Beethoven's Error? The Modulating Ritornello and the Type-5 Sonata in the Post-Classical Piano Concerto

Horton, Julian

doi:10.1111/musa.12180

Beethoven's Error? The Modulating Ritornello and the Type-5 Sonata in the Post-Classical Piano Concerto

Horton, Julian

Authors

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

Abstract

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.

Citation

Horton, J. (2021). Beethoven's Error? The Modulating Ritornello and the Type-5 Sonata in the Post-Classical Piano Concerto. Music Analysis, 40(3), 353-412. https://doi.org/10.1111/musa.12180

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Jul 5, 2021
Online Publication Date	Jan 31, 2022
Publication Date	2021-10
Deposit Date	Nov 8, 2021
Publicly Available Date	Nov 1, 2023
Journal	Music Analysis
Print ISSN	0262-5245
Electronic ISSN	1468-2249
Publisher	Wiley
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	40
Issue	3
Pages	353-412
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1111/musa.12180
Public URL	https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1222819

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This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Horton, Julian (2021). Beethoven's Error? The Modulating Ritornello and the Type-5 Sonata in the Post-Classical Piano Concerto. Music Analysis 40(3): 353-412, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/musa.12180. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited.