Quasi Una Fantasia

Quasi Una Fantasia PDF

Author: Theodor Adorno

Publisher: Verso Books

Published: 2020-05-05

Total Pages: 406

ISBN-13: 1789600294

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This collection covers a wide range of topics, from a moving study of Bizet's Carmen to an entertainingly caustic exploration of the hierarchies of the auditorium. Especially significant is Adorno's "dialectical portrait" of Stravinsky, in which Adorno both reconsiders and refines his damning indictment of the composer in Philosophy on Modern Music. Throughout, Adorno is sustained by the conviction that music is supremely human because it is capable of communicating inhumanity while resisting it. His belief in the benevolent and transformative power of music reverberates throughout these writings.

Beethoven: The 'Moonlight' and Other Sonatas, Op. 27 and Op. 31

Beethoven: The 'Moonlight' and Other Sonatas, Op. 27 and Op. 31 PDF

Author: Timothy Jones

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1999-10-21

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13: 9780521598590

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Even in Beethoven's day the 'Moonlight' Sonata was a popular favourite. This 1999 book provides an accessible introduction to the Sonatas Opp. 27 and 31 (including The 'Moonlight' and 'The Tempest'), aimed at pianists, students, and music lovers. It begins with the works' historical background - the emergence of a 'piano culture' at the end of the eighteenth century, Beethoven's aristocratic milieu in Vienna, and his oft-quoted intention to follow a new compositional path. An account of the sonatas' genesis is followed by a discussion of their reception history, including a survey of changing performing styles since the mid-nineteenth century. The concept of the Sonata quasi una Fantasia is examined in relation to the cult of artistic sensibility in early-nineteenth-century Vienna. The study concludes with a critical introduction to each sonata.

The Beethoven Sonatas and the Creative Experience

The Beethoven Sonatas and the Creative Experience PDF

Author: Kenneth Drake

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Published: 1994-04-22

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 0253011531

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The definitive study of Beethoven’s piano sonatas is “remarkable as an insider’s account of the works in an individual perspective.” (European Music Teacher) In “one of the most interesting, useful and even exciting books on the process of musical creation” (American Music Teacher), Kenneth O. 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. An interpreter searching for meaning, Drake begins with Beethoven’s expressive treatment of the keyboard—the variations of touch, articulation, line, color, use of silence, and the pacing of musical ideas. He then analyzes individual sonatas, exploring motivic development, philosophic overtones, and technical demands. Hundreds of musical examples illustrate this exploration of emotional and interpretive implications of “the 32.” Here musicians are encouraged to exercise intuition and independence of thought, complementing their performance skills with logical conclusions about ideas and relationships within the score.

Canon in D Plus 12 Masterpieces

Canon in D Plus 12 Masterpieces PDF

Author: Robert Schultz

Publisher: Alfred Music Publishing

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 68

ISBN-13: 9780769293677

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Robert Schultz provides a collection of 13 world-famous pieces for piano. These upper-intermediate original pieces and transcriptions will delight every advancing pianist. Included are such favorites as Canon in D * Nessum Dorma * O Mio Babbino Caro * Moonlight Sonata * Clair de Lune * Fr Elise and seven others.

Musical Improvisation and Open Forms in the Age of Beethoven

Musical Improvisation and Open Forms in the Age of Beethoven PDF

Author: Gianmario Borio

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-12-12

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 9780367884628

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Improvisation was a crucial aspect of musical life in Europe from the late eighteenth century through to the middle of the nineteenth, representing a central moment in both public occasions and the private lives of many artists. Composers dedicated themselves to this practice at length while formulating the musical ideas later found at the core of their published works; improvisation was thus closely linked to composition itself. The full extent of this relation can be inferred from both private documents and reviews of concerts featuring improvisations, while these texts also inform us that composers quite often performed in public as both improvisers and interpreters of pieces written by themselves or others. Improvisations presented in concert were distinguished by a remarkable degree of structural organisation and complexity, demonstrating performers' consolidated abilities in composition as well as their familiarity with the rules for improvising outlined by theoreticians.

The Beethoven Sonatas and the Creative Experience

The Beethoven Sonatas and the Creative Experience PDF

Author: Kenneth Drake

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Published: 1994-04-22

Total Pages: 340

ISBN-13: 9780253213822

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" . . . 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.