Cadenza for the violin 41 / 46
Recapitulation: Starts normally then duplicates parts of Exposure 1 Intro T1 Transition T2 Cadence Drum Taps Escalator (7) Down Slope (2) Escalator (3) Tutti (in 2 parts) Lyric (Major) Lyric (Minor) Drum Taps Parts 1 to 6 Transition CADENZA Coda End Cadence Parts 1 to 3 42 / 46
Movement 2: Theme and Variation or Is It? We should expect a Scherzo: A B A We get Theme and Variations but with 2 themes There is a standard form for Double Theme A B A B A B.... This is not it! The structure of Movement 2 is weird Beethoven introduces a Second Theme B and varies it once He introduces a lot of Interludes.... 43 / 46
Movement 2: Structure Theme A Variation 1 on theme A Variation 2 on theme A Variation 3 on theme A Interlude 1 Theme B Variation 4 on theme A Interlude 2 Variation on theme B Repeat of Interlude 2 Coda and straight into Movement 3 44 / 46
Movement 3: Rondo Allegro (At last something recognizable) Rondo Episode 1 Rondo 1 Episode 2 Transition to Rondo 2 Rondo 2 Transition to Episode 3 Episode 3 False Cadence Cadence to CADENZA CADENZA Trill announces end of Cadenza Change of KEY transition to Rondo 3 Rondo 3 (on Violin) Coda Final Cadence 45 / 46
And now let these two speak