The Cambridge Companion to Beethoven

A survey of Beethoven's music and the personal and historical contexts in which it was composed, first published in 2000.

Glenn Stanley (Edited by)

9780521589345, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 11 May 2000

394 pages, 7 b/w illus. 1 table 91 music examples
24.6 x 17.5 x 2.2 cm, 0.675 kg

'… a splendidly comprehensive work.' Expository Times

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.

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.

Subject Areas: Individual composers & musicians, specific bands & groups [AVH]