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VIII: Motivic Development: Op. 2 NO.1, Op. 57, Op. 110
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VIn 0 00 Motivic Development OP. 2 N. I, OP. 57, OP. 110 Armed with our urtext editions, scholarly studies of performance practice, and doctorates, we may think that our performances represent a more accurate reading of the printed page than any in the past. However indispensable reliable editions and an understanding of performance practices may be, to realize literally and irreproachably the printed page is no feat at all, compared with the "original interpretation" of the Fourth Concerto when it was still a blank page in the sketchbook. Like the composer, with every performance a true interpreter mentally faces a blank page of manuscript paper. The muscles know the notes; the intelligence and fantasy of the player must decide what to do with them. Grouping particular sonatas under various headings should not be regarded as excluding other sonatas that illustrate the same procedure, in this case, motivic development. Op. 2 Nos. 2 and 3, Op. 13, Op. 27 Nos. 1and 2, Op. 28, Op. 49 No.2, Op. 78, Op. 106, and Op. 109 all contain one or more motives that reappear, playing new roles and wearing new guises throughout the sonata. The three sonatas grouped together under the heading "Motivic Development"-op. 2 NO.1, Op. 57, and Op. no-have been chosen because the motivic pattern is the vehicle for developing the singular character of each sonata; and because they are works that span a lifetime, one may follow Beethoven's growing sophistication in the use of simple patterns to develop character. Motivic Development 85 OP. 2 NO.1 In at least three aspects, the F-minor Sonata contrasts with the other two sonatas in Op. 2 and with later sonatas of a tragic, intense nature. It is the only sonata ofits opus in a minor key. The concentration on the tonal color of the minor mode extends to the darkening of A~ major in the first movement with d and n (Ex. 8.1), and to the use of the minor sixth scale step in major in the slow movement and the Menuetto (Ex. 8.2). Ex. 8.1. Or. 2 NO.1, I, MM. 20-22, 29-30, 41-42. I ffitfp=E I •• ~ con espresstone Ex. 8.2. Or. 2 NO.1, II, MM. 59-60; III, MM. 14-16. 1\ .. I I The F-minor Sonata is also unique among the sonatas in Op. 2 in that the drama is sustained to the very end. By comparison, the final movement of the A-major Sonata is graceful and pleasant, its two outbursts notwithstanding, while the effect of the C-major Sonata depends on a technical muscularity that has less to do with emotional depth. Finally, in contrast with both these sonatas and with movements from other tragic sonatas, such as Op. 13, Op. 2.7 NO.2, and Op. 57, the keyboard writing of the F-minor Sonata sounds somewhat bare. Considering the passion one expects from so serious a piece, the eighth-note broken octave accompaniment and [3.88.114.76] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 10:41 GMT) The Sonatas 86 the passages of basically linear, two-part writing give the first movement a bony sound. The sonata, with its self-confident, if gangling stride, moves like a youthful body possessed by a rebellious, indomitable spirit. From the sketch for the exposition of the first movement (Ex. 8.3), as reproduced in Nottebohm,' one would expect more notes and a more fluent manner in the completed work. The obvious change in the printed score was the discarding of the triplets in favor of a subdivision in quarters and eighths. As Nottebohm remarks, "In the printed version the melodic nature is predominant, in the sketch, passagework."2 Considering the tragic character, Beethoven may have thought the triplet passages too facile compared with square-shouldered quarters and eighths. He may also have thought it better drama to save the triplet subdivision for the finale, where it is used for broken-chord figures, in contrast with the scales in the sketch of the first movement. Ex. 8.3. OP. 2 NO.1, SKETCH OF EXPOSITION. )1~:Jj:Fc:1rrtrc::::tJ ~~: Motivic Development 87 A . _. ~ .~. A .., ........... ., ...... -.0..1 ~.......- .~. • e u e e ., ~. ) ) .. & ~ ~ .~. A & ~ ~ .~. A {'; A. ~ ~ • · .· . .., A I ~· .· . .., ~. ~. The piece as we know it (Ex. 8-4) shows changes of momentous importance in the first eight measures of the exposition, which, like the last eight measures, are much nearer the final form than the remainder...