Criteria for a Theory of Nineteenth-Century Sonata Form

Horton, J.

Abstract

Thanks to the work of Janet Schmalfeldt, James Hepokoski, Steven Vande Moortele, and others, progress toward a theory of form for nineteenth-century instrumental music has accelerated in recent years. This article addresses some of the theoretical and methodological issues to which this project gives rise. Taking medial-caesura usage in the chamber and solo sonata forms of Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Brahms as a representative corpus study, it focuses on questions of what constitutes a norm in Formenlehre, how we determine the criteria for establishing a practice as normative, and how these criteria relate to concepts of normativity in the human sciences. Finally, it offers a comparative analysis of how these issues affect sonata-formal strategies in the first movements of Brahms's First Symphony and Bruckner's Eighth Symphony.

Citation

Horton, J. (2017). Criteria for a Theory of Nineteenth-Century Sonata Form. Music Theory and Analysis, 4(2), 147-191. https://doi.org/10.11116/mta.4.2.1

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 14, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Oct 1, 2017
• Publication Date: Oct 1, 2017
• Deposit Date: Oct 4, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 5, 2017
• Journal: Music theory & analysis.
• Print ISSN: 2295-5917
• Electronic ISSN: 2295-5925
• Publisher: Leuven University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 4
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 147-191
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.11116/mta.4.2.1
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1347854
• Publisher URL: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/leuven/mta/2017/00000004/00000002/art00001