Description
Book SynopsisFew composers even begin to approach Beethoven''s pervasive presence in modern Western culture, from the concert hall to the comic strip. Edited by a cultural historian and a music theorist, Beethoven and His World gathers eminent scholars from several disciplines who collectively speak to the range of Beethoven''s importance and of our perennial fascination with him.
The contributors address Beethoven''s musical works and their cultural contexts. Reinhold Brinkmann explores the post-revolutionary context of Beethoven''s Eroica Symphony, while Lewis Lockwood establishes a typology of heroism in works like Fidelio. Elaine Sisman, Nicholas Marston, and Glenn Stanley discuss issues of temporality, memory, and voice in works at the threshold of Beethoven''s late style, such as An die Ferne Geliebte, the Cello Sonata op. 102, no. 1, and the somewhat later Piano Sonata op. 109. Peering behind the scenes into Beethoven''s workshop, Tilman Skowroneck explains how t
Trade Review
"Shows a remarkable variety of current academic concerns having to do with Beethoven... Filled with other interesting and delightful tidbits..."--James R. Oestreich, The New York Times
Table of Contents
Preface and Acknowledgments by Scott Burnham and Michael P. Steinberg VIl PART I HEROIC BEETHOVEN In the Time(s) of the "Eroica"by Reinhold Brinlmann Translated by Irene Zedlacher 1 Beethoven, Florestan, and the Varieties of Heroism by Lewis Lockwood 27 PART II LATE BEETHOVEN Memory and Invention at the Threshold of Beethoven's Late Style by Elaine Sisman 51 Voices and Their Rhythms in the First Movement of Beethoven's Piano Sonata Op. 109: Some Thoughts on the Performance and Analysis of a Late-Style Work by Glenn Stanley 88 Voicing Beethoven's Distant Beloved by Nicholas Marston 124 PART III BEETHOVEN IN THE WORKSHOP Keyboard Instruments of the Young Beethoven by Tilman Skowroneck 151 Contrast and Continuity in Beethoven's Creative Process by William Kinderman 193 PART IV BEETHOVEN IN THE WORLD Performances of Grief: Vienna's Response to the Death of Beethoven by Christopher Gibbs 227 The Visual Beethoven: Whence, Why, and Whither the Scowl? by Alessandra Comini 286 Beethoven and Masculinity by Sanna Pederson 313 The Search for Meaning in Beethoven: Popularity, Intimacy, and Politics in Historical Perspective by Leon Botstein 332 Index x Notes on Contributors x
