Movement I - Measures 107 to 112

One might expect measures 107 to 112 to be the same as the corresponding section in the exposition but in the key of F major. Beethoven, however, makes quite a few changes. Here is the passage in the exposition:

And here it is in the recapitulation:

In the exposition, Beethoven presents a statement (forte). He then then answers the statement (piano) by sequencing it up a minor third. He repeats this process, then ends with a cadence on the dominant.

In the recapitulation, the statement and answer are switched. Originally, the first phrase was the statement; the second phrase was the answer. In the recapitulation, the first phrase overlaps with the flourish of the previous passage. So it is the second phrase that becomes the statement. To clarify this new function, Beethoven changes the dynamic to forte and drops the dotted-rhythm inner voice.

The third phrase, marked piano, becomes the new answer. But the melody is changed. The F-E-C that used to be the melody becomes an inner voice (presented in the dotted rhythm characteristic of the answer in the exposition). The new melody (B natural-C) anticipates the cadence and drives home the F major tonality. The statement and answer then repeat an octave higher, after which we have the cadence, marked sforzando. Note this procedure requires an additional measure. The passage is now seven measures long rather than the six measures we had in the exposition.

In the literal transcription below, I have followed Beethoven's procedure (from the exposition) of alternating the melody between the first and second violins.

In his arrangement, Beethoven makes some of the same decisions he made in the exposition. Specifically, (1) he replaces the alternating dynamics with sforzandi on beat three of each measure; (2) he incorporates the dotted quarter rhythm in all three upper parts at the cadence; and (3) he replaces the final chord with octave Cs (as I did in the transcription). We discussed these decisions when we examined measures 16 to 22. So we will restrict this discussion to decisions that are new in this passage.

One such decision is in the viola part. In the exposition, the viola alternated between doubling the first and second violin at the third or sixth. Here, the viola always doubles the second violin. This makes sense, since the second violin always has the more interesting part in this passage. 

Beethoven chooses to omit the first violin altogether in the first measure. This thinning of texture offers a respite from the business of the preceding measures and supports the crescendo that begins in measure 109. When the first violin does enter, Beethoven changes the articulation, making the C a staccato quarter note rather than a half note. This makes the passage decidedly cleaner. As you can hear in the literal transcription, leaving these Cs as half notes weighs the passage down. (This isn't true on the piano because of the piano's faster decay.)

Even though the cello plays only repeated Cs, there are some changes to its part as well. For one, the sforzando is omitted in the first measure. Beethoven seems to be thinking of the inner voices as one unit and the outer voices as another unit. So he waits for the first violin to enter before the cello joins in the sforzandi.

Also, Beethoven changes the spot where the bass moves up an octave. In the piano version, this happens on beat three of measure 109. In the string version, it happens on the second eighth note of that measure (mimicking the similar move in the exposition). One could argue, however, that these spots are rhetorically identical. In each case, the octave leap occurs immediately after the phrase ends. But, because the last note of the phrase is a half note in the piano version and a staccato quarter note in the string version, the end of the phrase occurs in different places. In other words, the change in the cello part is simply a consequence of the change in the first violin part.

An interesting detail is Beethoven's treatment of the C on beat two of measure 107. In the piano version, this C ends the phrase from the previous measure. This phrasing made sense in the exposition, since this note was part of the motive. In this passage, however, it makes more sense to end the phrase on the E one beat earlier, at the end of the first violin's sixteenth-note flourish. In the string version, Beethoven does just that. The phrase ends on E, and the C becomes transitional, an anacrusis to the main motive. To make this clear, Beethoven gives the C to the second violin and makes it staccato.This is another example of Beethoven's paying more attention to voice leading in the string version than he did in the piano version.

Movement I - Measures 101 to 106

Measures 95 to 100 are unchanged from the exposition, so we will skip to measures 101-106.

In the exposition, these measures feature the main theme in F major, modulating to C major. Here, the main theme enters abruptly in D-flat major. The appearance of the B natural in measure 106 converts the D-flat chord into a German sixth, which resolves, on the downbeat of measure 107, to the dominant of F major. Thus Beethoven has performed the customary Viennese Classical trick of retaining the modulatory feel of the bridge without actually modulating. Despite the jolt when the theme enters in D-flat major, we wind up right back in F major where we started.

