Upload
fabrizio-casti
View
221
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
7/24/2019 BERRY_Formal Process and Performance in the 'Eroica' Introductions
1/17
Society for usic Theory
Formal Process and Performance in the "Eroica" IntroductionsAuthor(s): Wallace BerrySource: Music Theory Spectrum, Vol. 10, 10th Anniversary Issue (Spring, 1988), pp. 3-18Published by: {oupl} on behalf of the Society for Music TheoryStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/745789Accessed: 14-01-2016 14:50 UTC
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of contentin a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.
For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
http://www.jstor.org/publisher/smthttp://www.jstor.org/stable/745789http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/stable/745789http://www.jstor.org/publisher/smt7/24/2019 BERRY_Formal Process and Performance in the 'Eroica' Introductions
2/17
F o r m a l
Process
a n d Performance
n
t h e r o i c a
ntroductions
Wallace
Berry
Those who look to music
theory
for
guidance
in
perform-
ance are
right
o
expect
more than
generality.
Given a reasoned
view of
structure,
to what
particular interpretive
decisions
might
it be said
to lead?
What,
for
example,
might
the
per-
former
do in
recognition
and
portrayal
of an
accepted
analyti-
cal
construct,
allowing
that
any
particular
tructural
ontinuity
or
function can
usually
be
served
in
a number of
ways?
Such
questions
areall too often
neglected
in
studies
of structure
and
interpretation;
or
they
are treated with broad
pronouncementswhose
utility
comes into
serious doubt
in
particular
circum-
stances.1
That there can
be
divergent,
reasonable
concepts
of struc-
ture
in
any given
piece
is a fundamental
ule
of
existence for the
analyst
unfettered
by
bias. That
unalterable act of life accounts
in
part
for the
sometimes
bewildering
complications
of
relating
analysis
to
performance.
Another reason for such
complica-
tions follows
inescapably:
a
particularanalytical
construct
by
no means
points
to
a
singular,pursuant
directionof
realization;
the
path
from
analysis
to
interpretive
decision is
anything
but
A
preliminary
version
of
this
paper
was
presented
as a lecture at the Uni-
versity
of
Alberta,
Edmonton,
in 1983.
'An
exception
is
Janet Schmalfeldt's"On the Relations of
Analysis
to
Per-
formance: Beethoven's
Bagatelles
Op.
126,
Nos. 2 and
5,"
Journal
of
Music
Theory
29/1
(1985):1-31.
straight
and narrow. One can
readily
observethat this funda-
mental
principle
is corroborated n
(at
times
extreme)
differ-
ences
among
convincingperformances
of
any
piece.
To
put
this into the terms of a
specific
realm of
interpretive
decision: no
general
guidelines
can
be said to
apply
to all
in-
stances of
any
cited
formal
process-all
retransitional
repara-
tions,
all
consequent
phrases,
all motivic
correspondences,
all
sequential
developments.
Nor can
general guidelines.be
ad-
duced with
respect
to
all instances of
any given
structural
process-register
transfers,
descendingprotolines, compound
melodies.
Each
piece
demands
its
own
argument,
ts
uniquely
apposite
possibilities
of
realization,
whatever ts commonalities
of
form
and
structure n
relation o other
pieces.
And while
per-
formances
can
indeed distortand
suppress
essential
elements,
divergent
interpretations
can
satisfyingly
lluminate
different
things.
Janet
Schmalfeldtnotes
that
three recorded renditions
of
a
Beethoven
Bagatelle
achieve
an
indicated,
desirableresult
in
different
ways:
". .
. there is no
single, one-and-onlyper-
formance
decision that
can be
dictated
by
an
analytic
observa-
tion."2
If,
as
commonly
conceded,
there
is no
"best"
or
"correct"
interpretation
of a
subject
piece,
there are
nonetheless
infinite
possibilities
of
misrepresenting,
and of
interpretive
ntrusion,
2Schmalfeldt,
28.
This content downloaded from 192.167.141.121 on Thu, 14 Jan 2016 14:50:38 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp7/24/2019 BERRY_Formal Process and Performance in the 'Eroica' Introductions
3/17
4
Music
Theory
Spectrum
so that
analysis
must
often tell the
performer
what should not
be done.
Or
multiple meanings
of a
given
musical event
may
suggest
an ideal of
neutral
xecution,
especially
as to such blunt
and
potentially
damaging
nterventionsas
dynamic
ntensifica-
tion,
allowing
the notes to
speak plainly
and
directly
or them-
selves.
FormalContextas
a
Determinant
n
Performance
This
paper
considers a
narrowly
defined
problem
of formal
significance
n relation to
performance
and
pursuant
details
of
tempo
and
articulation-the
two
comprehensivecategories
of
interpretive
decision-in
two brief
excerpts
from Beethoven's
Symphony
No. 3. For
this
purpose,
I am
thinking
of
musical
form as to certain
consistently
relevant
processes
by
which
it is
expressed:
those of
preparation,
of
expository
statement,
of
transitional
bridging,
of active
development,
and of
closure,
in
which
prevailing
element-processes
incline toward resolutive
conditions.
The
place
and
functionof amusicaleventin the
for-
mal
narrative
s often the
clearestclue to
interpretiveapproach.
Two preliminary itationsfurther llustrate he issue of for-
mal
function
and
pursuant
interpretive approach
in
specific
contexts. One of
Beethoven's
surging developments
is cited
first,
as
Example
1:
it
is a
context characterized
y driving
accel-
eration
corroborated
n the
relative
proportions
of
sequential
grouping
Ex. la)
as
well as of motivic
ragmentation
nd mita-
tion,
in stretto
(Ex. lb).3
The
characterization
f the
develop-
ment as accelerativemust refer
also to
complementary
actors
of
expansion
n
sonority
and
timbre,
especially
with
entry
of the
horns.
Such
passages
pose urgent,
difficult
questions
of
interpretive
conduct:
Does the conductor
go
along, by
discreetacceleration
in
metronomic
empo?
