Beethoven, Eroica, Piano Sonatas, Goethe, Intro to Romantic.

Movement in the Classic Symphony and String Quartet

• A classic symphony typically consists of four movements: Fast, Slow, Minuet and Trio, and Fast.
• The first movement often follows the Sonata-Allegro form.
• The second movement is slow and can take various forms such as Sonata-Allegro, ABA, or Theme and Variations.
• The third movement is a Minuet and Trio, combining ABA and rounded binary forms.
• The fourth movement is fast and often follows the Sonata-Allegro or Rondo form.

Symphony MVT 3: Minuet and Trio

• The Minuet and Trio combines ABA and rounded binary forms.
• The overall structure is ABA (Minuet-Trio-Minuet).
• The Minuet and Trio themselves are rounded binary forms.
• The Trio ends with a "Minuet da capo", where the Minuet is played again.
• In the 18th century, repeats might have been played in the Minuet da capo, but not today.

Romantic Era in Music History

• Beethoven is sometimes classified as a Classical or Romantic composer, bridging the two eras.
• His late works are highly experimental.

Romantic vs. Classic Periods

• Classic period: balance, clarity, straightforwardness, and universal passions.
• Romantic period: asymmetry, strangeness, introspection, distortion, and personal suffering.

Beethoven's Musical Characteristics

• Rhythm: syncopation, rhythmic surprises, distortion of typical tempos, and rhythmic themes.
• Form: expansion of transition and development sections, lengthening of works.
• Harmony: excursions to distant keys, delayed cadences, and key confusion.

Beethoven Eroica MVT 1 Exposition

• First theme: a triad played one note at a time, trailing off and left incomplete.
• Triple meter and development-type writing immediately follow the theme.
• There are two transitions, and syncopation is used.

Beethoven Eroica MVT 1 Key Area 2

• Gentle motive with many repeated notes.
• Winds and strings contrast, ending with syncopation and dynamics.
• Syncopation continues, making it seem like the meter has changed to 2/4.

Beethoven Eroica MVT 1 Development

• Uses all themes, including those from the transition sections, sometimes simultaneously.
• Syncopation is taken to extremes, and a new melody is introduced.

Beethoven Eroica MVT 1 Recapitulation

• First key area material is altered.
• A long coda is added to balance the development.

Beethoven Eroica MVT 3

• Introduction: titled "Scherzo", meaning joke.
• Tempo is too fast for a minuet.
• Syncopation is used frequently, and the form is rounded binary but highly unbalanced.
• There is a "Scherzo da capo" with alterations, including a joke near the end.

Piano Sonata

• The trio sonata disappeared after the Baroque period, leaving solo sonatas.
• There are two types: melody instrument with piano accompaniment, or piano alone (becoming increasingly popular).
• Typically, a piano sonata has 3 or 4 movements, similar to symphony forms without the minuet.

Cadenza

• A passage near the end of a concerto movement where the orchestra stops, and the soloist continues alone, showcasing technical and musical skills.
• In the Classical period, cadenzas were improvised.
• From the Romantic period onwards, composers wrote out the cadenzas with free rhythms, like an improvisation.

Heidenröslein and Der Tod und das Mädchen

• Heidenröslein: strophic form with identical music for each stanza, and simple accompaniment; the text is by Goethe.
• Der Tod und das Mädchen: Death is represented by slow tempo and a single pitch, while the Maiden's words are agitated; the piano introduction foreshadows Death's motives.