kol is ch 1 beethoven

Tempo and Character in Beethoven's Music

Rudolf Kolisch

The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 77, No. 1. (Spring, 1993), pp. 90-131.

Stable URL:

http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0027-4631%28199321%2977%3A1%3C90%3ATACIBM%3E2.0.CO%3B2-A

The Musical Quarterly is currently published by Oxford University Press.

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available athttp://www.jstor.org/about/terms.html. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtainedprior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content inthe JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.

Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained athttp://www.jstor.org/journals/oup.html.

Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printedpage of such transmission.

The JSTOR Archive is a trusted digital repository providing for long-term preservation and access to leading academicjournals and scholarly literature from around the world. The Archive is supported by libraries, scholarly societies, publishers,and foundations. It is an initiative of JSTOR, a not-for-profit organization with a mission to help the scholarly community takeadvantage of advances in technology. For more information regarding JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

http://www.jstor.orgSun Feb 24 07:09:03 2008

http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0027-4631%28199321%2977%3A1%3C90%3ATACIBM%3E2.0.CO%3B2-A

http://www.jstor.org/about/terms.html

http://www.jstor.org/journals/oup.html

T e w o and Character in Beethoven's Music

Rudolf Kolisch

Although there are many instances in which Beethoven clearly indicated tempo by means of metronome markings, the question of tempo in Beethoven's music is still hotly debated. His markings have hardly been accepted as fully valid expressions of his intentions, nor have they been uniformly adopted in performance practice. O n the contrary, their existence has generally failed to enter the consciousness of performing musicians, and they are lacking in most editions. Tradi- tional performance practice deviates widely from the tempi denoted by these metronome markings-and when musicians are brought face to face with this fact, most of them immediately defend (often passion- ately) the conventional tempi as against those indicated by the composer. This strange situation deserves to be investigated.

The objections to the metronome markings come from all sides. Sometimes their authenticity is challenged, while at other times it is acknowledged, but the subjective validity of the markings put into question: "Yes, the metronome markings are Beethoven's, but they do not really convey his intentions." (In support of this argument, exam- ples are cited of composers who are said to have given obviously absurd metronomic indications-Schumann is most frequently mentioned.) From the perspective of musical technique it is claimed that Beethoven's tempi are "unplayable," and that this fact alone suffices to dispose of them. Opponents of the metronome will even go so far as to make the unbelievably nonsensical assertion that our modem metronome differs considerably from Beethoven's. (My answer: That could be true only if the speed of the earth's rotation had changed in the meantime.) Above these specific and practical objections there hovers a general opposition of a spiritual and esthetic nature: metronomic markings are felt to be "inartistic." They are said to cramp the freedom of the interpretive imagination; so delicately balanced and highly developed an organism as a musical artwork cannot, it is said, be forced onto the Procrustean bed of a mechanical apparatus.

Tempo and Character in Beethoven's Music 91

These attacks have seriously shaken the status of the metronome in relation to Beethoven's music; I will attempt to restore it.

Regarding the question of authenticity, a brief account of Malzel and his relations to Beethoven will be of interest.

Johann Nepomuk Malzel was born in 1772 in Regensburg, the son of an organ builder and mechanic. He was trained not only as a mechanic but also as a musician, and is said to have been a good pianist. He came to Vienna in the same year as Beethoven, 1792, and set up a mechanical workshop in Stein's piano factory. His inventive genius and highly developed sense of publicity soon brought him great success. With his "Panharmonicon," a mechanical orchestra, and with his "Mechanical Trumpeter," for which many well-known composers wrote pieces, he toured all over Europe. After returning to Vienna he constructed a new "Panharmonicon" which incorporated all the instruments of a military band, and he arranged works for it by famous composers such as Cherubini, Haydn, and Handel. His steadily grow- ing fame gained him the title of Hoj7ammermaschinist ("Court Machin- ist"). He later extended his travels as far as America and lived for some time in Philadelphia. It was in the course of a journey from there to South America that he died.

Beethoven was first led to this extremely gifted mechanic by the hope of getting a usable hearing-aid from him. Of the four ear- trumpets that Malzel constructed for him, he did indeed use one for a considerable time, but without its actually bringing him much relief. During the many visits that Beethoven made to Malzel's workshop, the two men also discussed the construction of a machine that would enable a composer to fix exactly the tempo of a piece of music. Malzel had already been involved for some time with the plans for such a machine and was working on perfecting it. His relations with Beethoven had in the meantime become so close that the latter accepted the proposal to accompany Malzel to England in 1813. The attempts to bring this project to fruition led to all kinds of complications-even, in the end, to a break between them and the threat of a lawsuit with Beethoven as plaintiff. Since many false accounts of this break remain in circulation even though Beethoven scholarship has brought out the facts quite clearly, I would like to examine it in somewhat greater detail.'

Malzel was faced with the task of coming up with the substantial funds necessary for the projected journey to London. With his unerr- ing sense of publicity, he hit upon a plan to exploit in a clever way the public interest in Beethoven, as well as the patriotism of the audi- ences in Vienna and London: Beethoven was to write a symphony on

92 The Mwical Quarterly

the subject of Wellington's victory at Vittoria for Malzel's "Panhar- monicon." Strangely enough, Beethoven not only agreed to do so, but actually carried out a quite detailed plan drawn up by Malzel, who not only wrote out the drum marches and trumpet calls of the French and English armies, but also recommended the use of "Rule Britannia," "God save the King," and "Malbrouk s'en va-t-en guerre" as themes for the piece. Beethoven's wholly uncharacteristic acquiesence was probably due only to his not taking the piece seriously. Malzel, however, considered it important enough to feel that a concert performance of the "Battle Symphony" by a large orchestra would be even more successful than one by the "Panharmonicon," and so persuaded Beethoven to make an arrangement of it for symphony orchestra. The first performance was to take place at a concert for the benefit of dis- abled soldiers, at which Beethoven's new Seventh Symphony was to be performed for the first time, and further performances were to bring in the needed amount. Beethoven complied with this wish too, and thanks to Malzel, who demonstrated the full range of his publicity skills (for example, he was able to enlist all the famous musicians who were in Vienna at the time to collaborate in the performance, includ- ing Salieri, Meyerbeer, Hummel, Romberg, spohr, and Moscheles), the concert, which took place on December 8, 1813, was one of the greatest successes that Beethoven ever had. Malzel had also gauged correctly the value of the "Battle Symphony" as a sensation: it proved possible to repeat the work three more times-on December 12, 1813, and on January 2 and February 27, 1814-on the last occasion with the new Eighth Symphony. But the last two of these performances took place without Malzel's participation, and because of his brother's illness Beethoven had abandoned the plan of going to England. Thus Malzel not only found himself deprived of a most effective work for his "Panharmonicon," but also cheated of all the fruits of his efforts.

