Beethoven:

The Battle with Classical Forms

String Quartet No 7 Op 59 No 1 in F “Rasumovsky”

Given by Akram NajjarKaraz w Laimoon

Beethoven’s Life Line

and Key Milestones

1770 1827‘02

57 years

Vienna (35 years)

‘78

First

Vienna

Trip

‘92

Settles in

Vienna

for GoodHeiligenstadt

Testament

Bonn (22 years)

‘97

Deafness

Starts

Op 59

Quartets

‘06

3 / 38

The 3 Beethoven Periods

by Year + Opus Number

1770 1827‘02 ‘12

Early

(6 yrs)

Late

(15 yrs)

Middle

(10 yrs)

Op 1-27 Op 96-138Op 28-95

‘96

Spread of Works by Year of Composition

(Life from 1770 to 1827)

5 / 38

Here are the Quartets’ Neighbors

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

6 / 38

The Layout of

an Orchestra

7 / 38

Remove Non-Strings + and Double Basses:

You’ll get a String Quartet

8 / 38

The Origins of the String Quartet

Works exist for these instruments by

Allegri / Scarlatti / Sammartini

Baroque forms where the Cello was a “Basso Continuo”

Haydn was the first to write “Classical” String Quartets

Influenced by Carl Philip Emanuel Bach (CPE)

Haydn (1732-1809) wrote 68 quartets (Starting 1757 – 1806)

Yani, he was writing quartets at the time when Beethoven was composing the

Rasumovsky’s

Boccherini lived at the same time as Haydn and wrote around 90 quartets

Both are to be credit for freeing the Cello from its “accompaniment” role

9 / 38

There are works for smaller or larger string combinations. But they are not as popular

as the String Quartet

Octet

Quintet

Septet

Quartet

Sextet

Trio

Duo

Nonet

Early (6)

Middle (5)

Late (6)

Op 18: No. 1 - 6

Op 59: No. 1 – 3 (Razumovsky)

Op 74 (Harp), Op 95 (Serioso)

Op 127, 130, 131, 132

Op 133 (Grosse Fugue), Op 135

String

Quartet

Inventory

Composer Count

Haydn 68

Mozart 23

Beethoven 17

Schubert 15

Mendelssohn 6

Schumann 3

Brahms 3

Tchaikovsky 1

Dvorak 14

Smetana 2

Verdi 1

Debussy 1

Ravel 1

Martinu 8

Shotakovich 15

Prokofiev 2

Bartok 6

Schonberg 5

Alban Berg 2

Webern 4

Beethoven

Life Cycle of String Quartets

Haydn

Mozart

Early (6)

Middle (5)

Late (6)

19th

Century

Bartok

20th

Century

13 / 38

Battle? Who is the Enemy?

Classical Form applies to Sequence of Movements:

Sonata Allegro / Ternary ABA / Scherzo ABA / Rondo (or Theme and

Variations)

Classical Form applies to Structure of Movements:

Sonata Allegro: form to be discussed

Ternary and Scherzo are ABA (sometimes ABABA or ABACABA)

Rondo (repeating theme interleaved with different episodes)

Theme and Variations: one theme (sometimes two) many variations

Classical Form applies to Harmony:

Specific key relationships are to be observed in different places

14 / 38

Beethoven respected

the overall structure

but creatively

revolutionized its

Internals

15 / 38

The Most Important Movement

in the Classical Form is the First . . . .

Usually in Sonata Allegro form

2 themes are stated (exposure)

They are developed (development)

They are then restarted (recapitulation)

16 / 38

Some Terms we Need Theme 1 is always in the Key of the work

Theme 2 is in the Dominant (5th) if Theme 1 is in a major key

If the tonic is in a minor key, Theme 2 is its relative major

Modulation = Transition = Bridge

A passage which takes the music from Theme 1 to Theme 2

Its purpose is also to take the music from one key to another

Cadence = a musical phrase announcing the end of a phrase

or a section or a movement

Sometimes it is final (at the end of movements)

Sometimes it is internal (at the end of a phrase or a section)

Sometimes it is False

17 / 38

The “Standard” Sonata Allegro Form

1) Exposition

Theme 1

Theme 2

Cadence

Modulation

3) Recap

Theme 1

Theme 2

Cadence

Modulation

1) Expo

Repeat

Theme 1

Theme 2

Cadence

Modulation

Intro

du

ctio

n

Co

da

2) Development

Theme 1

Theme 2

1) Exposition

3) Recap

1) Expo

Repeat

2) Development

Theme 1 Theme 2 CadenceModulation

Theme 1 Theme 2 CadenceModulation

Theme 1 / Theme 2

Theme 1 Theme 2 CadenceModulation

Coda

Intro

19 / 38

It helps to see how Beethoven addressed

Classical Form in two works:

Sonata in F minor Op 2 No 1 1795

First Movement of Quartet No 1 Op 59 (In F) 1806

Both of them have a Sonata Allegro Form in the first

Movement

20 / 38

Sonata No 1 (Op 2) in F minor (1796)

No introduction

Theme 1 is a simple, well structured and complete melody (11 seconds)

Modulation takes us from T1 to T2 (13 seconds)

It uses material from T1

It takes us from F minor to A flat major (the key whose relative minor F minor is)

Theme 2 is simple but reverses the rocket of T1 (20 seconds)

Cadence is a simple ending phrase (7 seconds)

Beethoven repeats the Exposition VERBATIM (51 seconds)

Development is in 6 quick parts (53 seconds)

Recapitulation is a repeat of the Exposition (with key changes)

With the Coda, the movement is 3 minutes 33 seconds

21 / 38

11 Years Later, in 1806, Beethoven

composes the Rasumovsky Quartets

A completely different composer

but within his Classical Period

The Structure of Quartet No 7

Movement 1: Allegro (F major) (10 min)

