Beethoven s Violin Concerto and his Battle with Form Presented by Akram Najjar STARK Creative Space
A Collaboration between JML, STARK Creative Space and Karaz w Laimoon
Agenda 1) Placing the Concerto in Context 2) A few Musical Terms 3) The Sonata Allegro Form and Development 4) Beethoven s 6 Innovative Techniques for this Concerto 5) The Structure of the 3 Movements of the Concerto 6) A Video Performance with Guiding Sub-Titles
The Video of the Concerto: Sergey Khachatryan (Violin) Andris Nelsons (Conductor) The Orchestre de Paris Detailed Subtitles will guide you through the various events in the Concerto
The Talk is by a Non-Musician to Non-Musicians
You can Download the presentation from jmliban.org
Placing the Violin Concerto in Context
Periods in Western Music 8 / 64
Beethoven Came at the end of the Classical Period (He may have caused it to end) Music had lighter and clearer texture than in the Baroque Period Concentration was on homophonic writing Melodies over base line or chord progressions Counterpoint was used but it was not as common as in the Baroque Period The Piano replaced the Harpsichord Different types of Baroque Concertos became Extinct Concerto Grosso, Ripieno and Concertino Only the Solo Concerto evolved to dominate the Classical Period Classical Period Composers focused on Musical Development New Forms for movements emerged: Sonata Allegro, Rondo, Theme and Variations, Scherzos, etc. 9 / 64
More... The Rise of New Genres: String Quartets and Quintets, Piano Quartets and Quintets, etc. The Rise of the Miniature: Impromptus, Fantasies, Romances, Bagatelles The Rise of Lieder: stand alone songs stressing individual lyricism Almost single handedly by Schubert Opera was still popular, but later Classical Composers did not focus on it: Beethoven (Only Fidelio) Schubert (wrote many, but none are significant) 10 / 64
Beethoven s Life Line and Some 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
The 3 Periods of Beethoven s Work (by Year + Opus Number) Op 1 to 29 Op 30 to 95 Op 96 to 138 Early (8 years) Middle (10 years) Late (15 years) 1770 94 02 12 1827 Heiligenstadt Testament 12 / 64
The Concerto is in the Middle of the Middle Period Here are it s Neighbors Op 55 - Symphony No 3 in F Eroica 1803-04 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 in G 1805-06 Op 59 - The 3 Razumovsky 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 13 / 64
Background.... Franz Clement was a great violinist and a good friend of Beethoven s Beethoven consulted with Clement when composing Fidelio The Concerto was written with Clement in mind But it was dedicated to Stephan von Breuning, Beethoven s childhood friend 14 / 64
And... The Solo part reflected Clement s expertise: Lyricism and Warmth making the violin sing Written for the high register (high notes on the violin) Although Clement used acrobatic virtuosities, Beethoven avoided them in this Concerto Clement s ability also affected the Form of the Concerto At least in the massive First Movement with a duration of 26 minutes (more later) 15 / 64
Classical Works consist of Movements and Movements consist of Sections The Whole Work Movement 1 Movement 2 Movement.. Movement N Every Movement Section1 Section 2 Section... Section N
Typical Forms for Classical Movements 1) Sonata Allegro Form: Exposition / Development / Recapitulation Applies to all genres: not only to Sonatas and Allegros Usually found in first movements but not always 2) Ternary Forms: A - B - A A - B - C - B A A - B - A - C - A - B A Found in middle movements, usually Andantes, Slow
Typical Forms for Classical Movements 3) Theme and Variations: One Single Theme, varied N times A - A - A - A - A -.... A Mostly in final movements 4) Double Theme and Variations: Two Themes, varied N times A B A B A B.... A B 5) Rondos (Usually final movements): Repeated N times A1 - Episode 1 A2 - Episode 2 A3 - Episode 3... A1
The Structure of the Concerto Movement 1: Allegro non Troppo (D major) (Sonata Allegro Form) Movement 2: Larghetto (G major) (Theme and Variations) Movement 3: Rondo Allegro (D major) (Rondo) (26 minutes) (10 minutes) (10 minutes) 19 / 64
Some Musical Terms we will need
1) What are Themes? Themes are small units of notes. Not complete melodies. (1) Symphony No 5 in C minor (Op 67): the Fate Motif (2-3) Symphony No 7 in A major (Op 92): second and third movements Themes do not often stand alone Themes form parts of larger melodies or phrases or larger themes Melodies are longer and have a musical completeness Example of a Melody with Themes: (4) Mozart s Symphony No 40 in G minor (K550): first movement