Believing in good faith that his property rights to the orchestrion version extended also to the orchestral arrangement, Malzel sought to recoup some of his losses through a performance of the "Battle Sym- phony" in Munich. Beethoven, however, insisted that he alone had exclusive rights to the piece, and forbade the planned performance. When negotiations in a lawyer's office proved futile, Malzel had a copy of the "Battle Symphony" made using parts belonging to some of the musicians who had participated in the performances; with this material he produced the work in Munich. This drove Beethoven into a furious rage, which vented itself in the form of extremely violent insults and even led to the filing of a legal complaint against Malzel.


Assuming, mistakenly, that Malzel intended to stage a performance of the work in London as well, Beethoven, in order to forestall him, had a copy of the piece made at his own expense and sent it to the Prince Regent. But this action failed its purpose completely; the Prince Regent took no notice of the present, and in fact Malzel had no intention of performing the symphony in London. When his rage had subsided, Beethoven seemed himself to have recognized how precipi- tous his behavior had been, and the matter was settled by a compro- mise in which each party paid half of the court costs.

At any rate, the two men were already fully reconciled by the time Malzel returned to Vienna in 1817; the merry canon Ta, ta, ta, which was sung at a festive gathering in honor of the inventor of the metronome, bears witness to that fact. The metronome had mean- while been put into production and was being marketed from Paris. In the enthusiasm with which Beethoven greeted the new invention there is no longer any trace of the unpleasant disagreement between the two men. Beethoven published the following declaration jointly with Salieri in the [Viennese] Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung on Febru- ary 14, 1818:

Malzel's metronome is here! The usefulness of this invention of his will reveal itself more and more; and all composers of Germany, England, and France have accepted it; we have, however, considered it not unnecessary to recommend it, in accordance with our conviction, to all beginners and students as well, whether in singing or in playing the pianoforte or any other instrument, as useful, in fact indispensable. Through its use they will be able to learn and practice the values of the notes with the greatest ease. Also within the shortest time they will arrive at the point of being able to perform without difficulty and with enthusiasm; for since the pupil, after having had the appropriate di- rections and explanations from his teacher, is thus prevented even in the ab- sence of the latter from straying arbitrarily from the tempo in singing or playing, his feeling for time will in a short time become so developed and di- rected that in this respect there will soon be no further difficulties for him. We think it necessary to illuminate this so generally useful invention of Malzel's from this standpoint, too, since it appears that in this respect it has not yet been sufficiently appreciated.

But he had already given concrete evidence of his esteem for the metronome in 1817 by having S. A. Steiner in Vienna publish a pamphlet entitled Bestimmung des Musikalischen Zeitmajes nach M k Z E L ' s Metronom. Erste Lieferung. Beethoven Sinfonien Nr. 1-8 und Septett von dem Autor selbst bezeichnet ["Determination of Musical Tempo According to MALZEL'S Metronome. First Installment. Beethoven

94 The Musical Quarterly

Symphonies Nos. 1-8 and Septet, designated by the Author Himself "1 (publisher's number 281 1). This pamphlet contains metronomic indications for all the movements of the Septet and the eight symphonies that had been composed up to that point. Soon thereafter a similar booklet followed as the second installment (publisher's no. 2812), covering the string quartets composed before 181 7: op. 1811-VI, op. 5911-111, op. 74, and op. 95. In 1872 the respected Beethoven scholar Nottebohm wrote that "it was not possible to get a copy of it."3 This facile comment led Beethoven scholarship in general to view the metronome markings with the greatest scepticism-as already mentioned they are missing in most editions-and this in turn provided interpreters with the welcome opportunity simply to overlook them. But good luck allowed me to find a copy of the second pamphlet during the course of my research in the Drexel Collection of the New York Pub- lic Library.

What follows is a list of the other works for which Beethoven provided metronomic indications, along with the documentary evidence of their authenticity:

Op. 106 (Piano Sonata in B-flat). A letter to Ries dated April 16, 1819, contains the indications for this work, unfortunately the only piano sonata for which we have such data:

Here, dear Ries! are the tempi of the sonata. First movement Allegro, but only Allegro; you must remove the assai. M~lzel's metronome 6= 138. Second movement Scherzoso. M's metronome 6.= 80. Third movement. M's metro-nome = 92. Here I must point out that the first bar still has to be inserted, that is to say [. . .] Fourth movement. introduzione. Largo. Malzel's metro-nome = 76. Fifth movement. :time. [. . .] and the last movement: Miilzel's metronome J = 144.4

Op. 112 (Meeresstilk und Gluckliche Fahrt). There are metronomic indications in Beethoven's own hand in the manuscript.

Op. 121b (Opferlied). There is the remark in the manuscript: "M.M. J = 66 according to the composer's instructions."

Op. 125 (Ninth Symphony). The metronome specifications are contained in a letter to Schott dated October 13, 1826:

I am using what remains of the fine weather to take a holiday here in the country, since it was impossible for me to leave Vienna this summer. Mean-while I have worked out the metronome markings for the whole symphony and am enclosing the tempi . . . You may also have them engraved separately. Do not forget what I told you about the second movement.

I will soon let you have the metronome markings for the Mass as

Tempo and Character in Beethoven's Mwic 95

The final remark shows that Beethoven had the intention of fixing the tempi for the Missa solemnis, which he unfortunately did not carry out. He had similar intentions for many of the later piano sona- tas as well.

The evidence for the authenticity of these markings thus seems conclusive. What is much harder to establish is their subjective validity: Do they really represent the composer's conceptions of tempo? And is tempo in general an integral part of a musical work of art, capable of being fixed as an objective category and thereafter immutable? This question leads far beyond the domain of performance practice to the very heart of musical creation. Let us attempt to answer it, at least as concerns Beethoven.

First, the subjective question: Did Beethoven himself consider tempo an essential component of his musical idea? To help answer this question I would like to cite just one passage among many utter- ances in conversations and letters, from a letter to Schott dated December 18, 1826:

The metronome markings [for the Missa sokmnis] will be sent to you very soon. Do wait for them. In our century, such markings are certainly necessary; moreover I have received letters from Berlin informing me that the first performance of the [Ninth] Symphony met with enthusiastic applause, which I ascribe largely to the metronome markings. We can hardly have any tempi ordinarii any longer, since one must be guided by the ideas of unfettered genius6

Thus we see that observing the proper tempo could, in Beethov- en's opinion, determine the success of a new work!