Movement 2: Allegretto Vivace e Sempre

Scherzando (B flat major) (9 min)

Movement 3: Adagio Molto e Mesto

(F min) (14 min)

Movement 2: Russian Theme (F major)

(8 min)

23 / 38

Creativity 1: Overall Structure

Most works in the Classical period (with 3 or 4 movements) have

this structure:

Movement 1: Sonata Form

Movement 2: Slow Ternary Form (A-B-A)

Sometimes this is a Theme and Variation

Movement 3: Minuet (Scherzo for Beethoven) also Ternary A-B-A

Sometimes A-B-A-B-A or A-B-A-C-A-B-A

Movement 4: Finale is mostly a Rondo (repeating them separated

by different episodes)

Sometimes this is a Theme and Variation

24 / 38

What Does Beethoven do to the Structure?

First: he places the Scherzo as the second movement

Second: ALL movements are Sonata Allegro Form with 2 themes

Two of the movements are schizophrenic: two personalities

Movement 2 is a Sonata Allegro Form: Intro-Expo-Devel-Recap-Coda

These 5 sections can easily be mapped to the Scherzo Form: A-B-A-B-A

Movement 4 is a Sonata Allegro Form: Intro-Expo-Devel-Recap-Coda

The strong presence of the Russian Theme allows us to wonder if this is not

a Rondo.

Beethoven introduces the ambiguity on purpose

25 / 38

Creativity 2: The Use of Small Themes

Mostly “unmelodic”

Even if you think there is a MELODY somewhere, it is made up of

segments that are used as “spices” everywhere

Example: T1 in No 7 is made up of an X and a Y component

Themes are like “Atoms” for Beethoven

He uses them to create melodies, phrases and long sections

He inverts them, cuts them, speeds them up or down.

26 / 38

Creativity 3: Longer More Involved Sections

NO more simple Themes

NO more short Codas

NO more quick Development

Movements are much longer and very elaborate

The average in No 7 is 10 min compared to 4 min in No 1

27 / 38

Creativity 4: Harmonic Travels

NO more just 2 keys:

Theme 1 in the Tonic and Theme 2 in the Dominant

Theme 1 Statement: (in No 7) goes through a tour of 5 unusual

keys in less than 25 seconds.

NO more smooth changes: there are abrupt shifts to unrelated

keys

NO more classical keys: he uses dissonant keys (Diminished 7th)

We will not go into these technical aspects of No 7

28 / 38

Creativity 5: The Role of Instruments

NO more the exquisite role for the First Violin as in Op 18

NO dominant instrument: the roles exchange continuously

Sometimes a long phrase is passed to the 4 instruments

His early Quartets could sound like reduced Violin Concertos

Example: Beethoven Quartet No 4 in C minor (Op 18)

29 / 38

Creativity 6: Expanded Range (Register)

Haydn and Mozart were careful to stay within limited regions of

register

Beethoven can easily go over 4-5 octaves in a melody or a

phrase

30 / 38

Creativity 7: Special Musical Devices

Uses a fugue in the Development Section of Movement 1

Uses highly rhythmic motifs as Theme 1 in Movement 2

“Sows” movements together (watch how M3 goes into M4)

Introduction of new material (such as in Phrase 3 of Theme 2 in

Movement 3 and other places)

Movement 1: Allegro (Sonata Form)Exposure: all sections are elaborated . . .

T1

Consists of

2 Phrases

X and Y

Call and

Response

Transition

Unusual:

Consists of

5 Parts using

X’s and Y’s

from T1

T2

New Material

+ T1

Consists

of 5 Phrases

Cadence

Again,

5 Parts

to the end

Let Professor Greenberg show us some of these Creative Devices in Movement 1

32 / 38

Movement 1: Development: Large Expansive

12 Parts (never seen like that before)

They use X, Y and the segments of T2

They build up to Part 8

Part 8 is a double fugue: unusual in

Classical Form (but more and more

frequent with Beethoven) T1T2

Cadences

Modulations

33 / 38

Movement 1: Recapitulation + Coda

Structurally similar to Exposure 1

BUT not a single section is identical . . . .

All are redeveloped

Exception: Beethoven introduces a long

coda made up of 4 parts, worthy of being

a Development Section on its own

This is unusual

34 / 38

Movement 2:

Allegretto Vivace e Sempre Scherzando

First: where is the slow 2nd movement found in the Classical Form?

Second: Beethoven uses the Sonata Allegro form instead of the

Scherzo

Theme 1 – Theme 2 – Development – Recap – Coda

BUT this could also be a Scherzo, no?

A – B – A – B – A

Beethoven does not care if it is ambiguous: it works

In the subtitles, I have mixed between the Sonata Allegro and the

Scherzo Naming to re-enforce the duality of this Movement.

35 / 38

Characteristics of Movement 2

It starts with the Cello Again

Third: A strong rhythmic motive in ONE NOTE: 14 beats

The Violin responds with a beautiful lyrical melody based on the

14 beats

Again: a long and elaborate Coda

Does Beethoven do that because it replaces Section A’’ in the A-B-A-B-A?

36 / 38

Movement 3: Adagio Molto e Mesto

Slow and very mournful

What’s it doing between 3 joyful movements?

Another Sonata Allegro Form

Again, this can easily be an A-B-A-B-A form

A little trick: the violin keeps playing in Movement 3

while Movement 4 starts

Classical movements were always separated from one

another

37 / 38

Movement 4: “Theme Russe”

Again, where we expect a Rondo or Theme and Variations . . .

We get another Sonata Allegro movement

Again, we can hear both forms on top of one another

The Rondo Theme can be equated to the Theme Russe

And now let

Beethoven Speak