Here is what a literal transcription would sound like. (Measures 101 and 102 are taken from Beethoven's actual arrangement of the exposition.)

There are two problems with this transcription: (1) It is not as energetic as the piano version. The long, held notes bogs the passage down, especially in measures 105 and 106. (2) There are parallel fifths between the second violin and cello leading into measure 103, and it's not easy to see how to fix them. The second violin's G can't resolve to an F, because the violin can't go that low. And dropping the second violin out and leaving the G hanging would sound strange.

Beethoven fixes both these problems with his arrangement.

First, the technical problem. Beethoven does avoid the parallel fifths by resolving the second violin's G to an F, but he resolves it to a high F, bringing the second violin up above the first violin. He then makes the F a quarter note to get out of the way of the melody, which seems to emerge unexpectedly from the texture. This emergence quality is enhanced by the B flat at the end of measure 101, which makes the theme a continuation of the soprano line rather than the disjoint entity we hear in the piano version. The disjointedness in this arrangement comes not from the voice leading, as in the piano version, but from the dynamics. Beethoven changes the diminuendo in measure 102 to a crescendo, so the ensuing pianissimo offers more of a jolt.

How does Beethoven keep the energy high in the remaining measures? In measures 103 to 104, he presents the melody in a single line (rather than the chords of the piano version) and distributes the energetic accompaniment among all three lower strings. The extra voices give him some additional flexibility. For one thing, they enable him to retain the pedal tone in the lower octave. Rather than run up to the high D flat, Beethoven keeps the cello on the low D flat and changes the sixteenth-note run into a trill. The second violin and viola take over the eighth note figure at the end of the measure, which become rising chords rather than a restatement of the pedal tone.

In measures 105-106, Beethoven makes some changes to the run in the first violin. As usual, for ensemble purposes, he has the run begin on the downbeat, eliminating the sixteenth note rest. But this change renders measure 107 problematic. Since we have heard the same rhythm (an eighth and two sixteenths) on beats one and three of measure 105, we expect to hear the that rhythm a third time in measure 106. Beethoven accommodates us by shifting the sixteenth notes of measure 106 over half a beat. He then fills out the extra half beat by adding a turn on beat three.

As for the accompaniment, we observed earlier that the cello's long D flat in the transcription bogs these measures down. So Beethoven replaces the long D flat with a descent from D flat to B natural, doubled by the viola. This new line delays the German sixth until beat three of measure 106. Beethoven highlights its arrival with a sforzando and double stops in the second violin.

Movement I - Measures 91 to 94

In the recapitulation, Beethoven changes the character of the main theme. He plays it forte, with chords in the right hand and fast ascending F major scales in the left hand. Here is the original piano version, followed by a literal transcription for string quartet:

Beethoven changes the character of the main theme in his string arrangement as well. But he doesn't change it in quite the same way. Recall that the exposition of the piano version featured octave doublings of the melody on beat three of each measure, which gave beat three a little extra weight:

In the string version, he omitted these octave doublings, so that theme did not have this emphasis on beat three. But, as it turns out, Beethoven did not actually abandon this element of the theme. He simply waited until the recapitulation to feature it. Now he emphasizes beat three with a vengeance: (1) He adds a sforzando in the first violin and cello. (2) He adds a double stop in the first violin (doubling, more interestingly, at the sixth rather than at the octave). (3) Rather than have an ascending scale throughout the measure, he ascends up to the sforzando, then has a descending scale away from it. And finally (4) he marks the passage as piano to set the sforzando off more effectively.



What else does Beethoven change? To begin with, he gives the cello an eighth note (rather than a sixteenth note rest followed by a sixteenth note) on the downbeat of measure 91. This change was predictable. Beethoven has consistently had the strings begin passages together for ease of ensemble playing.