O n the question of the extent to which tempo is an immutable constituent of the musical idea, I would like to cite Beethoven's letter to Hofrat von Mosel in 1817, which gives us profound insights into his conception of the tempo question:

Noble Sir! I am heartily delighted that you share my own opinion concerning the terns to indicate tempo, which still stem from the barbarous days of music; for, to take only one example, what can be more nonsensical than allegro which simply means merry, -how far away we often are from this notion of this tempo, so that the music itself says the opposite of the indication. -As far as these four principal tempi are concerned, which incidentally do not possess anywhere near the truth or importance of the four principal winds, we would gladly do without them. But the words that indicate the character of the piece are a different matter. These we cannot abandon, since the tempo is really more the body of a piece, while these terms refer to its very spirit.-As far as I am concerned, I have long been thinking of abandoning these nonsensical terns alk-gro, andante, adagio, presto, and Malzel's metronome gives us the best


opportunity to do so. I give you my word here and now that I will never use them again in any of my new compositions. Another question is whether by doing so we will further the much needed proliferation of the metronome-I hardly think so. But I have little doubt that we will be decried as tyrants and yet, if the cause itself were really served in the process, it would be better at any rate than to be accused of feudalism. That is why I believe it would be best, especially for our countries, in which music has become a national neces- sity, and every village schoolmaster must be urged to use the metronome, for Malzel to try to sell a certain number of metronomes by subscription at higher prices, and as soon as his costs have been covered by that number he will be in a position to provide the remaining metronomes for the musical needs of the nation so cheaply that we may surely expect their most widespread use and dis- tribution. It goes without saying that a few people must lead the way, to stimu- late others to follow; as far as I am concerned, you can surely count on me, and I await with pleasure the task which you will assign me in this regard.

I am, noble Sir, with great respect, Your most devoted

Ludwig van B e e t h ~ v e n . ~

Thus we see that the old Italian terms seemed "nonsensical" to Beethoven; they now indicate only a tempo and no longer the "character" of a piece. These two categories are now separated, their juxta- position deepened by the metaphorical antithesis "body-spirit." The discrepancy between the sense of the old Italian terms and the new "characters" of the pieces is felt to be very disturbing. At times this discrepancy even becomes an actual contradiction! But the metronome-has rendered these old "barbaric" designations superfluous. The categories of tempo and character can be expressed independently from each other: tempo in absolute and exact fashion by means of the metronome; character by means of the adequate and discriminating terms of the vernacular.

But it is not only the indications of tempo that have become inadequate; the very tempi indicated by them are no longer suitable. The conventional categories of tempo-the tempi ordinarii-are no longer suited to embody the "New Spirit." This "New Spirit" charac- terizes Beethoven's colossal and revolutionary achievement and manifests itself in the new types of expression with which he enriched the language of the Vienna Classic Style. These new types of expression- characters-correspond to new tempi, which can no longer be indicated unambiguously by the old Italian terms, despite all sorts of modifications. The inherited, early Classic types now appear only infrequently: "We can hardly have any tempi ordinarii any longer."

We see that Beethoven sensed the problem very clearly and drew the necessary conclusions from it. He was aware of tempo as an essen-


tial part of his language, coordinated with that mysterious category which he himself termed "character." If further evidence is needed that Beethoven was aware of this interrelation, and that his conception of tempo was compelling and unambiguous, it may be found in the fact that he indicated the same tempo for different pieces of the same character. Beethoven's construction of typical tempo categories, corresponding to categories of expression, eliminates any suspicion that his metronomic indications could be merely casual expressions of subjective ideas of interpretation. No: the tempo of a piece is born with the conception of the music itself, and is an integral component of it.

But can the required tempi be realized in practice? It is often maintained that Beethoven's inability to hear the realization of his music had distanced him so far from the practical considerations of musical performance that his tempo indications became "abstract," conceived without consideration of their practical possibility. They are that, of course-for they are, after all, a part of his compositional idea. But this idea is not derived from the instrument; it does not even meet the instrument h a l f - ~ a ~ . ~ Thus, if a given tempo should really prove to be impossible in practice, this would only indicate the inadequacy of our technique. I can, however, affirm in good con- science and on the basis of experience that the tempi required by Beethoven of stringed instruments, at least, are perfectly playable with today's average technique.

Nor do I believe that difficulties of instrumental technique are the real reason-at least not the sole reason-for the past and present disregard of Beethoven's tempi. The real reason is rather that Beetho- ven's language, because of its newness, was not understood by his contemporaries, and that therefore the new tempi for his unprece- dented expressive characters simply could not be conceived. The following comment by Beethoven in the Wiener Vaterbndische Bbtter of October 13, 1813, confirms this:

[. . .] I consider the invention of the metronome a welcome means of assuring that the performance of my compositions everywhere will be in the tempi that I conceived, which to my regret have so often been misunderstood.

Contemporary musicians were also aware of this difficulty, as is demonstrated by the following letter from Galitzin, dated December 30, 1823:

I should also have wished that you would have sent me the tempi for all the movements of the Mass according to Malzel's metronome, which will give us a more exact idea of the manner in which you wish them to be performed. I


even urge you strongly to do this for all the works you have composed; for I have often observed great variations in the manner in which your music is performed, and in order to resolve the question and the differing opinions, what is needed is your own word as to the tempi in which you wish all your compositions to be played. Malzel's metronome seems to me very valuable for this purpose.9

In light of all this, we may consider it demonstrated, in my opinion, that Beethoven was aware of the importance of tempo in his music and considered it an integral element of its "characteru-that category which he felt to be most essential to his music.

How, given all this, can the use of an apparatus for fixing tempo still be called "inartistic"? This attitude on the part of amateurs and "creative" interpreters is the result of a serious misunderstanding. The violent opposition to the metronome stems from the widespread assumption of an antithesis between mechanical apparatus and artistic freedom. But this antithesis simply does not apply here! To be sure, the metronome is a machine; but its only purpose here is to measure exactly an absolute quantity-the relation of music to time. This is not unlike the function of modem musical notation (itself no longer modem) which gives the exact pitch, another departure from "the barbarous days of music" when this was not the case. The enormous differentiation of tempo and its close relation to "expression" has made precise specification necessary; the metronome is no more "inartistic" than a well-tuned piano.