Or
is well
enough
best left
alone,
intrin-
sic musical
processes speaking
for
themselves while
perform-
3Pertinent
to
the
above is
my "Rhythmic
Accelerations
in
Beethoven,"
Journal
of
Music
Theory
22/2
(1978):177-240.
ance
clearly
enunciates and
accommodates-at least
does not
contradict-the overt
tendencies of musicalelements? Or
is it
even conceivable that in
comparable
phases
of structure it
could be
appropriate
o
resist inherent
tendencies
of accelera-
tion,
very subtly
counteracting
hem
in
tempo?
I
should
find
it
hard to
imagine performance
doing
other than
yielding
to
Beethoven's
explicit
accelerativedrive in the
mobile,
develop-
mental
context,
confirming
more
than
enforcing
or,
to
be
sure,
exaggerating)
t,
by
a
tightly
controlled,
slight
acceleration n
metronomic
empo.
Yet it seems
doubtful hat
general
answers
to
such
questions
are
attainable,and it is manifestlyclearthat
the
understanding
f
structural
rocess
affords
he
only
reason-
able
basis for theirconsideration.
In the Bach
piece
from which
Example
2
is
drawn,
here are
functional
changes
in
rhythms
of
harmony
and
of
step
descent
spanning
much
of
the
structure,
whose interioraccelerations n
these
rhythms
probably
signify
for
the
performerfirmly
con-
trolled
supportive
accelerations
n real
tempo.4
But at the end
of the
Prelude
(Ex.
2a),
following
a
cadential
hemiola, Bach introducesmarkedacceleration Ex. 2b) in re-
newed
step
descent from the
register
n which
primary
melodic
activity
had
originated.
This final
plunge
takes
place
of
course
in
a much shorter
time than
that of its broader
precedent,
and
the
governingprocess
of
closure n a
context of harmonic
eces-
sion and
stability
dictatesa
bracing empo
and
final
ritardando
toward the
fermata. A
prime
instructionhere
again
is
the im-
perative
of
awareness
of formal context and direction
as
a fac-
tor in
interpretive
decision.
The Eroica Introductions
I
turn
now to the
problematic
opening
bars
of
each of
the
outer
movements of
Beethoven's
Symphony
No.
3,
with
atten-
4There
s an
analysis
of
rhythmicprocesses
in this
piece
in
my
"Dialogue
and
Monologue
in
the
Professional
Community,"
College
Music
Symposium
21/2
(1981):92-99.
This content downloaded from 192.167.141.121 on Thu, 14 Jan 2016 14:50:38 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp7/24/2019 BERRY_Formal Process and Performance in the 'Eroica' Introductions
4/17
FormalProcess and
Performance 5
Example
1.
Beethoven,
Symphony
No. 2 in
D,
IV,
mm.
138-156
144
Fl.
Ob.
Fg.
Cor.
(D)
Tr.
(D)
Timp.
V1.
I
VI. II
Via.
Vic.
e
Cb.
139
1.
-o
f
1.
A
a
p
*f f
^ f
,JJA-
.t .
J
t,J
-
_
2
*if[
r e
^
r
K
rr--
r
?
? r
?
f
f
TI~
~ ~ w
u'
a ....-- O O
//
a
|':
- j fE -
b
- I* h -- -
r-
0
f
fw
.
W#
~J
p
f
/f
,
~hA
4
f
f
r
i
1f
f
o_f
vrs
t
continued
I
-
J J
r
I
l r-
I
J
-
.J
I
I
I- L
1
F
K
.r
Z 6
.L.
.*
f
'" '
+V"-
This content downloaded from 192.167.141.121 on Thu, 14 Jan 2016 14:50:38 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp7/24/2019 BERRY_Formal Process and Performance in the 'Eroica' Introductions
5/17
6 Music
Theory
Spectrum
Example
1,
continued
, . ..
150
Fl.
Ob.
Fg.
Vl.
Vl.
Via.
Vc.
e Ct
J
a.
139
I I
tt
lff ,f_
i , t f r r
, f T r
T 7 , f
f,Tf
T5Ft
f
T'f,
f
A
cresc.
f
Y-
l4
r
J
.'r
>
r
^r
.
j-
I
,
r
r
tt
F
I
*cres^. f
i i
J
re7c. -
rr
P
cresc.
f
P
.
cresc.
If
cresc
=,,
. r -~ I I
~
_
~
_
s_resc.
f
_fl
I
Jj
_
i
i
-
k
J-i
-
1
a---
_
r
A
J
Ia
p
cresc
cresc.
145
U \
-
^.
,,I.
\
-'(
____
t1
_______ \
jLjrV
41-/
A
-
---
4
- 4
2
1
A Li
139
Ohr
V
-,O-
O
-
+,
.
4
ff --:
,
/*
f
r
f
r
140
.
J
f.
j
fI
143
i
ALI
-,
-
=
-4'
Y.
i
P
156
_ O
f
151
153
b.
155
157
I
2
2
1;
.
This content downloaded from 192.167.141.121 on Thu, 14 Jan 2016 14:50:38 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp7/24/2019 BERRY_Formal Process and Performance in the 'Eroica' Introductions
6/17
FormalProcess and Performance 7
Example
2.
J. S.
Bach,
Little
Prelude,
BWV
926,
mm.
42-48
K
I I
I
I
r
-
(I4
k.JU
r
F U
-
-q
i-
J
-
-
WlJ
J
*
JJ
-o
I
II
I
I I
I
12
7
6 3 3
-
A .
I I
I
I
ti
.
tion to
their
realization
in
light
of inferred
introductory
proc-
ess.
The
fourth
movement's
initiating
egment.
The final
move-
ment's first eleven
bars
are here understoodto
be
explicitly
n-
troductory, notwithstanding
heir further role
in
bridging
he
third
and
fourth
movements,
and a
fleeting subsequent
remi-
niscence
of
like material
during
he coda
(see
mm.
431-35).
A
commandingsweep
of
precipitate
action
unmistakably
ets
the
scene for the
entry,
at m.
12,
of the theme which
is,
in
recur-
rence and
variation,
to become the basis for the movement's
formal
narrative.
Many
commentators have
noted
a
provoca-
tive
irony
in what
might
be characterized
as an "inversion"
of
typical
content in
the relationsof
certainelements
of mm. 1-11
to
those of the
unequivocally
hematic materialwhich follows:
loud to
soft,
mobile to
relatively
mmobile,
and dense
to
sparse,
in
particular.