He also adds some harmonic interest to the passage by using different descending scales in the second half of each measure. The descending scales outline, in order, the harmonies V/IV, IV, and V. Note the E-flats in measures 91 and 92. These E-flats were not present in the piano version. Here, they tonicize the subdominant, giving the theme a more grandiose feeling.

Finally, note his scoring of measure 94. In the exposition, he scored this measure as follows, using the second violin and viola to add support to the high F in the first violin.

In the recapitulation, he lets the first violin trail off by itself, not wishing to slow down the action by the sudden introduction of half notes in the middle strings.

Movement I - Measures 85 - 90

In the piano version, the second phrase of the retransition (measures 85 to 88) is an exact repetition of the first phrase. Measures 89 to 90 then lead back to F major for the recapitulation:

A literal transcription follows:

In the string arrangement, Beethoven treats each phrase differently. We discussed measures 81 to 84 last week, but I repeat them here for comparison:

In measure 85, the cello plays the theme an octave lower than in the first phrase. (This answers the first question from last week. The low Cs at the end of measure 84 were preparation for this octave drop.) The viola plays the same notes as before (also an octave lower) but now plays half notes instead of eighth notes. Together, these changes reinforce the feeling of a stretto that Beethoven began in the first phrase. The entrance of the theme in a new octave sounds like a new voice, a fourth statement of the subject. The half notes in the viola sound like a counter subject, and the fact that the half notes begin on beat three rather than beat one reinforces this impression.

The violins play the eighth note accompaniment, but with a twist. Instead of repeated Cs, each triple begins with a B natural, the dominant leading tone. This adds variety to the second phrase, but I think there is a more subtle reason for this change that will become apparent later on. We can now answer the second question from last week. Why did Beethoven not resolve the B natural in the second violin part? He does; he just waits until beat two to resolve it.

In measure 87, we have the final entrance of the subject in the first violin. The second violin joins the viola in playing half notes while the cello takes over the eighth-note accompanimental figure. Having three voices playing half notes and one playing eighth notes (rather than the other way around, as in the piano version) lends the serenity to this passage that a retransition requires. Note the cello omits the B natural in the second triple of each measure, thus avoiding a cross relation in measure 89.

As expected, Beethoven revoices the chords in measures 87 and 88 to avoid the parallel octaves. But why does he give the viola the higher part? Presumably because lower part is the counter-subject, which the viola has already played. In fugal writing, each entrance of the subject or counter-subject is taken up by a new voice. So Beethoven is simply continuing to treat this passage as a stretto.

In measure 89, Beethoven starts the modulation to the home key of F major. Purists will object to calling this a modulation. Technically, going from F minor to F major is a mode shift, not a modulation. But it certainly feels like a modulation. The B-flat in the melody has a definite turning-the-corner-and-heading-back-to-home feel to it. And that, I think, is why Beethoven added all those B naturals to the accompaniment. He wanted B natural ringing in our ears, so the B flat would have this effect.

At the very end of the phrase, Beethoven adds an eighth note C to the melody. Again, he is paying close attention to voice leading. Without that eighth note, we would expect the next note in the first violin to be an F. But, since the next measure starts the recapitulation, it is going be a C. This added eighth note keeps that C from sounding incongruous. In the piano version, the eighth note is unnecessary, because we can hear the return of the opening theme as a new voice rather than as a continuation of this line. (A sensitive pianist would certainly play it that way.)

One last thing to puzzle through is the change in dynamics. In the piano version, Beethoven writes a diminuendo in this passage. In the string version, he drops to pianissimo and crescendos. Why this change? I suspect it is due to what happens next. In the piano version, the recapitulation begins forte. In the string version, it will begin piano (for reasons we will consider next week). Beethoven wants a sudden dynamic shift at the start of the recapitulation. So, if it is going to start piano, he must change the diminuendo in this passage to a crescendo.

Movement I - Measures 81 to 84

In measure 81, Beethoven begins the retransition. We have two phrases in F minor, each consisting of a statement and answer of the opening motif:

In the piano version, the second phrase is an exact repetition of the first phrase. In the string version, Beethoven will, of course, not be satisfied with an exact repetition. We will hold off on phrase two until next week. This post will focus on the first phrase.