It seems to me that the opponents of the metronome misunder- stand something crucial: they believe its use demands that a piece of music be played from beginning to end according to the unvarying beat of the metronome. That, however, would not only be inartistic; it would destroy the meaning of the music. Except in special cases, such as a perpetuum mobile or certain etudes and marches, there is hardly a measure in music in which the beats have equal time-value. The use of the metronome to establish a tempo does not involve using it to compare the length of beats-it can be used for that, too, though that is a question of rhythm-but simply to determine the basic "speed." It affords the interpreter complete rhythmic freedom and complete "artistic freedom" for the performance as a whole. It serves only to establish objectively an objective category. But it removes this category from the domain of subjective caprice, upon which it would otherwise be helplessly dependent (and unfortunately still is).

Attempts to reduce the fixing of tempi ad absurdum are frequently made by pointing out the inaccuracy of composers' own conceptions of tempo. Composers have often changed or disavowed their


own tempo indications, it is said. They have often failed to notice deviations from their instructions when listening to their own works, and even when they have performed their own works themselves their tempi have always varied. These objections bring us to the important question of quantity in tempo indications. How exact is the conception of tempo? Variations of tempo in the interpretation of their own works prove little about the exactness of composers' conceptions. Every interpreter will confirm that it is very difficult to realize a pre- conceived tempo, particularly when one is not the sole performer involved in producing it. As for changes by composers of their own previous tempo indications, these only prove that the first notation was not quite right, just as other elements of composition are sometimes inaccurately set down the first time. Insensitivity on the part of composers towards deviations from a tempo they themselves established seems to constitute a strong argument against the idea that tempo is a binding and integral part of their conception. But in the first place, the present investigation concerns only Beethoven, about whom we have no evidence of such insensitivity; on the contrary, we know that he took the greatest pains to make sure that the tempi he intended were followed. In the second place, what really matters is the extent of the deviation. lo

Slight deviations do not in general disturb the meaning of the music. A metronome number indicates a tempo category which allows more or less leeway. It is only when this category is abandoned that the tempo becomes essentially mistaken, and distorts the character of the music. How wide this leeway is cannot, of course, be determined in general terms. (Many composers begin their tempo indications with "ca."; or they write, for example, J = 126-132.) As far as Beethoven is concerned, we may say that the leeway is narrower where the tempo categories lie closer together and wider where they encompass a larger range. (The table which follows below will make this clear in detail.) But what matters is always, of course, only significant divergences which destroy the meaning-never mere nuances within the categories!

The deviations which are traditional in Beethoven performance are, however, quite significant; in some cases they lead to a complete distortion of his idea. We have already seen how these deviations arose; we will also understand how it is that they have held their ground so stubbornly when we consider that the works have been handed down in this distorted form by tradition, and that the distortions have then been firmly established by the performance practice of leading contemporary musicians. These distortions have thus been taken up, "petrified" as it were, into the inventory of "mankind's

- -


sacred heritage" and are deeply rooted in the consciousness of the consumers of music. This explains the surprisingly strong resistance to the restoration of Beethoven's original tempo intentions. l 1

But if what really matters to us is that Beethoven's music appear in its intended form, and if we believe that his intended tempo is crucial to the realization of the characters of his music, then we must insist with great decisiveness that his tempo prescriptions be observed. Unfortunately he provided explicit tempo markings for only twenty- four of his ca. 150 principal works with opus numbers; for the remaining works we would seem to be left in the dark, dependent upon our "instincts," our "healthy musical sense." But this only seems to be the case, for it is possible to deduce the tempi for those works that Beethoven did not mark by studying those for which he did provide such indications. In order to lay the foundation for such deductions, it will first be necessary to examine the principle according to which Beethoven noted his tempi.

Except in very few instances, Beethoven employed the scorned Italian tempo marks-Adagio, Andante, Allegretto, Allegro, Presto-to designate his tempi. For slow tempi he also employed Largo, Larghetto, and Lento, without making any fundamental distinctions among these terms. These tempo categories are modified quantitatively by additions such as molto, poco, ma non troppo, or assai; supplementary indications such as serioso, mesto, scherzoso, and grazioso are used as a means to characterize the music. In general, Beethoven regularly used the same tempo designation for the same tempo.

The absolute measure of the tempo indicated by one tempo designation varies, however, according to the meter signature and the relation between the metric unit and the tempo unit. (I use the term "metric unit" to indicate the unit in which the meter is expressed, e.g. in &, J in i , b in 6 8 . The metric unit or sum of the metric units to which the tempo marking refers, I call "tempo unit," e.g. @ in 6, Allegro.) It is essential, in deciding tempo questions in Beethoven, to understand this aspect of his practice thoroughly, for if there is no metronome marking given, his notation does not always indicate clearly to which metric unit his tempo indications refer (e.g. Adagio 2 & , Allegro i ) . The measure of the tempo varies within the tempo- category according to the number of metric units constituting the tempo unit. The greater this number, the slower the measure of the tempo.

Thus, for example, in Beethoven the tempo category Allegro (ordinario) encompasses a tempo between 88 and 176. In a Allegro, the tempo indication refers either to one metric unit (one quarter) or to a sum of three metric units (a full measure). In the former


instance, J = 152-168; in the latter = 88-100. In a :Alkgro where the tempo unit embraces three smaller metric units, hhh = 104-1 12. In Allegro alla breve and in :meter, the tempo unit -coincides with the metric unit, just as in f meter. But since an alla breve or 2 measure contains only two tempo units, the tempo is considerably slower, i.e. = 112-132 in &, J = 120-132 in :, J = 144-176 in f .l 2 This principle is observed consistently. The following table, which contains the tempi occurring in Beethoven's works arranged according to meter signatures and tempo categories, illustrates the systematic nature of their notation:

As has already been remarked, the tempo indication alone does not always enable one to classify a piece as belonging to a specific tempo category. Sometimes the system of the designations is not strictly maintained, and then frequently the relation of the metric unit to the tempo unit remains an open question. The movements in scherzo form in op. 18/IV, op. 18N, op. 20, op. 59/11, and op. 591111 are all marked "Menuetto" andlor "Allegretto"; yet each of these movements is in a different tempo, and the differences are by no means mere nuances; on the contrary, the tempo varies from J = 116 to J = 252! Only the meaning of the music can lead us to what is correct. What we must first decide is whether we are confronted here with a true minuet, in which the quarters are the tempo units, or with waltz-type compositions, in which whole measures constitute the tempo units. This decision will be possible only through closer exami- nation of the specific musical nature of the pieces-of their character.


Thus we must determine the essential quality of the music, its "spirit." Then we can assign to the spirit its proper "body." Beethoven undertook this himself for most of his character-types by means of his metronome markings. Thus if we succeed in identifying a piece as having a certain specific character, we shall have determined its tempo. Musical character manifests itself in the musical form. Simi- larity of form in different pieces permits us to infer identity of character. In the specific discussion which follows, I have attempted to carry out such a phenomenological identification of all of Beethoven's character-types. Such a taxonomy does not undermine the individ- uality of particular works. The systematic model being set up here does not imply that all pieces grouped within one type are identical in their form of expression. Nor am I attempting to simplify the infi- nite complexity of musical phenomena. Among all their varied mani- festations, I am simply emphasizing the commonality of one single element: character.

