Overview

In this examination of the theme-and-variations form in the Classical era, Elaine Sisman aims to demonstrate that it was Haydn's prophetic innovations - placing the variation in every position of a multi-movement cycle, broadening its array of theme types, and transforming its larger shape - that truly created the Classical variation. She elucidates the concept and technique of variation, traces Haydn's development and use of the form in symphonies, chamber music, and keyboard works, and then shows how Mozart and Beethoven in their individual ways built on his contributions. Throughout, Sisman's analysis reflects both musical thinking of the Classical period and today's critical interests. She discusses ornamentation and musical figures, explores the pervasive 18th-century notion of music as rhetoric, and relates the style of the variation to that of the other dominant form in this period: sonata form. Her book offers a revaluation of the nature of the variation form and an approach to the music of Haydn. ""Haydn and the Classical Variation"" is addressed to students and scholars of music, but the author's unaffected style should make it accessible to nonprofessional music lovers as well.

Full Product Details

Author:   Elaine R. Sisman
Publisher:   Harvard University Press
Imprint:   Harvard University Press
Volume:   5
Dimensions:   Width: 16.20cm , Height: 2.40cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.626kg
ISBN:  

9780674383159

ISBN 10:   067438315
Pages:   328
Publication Date:   01 January 1993
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   Awaiting stock  

Table of Contents

Preface Introduction: Repetition and Decoration The Rhetoric of Variation Rhetoric and Classical Composers Rhetoric and Variation Figures of Rhetoric and Music Figures for Variation Form Rhetorical Analysis Variation as Form and Technique in Eighteenth-Century Musical Writings Improvised and Composed Variation Technique Improvised and Composed Variation Form The Variation in the Universe of Classical Musical Forms Expansion Techniques Principal Periods Haydn's Expansions Variation and Expanded Forms Convention and Innovation in Haydn's Variations to 1780 Early Variations The Watershed of 1772 Haydn's ""Creative Periods"" Hybrid Variations: Principles and Development Synthesis: Haydn's Variations in the 1780s and 1790s Symphonies Quartets Keyboard Works Mozart's Variations Inventio: Choice and Adaptation of Themes Dispositio: Ordering of Variations Elaboratio: Figures and Figurations Conclusion: Beethoven and the Transformation of the Classical Variation Decorum Piano Variations and the ""New Way"" Eroica: Transformation of the Alternating Variation Appendix A: Variations of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven (Tables A.1-A-3) Appendix B: Extended Original-Language Quotations Selected Bibliography Index

Reviews

By far the most extensive, intelligent, and original treatment of the concept and techniqe of variation yet produced. Sisman employs a wide range of approaches, from classical and neoclassical rhetorical theory and the most recent techniques of literary analysis to sophisticated modern methods of dealing with the music itself.--Eugene K. Wolf, University Of Pennsylvania

By far the most extensive, intelligent, and original treatment of the concept and techniqe of variation yet produced. Sisman employs a wide range of approaches, from classical and neoclassical rhetorical theory and the most recent techniques of literary analysis to sophisticated modern methods of dealing with the music itself.--Eugene K. Wolf, University of Pennsylvania

Author Information

Elaine R. Sisman is Associate Professor of Music, Columbia University.

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