Here is what a literal transcription would sound like. (Ignore the diagonal lines for now.)

Note there is a voice-leading problem. There are parallel octaves between the first violin and viola going from measure 83 to 84. Mr. Rappaport would never have let me get away with that. But the truth is, even a purist like Mozart did not worry about these things so much in his piano works, provided the parallelism was between the melody and an inner voice and provided the texture was homophonic. What, after all, is the alternative? In an ensemble, you might change the tenor's E to a C, doubling the bass. But you wouldn't hear it as doubling on the piano. It would just sound as if one of the voices dropped out. On the piano, it sounds better to retain the full texture, even with the parallel octaves.

I would not, however, expect Mozart or Beethoven to let this slide in a string quartet, where you hear the voice leading more clearly. So I suspect Beethoven will get rid of the parallel octaves in his arrangement.  Here is his solution:

First, Beethoven eliminates the pedal point in measures 81 and 82. This makes sense. The retransition serves to cool things down after the stormy developmental core, so the texture needs to thin out. The pedal point sounds okay on the piano, with its fast decay. But in strings, it would make the texture too heavy. Beethoven also drops the first violin, leaving the second and viola to handle the accompaniment on their own.

In measures 83 and 84, Beethoven makes more radical changes. He reduces he eighth note accompaniment from two voices to one as it is taken over by the cello, and he has the viola double the second violin at the sixth. The first violin finally enters at measure 84 with a third statement of the opening motive. If we hear the viola line as a continuation of the cello line from measures 81 to 82, then the whole phrase takes the form of a fugal stretto.

The amazing thing is Beethoven accomplishes this by simply redistributing the notes in the original version to different voices. As the diagonal lines show, the viola's C-A flat-G-D line comes from moving from the tenor to the alto and back again. The first violin's statement of the theme comes from choosing the C from the bass, then the F from the alto. The only notes from the original that are not redistrubuted are the F and E in the tenor. But these are the precisely the parallel octaves that we wanted to get rid of anyway. Very clever.

Note that Beethoven resolves the first violin and viola lines on the downbeat of measure 85. Why did Beethoven not resolve the second violin line?  And why did he drop the cello to a low C on the second half of measure 84? Both of these questions will be answered when we see Beethoven's arrangement of the second phrase next week.

Finally, if you haven't already done so, I invite you to 'like' my professional page at https://www.facebook.com/PhillipMartinComposer. Perhaps you can even listen to a composition or two on the Bandpage tab and decide for yourself whether Beethoven has been able to teach me anything.

Movement I - Measures 75 to 80

Standard procedure in the development section calls for a pre-core (material of lesser emotional intensity) followed by a core (material that is unstable and dramatic). The core consists of a model that is sequenced in different keys.

Beethoven follows this procedure here. Measures 61 to 64 constituted the pre-core; measure 65 began the core. The model (measures 65 to 70) was first stated in B-flat minor. In measure 75, Beethoven begins a restatement in D-flat major. The restatement is interrupted, however, by a modulation to F minor.

In the piano version, Beethoven has consistently used dynamics to highlight the structure of the core. He continues to follow this procedure here. Measure 77, which begins the modulation, is marked pianissimo, as if to whisper "You didn't expect that, now, did you?"

In the string version, however, Beethoven highlights the structure by modifying the accompaniment. Had he followed by pianistic scheme and patterned the accompaniment here after the original model, we would have this:

Instead, Beethoven gives us this:

Rather than simply repeat the earlier pattern, he has the viola echo the cello's arpeggios, leaving the second violin to manage the tremolos on its own. This interplay raises the intensity of this passage, an effect that is enhanced (as observed last week) by the fact that the arpeggios were eliminated altogether in the bridge between the model statements.

In measure 79, Beethoven does something he has not previously done in the core: give the cello sustained notes, rhythmically doubling the melody. We have heard nothing but eighth notes in the cello for the past 14 measures. So the sustained notes provide a dramatic build-up to the climax on the downbeat of measure 80. After the climax, the cello immediately returns to its eighth note tremolos.