The decisive question in determining the tempo of the slow movements in Beethoven is the question of which metric unit the tempo indication refers to. The answer to this question is by no means always obvious, and it is here that violence is most often done to Beethoven's intentions. It seems that German Romanticism, and the traditional performances inspired by it, believed that one could only do justice to the "profundity" of the Beethoven Adagio by means of an extremely slow tempo. l3 This interpretation sometimes leads, however, to a complete distortion of the musical idea such that it is no longer recognizable.

1) Adagio & d = 30-33

Piano Concerto No. 1, op. 15 Largo Piano Sonata, op. 26 Marcia funebre C Piano Sonata, op. 27/11 Adagio sostenuto Violin Sonata, op. 30111 Adagio cantabile Romance, op. 40 (no tempo marking) Romance, op. 50 Adagio cantabile String Quartet, op. 59/11 Molto Adagio C J = 60 Piano Concerto No. 5, op. 73 Adagio un poco mosso Symphony No. 9, op. 125 Adagio molto e cantabile C J = 60 String Quartet, op. 13 1 No. 1. Adagio ma non troppo e molto

espressivo String Quartet, op. 132 Canzona di ringraziamento. Molto adagio

C


The alla breve Adagio, which I refer to as the "chorale type" on account of its articulation in half-notes, has not been accepted as such by most editors; even the Breitkopf & Hartel Gesamtausgabe took away most of the alla breve signs. This unwillingness to let the tempo marking refer to large note values naturally has its counterpart in performance practice. The tempo is applied to the quarter-notes, which are then however not played really Adagio (J = 30-40)-which would be completely absurd-but rather in an Andante tempo (ca. J = 50). This makes the tempo seem faster than it would be if played correctly, despite the faster quarter notes (1 = 60), for what deter- mines perceived tempo is the distance between two accentuated points. By suppressing the emphasis on the second and fourth quarters one can make it possible to feel the tempo as really applying to the half-notes, revealing the intended character as a broad Adagio. '4

Op. 27/11 Adagio sostenuto

7 ,-

Op. 30/1I Adagio cantabile

Op. 59/11 Molto Adagio -


Op. 7.3 Adagio un poco mosso

Op. 125 Adagio molto e cantabile

op. 1 3 1 Adagio ma non troppo e m~)ltoespressiso

Op, 132 ;Llolto Adagio

I I


In the Adagio movements notated in i meter, the problem con- sists in finding out whether the indication "Adagio" applies to the quarter-notes, resulting in a true i , or to the eighth-notes, which would produce a imeter. Beethoven, however, never used a i signa-ture. Thus the notation by itself again does not give us sufficient information; we must seek it in the music.

2) Adagio J = 32-40

String Trio, op. 3 Adagio Serenade, op. 8 Adagio String Trio, op. 91111 Adagio con espressione C Piano Sonata, op. 1011 Adagio molto Piano Sonata, op. 13 Adagio cantabile Serenade, op. 25 Adagio Violin Sonata, op. 3011 Adagio molto espressivo Symphony No. 3, op. 55 Marcia funebre. Adagio assai = 80 Sextet, op. 81 b Adagio Violin Sonata, op. 96 Adagio espressivo

The articulation of these themes in quarter-notes leaves no doubt that the Adagio indication applies to the quarter-notes. (The relationship between the Sonata op. 13 and the Ninth Symphony op. 125 confirms this inference.) The Funeral March of the Third Symphony op. 55 constitutes a special case, since the considerable rhythmic variety of its theme has almost always led to its being interpreted as a

Adagio. What makes such an interpretation untenable is principally the Maggiore section.

The String Trio, op. 91111, contains the only movement in f meter in which the Adagio tempo indication refers to the quarter- notes. In all other similarly notated instances it refers to the half- notes. But the structure of the piece shows clearly that what we are dealing with here is not a real f meter but two 1 measures, since the third quarter has the force of a down-beat.

Op. 3 , Adagio


Op. 91111 Adagio con espressione

Op. 1011 Adagio ~nolto

Op. 13 , Adagio cantabile

\ I

Op. 55 Marcia funebre. Adagio assai

Op. Xlh Adagio


Op 96 Adagio espre\si\o

- 0 -

3 ) Adagio (Q) .?= 40-50

Piano Sonata, op. 21111 String Quartet, op. 18NI

Adagio Adagio, ma non troppo ,h = 80

String Quartet, op. 5911 Adagio molto e mesto = 88 Piano Trio, op. 7011 Largo assai ed espressivo Woodwind Sextet, op. 71 Adagio Cello Sonata, op. 102111 Adagio con molto sentimento d'affetto

Figurations such as those contained in op. 5911 or op. 7011 dem-onstrate that in these works the Adagio applies to the eighth-notes as is, in fact, clear from the physiognomy of the themes.

Adagio

\

Op. 18NI Adagio. ma non troppo

\

Op. 59/l Adagio molto e mesto


o p . 7011 Largo assai ed espressivo

0

o p . 102111 Adagio con molto sentimento d'affetto

6 124) Adagio s , 8

Piano Trio, op. 1/11 Piano Sonata, op. 101111 Cello Sonata, op. 10211 Piano Sonata, op. 106

String Quartet, op. 135


1. = 24-30

Largo con espressione Largo e mesto Andante h = 88 Adagio sostenuto. Appassionato e con molto sentimento = 92 Lento assai, cantante e tranquillo

Adagio, ma non troppo e molto cantabile 12

In meter the tempo indication always refers to the dotted quarter.

o p . 10fl11

\ I

I


Op. 106 Adagio sostenuto

Op. 135 Lento assai. cantante e tranauillo

Op. 117 Adagio, ma nc~n troppo e molto cantabile

5) Adagio J = 36-44

Piano Trio, op. 111 Adagio cantabile Piano Sonata, op. 211 Adagio Piano Sonata, op. 2/11 Largo appassionato Piano Sonata, op. 7 Largo, con gran espressione Serenade, op. 8 Adagio Piano Trio, op. 1 1 Adagio Violin Sonata, op. 121111 Adagio con molta espressione String Quartet, op. 18/11 Adagio cantabile .h = 72 Piano Concerto No. 2, op. 19 Adagio Violin Sonata, op. 24 Adagio molto espressivo Piano Sonata, op. 2711 Adagio con espressione String Quintet, op. 29 Adagio molto espressivo Piano Sonata, op. 31/11 Adagio Symphony No. 4, op. 60 Adagio .h = 84 Woodwind Trio, op. 87 Adagio cantabile String Quartet, op. 130 Cavatina. Adagio molto espressivo

