subject and countersubject here? sometimes it's just grouped into theme I isn't it? why spend all this time? i have dinner to cook. *actually - i like this. i'll be right back. i have to get out my papers out of the closet.
just a minute - i can't find my score. might have to print another one. yikes. i have papers all over. i printed out the nutcracker suite arr. by stepan esipoff, the skylark by glinka, kinderscenen (godowsky transc), and pavane of faure - and a few other things. i didn't hole punch anything. where is beethoven?
ok. this whole question/answer ends on V - so the real start of the sonata (beyond this prelude or whatever you call it) is measure 9 which is surprisingly in c minor. strange, ehh. it almost seems like a development before you had the exposition.
i see some similarities between this f minor sonata and the appassionata (also f minor, right?). of course, there - the motives are longer (four bars, right?) - and the theme I more complicated.another thing i notice - is that a normal exposition sets one up for modulation to the V. in this case however, it is solidly in A major at the repeat sign (end of first 'development') which is the related major or III in the key of f minor. so it basically just modulated to the major - even though it sounded like it could go anywhere and had a lot of freedom of movement.
Let's start with the first 8 bears of the opening movement. Who can give me the standard formal analysis?1) 2 bar basic idea that is seperated into two parts: rocket theme (f minor arpeggio), and the triplet figure...harmony = I 2)
Things such as complete harmonic analyses, superficial descriptions of form (e.g. ABA, sonata form...essentially meaningless terms in themselves) are, in my opinion, quite fruitless. The reason is farily simple in that no two sonatas are exactly alike even though they may follow, more or less, an architypal plan. These names describe what is frequently found, but they do not account, by any means, for all that is out there. And by definition, great music is NOT what is ordinary.
this sonata is all about seventh chords, to me. what you can do with them. right away -we notice on the first page those octave Eb's which are VII chords in the key of f minor - but they sound like they have been a complete modulation (even though this is not intended yet - and saving up for real modulations in the next 'development')
I am confused. You said in your other thread:And here you are asking for a standard analysis. How come?
what measure is the second theme? if it is after the repeat sign - that is the same as theme I only modified. so why would you call it theme II if it has characteristics of theme I? besides- aren't both themes supposed to appear in the exposition only?
in minor keys - they modulate to the relative major at the end of the exposition? guess i haven't analyzed enough beethoven sonatas.
Because I want to demonstrate how the standard analysis completely ignores a lot of the musical substance of the piece.
To me it's very noticeable how often Beethoven uses the tonic-dominant combination, not only in these first bars but in a lot of other compositions too.
rallestar - nice job on the analysis...but you're right, it is rather superficial. Keep in mind though, it is NOT only yours that is...in fact, most analyses are. So, now that we have gone through the traditional approach of assigning everything labels, let's actually discuss what all of this MEANS.As I said before, let's begin with the opening 8 bars.We have:- a 2 bar basic idea on I- the same idea repeated on V6/5- fragmentation of the basic idea- total liquidation into a formulaic cadenceSo, let's begin with some simple questions about craft:1) How does Beethoven build momentum into the cadence? There are 4 or 5 specific things to look for here.2) What is the purpose(s) of repeating the 2-bar basic idea? If you have William Caplin's book on form in the instrumental music of Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven, it should be written there.3) What is the function of the fermata?Once we answer these basic questions of simple craftsmanship we will move onto the subject of artistic choices particular to this opening and why Beethoven did certain things.
I wish I owned the book, but you should find Alfred Brendel's essay about Beethoven's compositional technique, because he describes this very sonata opening as it relates to Beethoven's general approach to composition. Brendel termed the phrase, "foreshortening," which describes Beethoven's tendency of dividing even-numbered phrases into smaller and smaller bits. So for instance, and I hope I do this idea a bit of justice (go read the book), the first four bars make a separable unit; the next two use only the tail end of that idea to create a sense of intensification, through piano range and through phrase "foreshortening" to reach a climax. Walter Ramsey