None of this drama is present in the piano version with its relentless arpeggios. At least it is not present in the score.It's up to the performer to discover the harmonic narrative and bring it out in performance. Since the string quartet has a greater expressive range than the piano, there is no need for Beethoven to be so coy.

The final measure illustrates some voice-leading considerations. Adding the long line in the cello in measure 79 required changing the bass in measure 80. The bass is now a D rather than a B-flat. But a second inversion vii/V chord resolving to V does not provide the dramatic half-cadence Beethoven wants. So he flats the D, changing the chord into a German sixth.

Note the way Beethoven resolves the German sixth at the very end of the phrase. Later composers would resolve the viola's A-flat to a G, since the German sixth came to be considered as an exception to the prohibition against parallel fifths. Beethoven, however, still feels the need to avoid the parallel fifths and resolves the A-flat upward to a C.  He also meticulously drops the viola's F down an octave before moving to the A-flat. Why? So that he approaches the dissonance (A-flat against the melody's G) in contrary motion. Approaching the dissonance in similar motion (from the high F) would not sound as good. Such Bach-like attention to detail is one of the things that makes Beethoven's music so exceptional.

Movement I - Measures 71 to 74

Visually, measures 71 to 74 look similar to the preceding six measures.

There are, however, several differences:

(1) The harmonic motion speeds up. Previously, the harmony changed every two measures. Now it changes every measure.

(2) The previous passage, in B-flat minor, was harmonically static.This passage modulates, reaching D-flat major on the downbeat of measure 75.

(3) The melody is transformed. In the previous passage, we heard the same melody three times. In measures 71 to 72 that melody is (roughly) inverted. And in measure 74 it is interrupted and replaced with a new syncopated figure.

In the piano version, Beethoven retains the same accompanying figure in these measures that he used in the previous measures. The only clue the accompaniment offers that something different is going on is the octave drop in measure 74, which, along with the new syncopated melody, dramatizes the arrival in D-flat major.

In the string version, however, Beethoven helps us hear the newness of this material by changing the accompaniment. Had he followed the same pattern as in the previous section, we would have this:

Because the harmony now changes every measure instead of every two measures, this scheme doesn't work well. It sounds strange to arpeggiate the harmonies in the odd measures but not the even measures. Beethoven might have added arpeggios to the even measures as well. But he preferred to dial things back instead. He drops the arpeggios altogether and has the cello join the middle strings in their tremolo. (As we shall see next week, dialing things back now gives him the chance ratchet things up more effectively later on. This is a technique known to all good composers and horror film directors.)

Even though the cello joins in the tremolo, it retains its individuality by playing eighth notes to the middle strings' sixteenth notes. It also employs the device Beethoven has used previously to accentuate the downbeat: an octave dip on the first note of each tremolo.

Note Beethoven changes the point where the bass drops down an octave to the low A-flat. In the piano version, this happens at the beginning of measure 74. In the string version, it happens three beats earlier. Why? Presumably, it is because the very climax of the passage has changed. In the piano version, the climax is on the sforzando in measure 74. In the string version, Beethoven eliminates this sforzando and marks a forte at the beginning of measure 73, shifting the climax to this point. In addition, he lands emphatically on the final cadence, specifying a forte-piano on the downbeat of measure 75. In the piano version, this measure is marked piano, so as not to upstage the sforzando of the previous measure. (These quarter notes aren't in the real score, by the way. I added them to avoid ending the sound sample on an unresolved dominant.)

What are these changes all about? Beethoven is being sensitive to the realities of string writing. A pianist can land forcefully and effectively on that high G-flat. But this would not work in strings. The violin's sound is too thin in that register to produce a convincing sforzando with no assistance from the accompaniment. The downbeat of measure 72, assisted by the change of harmony and a low A-flat in the cello, is a more natural place for the climax.

This is the kind of change an arranger might be afraid to make. How can you move the climax of the phrase? Isn't that tampering too much with the original? But Beethoven, who doesn't have to worry about offending himself, has no qualms about making whatever changes the new medium requires. Fidelity to the original is desirable. But it's more important that the music sound good.