110 The Mwical Quarterly

The f Adagio is by far the most common type among the Ada-gios; in it the tempo indications always refer to the quarters.

op. 12/111 Adagio con molta espressione

I Op. 18/11

Adagio cantabile

Op. 24

I Op. . 60

Adagio r , , r , r i~l l , l ,

'Op. 130 Cavatina. Adagio molto espressivo

\ I

Tempo and Character in Beethoven's Music 11 1

6) Adagio :, A J. = 40-46; h. = 50

String Trio, op. 911 Adagio, ma non tanto, e cantabile f String Quartet, op. 1811 Adagio affetuoso ed appassionato .h = 138 Septet, op. 20 Adagio cantabile ) = 132 Piano Sonata, op. 22 Adagio con molta espressione Piano Sonata, op. 3111 Adagio grazioso

Piano Sonata, op. 11 1 Arietta. Adagio molto semplice e cantabile 9 16

The identity of the pieces notated in meter, i.e. their common reference to the dotted-quarter, is clearly shown in op. 911, which is notated in time.

The unique case of the Piano Sonata, op. 111, notated in meter, surely reflects an attempt to do justice to the special character -and tempo-of this piece. This movement lies between a Adagio (J. = 40-46) and a (Adagio h = 52-72).

Op. 911 Adagio. ma non tanto. e cantabile

op . In/! Adagio affetuoso ed appassionato

op.20 Adagio cantabile

I , I , , ,


o p . 1 1 1 Arietta. Adagio n~olto sernplice e cantabile

i I

Piano Concerto No. 3 , op. 37 Largo Triple Concerto, op. 56 Largo

String Quartet, op. 74 Adagio ma non troppo h = 72

The two movements marked Largo are similar to the Adagio while the slow movement of op. 74 is on the way to an Andante. (The Larghetto from the Second Symphony op. 36 belongs completely to the Andante category; see type 16.)

op. 37

Op. 56 , Largo

I


Op. 74 Adagio ma non troppo

Y

8) Andante C J = 60-63

Violin Concerto, op. 61 Larghetto

String Quartet, op. 130 Andante con moto, ma non troppo. Poco scherzoso

The Larghetto of the Violin Concerto is probably the piece that has undergone the most extensive distortion in performance: it is played nearly twice as slowly as intended. It is treated as if it were an Adagio with the tempo referring to the quarter notes, and is articulated (and "beaten" by the conductor) in eighth notes at a tempo of .h = 71-74. As a result, this light, spirited, gracious Andante movement is made into a solemn, devotional hymn. To me it is inconceivable how this misunderstanding could arise, and even more inconceivable that it could persist for so long. The incoherence of such an interpretation should have been evident immediately from the sixteenth-note ara- besques encircling the theme [at the violin's first entrance] which must now be played with a solemn profundity weighted down by a cantabile espressivo. But this conception becomes completely absurd in the con- trasting middle section where the melodic progression is articulated in half notes. When the Adagio diction settles on two trills in whole measures, all the virtuosi steeped in tradition run out of breath and abbreviate this resting point considerably.

The unusual marking Larghetto may have contributed to the gross misunderstanding of this piece; it appears only one other time, in the second movement of the Second Symphony where Beethoven estab- lishes it as equivalent to Andante by marking it .h = 92. Though the Violin Concerto has no metronome markings from Beethoven's own hand, we still have proof that he conceived the piece as an Andante (despite the precious term Larghetto-whose diminutive form was per- haps supposed to indicate its light character): Beethoven marked the

114 TkMusical Quarterly

transitional cadenza to the third movement, which he wrote for the piano arrangement of the concerto, as "Transition from the Andante to the Rondo."

Op. 130 Andante con mot0 ma non troppo. Poco scherzoso

9) Andante '82 J. = 50

Symphony No. 6, op. 68 Andante molto rnosso J. = 50

Tempo and Character in Beethouen's Music 115

Op. 68 . Andante molto mosso

10) Andante & d = 46-50

Piano Sonata, op. 14/11 Andante Piano Sonata, op. 2711 Andante

The Andante alla breve appears once in the form of a variation movement and then later as a three-part song-form.

Op. 14/11 Andante

Op. 2711 Andante

11) Andante 2

Piano Trio, op. 11111 Andante cantabile con Variazioni Serenade, op. 8 Tema. Andante quasi Allegretto Violin Sonata, op. 1211 Tema con Variazioni. Andante con mot0 String Quartet, op. 18N Andante cantabile = 100 Septet, op. 20 Andante ,h = 120 Serenade, op. 25 Andante con Variazioni Violin Sonata, op. 47 Andante con Variazioni


Rondo (for Piano), op. 51/11 Andante cantabile e grazioso Piano Sonata, op. 57 Andante con mot0 String Quartet, op. 131 No. 4. Andante ma non troppo e molto

cantabile

In light of the intermediate position of the Andante between the Adagio and the Allegretto, we find in this category some pieces that are closer to the Adagio and some that already have the character of an Allegretto. Between them lies the true Andante type: the variation theme with folk-song character.

Op. l l l l l Andante cantabile

Op. 1211

.Andante con moto

Op. I XIV Andante cantabile

I Op. 2 0

Andante

\


Op. 37 Andante

1

i I

Op. 57 I Andante con moto

Op. 131 Andante ma non troppo e molto cantabile

-i,li// i u Lil LL

12) Andante :(i) h = 72-88

Piano Quintet, op. 16 Andante cantabile Piano Sonata, op. 81 a Andante espressivo

Op. 81a Andante espressivo I n gehrnder Brwegung, doch mlt v ~ e lAu\druch

1 18 The Musical Quarterly

13) Andante

String Trio, op. 9/11 Woodwind Octet, op. 103


Symphony No. 6, op. 68

J. = 50-60

Andante quasi Allegretto Andante

Andante con mot0 quasi Allegretto J. = 56

Allegretto J . = 60

Op. 9/11 exhibits the Scherzando character of op. 18/IV (2nd movement-see type 22) and is thus virtually a 2 x:. The melan- cholic minor movement from op. 591111 is an isolated case which has no scherzo elements.

Op. 9/11

I

, o p . 59/111

Andante con moto quasi Allegretto

I


14) Andante f J = 60-76

Violin Sonata, op. 301111 Tempo di Minuetto ma molto moderato e grazioso

Piano Trio, op. 97 Andante cantabile Piano Sonata, op. 109 Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung.

Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo Piano Sonata, op. 110 Moderato cantabile molto espressivo String Quartet, op. 13 1 No. 6. Adagio quasi un poco andante

The Andante appears twice as a variation theme: op. 97 and op. 109.

Op. 30/111 Tempo di Minuetto

Op. 97 , Andante cantahile

Op. 109 (;esang\oll, mit innipster I.:nipfindung

I o p . I I0

A

\ I


15) Andante J. = 50

Piano Sonata, op. 79 Andante

op. 7') , Andante

7 -

16) Andante 58 h = 1 2 0 ; h = 92

String Trio, op. 3 Andante Symphony No. 1, op. 21 Andante cantabile con mot0 h = 120

Piano Sonata, op. 26 Andante con Variazioni Symphony No. 2, op. 36 Larghetto .h = 92 Symphony No. 5, op. 67 Andante con mot0 h = 92 Andante (for Piano), WOO 57 Andante grazioso con mot0

Op. 3 and op. 21 are borderline cases which tend in two direc- tions: conceived in whole measures (J. = 40), they belong to the realm of the Adagio; but the articulation in eighth-notes relegates them to the domain of the Allegretto. They represent Mozart's "Andantino"-a term Beethoven did not use.

Andante cantabile con moto

I PP

I


Op. 26 Andante - .

Op. 36

On. 67 Andante con moto

woo 57 Andante erazioso con mot0 h:

17) Allegretto C J = 100-120

Piano Sonata, op. 2/11 Rondo. Grazioso Piano Sonata, op. 6 Rondo. Moderato Piano Trio, op. 11 Allegretto

The rondo form offers Beethoven much less of an opportunity to exercise his power of creating new character-types than does the sonata form. In the Allegretto tempo the rondo pieces all share the


basic character of the Grazioso in duple meter, which leads us to designate this group the "Grazioso-type."

op.2/11 . .

i I

Op. I I Allegretto

18) Allegretto 2, J = 66-76; J = 60

String Trio, op. 9/11 Allegretto Violin Sonata, op. 12/11 Andante, pih tosto Allegretto Violin Sonata, op. 23 Andante scherzoso, pih Allegretto Piano Sonata, op. 4911 Andante Piano Trio, op. 70111 Allegretto Symphony No. 7, op. 92 Allegretto J = 76 String Quartet, op. 95 Allegretto ma non troppo J = 66

Piano Sonata, op. 7 Rondo. Poco Allegretto e grazioso Piano Sonata, op. 22 Rondo. Allegretto Piano Sonata, op. 53 Rondo. Allegretto moderato Piano Sonata, op. 54 Allegretto

The two outstanding representatives of Beethoven's Allegretto in 2 meter are not identical in character. The theme of op. 92 has a solemn, marching character-one might almost interpret the half notes (J = 38) as the pace of a funeral procession; the harmony changes with the measures. The theme of op. 95, on the other hand, is more cantabile in character, and is on the borderline between Alk- gretto and Andante. l5 The two pieces are nevertheless related. Their affinity manifests itself in the four-measure "raising of the curtain" in

Tempo and Characm in Beehen's Music 123

op. 95, which exhibits the same march character as op. 92, and in the dolce Maggiore section of the latter, which in turn shows clear kinship in character with the theme of op. 95. Also interesting is the similarity in the structure of the development, which in both cases adds a sixteenth-note counterpoint to afugal theme derived from the primary material.

The anomalous notation of op. 53 (doubled note values!) makes this piece a :meter; this is apparent by comparison with op. 7.

Op. 23 Andante scherzoso, pi8 Allegretto

I

Op. 70A1

Op. 92 Alleeretto

top. 95

I , Allegro ma non troppo


o p . 95 5 ,!,< ::<, ,,,<,'

L

Op. 92

o p . 95

o p . 7 Poco Allegretto e grazioso


op. 22 Allegretto

/ .

op. 53 Allegretto moderato

op. 7 Poco Allegretto e gra~ioso

op. 53


19) Allegretto ( t ) .h = 88-92

String Quartet, op. 181111 Andante con mot0 .h = 92 Piano Sonata, op. 28 Andante Symphony No. 8, op. 93 Allegretto scherzando .h = 88

The second movement of op. 93 is noteworthy for the fact that it is in imeter-although Beethoven does not indicate this here any more than in his Adagio movements. The motivic function of the 32nd notes makes this clear. This movement has a special relation to the metronome, for the idea behind it was inspired by the metronome's beat. The humorous text to the canon using the theme of this movement, which Beethoven wrote to be sung at an evening of merri- ment in Malzel's honor, shows that the pulsing sixteenths "sempre staccato" are an imitation of the "tick-tock" of Malzel's instrument. Whether the canon preceded the symphonic movement or whether the theme from the movement was employed for the canon-a ques-tion upon which Beethoven scholars disagree-in either case, this work provided the metronome with an everlasting monument within Beethoven's work. l6

Op. I X / I I I Andante con moto


Op. 28

o p . 93 Allegretto scherzandc,

20) Allegretto 6s J. = 72

Piano Sonata, op. 101 Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Emp- findung. Allegretto, ma non troppo

The fact that here there exists only one instance of the Alle-gretto type which was so common in Mozart's work-and that even this instance is not of true Allegretto character-is certainly remarkable, and illustrates the transformation in the vocabulary of the Vienna classic composers.

o p . 1 0 1 Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung Allegrsllo. 111:~ 111111 Iroppo

21) Allegretto "Polonaise" J = 100

Serenade, op. 8 Allegretto alla Polacca Triple Concerto, op. 56 Rondo alla Polacca Polonaise for Piano, op. 89 Alla Polacca, vivace

I

128 The Musical Quarte~ly

Op. 89 Alla Polacca, vivace

22) Allegretto .h = 168

String Quartet, op. 18lIV Andante scherzoso quasi Allegretto J. = 56

String Quartet, op. 5911 Allegretto vivace e sempre scherzando J. = 56

The relationship between these two movements is striking to both eye and ear. They form an isolated pair, and it is certainly remarkable, from the viewpoint of the history of style, that six years after op. 18lIV and in an idiom that had developed considerably in the interim, Beethoven once again employed the idea of the Allegretto scherzando for the same setting-and then never again. The difference in the indications for the same tempo is striking.

