ArticleOpen Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2024.01.026
Echoes of Farewell: A Comparative Analysis of Beethoven’s Op.81a and Dussek’s Op.44 Piano Sonatas
Wenjun Wang
University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
*Corresponding author: Wenjun Wang
Published: February 23, 2024
Abstract
Beethoven's outstanding contribution to the piano sonata is inseparable from the profound influence of his predecessors, such as Haydn, Cramer, etc. Dussek, as one of the significant composers among them, also had a remarkable impact on Beethoven. This paper aims to explore the similarities between Beethoven's Op.81a and Dussek's Op.44, two sonatas with the same theme of “Farewell”. It specifically compares and analyses numerous relevant examples in the scores of these two works, focusing on their tonal structure, contrapuntal features, melodic characteristics, and rhythmic attributes, so as to further reveal the close relationship between these two composers in the creation of sonatas and highlight Beethoven's active exploration and innovation in breaking the form and expressive method of the traditional piano sonatas. These findings not only provide valuable insights for further exploring the transition between classical and romantic music and the research on subsequent composers influenced by Beethoven and Dussek’s works but also supply additional comparative examples among these closely related piano sonatas, offering useful references for scholars in the field.
Keyword
Beethoven, Dussek, Piano sonata, Farewell, Comparative analysis
References
Cha, K. (2012). Aspects of Form, Tonality, and Texture in the ''Farewell'' Piano Sonatas of Beethoven and Dussek. West Virginia University.
DeNora, T. (2023). Beethoven and the construction of genius: Musical politics in Vienna, 1792-1803. University of California Press.
Gillespie, J. (2013). Five centuries of keyboard music. Courier Corporation.
Jinbo, X. (2021). The Application of Psychological “Empathy” in Piano Performance—Taking Beethoven’s Sonata in E-Flat Major “Farewell” Op.81a as an example. Master's dissertation. Hangzhou Normal University.
Leone, M. G. (2020). The Dynamics of Canon Formation, 1800-1850: The Case of Jan Ladislav Dussek (Doctoral dissertation, Indiana University).
Mang, L. & Yidan, Z. (2018). Appreciation of Dusek's Rondo in G Major. Little Musician, 2018(02), 43-44.
Newman, W. S. (2018). A History of the Sonata Idea: Volume 3: The Sonata Since Beethoven. UNC Press Books.
Ringer, A. L. (1970). Beethoven and the London Pianoforte School. The Musical Quarterly, 56(4), 742-758.
Sadie, S. (1971). Angles on Beethoven. The Musical Times, 112(1540), 554-557.
Sandlin, J. D. (1974). Romantic Elements in the Piano Sonatas of Jan Ladislav Dussek (1760-1812). University of Miami.
Copyright
© 2024 by the author(s).
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) license, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not modified or adapted.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
How to cite this paper
Echoes of Farewell: A Comparative Analysis of Beethoven’s Op.81a and Dussek’s Op.44 Piano Sonatas
How to cite this paper: Wenjun Wang. (2024) Echoes of Farewell: A Comparative Analysis of Beethoven’s Op.81a and Dussek’s Op.44 Piano Sonatas. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science, 8(1), 155-161.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2024.01.026