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Thursday, April 03, 2008

I hate blogs...sorry Spiegelberg

Okay, so Beethoven is crazy, and I’m not just talking about his hair. His piece Opus Posthumous is very confusing. Although it is a short second movement, the piece, titled Rondo, is far more complex than your average variety. It has elements of a five and seven part rondo, and some composite ternary.
I see this piece as a five part rondo overall, ABACA. However, it is not this simple. The C section, especially brings up a few problems and modulates to the key of vi (D minor). It is much longer than the other sections, and, has an obvious A and B section, both of which repeat, within it. The C section, therefore, does not sound like a section that stands alone, instead, it seems almost like two sections...which would create an ABACDA...which doesn’t really work.
Following the C section, there is a long transition, that tripped me up at first, as a section all to itself. But I believe that it is merely a transition from measures 67-74. Then the closing material, hesitantly called A, comes back, an it has elements of A and B that combine to finish the piece.
There are a number of transitions in this piece, which is customary in a rondo form. Also, the A section does come back over and over. These things have convinced me that it is, indeed a type of 5-part rondo, although it definitely has independent B and C sections, and C is a binary form all on its own. And the close is confusing, almost feeling like a rounded binary or composite ternary with its repetition of material from A and B, but in the end, I feel that it is a 5-part rondo. And...I’m still a bit confused...so...yeah

Night!

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