To
put
the matter
directly,
the
explosive
Beethoven
excerpt (Ex.
3)
does not
at its
inception
sound
like
an introduction.
Clearly,
more
usual
introductory
procedure
s
that of
relatively
subdued
(dynamic
and
other)
intensities,
un-
complicated
texture,
and
slow
tempo,
yielding
to
comparative
animation and
more
vigorous
content and
activity.
There are
thus,
in
both of
the
Beethoven
examples
and
patently
n that of
the
finale,
significantly
assertive
aspects
of
structure
atypical
of
introductory
process,
a
circumstance
eading
to
questions
of
highly
problematic
nterpretive
control,
yet
in
an
expressive
at-
titude
of
intended,
decisive
spontaneity.
Such
control s a
mat-
ter of detailsof
appropriate
empering
ntervention.
One has the
retrospective
sense of
momentary,
capricious
contradiction n the
fourth
movement's
initiating
jest;
the
lis-
tener,
yielding
to the
impression
of
vital
content and
accepting
appearances,
"allows" hat
the
main
event is
indeed
underway,
only
to "discover"
shortly
that
the
principal
substance of dis-
A
^
. .
a.
I..,
... .
1
-'
1 I
-
,,
'
I , ,
/W
,.
Fl,
"
,
"
-V:
I
Z'
i
I
This content downloaded from 192.167.141.121 on Thu, 14 Jan 2016 14:50:38 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp7/24/2019 BERRY_Formal Process and Performance in the 'Eroica' Introductions
7/17
8 Music
Theory
Spectrum
Example
3.
Beethoven,
Symphony
No. 3
in
Eb, IV,
mm. 1-15
FINALE
A
.
Allegro
molto
Flutes
Oboes
Clarinets
n Bb
Bassoons
Horns
I and
II
in
Eb
Horn III
in
Eb
Trumpets n Eb
v
A
A
A
i
-----
w m
Timpani
in
Eb,Bb
-
-
-
Violin
I
Violin II
Viola
Cello
and Bass
i 1-
~~F->
ff
Lk1
t-II
Ji
I
1
l'
Ir
fl
S
ff
-
--
-
V-)
'r
2
B.'WwM
^:kg
-
-
------
gm -
&
-'
^
hJ
(
-
-
-4
(IM
I
0
L
J=
--t-
This content downloaded from 192.167.141.121 on Thu, 14 Jan 2016 14:50:38 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp7/24/2019 BERRY_Formal Process and Performance in the 'Eroica' Introductions
8/17
FormalProcess and Performance
9
Example
3,
continued
A
I,
L
I
I
I
i
I r--
iff
f f
f
;4K.
.
ff
;f
f
A
J
J
J
J?
-
] off,,
o
i f
i
-
-
-
_
if
if
'f
ff'. '.
'.^rf
i r
> K
if
i
P
r
ff rf
f
I | s
| J
7
7^
Yp
i
S
if
,.iLr
-^ r
j pizz. f
i
*9:;
>
r
r>
J
^
J
T-
^
y
ff ~~~~~~~
df
~~~~~~
I
~~~ ~
-prl
1
I
)
ff
f
p
This content downloaded from 192.167.141.121 on Thu, 14 Jan 2016 14:50:38 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp7/24/2019 BERRY_Formal Process and Performance in the 'Eroica' Introductions
9/17
10
Music
TheorySpectrum
course is
yet
to
come,
having
been
brilliantly
prepared
by
the
preceding
vigorous
outburst.
But the
sweeping allegro
s
brief,
peremptory,and
lacking
n thematic substance
(the
juxtaposi-
tion of
nonthematicand thematic can be felt as a criterionof
up-down
relation).
It
points,
moreover,
inexorably
oward
the
primary
dominantof
El,
sustained and intensified
n
the char-
acteristically
anticipative
ermata
of
m.
11,
clearlydeferring
o
the variation
heme,
adumbrated n its bass
alone,
and like
the
opening
theme of the
firstmovement
initially
a tonic
arpeggia-
tion at the
foreground.
In
the
end,
its
dynamic
mplications
not-
withstanding,
he
passage's
harmonic
content,
rhythmicpunc-
tuation, and extreme
brevity
denote an
unmistakably
subordinaterole in relation to
the
manifestlypredominant,
f
initially
enuous,
materialwhich
follows and is to
prevail
virtu-
ally throughout
he
movement.
Thus,
while
introductoryproc-
ess
characteristically
nvolves certain conditions of
tentative-
ness,
any ambiguities
of
formal
significance
are
clarified,
as
here,
when the material n
question
s
supersededby
clearly
ex-
pository
entry.
The
provocative
Beethoven
example
s,
in
fact,
conformant
not
only
in the
early
emergence
of
unequivocal
he-
matic
exposition
but also invital
essentials,
as
suggested
above,
typically receding
toward an interim
cadential dissonance
which,
in
turn,
leans toward he
primary
onicand the thematic
object
of
preparation.
What is
striking
in
the
Eroica
example
is, then,
its overt
force and
mobility,
briefly
errant tonal
substance,
and swift
tempo; yet
it is
typical
n
its ultimatetonal
focus,
rhythmic
ae-
sura,
melodic
descent,
and
preparatory
unction ntensified
by
fermata.
Likeother
introductions,
t
is well characterized
s
an
amplified,
"pointing"
upbeat,
the
concept
of metricanacrusis
unmistakably
pplicable
o the
eleven-measure
pan,
as
indeed
it can
be to much
argerspans.
Introductoryprocess
s
thus em-
bodied here inboth
characteristic nd
exceptional
elements.
So
general
a
characterization f
tonal
introductoryprocess
as that
of
fundamental
harmonicmotion to a cadentialdominant
s,
in
fact,
ultimately
applicable
even in
exceptional
instances
in
which,
in
contrastto the common
tendency
of
relatively
direct
and
uncomplicated
motivic,textural,
and
rhythmic
ontent,
we
find
elaborate,
spacious
development-as,
for
example,
in the
opening
of Beethoven's next
symphony.
That
largerspecimen
is
reducible to a
fundamental,
protracted
motion toward the
primary
dominant,
temporally
extended.
