Music 395—Worksheet 8              Name:

Sonata Form 2

Due Date: Friday, April 16, 2004

Readings—

• Green, Form in Tonal Music
• Ch. 11: The Sonata Form, pp. 178-219
• Ch. 12: Further Aspects of Sonata Form, pp. 220-233
• Donald Tovey, A Companion to Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas (Library RESERVE)
• Analysis of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, pp. 121-123
(Library RESERVE)
• Roger Kamien, Music Forum, Vol. 4, pp. 195-235
• “Aspects of the Recapitulation in Beethoven Piano Sonatas”
  (read especially the section on Beethoven’s Op. 31, no. 2, pp. 228-235)

Score Analysis

Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31, no. 2: mvmt. i

Before you start, read the articles by Tovey and Kamien from the Readings list above. Both articles refer to the first movement of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31, no. 2 (handout). Tovey analyzes this sonata-allegro movement in a traditional yet insightful manner. Kamien focuses on the most controversial passages of the score, using Schenkerian “reduction analysis” techniques. Once you’ve absorbed these two readings, do the following.

1. Use the chart below to diagram your analysis of the first movement of this Beethoven sonata movement. Feel free to use Tovey’s analysis as a guide, though you may not want to agree with absolutely everything he says (and he uses slightly different terminology). Fill in the blanks to indicate the main key(s) for each section as well as the measure (M. #) where each section begins! (If a particular section seems transitional or developmental and doesn’t basically stick with the same key throughout, then tell me what keys it begins and ends in.)
   
   
    
2. When your diagram is complete, answer these questions about the first movement.
• a) Is there a counterstatement in Th 1 (1st Theme Group)? If so, where (measure number)? Is it literal or varied? If varied, how is it changed?
• b) Does anything about Th 1 (1st theme group) strike you as being unusual? Explain.
• c) Referring back to the reading for Worksheet 7, Rosen said the Development section can begin in several ways (p. 2). Which of his options apply to the beginning of the Development in this movement?
• d) Which themes does Beethoven use most frequently in the Development? What techniques does Beethoven use to develop them (transposition, fragmentation, or any other techniques mentioned in Ch. 3, pp. 32-36—remember Unit 1!)? Give examples. Are there any new themes here?
• e) How many large sections can you find in this Development? (Sections must be real sections—not just a phrase!) Where do these sections begin and end. What primary key areas does Beethoven establish?
• f) The place where Tovey and Kamien differ most in their analysis is right at the beginning of the Recapitulation, in the 1st theme group. Kamien’s reduction analysis clarifies some crucial relationships with the Exposition that Tovey overlooks. Specifically, Tovey refers to a “themeless” passage starting at m. 159, but Kamien’s charts delve below the surface appearances and show a clear connection with part of the Exposition’s 1st theme group. Briefly describe your understanding of Kamien’s analysis of this passage. How does this affect your analysis of the 1st theme group in the Recapitulation? What happened to the bridge (transition) in the Recapitulation? How does this passagee differ from the 1st theme group and bridge in the Exposition (use measure numbers to pinpoint what you’re talking about)?
• g) Outside of the differences you just noted, are there any other differences between the Recapitulation and the Exposition? Describe any differences (identify with measure numbers from Recapitulation). Are these the differences we expect in “standard” sonata form, or are they unusual?
• h) Which of these words best describe this Coda: expository, transitional, developmental, and/or terminative? Why? Does this Coda seem more typical than the one from Beethoven’s 5th? Explain.

Return to top

Suggested Recordings—

• Sonata Forms 2 RESERVE CD