Op. 18AV . Andante scherzoso quasi Allegretto


op.59n Allegretto vivace e sempre scherzando

23) Allegretto quasi Allegro 88 J. = 88

String Quartet, op. 18NI Allegretto quasi Allegro J. = 88 Piano Sonata, op. 31/11 Allegretto

Here there is a slight inconsistency in the tempo indications: op. 31/11 is marked simply "Allegretto." But the similarity of the motives leaves no room for doubt that the same tempo is intended as in op. 18NI.

Cp. 18NI Allegretto quasi Allegro

Op. 3 1/11 Allegretto

(TO BE CONTINUED)


Notes

Rudolf Kolisch's "Tempo and Character in Beethoven's Music," originally writ- ten in German, was given as a talk before the Greater New York Chapter of the American Musicological Society on December 29, 1942 in a translation by Arthur Mendel, and published the following year in Vol. XXIX of The Musical Quarterly (pp. 169-187 and 291-312). In 1961 Mr. Kolisch developed a shortened version of the German text as part of a lecture-demonstration for West German radio. In the 1970s, when David Satz was Mr. Kolisch's teaching assistant at the New England Conserva- tory, he and Mr. Kolisch worked for several years to revise the article for publication by Universal Edition (Vienna).

The revision was not finished at the time of Mr. Kolisch's death on August 1, 1978. The most that could then be done was to present the available material in the best possible condition; but by the time the manuscript was ready for submission, Universal felt that it could no longer undertake the project. It was agreed instead that the Munich-based publication series Musik-Konsepte, which had shown great interest in Rudolf Kolisch's work, would publish the article. Regina Busch, a musicologist who had participated in the Schoenberg seminars in Modling, Austria, led by Rudolf Kolisch and Rudolph Stephan, assumed primary responsibility for editing the text. Her edition, upon which the present translation by Thomas Y. Levin and David Satz is based, has just been published under the title Rudolf Kolisch, Tempo und Charakter in Beethovens Musik (Musik-Konzepte 76/77, July 1992). It offers extensive notes and commentary on the sources plus a substantial collection of supplementary research material, and is highly recommended for those wishing to study this article in depth.

Unless otherwise indicated, all footnotes below are by Rudolf Kolisch. For reasons of length the article is being published in two parts, the second of which will appear in the following issue.

1. Once, in a conversation about Beethoven's metronome marks, a well-known conductor refused to consider them, on the ground that Beethoven had brought suit against Malzel because his metronome had proved wholly unreliable! What passions must be raging in a musician's heart if his mind can believe such an absurdity!

2. Reprinted in Beethovens samtliche Briefe und Aufzeichnungen, ed. Fritz Prelinger (ViennaiLeipzig: C. W . Stern, 1911), 5:13f; reprinted in Beethoven. Das Probkm der Interpretation, Musik-Konzepte 8 (April 1979), 80.

3. Gustav Nottebohm, Beethoveniana (Leipzig: Verlag C.F. Peters, 1872), 1: 131.

4. Emily Anderson, ed. and trans., The Letters of Beethoven (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1961; New York: Norton, 1985), 2: 806.

5. Letters of Beethoven, 3: 1314-13 15

6. Letters of Beethoven, 3: 1325; trans. modified.

7. Letters of Beethoven, 2: 727-728; trans. modified.

8. "I don't consider your lousy fiddles when the spirit comes over me," Beethoven is reported to have said to Schuppanzigh; see Adolph Bemhard Marx, Ludwig van Beethoven. Leben und Schaffen. 4th Ed. ed. Dr. Gustav Behncke (Berlin: Verlag von Otto Janke, 1884), 2: 41.

9. For the original French of this letter, see the Deiters edition of Alexander Whee- lock Thayer's Ludwig van Beethovens Leben (Leipzig: Reimann, 1908), 5: 558 (Appen- dix 11).


10. Most interesting in this context is the case of Bela Bartdk, whose conception of tempo was so exact that the indications given on the metronome scale were not sufficient for him. Thus he might indicate J = 130, but would note right away, as I had repeated occasion to observe, the slightest deviation from that tempo.

11. In Europe, where for understandable reasons the traditional deviations are much more firmly rooted than in the United States, this resistance has sometimes taken on passionate forms. I remember with pleasure an occasion in Paris when, after a performance of op. 95 which I had played according to Beethoven's metronomic markings, a professor from the Conservatoire, a true keeper of the Holy Grail of Tradition, could hardly wait for the last note to die away before crying out, "Tout $a mop vite!" [That's all much too fast!] This promptly led to a fistfight.

Nowadays such resistance may have other sources as well, for "mankind's sacred heritage" has become to a great extent a tool of commercial advertising. Its value for commodity culture would be seriously affected if it were essentially transformed, ren- dering it, if not entirely unrecognizable, then at least unfamiliar.

12. Kolisch's manuscripts reflect a continuing struggle not only with the wording of these two paragraphs but also with the choice of phenomena to be considered in them as the factors that influence the tempo. From his notes it is clear that he was still not be satisfied with this formulation of the "tempo principle." I believe that a complete explanation would need to include the note value of the tempo unit as an inverse factor. -"Metric unit" is not always used by Kolisch as a special term; sometimes it is simply equivalent to "note value" [D.S.].

13. This is probably still due to the influence of Wagner, who once wrote of the Adagio, "In a certain subtle sense one may say that the pure Adagio can not be taken slowly enough" ("About Conducting," in Richard Wagner, Prose Works, trans. William Ashton Ellis [New York: Broude Bros., 19661, 4: 314).

14. The lower limit of the metronome scale at that time was 50. Therefore when Beethoven gives a tempo between 50 and 100 we cannot conclude that the smaller note values are meant as the tempo unit [D.S.].

15. But only on the borderline; there is hardly a piece by Beethoven that has been made more banal by the mere placing of it in a conventional category, that of Andante cantabile, than this particular one, of which the unique quality lies in the very fact that it hovers between the cantabile (but never purely lyric) elements of the theme and the sinister footsteps of the opening. Too slow a tempo would resolve this indefin~teness in favor of the conventional singing character. The interpretation of the sixteenth-note counterpoint as a jolly, bouncing spiccato also contributes, by the way, to this banalization.

16. The authenticity of the Malzel canon has long presented a historical puzzle; as Nottebohm points out, in the year of Malzel's return to Vienna his device was still known as the "Chronometer" and there is n o particular evidence that the later name of the device was known to Beethoven in advance. There is n o manuscript source other than in a conversation book from Schindler, whose refusal to accept Beethov- en's position on the metronome and questions of tempo led him to falsify nearly every statement he ever made on the subject [D.S.].

kol is ch 1 beethoven

Documents

metronome markings

jstor archive

beethovens tempi

jstor transmission

initiative of jstor

conditions of use

modem metronome

noncommercial use