Assignment for Monday, Nov 12

Well, it's time to get started on Beethoven Symphony No. 9, the final piece we're studying together this semester. Our main guide will be the great theorist Heinrich Schenker (1868-1935). I haven't required much reading this semester beyond a couple chapter from Caplin, since I figured our main texts are the scores. But the Ninth Symphony is such a landmark, with so much written about it, that we really need to dig a little deeper.

I'm planning to have us read Schenker on the first and last movements, and a fascinating article by Richard Cohn on hypermeter in the second movement. The third movement we may try "on our own;" I'll see how we do on the first two movements.

Here is Schenker's analysis of the first movement's exposition. He organizes his book into three rubrics: first, his own analysis of form, motive, rhythm and harmony; second, some thoughts on performance; and third, a discussion of what others have written about the piece. I haven't included all of these second and third parts, since we're focusing on form and analysis. But in some ways the literature review is the most entertaining, since in his opinion everyone else is an idiot, especially Richard Wagner, who he insults over and over again throughout. But he insults other commentators as well: "Can such activity be of use in any way to the layman, performer, student, or conductor?!" and: "What a limited view, and how wrong everything is besides!"

Besides reading about the exposition, please do your best to analyze it with Roman numerals; study the clarinets, horns and trumpets carefully, to make sure you know what concert pitches they're playing. I'll look over your scores on Monday to make sure you're doing it - good luck!