Harmony In Beethoven

David Damschroder's new analytical perspective sheds fresh light on Beethoven's harmonic structures.

Published in 1944, this book considers musical theory and music history to create a short but comprehensive guide to the history of harmony and thus a discourse on what we understand harmony to be in the modern era. Referencing composers such as Beethoven and his contemporaries, the book is illustrated throughout with visual aids.

Looks at ancient and oriental music and traces the history of western music from medieval times to the twentieth century.

Harmony, Heinrich Schenker's first published work, originally appeared in German in 1906 as "New Musical Theories and Phantasies, by an Artist." Its unusual title indicates what was to be the rationale of Schenker's lifework, that artistic problems call for artistic solutions. Schenker's dedication to the formulation of a complete musical theory above the commonplace theoretical discussions was, in essence, his quest for a pattern in nature for music as art. Schenker's theory draws upon a profound understanding of the works of the masters and every proposition is illustrated by a living musical example.

The ten essays in this volume explore different aspects of the performance of instrumental works by Beethoven. Each essay discusses performance issues from Beethoven's time to the present, whether the objective be to realise a performance in an historically appropriate manner, to elucidate the interpretation of Beethoven's music by conductors and performers, to clarify transcriptions by editors or to reconstruct the experience of the listener in various different periods. Four contributions focus on the piano music while another group concentrates on Beethoven's music for strings. These chapters are complemented by an examination of Beethoven's exploitation of the developing wind choir, an evaluation of early twentieth-century recordings as pointers to early nineteenth-century performance practice and an historical survey of rescorings in Beethoven's symphonies.

"Lewis Lockwood and Mark Kroll's volume The Beethoven Violin Sonatas is the first scholarly book in English devoted exclusively to the Beethoven sonatas and deals with them in unprecedented depth. Serving readers, listeners, and performers as a companion to the sonatas, it presents seven critical and historical essays by some of the most important American and European Beethoven specialists of our time.

Focusing on music written in the period 1800-1850, Thinking about Harmony traces the responses of observant musicians to the music that was being created in their midst by composers including Beethoven, Schubert, and Chopin. It tells the story of how a separate branch of musical activity - music analysis - evolved out of the desire to make sense of the music, essential both to its enlightened performance and to its appreciation. The book integrates two distinct areas of musical inquiry - the history of music theory and music analysis - and the various notions that shape harmonic theory are put to the test through practical application, creating a unique and intriguing synthesis. Aided by an extensive compilation of carefully selected and clearly annotated music examples, readers can explore a panoramic projection of the era's analytical responses to harmony, thereby developing a more intimate rapport with the period.

" . . . one of the most interesting, useful and even exciting books on the process of musical creation." —American Music Teacher " . . . noteworthy contribution . . . with plenty of insight into interpretation . . . remarkable as an insider's account of the works in an individual perspective." —European Music Teacher Drake groups the Beethoven piano sonatas according to their musical qualities, rather than their chronology. He explores the interpretive implications of rhythm, dynamics, slurs, harmonic effects, and melodic development and identifies specific measures where Beethoven skillfully employs these compositional devices.