2) What are Cadences? (Not Cadenzas) Cadence = a phrase announcing the End of a Movement It can also announce the End of a Section within a movement It can even be a False or a Tricky cadence: when you expect an end but the composer continues in a slightly different manner Musicians define many types of cadences (mostly technical) Usually, cadences are short passages But Beethoven and Usual do not go together In this Concerto, the cadences are long, elaborate and consist of several sections including thematic development 22 / 64
Cadences are not to be confused with Cadenzas A Cadenza is a section in a concerto for soloists to improvise on their own and show their virtuosic skills Early in the Classical period, soloists used to improvise Cadenzas Later on, composers + great soloists wrote down their Cadenzas This removed the thrill of improvisation BUT... It ensured that the Cadenza did not conflict with the Concerto Normally, there will be 1 Cadenza at the end of the Movement 1 Beethoven and Normal? In this Concerto, we have 2 Cadenzas, at the end of Movements 1 and 3 23 / 64
3) Transition = Modulation = Bridge This is a section that takes us from one section to the next Purpose A: to introduce the next section to avoid abrupt transitions Purpose B: to take a section from one key to another The 3 terms are almost interchangeable We will use Transition Transitions are Usually Short You guessed it: we have several long and elaborate sections where Beethoven introduces thematic development 24 / 64
Beethoven and Classical Forms: Let us compare 2 movements 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 Both these movements are in Sonata Allegro Form 25 / 64
What is the Sonata Allegro Form? This form started life in the early classical period: CPE Bach / Haydn (mid / late 1700 s) It blossomed in the Classical Period But was in use throughout the 19 th century The Form has nothing to do with Sonatas nor with Allegros! Can be in Concertos, Symphonies, Trios, Quartets, Overtures, etc. The Sonata Allegro Form structures a single movement The Form is mostly found in first movements (Classical Period) BUT composers have used them in other movements 26 / 64
The Standard Sonata Allegro Form (Haydn / Mozart / 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 T2 Maybe New Themes Theme 1 Transition Theme 2 Cadence Coda Yellow sections are optional
Development: A Main Classical Practice A composer will use themes stated earlier in the movement He will manipulate them to build a new Section: Invert them (upside down or back to front) Break them up into smaller themes Manipulate their rhythm and tempo Change their melodies تقسيم In Jazz, we call this improvisation or Sequence them (change register) Change their instrumentation Travel into unusual harmonies Introduce new themes Generally, there are no rules for development Except that development should take place in specific Sections Beethoven loved development and introduced it in very unusual places 28 / 64
BUT Sonata Allegro for Concertos is Different. It Contains a Double Exposure (Not = Repeats) Exposure 1 is for the Orchestra Exposure 2 is for the Soloist In Expo 2, some new material is often written for the Soloist The two exposures are normally very similar in structure But Beethoven and Normality do not mix 29 / 64
Sonata No 1 (Op 2) in F minor (1793) Movement 1 No introduction Beethoven goes straight to Theme 1 Not even a coda Themes 1 and 2 are very simple they are not full melodies! Theme 1 goes up a scale then curls a little This was called a Mannheim Rocket Theme 2 almost reverses theme 1: down and curl 30 / 64
And... Then we have a simple Transition from T1 to T2 It takes us from F minor to A major F minor is the relative minor of A major and is 6 notes above it This is standard practice for movements in a minor key The Cadence after T2 is a simple phrase which closes the Expo Beethoven repeats the Expo Verbatim So, we really hear Theme 1 three times Exposition / Exposition Repeat / Recapitulation You think Beethoven will be happy with such rigid repetitions? 31 / 64
The Sonata Allegro Form in Sonata 1 1) Exposition 1) Expo Repeat 2) Development 3) Recap Theme 1 Transition Theme 1 Transition T1 Theme 1 Transition Theme 2 Cadence Theme 2 Cadence T2 Theme 2 Cadence Duration: 3 min 10 seconds
1806: 13 years and 59 works later, Beethoven writes the Violin Concerto. Nothing as simple as Op 1. 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 felt his creativity was severely constrained by Classical Forms. So, rather than fall, he picked himself up with a massive creative drive: overcoming his deafness, Mozart and Haydn. First work after the Testament: the highly innovative Eroica Symphony 34 / 64
Solution? In the Middle Period, Beethoven kept external forms reasonably structured as per the standards of Classical Forms His innovation and genius got focused on the internals of the movements More: he introduced different types of innovations in different works Yet, in his middle period he did break with some external Classical External Forms (Introducing Scherzos, Starting with the soloist in Concerto 4, etc.) Full breaks with Classical Form will only place in his Late Period 35 / 64
6 Innovative Techniques Beethoven introduced in the Violin Concerto They allowed Beethoven to Transcend the limitations of early Classical Form
Let us keep in mind that... Audiences in Beethoven s time were familiar with Classical Forms Any unusual practices by composers were quickly noticed They would often be shocking and unacceptable to them Our general public today... 1) Is not aware of these forms 2) And with knowledge of later music, they are not shocked with the unusual practices We need to imagine how innovative such practices were at that time 37 / 64
Innovation 1: Changes to Structures Movement 1 is massive and much longer than the other 2: Movement 1 = 26 while Movements 2 and 3 are around 10 minutes each Balance solves the problem of imbalance beautifully Movement 1 is elaborate and complex So he composes Movements 2 and 3 to be light and jovial Movement 2 has an unusual structure for the Second Exposition To be presented later 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 Classical Theme and Variation 38 / 64
Innovation 2: The 2 Lyrical Themes of Movement 1 Beethoven regularly uses short themes in the Exposition He would then manipulate them and develop them In this Concerto, we have two highly lyrical melodies for Themes 1 and 2 Unusually, they are not contrasted but have a similar mood Unusually, they are in the same key Theme 2 should be in A, the dominant key of D, or 5 steps above A Unusually, the second theme is repeated in the Minor mode (D minor) This poses a compositional problem for the Sonata Form But there are new themes in the Movement, for example, the Tutti 39 / 64
Theme Names in the First Movement I will use non-musical names to symbolize themes and subthemes This allows us to follow them quickly when viewing the subtitles in the Video Drum Taps Love Song Dialog Downward Slope Upward Slope Escalator The Tutti Rise.... 40 / 64
Problem and Solution In other works, Beethoven starts with short themes. He could easily Break them into even smaller themes Invert them Transpose them to other keys Sequence them into higher or lower registers Expand them in time (faster or slower) Problem: how can Beethoven develop Themes 1 and 2 extensively when they are so complete, large and closed? Solution: he does not use the same development techniques He keeps the 2 Themes almost intact But he develops other components, ingeniously 41 / 64
Same Problem: Different Solutions 73 years later, Tchaikovsky writes his own Concerto No one can write melodies as well as Tchaikovsky Tchaikovsky is tied between: German structures / construction / formal composition Russian melodies and lyricism He could not compensate to meet German forms So, he fills the Concerto beautiful melodies His development techniques are wanting...
Beethoven s Solution? The 2 lyrical themes in Movement 1 are not meant for intense development as in the case of the 5 th Symphony and other works They represent the pillars of the Movement They will be supported by other development techniques... Solutions 1) To manage the two large themes, Movement 1 is very long 2) He applies Development to unusual components (more soon) Transitions / cadences / codas 3) He introduces new short themes to develop within cadences and codas 4) He uses the Drum Taps theme as a foundation (more soon) 43 / 64
Innovation 3: Unusual Development Practices in Movement 1 Transitions, Cadences and Codas are usually short enough to suit their purpose: Transitions (to connect sections) Cadences (to announce ends of sections) Codas (to introduce a tail to a movement that extends the cadence) In the First Movement of the Violin Concerto, these 3 components are different 1) They are longer than usual and are made up of several sub-sections 2) Beethoven introduces development sections within these components 3) Beethoven introduces new themes within them Love Song Dialog + Escalator theme + Downward theme.... 4) They borrow themes from one another 44 / 64
Innovation 4: The Drum Taps and Rhythmic Development This is another developmental innovation (6) The Concerto starts with 4 + 1 beats on the Tympani Sometimes, 4 taps appear alone and 3 too After using them as a rhythmic statement, Beethoven uses them as accompaniments, transitions or counterpoints AND on different instruments Beethoven will thread the Drum Taps through the movement Visually, this is like a re-enforcement for the lyric themes
