A Conducting Student's Guide to the Solving and Execution of Major Gestural Issues in Beethoven's First Eight Symphonies

The University of Southern Mississippi The Aquila Digital Community Dissertations Spring 5-2014 A Conducting Student's Guide to the Solving and Execution of Major Gestural Issues in Beethoven's First Eight Symphonies Nathanael Thomas Lambert University of Southern Mississippi Follow this and additional works at: https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations Part of the Music Education Commons, Music Performance Commons, and the Music Practice Commons Recommended Citation Lambert, Nathanael Thomas, "A Conducting Student's Guide to the Solving and Execution of Major Gestural Issues in Beethoven's First Eight Symphonies" (2014). Dissertations. 254. https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/254 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by The Aquila Digital Community. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of The Aquila Digital Community. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The University of Southern Mississippi A CONDUCTING STUDENT’S GUIDE TO THE SOLVING AND EXECUTION OF MAJOR GESTURAL ISSUES IN BEETHOVEN’S FIRST EIGHT SYMPHONIES by Nathanael Thomas Lambert Abstract of a Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School of The University of Southern Mississippi in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts May 2014 ABSTRACT A CONDUCTING STUDENT’S GUIDE TO THE SOLVING AND EXECUTION OF MAJOR GESTURAL ISSUES IN BEETHOVEN’S FIRST EIGHT SYMPHONIES by Nathanael Thomas Lambert May 2014 This work is a reference guide for the solving of major conducting gestural issues in Beethoven’s first eight symphonies. The most common major gestural issues encountered in conducting Beethoven’s symphonies include tempo modulations, fermati, hypermetric conducting, and cueing in rapid succession. The methods and criteria used for solving each of these issues are addressed in separate chapters devoted to each of these major gestural issues. A following chapter is devoted to the solving of less complicated issues including starting movements, gradual tempo changes, non- modulatory sudden tempo changes, and showing dynamics and sforzandi. Each symphony is given its own chapter where each movement is analyzed for its specific gestural issues. In each movement’s analysis, every type of major gestural issue is given its own section where the locations of each issue are presented. As necessary, each instance of the issue being addressed receives its own specific suggested solution and, when needed, a description of its physical and mental execution. Multiple instances of a gestural issue are addressed together when they allow for the same solution. Solutions to addressed gestural issues are often presented in the form tables. Musical examples from the score are presented in the text as necessary, but a full score for each addressed work is required for reference and complete understanding of the text. ii In some cases, multiple possible solutions may be presented for a gestural issue in order to avoid the researcher’s personal musical interpretations so that this text may be useful to as many conducting teachers and students as possible. The solutions to the gestural problems discussed are simply suggestions. The reader is free to arrive at different conclusions than this author to solving the gestural issues presented considering one’s own musical interpretations and ideas on technique. However, the general methods and criteria used in arriving at the presented solutions should aid the reader in discovering one’s own solutions. A summary of the researcher’s findings is presented after the eight symphonies are analyzed. In the appendix, there is an index of the locations of the major gestural issues in Beethoven’s first eight symphonies. iii COPYRIGHT BY NATHANAEL THOMAS LAMBERT 2014 The University of Southern Mississippi A CONDUCTING STUDENT’S GUIDE TO THE SOLVING AND EXECUTION OF MAJOR GESTURAL ISSUES IN BEETHOVEN’S FIRST EIGHT SYMPHONIES by Nathanael Thomas Lambert A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School of The University of Southern Mississippi in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts Approved: _Jay Dean___________________________ Director _Joseph Brumbeloe____________________ _Gregory Fuller_______________________ _Edward Hafer_______________________ _Steven Moser_______________________ _Maureen A. Ryan____________________ Dean of the Graduate School May 2014 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The writer would like to thank the dissertation director, Dr. Jay Dean, for his encouragement, guidance, and pragmatic advice through the process of creating this document. Thanks also goes to the other committee members, Dr. Joseph Brumbeloe, Dr. Edward Hafer, Dr. Gregory Fuller, and Dr. Steven Moser, for their advice and support throughout the duration of this project. Appreciation must also be expressed to the music faculty at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado for the constant support that encouraged the completion of this document. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... viii LIST OF EXAMPLES ...................................................................................................... xii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................xv CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................1 Purpose Chosen Works Organization Common Organization of Other Pedagogical Conducting Texts II. TEMPO MODULATIONS………………………………………………..9 Description Suggested Process and Application III. HYPERMETRIC CONDUCTING………………………………………18 Description Considerations and Criteria for Hypermetric Conducting and Bar Grouping Application and Execution of Hypermetric Conducting Marking Bar Groupings in the Score Rehearsal/Performance Usage Alternation of Standard and Hypermetric Conducting Styles Pedagogical Use IV. FERMATI………………………………………………………………..28 Holding Fermati and Determining their Lengths Types of Fermati and their Executions v V. CUES IN RAPID SUCCESSION………………………………………..32 Criteria and Considerations in Defining a CRS Section Cue Numbering Methodology Organization of CRS Information Suggested Usage and Application of CRS Information VI. OTHER COMMON GESTURAL ISSUES……………………………..37 Sforzandi and Dynamic Changes Starting Movements Gradual Tempo Changes Non-Modulatory Sudden Tempo Changes VII. SYMPHONY NO. 1 IN C MAJOR, OP. 21……………………………..41 I. Adagio Molto—Vivace II. Andante Cantabile Con Moto III. Menuetto e Trio: Allegro Molto e Vivace IV. Finale: Adagio—Allegro Molto e Vivace VIII. SYMPHONY NO. 2 IN D MAJOR, OP. 36…………………………….58 I. Adagio—Allegro Con Brio II. Larghetto III. Scherzo: Allegro IV. Allegro Molto IX. SYMPHONY NO. 3 IN E-FLAT MAJOR, OP. 55……………………...72 I. Allegro con brio II. Marcia Funebre: Adagio Assai III. Scherzo e Trio: Allegro Vivace IV: Finale: Allegro Molto X. SYMPHONY NO. 4 IN B-FLAT MAJOR, OP. 60..................................93 I. Adagio—Allegro Vivace II. Adagio III. Allegro Molto e Vivace IV. Allegro ma non Troppo vi XI. SYMPHONY NO. 5 IN C MINOR, OP. 67……………………………112 I. Allegro con Brio II. Andante con Moto III. Allegro IV. Allegro—Presto XII. SYMPHONY NO. 6 IN F MAJOR, OP. 68……………………………138 I. Allegro ma non troppo II. Andante Molto Mosso III. Allegro IV. Allegro V. Allegretto XIII. SYMPHONY NO. 7 IN A MAJOR, OP. 92…………………………...157 I. Poco Sostenuto—Vivace II. Allegretto III. Presto IV. Allegro con brio XIV. SYMPHONY NO. 8 IN F MAJOR, OP. 93……………………………174 I. Allegro Vivace e Con Brio II. Allegretto Scherzando III. Tempo di Menuetto IV. Allegro Vivace XV. SUMMARY…………………………………………………….............192 Pedagogical Usage Future Research Possibilities APPENDIX......................................................................................................................194 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................202 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Slower-to-Faster Tempo Modulations...................................................................12 2. Faster-to-Slower Tempo Modulations...................................................................13 3. Tempo Modulation in Symphony No. 7, Movement 1...........................................15 4. Tempo Modulations in Symphony No. 7, Movement 3.........................................17 5. Hypermetric Conducting Suggestion for Symphony No.1, Movement 3..............19 6. Hypermetric/Standard Conducting Suggestion for Symphony No. 7, Movement 4...........................................................................................................25 7. CRS Sections for Symphony No. 7, Movement 3..................................................35 8. Tempo Modulation in Symphony No. 1, Movement 1...........................................42 9. CRS Sections in Symphony No. 1, Movement 1....................................................44 10. CRS Sections in Symphony No. 1, Movement 2....................................................47 11. Hypermetric Conducting Suggestion for Symphony No.1, Movement 3...............48 12. CRS Sections in Symphony No. 1, Movement 3....................................................50

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