It is
inconceivable,
to
apply
the
useful
test of
imagined
com-
positional
alternatives,
that the
fourth
movement could
begin
without some
manner of
tonal
variance
following
the third
movement's decisive
cadence
on the
tonic El
which is also to
prevail
n
the
finale-variance in this
case coincident
with
pre-
cipitate,
swift
tempo
andotherelements of dramatic
vigorpre-
ceding entry
of
the
unpretentious
variation
heme and follow-
ing
the
scherzo's
dynamic
development
and
powerful
coda.
Indeed,
the
variation
theme
which is the
finale'sconstant sub-
ject
is to be
introduced
gradually,
sparsely,
unobtrusively;
he
natureof its
appearance,
a basisfor
Beethoven's
staged exposi-
tory
unfolding,
thus
demands
introduction,
and Beethoven's
solution
s,
to
put
it
mildly,
atonce
imaginative
and
deal
in
con-
tent. Its active
rhythmic
surface is
in
direct
contrast
to
both
scherzo and
upcoming
theme;
moreover,
it moves
quickly,
powerfully,
and
inevitably
beyond
its
superficial
deviance to
El,
:V in
preparation
or
the
primary
heme.
Example
4
exposes
the
tonal content
of the
opening
segment
as far less errant
han it atfirst
appears:
t is
comprised,
ndeed,
of an inexorable
plunge
of
tonally
compelling
ifths
ncorporat-
ing
six of the
seven
diatonic
pitch
classes of El
major,
as
repre-
sented in a
digest
of actual
pitches
of
relevant instrumental
partsgiven
below
the main
body
of
Example
4. In this sense the
apparently
circuitoustonicization of G minor functions in a
very
conventional
harmonic
successiontoward
Eb:
V/III-III-
VI-II-V-I.
The
sweep
is
thus
powerfully
directed n a context
of
irrepressible
ogic
and
unity,
while
sufficiently
ariant o off-
set
surrounding
materials.
The
above-noted
factors
are evident in
Example
4,
as
are
other
aspects
of
extreme
mobility.
Among
the
latter
are a
rapid
fall
and rise in
pitch,
and with the turn
of directiona
functional
This content downloaded from 192.167.141.121 on Thu, 14 Jan 2016 14:50:38 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp7/24/2019 BERRY_Formal Process and Performance in the 'Eroica' Introductions
10/17
Formal
Process and Performance
11
Example
4
7 8
9 10
11
^
i
I
i
I
t
a
V
Allegro
molto
mm.
1
2
3
:-FR
5l
4 5
6
t
ffH
f
,
f
f
ff
-
p
I
if
of
r
if
f:
f7
pizz.
lbof
f7
r
$~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
d~~~~~~~~~~r~~~~IZ
I
ff
VI
if
-Op
p
'III
^
V/Il
III VI
r
-
-
/II
III
VI
II
.--------------------------------------------I
vl
_n.vc.
klv
N,
AF
E-
-
/
via.
9^^_
-^
*
I
I.
.
J
v
This content downloaded from 192.167.141.121 on Thu, 14 Jan 2016 14:50:38 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp7/24/2019 BERRY_Formal Process and Performance in the 'Eroica' Introductions
11/17
12
Music
TheorySpectrum
change
in
texture as strict
doublings
give
way
to diversitiesof
content
involving
modest
imitations
(see brackets)
as the as-
cent takes place; these are scored for sharplycontrasting im-
bres
culminating
n
sforzato,
accelerated
exchanges
between
strings
and winds.
At
the
same
time,
the structureof
these
eleven
bars
nvolves
vitally
mportant actors
of
retardationn its second
phase:
the
abandonment of sixteenth
notes
(the
rhythms
of m.
6
are a
transitional
stage
in this
process);
the
now
uninterrupted
V;
longer
intervals of
attack
rhythm
within each orchestral
body
(against
motivating
antiphonal responses
between orchestral
choirs, in counteractivequarter-note values); the abandon-
ment of staccato
articulations
at
m. 10
in
favor,
presumably,
of
slightly
onger
values;
and
of
course the fermata.
Interpretive
pproach
and detail in
thefinale's
introduction.
The
example
demands a
bold
entry,
in
keeping
with its charac-
ter
of
breathtaking
summons
involving ultimately
very
direct
texturaland tonal
process.
Yet,
despite
its dramatic
weep,
for-
tissimo,
and
rapid
articulations,
the sense of
the
problematic
passage
is to
be
conveyed
as
introductory
n its relation
to the
expositorystatement which follows. How can a realizationbe
effected which
acknowledges,
and avoids denial
of,
the
pas-
sage's
tentative
introductory
ole?
Apart
from
relevant details
of
execution,
a
general,
attitudi-
nal
perspective
can be
suggested
in
analogy
to
the
physical
act
of
inhalation,
an
easily appreciable
reference
implying,
in the
requisite
character
of
upbeat,
some
essentials
of
fitting
inter-
pretation
n such a context. Or to
imagine
he
(of
course unreal-
izable,
yet
conceivable)
physical
act of
conducting
the entire
passageupcan be persuasively uggestive: hekinetic,internal-
ized consciousness
of
upbeat,
and thus of the
concretely mag-
ined sensation
of
preparatory
unction,
can
be
engendered
in
the mental
imagery
of an inflated
up-gesture.
Thus,
the
present
example,
with its inexorable
drive,
rapid
articulations,
and
dy-
namic
intensity,
is
appropriately
conceived,
in
general
ap-
proach
and
attitude,
as
nevertheless
tentative,
anticipative,
and
preparatory,
n relation to
the thematic
exposition
which
follows
in
ironically
bare,
subdued
stringpizzicati.
And
what of
interpretive
details suitable to such a
general
concept?
The
implication
of
ambivalence
requires
hat the for-
tissimo not be exaggerated n too ponderousan initialattack; t
demands
too,
and
corroborates,
the swift
tempo-allegro
molto,
facilitated
by
the
simplicity
of
texture. Further
elements
of
control,
and of
clarity,
are
realized n
incisively
bowed
artic-
ulationsof
the
rising
sixteenths,
and
restrainedarticulative
m-
phasis
on the
tonally
vital,
V-arpeggiating
attacks
of mm. 6-
11-in
effect a
slight
holding
of
tempo
at the immediate
approach
o
the
fermata.