The 4 Taps in Other Works of Beethoven (7) Piano Concerto No 4 in G (Op 58) Movement 1 (8) String Quartet No 7 in F (Op 59/1) Razumovsky Movement 2 (9) Symphony No 5 in C min (Op 67) Movement 3 AND as we showed... in the First Sonata! Examples of Rhythmic Development: (10) String Quartet No 11 in F min (Op 95) Furioso Movement 1 (11) Sonata No 21 in C (Op 53) Waldstein Movement 1 The 4 Taps have no significance as such Beethoven is simply using them as a developmental component 46 / 64
Innovation 5: Harmonic Innovation in Movement 1 Beethoven disrupts standard Classical Form harmonic relationships Theme 1 is in D major (as expected) Theme 2 should be in A major (the dominant or the key of 5 th note of D) BUT in the Exposition, both Themes 1 and 2 are in D major Theme 2 is in D major but its second half is in D minor Drum Taps are sounded in D sharp, a key that is very far from D major In Exposure 2, he goes into very distant keys... C major, etc. Musical analysis articles spend most of their time analyzing key relationships and harmonic structures in this Concerto This is too complex to handle in this talk 47 / 64
Innovation 6: White Spaces Artists know what their audiences expect Sometimes, they eliminate such things as part of their compositional genius 1) Beethoven does not use Counterpoint / Fugal Writing in this highly lyrical piece as he does in many middle and late period works Fugal writing in the Rasumovsky Quartets, 2 nd and 4 th Movement Eroica In Late Period works: Hammerklavier, Op 102 (Cello), Op 101 and 110 (Piano) Most movements of the 9 th Symphony 2) There is no virtuosity in the Concerto: he writes for Clement as a lyricist and not as a virtuoso 3) Themes are not contrasted (as they are similar in nature) 48 / 64
The Structure of the 3 Movements
Movement 1: Allegro non Troppo (D major) Sonata Allegro Form (26 minutes) 50 / 64
Movement 1: Allegro non Troppo (D major) Sonata Allegro Form (26 minutes) Massive large movement Longer than every Mozart Concerto Maintains the Global structure of the Sonata Allegro Form Beethoven destroys our expectation of its internal structure It is highly lyrical The Violin and the Orchestra are partners: no competition It contains a Cadenza for the soloist (usually in the last movement) 51 / 64
Exposure 1: Orchestra Intro T1 Transition T2 Cadence Drum Taps Lyric Melody Escalator (3) Downward Slope Tutti (in 2 parts) Lyric Melody (Major) Lyric Melody (Minor) Drum Taps Tutti Rise Love Song 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, it is supposed to be in A major) But what about Exposure 2 (Soloist)? 52 / 64
Exposure 2 for the Soloist We should Expect the Duplication of Exposure 1 Ex1 Intro T1 Transition T2 Cadence Ex2 T1 Transition T2 Final Cadence 53 / 64
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 1 st Cadence Drum Taps Lyric Upward Rise (3) Down Slope Tutti (in 2 parts) Lyric (Major) Lyric (Minor) Drum Taps Tutti Rise Love Song Dialog Ex2 Intro Violin Entry T1 Transition T2 2nd Cadence Lyric Upward Rise (3) Down Slope Tutti (in 2 parts) Lyric (Major) Lyric (Minor) Drum Taps Tutti Rise Love Song 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) Love Song Dialog Violin Entry
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 56 / 64
Recapitulation We expect the Recap to have the same structure as the Exposition It borrows structures from Expo 2 and mixes them with Expo 1 All sections get developed in new ways without copying corresponding sections in the early Expositions And there is another Cadenza for the violin 57 / 64
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 58 / 64
Movement 2: Larghetto (G major) Theme and Variations (10 min) 59 / 64
Movement 2: Larghetto (G major) Theme and Variation or Is It? (10 minutes) We should expect a Scherzo: A B A We get Theme + Variations but with 2 themes Standard Theme and Variation (1 theme): A - A - A - A - A A Standard Double Variation: A B A B A B.... A B Beethoven creates his own unusual Double Variation structure 60 / 64
Theme A Variation 1 (on A) Variation 2 (on A) Variation 3 (on A) Interlude 1 Theme B Variation 1 (on A) Interlude 2 Variation 1 (on B) Repeat Interlude 2 Coda then Continue to Movement 3 Differences Variations on Theme A follow it directly instead of interleaving with Variations on Theme B We now have 2 Interludes Theme B is followed by a single Variation on Theme A Interlude 2 is repeated Movement does not finish as the Coda goes straight into Movement 3 Do you see any pattern here? 61 / 64
Movement 3: Rondo Allegro (D major) (10 min) 62 / 64
Movement 3: Rondo Allegro (D major) (10 minutes) At last something recognizable Rondo 1 Episode 1 Rondo 2 Episode 2 Transition Traditional Rondo Structure: A1 - Episode 1 A2 - Episode 2 A3 - Episode 3... A1 In this Movement, Beethoven is more conforming than with Movements 1 and 2 Just watch the False Cadence after Episode 3 Rondo 3 Transition Episode 3 False Cadence Cadence to Cadenza CADENZA Transition Rondo 4 Coda Final Cadence
and now let these two speak