Overview
Paperback that has been professionally rebound into a Hardcover in Very Good condition. See Pics.
Paul Mies compares and contrasts musical ideas from Beethoven’s sketch-books with their ultimate form in the finished works. His approach shows a number of style determinants in Beethoven’s melodic line, the form of his melody, and the unity of his whole work; it demonstrates a number of stylistic forms associated with musical expression, and opens up the possibility of getting a general insight into Beethoven’s creative methods.
By carefully going through the sketch-books, the author has developed a number of groups in which similar alterations were made on the original drafts: adding up-beats, creating special introductions to melodic apices, avoiding suspensions; working for threefold repetitions in the melodic form, sequence-contractions; treatment of motive and rhythm, instrumentation, etc. He considers the extent to which the alterations were deliberate, and discusses such style features as ornament, character of the keys, and modulation.
This edition of 1974 is the unabridged republication of the first English edition (1929), with 186 music examples, bibliography, list of works cited and index of names.