(See
Ex. 5 and
its
explanatory
notes.)
All
of
the above
transpires
n a
context
of,
at
the
same
time,
apparently pontaneous,uninhibitedabandon,albeitimpecca-
bly
measured.
Probably
this
quality
of
abandon,
and
of
seem-
ingly
deviant
intrusion,
requires
that the
break
between third
and
fourth movements be
relatively
brief.
The first
pitch
class
to
point strongly
oward
Eb
is
the
Al,
of
m.
4,
where IIwill
yield
to
V7;
Beethoven
gives
this note
agogic
emphasis,
but it
yet
requires
a
strong, steadying
bass
attack,
and
subsequent
underscoring
of
components
of the
emergent
V7,
as
represented
n
Example
6,
where
the
symbol
[-]
denotes
subsidiary tress in relation to the morepronounced A].
A
deliberate-not
exaggerated-exposure
of essential
har-
monic
factors,
as
indicated in
Example
6,
contributesto the
sense
of
preparatory
"up,"
vital
to
anticipatory
unction,
as do
the controlled
"stretching"
of time at the
approach
o the fer-
mata
(Ex. 5)
and
of course the fermata tself.
Further,
rue stac-
cato
articulations
n
mm.
8-9
yielding
o articulations f almost
full
length
in m. 10
(Ex. 5),
contribute o the
graduated
process
of
anticipative
retardation. The
punctuation
ndicated in
Ex-
ample5 is critical ollowingthe introductory leven measures,
lest the
unpretentious
hematic
entry
be
overwhelmed
by
sheer
sonority,
and to
establish
a
"frame"
or that
entry.
How
long
is the fermata? t
can be instructive
deliberately
o
imagine
one
that is
too
long
or too short-one that is of an
ab-
surd extreme or
that is
slightly
overdone
or underdone. An
overdrawn ermatawould contribute
dangerously
o
the
possi-
bility
of
overwhelming
he thematic
element
at m.
12,
and to a
severanceof relation between mm. 11 and
12. And an
underes-
This content downloaded from 192.167.141.121 on Thu, 14 Jan 2016 14:50:38 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp7/24/2019 BERRY_Formal Process and Performance in the 'Eroica' Introductions
12/17
Formal
Process
and Performance
13
[I
f-V-
]
.f
of
1n^ pizz.-->v
'fi
I
pizz.
),
)LA
I
-t
.
l
]
}
.
-I
f
r
J
A
F
ff\****
of sf
df
*
[pochiss.
rit.
-----------------]
*
The
pochissimo
ritardando
as a
'phasing'
of the fermata.
*
*
Down:
a
decisive,
yet
piano
attack
nitiating
lear
forward
thrust,
and
following
a
brief but
pronounced
break.
*
*
*
The
'antiphonal'
forzandi,
a factor
n
holding
tempo.
****
Bring
out as a
motivating
imitation
and local
V-
arpeggiation.
Example
6
m. 4
[n
n]
[movendol
Fea
H-3
[-]
[-]
punctuation
of a furtherrest and
slight
break,
all in the
context
of a
scarcely appreciable tempo pochissimo
ritardando,
n a
condition of suspended activityneversymmetricallymeasured
in relation o established
ulsation.
It must be
emphasized
hat
such a
specification
arises as a
preliminary
conceptualization,
and is
assuredly
not a
formulaic olution
necessarily
o be
repli-
cated with
each
experience.
A
knowing
treatment of the thematic
entry, by
distinction,
contributes
reflexively
to the
impression
of
introductory
unc-
tion in the
opening passage.
Thus,
its
slightly delayed
attack s
one of
insistent
clarity,
if
delicacy,
of deliberate articulation.
The theme's exposure and importanceare, ironically,under-
scored
by
utter
contrast of
dramatic,
radical
change,
in "in-
verse"
accent;
ndeed,
the
listener's
attention s
capturedby
the
sheer effort of
hearing
the theme's
"negative"emergence
and
decisive but
modestly
colored
resolution of the
potent
disso-
nance on which the
introduction
has,
typically,
ended. The
brief
void between
mm.
11
and 12
serves
to
expose
the thematic
inception,
and to
underscore,
as does the
fermata,
the disso-
nance and
expectancy
of the
emphatic,
iterated V.
The
the-
maticentry is conceived affirmatively"down,"in responseto
the
preceding
"up"-pointing
preparation.
The
first
movement. In the
opening
of
the firstmovement
(Ex. 7)
there
are,
quite obviously,
very
striking
ontrasts o
that
of the
finale,
although
both
segments
can
reasonably
be con-
ceived as in
disparate
ways
introductory:
ach
prepares
subse-
quent
thematic
exposition.5
The first
movement
example
is
(ff)
[A]
timated duration
can have
analogous
effect in
a different
way,
while
awkwardly
mpairing
he
sense of
secure balance essen-
tial to a
poised
subsequent
entry.
The illustration
uggests
that
a conceivable
nterpretation
would be that of an
added,
flexibly
conceived,
"two
bars"-m.
11
plus
two,
with
the indicated
50f interest in
the
characterizationof the
opening
chords as
introductory
are the comments
of Edward
Cone,
whose
originalanalysis
of
the two chords
as
"a
completely
integrated
introduction" s
qualified
in a
subsequent publica-
tion. See
Musical
Form and
Musical
Performance
New
York: W. W.
Norton,
1968),
23;
and
"Musical Form
and
Musical
Performance
Reconsidered,"
Mu-
sic
Theory
Spectrum
7
(1985):156-57.
In
his
distinction,
the
beginning
of the
Eroica
finale
would,
presumably,
be a true
anacrustic
ntroduction;
hat of the
first
movement he deems
"neither
upbeat
nor
downbeat"--a "metrical ntro-
duction,"
which
"establishes a
metrical
background
or what is
to follow."
