/Y, // A HISTORICAL AND STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF THE SONATA, OP. 31, NO. 2, IN D MINOR OF BEETHOVEN THESIS Presented to the Graduate Council of the North Texas State Teachers College in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF MUSIC By H. Allen Craw, B. A. Keene, Texas August, 1948 154I T ABLE 01 CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES . .. iv LISTuOF ILLUSTR.TIONS .*a.0 . * * . ... 0* V Chapter I. THE PERIOD OF BEETHOVEN IN MUSIC HISTORY General Historical Background A Consideration of Some Contemporaries II. ThE PERIOD OF THIS SONATA IN BEETHOVEN'S CREATIVE ACTIVITY 10 III. THE PIANO OF BEETHOVEN'S DAY AND ITS INFLUENCE ON ThI SONATA . 17 Introduction Range Action Tension Pedals How the Piano of Beethoven's Time Affected This Sonata IV. GENERAL ASPECTS OF STYLE . 30 Mood or Character Tempo Dynamics Ornamentation Variants in the Text Piano Idiom V. ANALYSIS OF FORM . 48 Introduction The First Movement - Largo -Alle0 The Second Movement - Adagio The Third Movement - Allegretto BIBLIOGRAPHY . 71 iii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Structural uiagram of the First Novement . 58 2. Structural Diagram of the second Movement . 62 3. Structural Diagram of the Third Movement . 69 iv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. Measures 1-7, lst movement, sonata, Op. 40, No. 2, Clementi. 7 2. System of Pitch Notation Used in This Thesis . 18 3. bars 92-93, 1st Movement of Sonata, Op. 31, No. 2 of Beethoven . * . 24 4. bars 59-63, lst Movement, Sonata, Op. 31, Ao. 2, Beethoven . .. 25 5. bars 189-192, 1st Movement, sonata, Op. 31, No. 2, Beethoven ..0.00 . 25 6. Bars 307-313, 3rd xviovement, Sonata, Op. 31, No. 2, Beethoven . 7. Bars 79-85, 3rd Movement, Sonata, Op. 31, No. 2, Beethoven . .0 . 27 8. Bar 6, 1st Movement, Sonata, Op. 31, No. 2, Beethoven . ... 0. 9. Turns from 2nd Movement of Sonata, Op. 31, No. 2, Beethoven, as Realized by Casella (a), and BUlow-Lebert (b) 40 10. Turn from Bar 20, 2nd Movement, Sonata, Op. Pi, No. 2, Beethoven, Realized by Bulow-Lebert . .*.0. 40 11. Bars 23-24, 2nd Movement, Sonata, Op. 31 No. 2, Beethoven, as Arranged by Klindworth . *.. 43 12. Bar 51, 2nd Movement, Sonata, Op. 31, No. 2, Beethoven, as Arranged by Henselt . .0*0. 44 V Figure Page 13. Bars 13-16, 1st Movement, Sonata, Op. 31, No. 2, Beethoven, as Divided between the Two Hands . 45 14. Bars 97-99, 1st Movement, Sonata, Op. 31, No. 2, Beethoven - - . 45 15. Bars 161-162, 1st Movement, Sonata, Op. 31, No. 2, Beethoven . 46 16. Bars 1-3, 2nd Movement, Sonata, Op. 31, No. 2, Beethoven . 59 17. Bars 126-128, 1st Movement, Sonata, Op. 31, No. 2, at a, and Bars 23-25, 2nd Movement, same~Sonata, at b, Beethoven . - - - - - - - . - . 60 18. Bars 43-51, 3rd Movement, Sonata, Op. 31, No. 2, Beethoven 0 . -. 64 vi CHAPTER I THE PERIOD OF BEETHOVEN IN MUSIC HISTORY General Historical Background The period in musical history which includes the last few years of the eighteenth century and the first years of the nineteenth century was a decided turning point in the evolution of the art of music. It is just at this time that Beethoven comes onto the musical horizon to lead or point the way to the new possibilities inherent in music when it is freed from the rigid rules that had bound it. This period in general history is the period of the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, and the American Revolution. It is the period that shows the slow rise of the lower and middle classes in a democratic spirit which pointed to greater freedom and liberty in all spheres of human activity. The leaven which had caused the French Revolution and other upheavals of the people to secure greater freedom of thought and action appears to have been working in the field of music also. The last half of the eighteenth century and the early years of the nineteenth century is that period 1 2 known in musical history as the Classical Period. It is not important that we set definite dates to mark its beginning and ending. It is, however, important to know the trend of musical thought during that period. The music of this period is characterized as objective, showing emotional restraint, polished, refined, having mastery of form, and possessing clarity of phrasing. Its harmony shows remark- able simplicity. Many passages of instrumental works con- sisted almost solely of the primary triads. Seventh chords were used sparingly and ninth chords scarcely at all. On the whole the harmonic content of the works of the Classical Period is much less complex than the