Interpretation of Beethoven

Hi all,

I recently finished putting together a paper on the interpretation of Beethoven. It raised some interesting questions. Any comments/criticisms, let me know!

-Charles

Hello @Charles Geday,

That's quite a long article, and I would like to criticize a bit on it.

I don't agree with "In terms of tonality, Beethoven was the first composer that we know of to use different key centres to represent different themes or ideas" (p.3), since Haydn has already done that in his Creation, with the opening darkness C minor overcome by the light of C major, but of course you can say Beethoven develops this technique.

I feel strange to see Bach grouped as Classical composers alongside Haydn and Mozart, since Bach is in a very different style with Haydn and Mozart. The Well-Tempered Clavier won't be considered a product of Classical period by most of us, and Bach is by no means in the 1st Viennese School.

The Fugue was NOT a staple of Classical era (p.4). It's more the staple of Baroque and earlier music if there are such periods. In Haydn's peroid it is the style galant that is dominating which get rids of heavy counterpoint. In Beethoven's time very few people have heard of Bach's works, mostly the WTC, not until Mendelssohn's revival of Bach by conducting his St. Matthew Passion.

I don't think "Bach et. al failed to see ... the emotionally-confusing nature of counterpoint and the fugue,(p.5), I think it's more like you yourself fail to see them. Yes you can say Beethoven does explore the emotional content of the counterpoint and fugue like the examples of you mention or the first movement of op.131, but no way Bach, Haydn and Mozart fail to use counterpoint emotionally. Does the Art of Fugue, fugues in Haydn's op.20 quartets, Mozart's fugues like the C minor two piano fugue or the Kyrie Eleison from the Requiem fail to meet "the emotionally confusing nature of counterpoint"? Also what is the emotional struggle of counterpoint?

What is your intention of the paper? You seem to have cover way too many topics while don't elaborate enough on all of them. I agree with you on the historical performance though.

Thx for sharing!

Henry