The Cambridge Companion to Beethoven
The Cambridge Companion to Beethoven
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.
- A comprehensive essay volume on Beethoven suitable for student use
- Traditional coverage but contains newer ideas and approaches
- Written by an international team of leading Beethoven scholars
Reviews & endorsements
'Its main strength is the way that it manages to cover Beethoven's output from such varied perspectives.' Early Music Review
' … a notable addition to the bibliography of the composer, using the researches of writers who are specialists in their field.' Classical Music
' … works well on several levels, both as an introduction to those who are hungry for more detailed knowledge and for those who are more familiar with the music and the debates surrounding it. Every chapter offers genuine food for thought.' W. Dean Sutcliffe, International Record Review
'This handsomely produced new study of Beethoven is certainly a notable addition to the bibliography of the composer.' Terry Barfoot, Classical Music
'… a splendidly comprehensive work.' Expository Times
Product details
May 2000Hardback
9780521580748
394 pages
254 × 178 × 22 mm
0.9kg
7 b/w illus. 1 table 91 music examples
Available
Table of Contents
- 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.