harmonic material used in the works of J. S. Bach. The melody of this music is also markedly simple and often folk-like in its clarity. In regard to form, the majority of instrumental works were cast in the sonata form. In the main the entire range of instrumental music of this period is bound by the rules and conventions which had grown up around the forms in use so that one could expect that the first subject in a sonata-allegro movement would be in the tonic key, and the second subject would be in the dominant key or in the relative minor. Everything was restrained and conventionalized so that no freedom was given to the imagination of the composer. His thoughts were expected to conform to the patterns then in use. 3 It is at the end of the eighteenth century that we see this leaven of unrest and desire for freedom of ideas made manifest for the first time in music. It is then that the first seeds of the Romantic Movement begin to spring into life. As in the other arts of literature and painting, the Romantic Movement in music possessed a spirit of discontent for the artistic formulae and conventions of the immediate past. Composers felt a need for and demanded more freedom of thought and ideas. They called for new forms in which to express the ideas that clamored for expression in their souls. Music for them must express personal feelings; it must be subjective; it must not be shackled by useless rules concerning its form, content, and phraseology. In order to express more fully their own individuality they must be given free reign to compose how and what they liked. They must search out new harmonic and tonal possibilities. It is just at this turning point in the stream of musical history that Beethoven comes on the stage of action. He comes at the time when the transition from the Classical to the Romantic Period takes place. It is neither possible to catalog his works as belonging to the Classical Period, nor to the Romantic Period. With respect to the forms used., Beethoven could be considered a classicist because he made great use of the sonata form as a vehicle of expression for his thoughts. It is the way in which Beethoven uses the 4 sonata form that makes him, to some degree at least, a romanticist. In any case, it was Beethoven who paved the way for the flowering of Romanticism by the composers immediately following him. It was he who first put imagina- tive content and soul into music. In fact his early works in the field of programme music are quite notable. A Consideration of Some Contemporaries In order to understand to the fullest degree the com- positions of any composer, it is always well to consider the works of contemporary composers. By so doing, one may see things in their proper perspective and not be tempted to over or underestimate the worth of the composition or compositions under consideration. Franz J y (1732-1809) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791).--The two composers of this period who have won undying fame for writing great music are Haydn and Mozart. It is not because of the sonatas for piano of either man, however, that their reputation was established. The sonatas of both Haydn and Mozart are works that are not too definitely written in the piano idiom. They could have just as well been written for the harpsichord. While it is true that the early sonatas of Beethoven are reminiscent of the sonatas of Haydn, it is also true that the sonatas of Haydn are not compositions that can be very favorably compared to those of Beethoven. The Sonata 5 in D major of Haydn has many dynamic changes and heavy accents which make it to some extent comparable to the Beethoven sonatas. It is in other fields, such as the symphony and chamber music, that Haydn is at his best. Mozart is not at his greatest in his sonatas for the piano. He wrote some nineteen of them, of which the Sonatas in C minor, K.V. 457; in A major, K.V. 331; in D major, K.V. 576; and in D major, K.V. 284 are among the greatest. Mozart is known, however, more for his symphonic works, his chamber music, and his piano concertos than for his piano sonatas. It was then neither Haydn nor Mozart who really developed the first truly piano style. It is to the two composers to be discussed next that credit is due to at least a certain degree for the first establishment of a true piano idiom. These two composers, Clementi and Dussek, it will be seen, were known to write excellently for the key- board. Their works are always pianistic, but they lack the spark of genius, the soul that Beethoven put into his sonatas.