Full Description
This Companion, first published in 2000, provides a comprehensive view of Beethoven and his work. The first part of the book presents the composer as a private individual, as a professional, and at the work-place, discussing biographical problems, Beethoven's professional activities when not composing and his methods as a composer. In the heart of the book, individual chapters are devoted to all the major genres cultivated by Beethoven and to the elements of style and structure that cross all genres. The book concludes by looking at the ways that Beethoven and his music have been interpreted by performers, writers on music, and in the arts, literature, and philosophy. The essays in this volume, written by leading Beethoven specialists, maintain traditional emphases in Beethoven studies while incorporating other developments in musicology and theory.
Contents
Part I. A Professional Portrait: 1. Biographical considerations and chronology Glenn Stanley; 2. Beethoven at work, musical activist and thinker Glenn Stanley; 3. The compositional act: sketches and autographs Barry Cooper; Part II. Style and Structure: 4. 'The spirit of Mozart from Haydn's hands': Beethoven's musical inheritance Elaine Sisman; 5. Phrase, period, theme Roger Kamien; 6. 'The sense of an ending': goal-directedness in Beethoven's music Nicholas Marston; Part III. Genres: 7. The piano music: concertos, sonatas, variations, small forms William Kinderman; 8. Beethoven's chamber music with piano: seeking unity in mixed sonorities Mark Kaplan; 9. Manner, tone, and tendency in Beethoven's chamber music for strings John Daverio; 10. Sound and structure in Beethoven's orchestral music Leon Botstein; 11. Beethoven's songs and vocal style Amanda Glauert; 12. Beethoven's essay in opera: historical, text-critical, and interpretative issues in Fidelio Michael Tusa; 13. Beethoven's sacred and liturgical compositions: songs, oratorio, masses Birgit Lodes; Part IV. Reception: 14. 'With a Beethoven-like sublimity': Beethoven in the works of other composers Margaret Notley; 15. Beethoven's music in performance: historical perspectives Alain Frogley; 16. The four ages of Beethoven: musicians (and a few others) on Beethoven Scott Burnham; 17. Beethoven at large: reception in literature, the arts, philosophy, and politics David Dennis.
