Reading Between the Lines: Narrativity in Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas

Abstract

Beethoven’s musical innovations in his piano sonatas have their analogues in the literary works in his library. Among them are the Greek classics, Shakespeare, and the early German novels. A narrative approach to analyzing Beethoven’s sonatas will show a compelling connection between music and literature. The first of my two-part analysis of Beethoven’s sonatas will show how Beethoven uses musical gestures and motivic unity to create a sense of plot progression, character development, and setting. The second part will focus on the structural elements of Beethoven’s sonatas as they relate to plot structure. He recognizes and exploits the narrative potential in the structures of sonata form—exposition, development, recapitulation/conclusion—as well as nesting them into a larger, unified framework within a multi-movement sonata. These analyses will show how Beethoven’s changes to the form were not solely for innovation’s sake, but as a means to better express his unique ideas that best fit the narrative mold. In doing so, the performer will have an additional perspective upon which to base his interpretive decisions.