Example
5
f
m.8 A
|
I I
JJI
-4-K
i W
09k
- I
- I I
-r"rtf;
I
I r- I r- w
I
- - O'P'
OP
-
This content downloaded from 192.167.141.121 on Thu, 14 Jan 2016 14:50:38 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp7/24/2019 BERRY_Formal Process and Performance in the 'Eroica' Introductions
13/17
14 Music
TheorySpectrum
Example
7.
Beethoven,
Symphony
No. 3 in
Eb, I,
mm. 1-7
Allegrocon brio(J. = 60)
J ,
Flutes
Oboes
Clarinetsn Bb
Bassoons
HornsI and II
in
Eb
Horn III in
Eb
Trumpets
n
Eb
Timpani
in
Eb,Bb
:
i
I
j
I
:
-:
Violin I
Violin
II
Viola
Cello
and Bass
x:
f
X
f
-
f .
i
?t
4 R
i
>
N
-
1
-
-
/L~
I
V
f
6
(I
r
>
r
I-
-
-
'
-
-~~
I i'
,
f
A I
V
= : i ,
-
-
-
--
(
1
,=2?-
1:
P
cresc.
i'}~'$~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~.|~
~f
-
,~crsP
ccresc.
t)
/b
~
.,:y.
|cresc.
9:1,\
li
f
i
r
3
> J
~'
J
'
t.
0
J
0
b
f
cresc.
This content downloaded from 192.167.141.121 on Thu, 14 Jan 2016 14:50:38 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp7/24/2019 BERRY_Formal Process and Performance in the 'Eroica' Introductions
14/17
Formal
Process
and
Performance 15
atypical
n
a
number of
ways, notably
in its
rhythmic
and
har-
monic content.6
Measures
1-2
of the firstmovement are
simply
a reiterationof the tonic chord, anticipating he forthcoming
theme's
tonic
arpeggiation.
The more
typical ntroductorypro-
gression
to
V,
"expecting"
,
is
thus absent n the Eroica
begin-
ning.
The
chords,
in
addition to
adumbrating
he theme to
come,
thus
unequivocally
establish
the
tonic,
a
factornot irrelevant o
the
theme's
early
tonal
wavering.
The
absence of
characteristic
dissonance
notwithstanding,
the
chords are a
theme-setting,
tonic-setting pronouncement,
terse
but
insistent. In
their
in-
tense, tutti articulationand full texture they establisha per-
spective
of
characterand
expressive
attitude,
n two
bars
mply-
ing
and
boldly
announcing
the
symphony's
context
of
power
and
magnitude.
And
as
often in
the
considerationof
structure
and effect in
music,
it
is
instructive
o
think of the
piece
other-
wise
(i.e.,
without these
chords)
to
appreciate
how
imperative
is
their
function n
the
preparation
of
Beethoven's
sparsely
ex-
tured
thematic
exposition.
As in
the
finale,
the
relation
between introductionand ex-
positorystatement, while manifestly"up-down" (see Ex. 8),
with
decisive
melodic
and
rhythmic
hrust
at
m.
3,
is
again
one
of
provocative
irony,
of an
"inversion"
of
usual
attributes n
that
the
thematic
"down" s
in
a
setting
of
greatly
reduced
dy-
namic
intensity,
texture,
and
orchestral
sonority,
if
of latent
vigor
and
restless
mobility.
Yet a
critical
sense
of
anticipative
"up"
n
the
first
two
chords
(which
again
one can
usefully
con-
ceive in
the
physical
analogy
of
inhalation,
or in
that of the con-
ductor's
upbeat
gesture),
a
sense
of
preparatory
unction,
of
leadingto the mainevent, is to be conveyedin performance.
Realization
of
the
opening
chords.
Again
the
preliminary
n-
derstanding
of
formal
place
and
function
leads to vital
6Compare
he harmonic
progression
which constitutes
a
similarly
brief
in-
troduction
to
the
first
movement of
Beethoven's
String
Quartet,
op.
59,
no.
2,
or the
analogous
opening
of
Brahms's
Symphony
No.
3.
questions-general
and
immediate-of
realization;
indeed,
with
respect
to
the Eroica
chords,
the
mannerof
rendition,
in
conceptand detail, finallysuggeststhe interpreter'sanswerto
(or
confusion
about)
the
controversial
ssue of
functional,
for-
mal
significance.
With
respect
to the
element of
dynamic
nten-
sity,
the
sense
of
introductory
unction
requires
as
in
the
open-
ing
of the
finale,
a
degree
of
restraint,
an
avoidance of
exaggerated
articulation,
he
forte
dynamic
evel
notwithstand-
ing.7
Beethoven's
dense
sonorities
initiate the
movement,
and
the
symphony,
with
commandingpower; yet,
theiroverstate-
Examole
8
er -b
i
Allegro
con
brio
V
f0i.
.
/
.2
y
9 b i k
A>
A A
f^r? \
i
--
f
p
7In
his
earlier
view of
the
chords
as an
introductory
"upbeat,"
Cone calls
for a
"requisite lightness
and
springiness."
(See
Musical
Form
and
Musical
Performance,
23.)
-d. La
This content downloaded from 192.167.141.121 on Thu, 14 Jan 2016 14:50:38 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp7/24/2019 BERRY_Formal Process and Performance in the 'Eroica' Introductions
15/17
16 Music
TheorySpectrum
ment,
in
violation of
introductory
subordinacy,
can
easily
overwhelm-"reverberate" into-the
approaching
theme.
The precariousbalance between introductionand exposition
can be
compromisedby
even
so
slight
a factor
of overstatement
as too
pronounced,
too deliberate
arpeggiations
of the
string
chords.
In
such
a constructof
relation between mm.
1-2 and
m.
3,
the
immediate,
deliberate surface
activity
of
the
theme's
entry
is
a
vital,
compensating
actor,
an
aspect
of its "down"
signific-
ance,
where
the
piano
dynamic
level
and reduced texture are
again
conceivableas a kind of inverse accent with which
one
canmeaningfullyassociate hepsychological"effort"of assimi-
lation. The thematic
entry,
so
viewed,
necessitates
(again
as in
the finale's
corresponding vent)
a
manner
of
suppressed
vigor
and
insistent
clarity,
not
merely
in
spite
of the restricted
dy-
namic condition
(piano),
but
using
that element as an
aspect
of
intense control of
latent,
potentially
vital content. The contrast
of
forte-piano
can thus
drawattention o
the
expository
entry
at
m.
3,
in a
conservative
ntroductory
orte
(the
tutti tself
afford-
ing
sonorous
emphasis)
ollowed
by
an
incisive,
yet
piano,
cello
attack at m. 3 againstdriven, cleanlyarticulated,accompani-
mental
activity
in the
second violin and viola.
The
reverse
of
such
an
approachseverely
attenuates the inferredhierarchical
relations of formal
function.
Relevant,
although
subsequently
qualified,
s
Cone's
original
view of
these
bars as an
"expanded
upbeat,"
suggesting
avoidance
of the
"heavy
accents
we
so of-
ten
get."8Clearly,
to
exaggerate
the articulations
f
the
chords
is to
negate
their
anticipative,
entative
role.
The
chords are short
(as
Beethoven
directs), yet
not so
short
as to compromisethe decisive solidityimperativeto the sym-
phony's
majesty
of
import. Tempo
of course
is
steady
in these
bars: it is far
too
early
for
any
modulations of
pace,
although
the
possibility
of
a
contextually itting,
all but
unnoticeable,
ad-
justment
n m.
2 is
conjectured
below.
8Ibid.
Example
9
[pochiss.
tenuto
****
***
r
Allegro
con brio
*
[staccato
Piustol **
f [a non troppo]
f
[ma
non
troppo]
M r
W
\
>
\
r
p
*
Steady,
unmodulated
tempo.
*
The
staccatochords n
balance
throughout
he orchestra.
*** Down: assertive,if piano, theme entry;an incisive cello
Eb,
clearly
ongoing.
****
Very slight,
virtually
unnoticeable,
hesitation
enhancing
the accent
which follows?
Example
9 is
a
summary
of
interpretiveconceptualization
and intervention deemed
to serve the
necessary
relational
balance-
adjustments
of
pace,
articulation,
and
timing
so sub-
tle as to defy the listener'sawareness,yet sufficient o under-
score the sense of
expectancy
in mm.
1-2,
and of
important,
focal
expository
statement
at m. 3.
These are
interpretive
con-
trols of
timing
and articulation
which
clarify,
almost sublimi-
nally,
the
requisite
effect
of
interdependence
between
mm. 2
and
3,
of mm. 1-2
as
preparing
m.
3,
and of
m.
3
as
arising
rom
mm.
1-2,
the
controversial onic chords a
preparatory pbeat,
a
"gathering"
nhalation,
a "lift" n
relation to the "down"
m-
pulse
which
follows,
to
which-and which-it
yields.
The
va-
lidityof themodestinterventionsrepresented nExample9 can
again
be corroborated
and
understood when
one
imagines,
in
performance,
their
opposites-for
example,
the
damaging
ef-
fect
of
rushing
nto m.
3.
The
speculative
notion of
articulation
un
pochissimo
enuto
associated with m.
2,
a
matter of
very
slight
hesitation,
is
pos-
ited
in
Example
9 as
contributing
n a subtle
way
to the
"down"
implication
of
the
subsequent
cello
entry;
such
an
intervention
This content downloaded from 192.167.141.121 on Thu, 14 Jan 2016 14:50:38 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp7/24/2019 BERRY_Formal Process and Performance in the 'Eroica' Introductions
16/17
FormalProcess
andPerformance 17
is
complemented
in
performanceby
deliberate
approach
o the
cello's
thematic
entry,
as
urged
above. The latter is conceived
as an incisive attack,albeit quiet and pliant,as at the entryof
the finale's theme:
something circumspectly
more than casual
indifference,
and with a determined orward
mpulse.
The
recurrence
of introductory
materials n another
ormal
context.
In the coda to the Eroica's
ourth
movement,
there
is
a
momentary,
discursive reference
to G
minor.
Following
the
characteristiccadential
IV
(m. 404),
Beethoven's bass
moves
up
chromatically, entatively
throughscale-degree
5,
to the G-
minordominant.
Thus
is
set
a
tonal basis
for
reappearance
at
m. 431 of the
introductory
material,
in a transformed ormal role and
tempo
(presto).9
There is
no context of
anticipativeexpectancy
here:
the course
of
conclusive
process
and
direction are not
unmis-
takably
established,
and the faster
tempo
is
itself
a
sign
of
per-
functory
reference,
a
framing
reminiscence n the context
of in-
exorable
final
resolution.
Moreover,
the
tonal element
is
appropriately
altered in
the
new context: as the movement's
firstpitchclass, D, is to BI, the introduction'sdestination,the
coda's
chromatically
derived G is to
ES,
the ultimate
goal.
In
the environment of
conclusion,
presto,
there
is
again
a
plunge
through
fifths,
now from G to
Eb.
This
process
achieves
the
final
tonic,
and a
powerful
last
recollection
of
the
theme's
pri-
mary
motive in
bassoons and horns
(m.
435).
Such a
rounding
(and
resounding)
recurrence
of heretofore
introductory
materialsmakes its
point:
its
rapidity
of relentless
drive,
its
imposing
sonorities,
and
especially
its inexorable
tonal direction-initiated from a delaying yet motivatingG-
reference,
so
deliberately
prepared,
the bass
G
itself reiterated
without
digression
for 12 bars
up
to,
and
into,
the
presto.
The
9See
also the
ongoing accompaniment
o
fugato
entries
in
mm.
277ff.,
an-
other instance of modified contextual
implication
of
redirected,
originally
n-
troductory
material.
chromaticascent
from Al
to D
requires
a
circumspect
marking
of
each
degree
in the
ascent,
with studied attention
to
Beethoven's phased crescendo (piano- graduallyto forte -
semprepiu
forte
-
fortissimo),
and with awareness
of its func-
tional
rhythmic
partitioning
from
m. 408:2 bars
2
-
2
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
3,
a
process
of acceleration
and
subsequent
retardation),
in
which
slight,
judiciously
supportive
modulations of
metro-
nomic
tempo may
well be indicated.
Over the extended
G-pedal,
there is
critically
an
explicit
down-scaling
of
dynamic intensity
which sets
a characteristic
perspective
of
dramatic,
radical contrast
for
the
abrupt
ortis-
simo andpresto. A correspondingmodulationof tempo at the
approach
to
m.
