Beethoven's Error? The Modulating Ritornello and the Type 5 Sonata in the Post-Classical Piano Concerto
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4933349 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Julian Horton (0000-0001-9391-7077, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 353-412 |
| Publication date | 2021-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Music Analysis (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0262-5245 • E-ISSN: 1468-2249 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/musa.12180 |
| OpenAlex | W4210523570 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 11 |
In his analysis of the first movement of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 37, Donald Francis Tovey dismissed Beethoven's decision to modulate for the second theme in the movement's opening tutti as an 'error' that gives the impression of a symphonic exposition rather than a concerto ritornello and thereby undermines the work's generic identity. For Tovey, Beethoven and practitioners falling under his influence misunderstood a fundamental formal principle, enshrined in Mozart's predominant habit of associating structural modulation with the solo exposition. More recent theories of concerto first-movement form, including James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy's model of the 'type-5' sonata, sustain both Tovey's view of Op. 37 and the normativity of Mozart's example. Drawing on a corpus study of 87 piano concerti by 20 composers written between 1789 and 1848, this paper challenges the centrality of the monotonal ritornello to the theory of the type 5 sonata. It demonstrates the overwhelming generic predominance of modulating ritornelli in this time and develops a post-canonical theory of concerto first-movement form that questions the centrality of Mozartian norms on historical and empirical grounds
Aesthetics · Art · Art history · Cadenza · Concerto · Exposition (narrative · Literature · Movement (music · MOZART · Piano · Piano sonata · Sonata cycle · Sonata form · Symphony · Music History and Culture · Musicology and Musical Analysis · Neuroscience and Music Perception · Philosophy
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |