Criteria for a Theory of Nineteenth-Century Sonata Form

Horton, J.

doi:10.11116/mta.4.2.1

Criteria for a Theory of Nineteenth-Century Sonata Form

Horton, J.

Authors

Professor Julian Horton julian.horton@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Abstract

Thanks to the work of Janet Schmalfeldt, James Hepokoski, Steven Vande Moortele, and others, progress toward a theory of form for nineteenth-century instrumental music has accelerated in recent years. This article addresses some of the theoretical and methodological issues to which this project gives rise. Taking medial-caesura usage in the chamber and solo sonata forms of Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Brahms as a representative corpus study, it focuses on questions of what constitutes a norm in Formenlehre, how we determine the criteria for establishing a practice as normative, and how these criteria relate to concepts of normativity in the human sciences. Finally, it offers a comparative analysis of how these issues affect sonata-formal strategies in the first movements of Brahms's First Symphony and Bruckner's Eighth Symphony.

Citation

Horton, J. (2017). Criteria for a Theory of Nineteenth-Century Sonata Form. Music Theory and Analysis, 4(2), 147-191. https://doi.org/10.11116/mta.4.2.1

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Sep 14, 2017
Online Publication Date	Oct 1, 2017
Publication Date	Oct 1, 2017
Deposit Date	Oct 4, 2017
Publicly Available Date	Oct 5, 2017
Journal	Music theory & analysis.
Print ISSN	2295-5917
Electronic ISSN	2295-5925
Publisher	Leuven University Press
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	4
Issue	2
Pages	147-191
DOI	https://doi.org/10.11116/mta.4.2.1
Publisher URL	http://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/leuven/mta/2017/00000004/00000002/art00001

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This article was published by Leuven University Press in the journal Music Theory and Analysis (MTA) © Universitaire Pers Leuven/Leuven University Press