431,
pochissimo
ritardando,
is
probably
irresistible-and
prudently
restricted,
appropriately
n accord
with other elements of
process
as well
as
effective
in
modestly
enhancing
he
momentary
mpression
of
illusorydigression.
Fi-
nally,
the
coda's
stunning, ransposed
restatementof the move-
ment's first
measures,
texturally
uncomplicated
as
before,
car-
ries
out the
decisive,
headlong fifth-cycle
oward the
tonic,
its
reversed
processive
role,
as noted
above,
now
functionallyop-
posed to thatof itsorigin.This finalplunge clearlywantsan un-
qualified
empo,
as
swift
as
clarity
of articulationwill allow.
Summary
Comments
Interpretive
considerations
deriving
from the evaluation of
formal function
and
process
in
the
two
introductionsare of a
number
of
kinds,
involvinggeneral
approaches
as
well as de-
tails
of
tempo
and
articulation.
The
examples
point
up
the
critical
necessity
for
analysis
of
the natureof formalcontext,
suggesting
a
guiding nterpretive
conduct-here,
a
sense of
amplified upbeat,
a
conception
of
introductory
and
expository
functions in a
calculated,
appro-
priately
balanced
relation.
Following
rom
such a sense is a
con-
ception
of
thematic
entry
characterized
by
decisive
(if
tex-
turally
and
dynamically
subdued)
thrust
and
expository
assertion
distinguished
rom the
preceding,
tentative
anticipa-
tive
process
so
artfully disguised
in both
movements-in em-
This content downloaded from 192.167.141.121 on Thu, 14 Jan 2016 14:50:38 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp7/24/2019 BERRY_Formal Process and Performance in the 'Eroica' Introductions
17/17
18
Music
TheorySpectrum
phatic
sonorities
and,
at the finale's
opening,
in a
deceptive
tempo
of
driving but
fleeting)
momentum.
Among details of executionsuggestedas fittingthe stated,
general
appreciation
of functionand relation
have been certain
thoroughly
calibrateddifferences of
articulation,
ightly
regu-
lated sonorous
qualities
and
balances,
and controlled dura-
tional values
deliberately
estimated
in
the
light
of contextual
function
(the
latter
including
hat
of the
problematic
ermata,
an
expression
of
momentary
indefinite
hiatus
yet
of
intense,
palpable
connection
through
the
subsequent punctuation).
Fundamentally
critical s the
problem
of
avoiding nterpretive
intrusionswhichoverwhelmsubsequent hematicstatement n
the
anomalouscircumstances
f
"inverted"
dynamic
values,
or
which
result
n
a too
common,
diffidentunderstatement
f
the-
matic
entry,
in
both
movements reduced
in
sonorous
and tex-
tural conditions
of
ironically
stark,
and
easily eclipsed,
exposi-
tion.
I
have
suggested
that an all
but unnoticeable
"delay"
of
the first movement's thematic
entry-more
in
feeling
than
in
measurable ime-can be an
arresting
device of subtle nuance
contributing
o its affirmative
mport.
The Eroica
passagesemphatically
demonstrate hat
the ana-
lytical
evaluation of formal context
is
one
necessary
basisfor
conclusions
respecting
interpretive
details of metronomic
tempo,
surface modulations
of
tempo, precisely
calculated
qualities
of
articulation,
and
assessed,
deliberate continuities
within all
cofunctioning
elements.
The
consideration
of
inter-
pretive
questions
as to a
discerned
processive
role in
the formal
narrative
can,
with a
commensurate
analytical
comprehension
of other factorsof structure,helpto resolveproblemsof indeci-
sion about details of
performance,establishing
a rational
per-
spective
for
bringing
out elements and
processes
considered n-
tegral
to
the
meanings
of
structural vents in relation
to
formal
position
and
direction.
Of
course,
an
evaluation
of formal
significance
n the
Eroica
excerpts contrary
o that
developed
here
would,
presumably,
lead
to other
conclusions
about
fittingly
contributive
approaches
o
performances,
yet
demon-
stratingno less the vitallinks betweenanalysisandinterpretive
decision.
The sense
of
what
s
happening,
and
to what
formal,
struc-
tural,
expressive
end-an
awareness
grounded
firmly
in the
performer's
earned
conceptualization-becomes
a basis for
intelligent
and
intelligible
interpretation, eading
toward
pur-
poseful, clarifying
nterventions
and
tending
to
preclude
nap-
propriate
intrusions. The
Eroica
excerpts
are
patently
chal-
lenging specimens
for
analytical
evaluation
of the
ultimate,
conditioningparticulars f temporalpacingandcompatiblear-
ticulations
n
performance
which understands
and
illuminates
the
imperative
nterrelations
of
cofunctioning
musicalevents.
Does
it matter whether the
performer
s aware
of the
(often
subtle
and
at times
tenuous)
interrelations nd
materials
of mu-
sical
form and structure?
My
answer
s
unequivocal.
Certainly
no
justifiable
decision
respecting
the
manifold
possibilities
of
tempo
and
articulation,
of interventionor
the lack
of
it,
can
be
made without the underpinningof that systematicanalytical
discovery
which
yields
a
reasoned,
justifiable
determination
among
conceivable
possibilities
of
portrayal
n the
illusionof
spontaneous
rebirtheach
time
a
piece
is heard.
The
intuitive
mpulse,
fed
by
experience
yet
too often
unve-
rified and adventitious
as to the elements
of a
particular
con-
text,
may
indeed
"hit it
right";
but
the
thoughtful
nterpreter,
stirred
by
intellectual
curiosity
no
less
than
by untempered
eel-
ing,
will
seek the reassurances
f corroborative
ationale,
n
the
analytical exploration of putative, alternative conceptions.
And
the
analysis
which
nforms
nterpretation
ffords
a basis-
the
only
basis-for
resolving
the hard
questions
both
of
gen-
eral
interpretive
demeanor
and
of
those
elusive
refinements
of
detailwhich make
for
performance
which
is both
moving
and
illuminating.
This content downloaded from 192.167.141.121 on Thu, 14 Jan 2016 14:50:38 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp