Beethoven's 'Kreutzer' Sonata : Nineteenth-century Art of Arrangement : One Piece, Three Ways : a thesis submitted to Massey University and Victoria University of Wellington in partial fulfilment of the degree of Master of Music in Musicology, New Zealand School of Music
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2013
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Massey University
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Abstract
Beethoven's 'Kreutzer' Sonata transgressed the expectations – and likely captivated the minds – of
early nineteenth-century musicians and audiences alike. The 'Kreutzer' is stylistically removed
from his Op. 10 No. 1 composed less than six years earlier; it demands virtuosic technical
proficiency from both performers. Through the combination of harmonic evasion playing on audience
expectations in the first movement and the conversational interplay between the personalities of
both performers and instrument al parts alike, this audacious work has fascinated the minds of both
listener and critic from the 1803 premiere through to the modern day.
In 1805 an Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung review suggested that it would require two virtuosi to
study the work in order to communicate the 'Groteskeste' work to an audience – this is indicative
of not just technical difficulty but also the importance of the dynamic relationship between the
two partners of the duo to the 'Kreutzer'. This highly charged relationship inspired Tolstoy and
Prinet (and by extension Janacek and many twentieth- century film and multimedia artists) to create
adaptations of 'Kreutzer'.
High-quality musical arrangements of 'Kreutzer" appeared as early as 1827, when Carl Czerny completed
a four-hand version of 'Kreutzer'. This was closely followed by an anonymous string quintet arrangement
released by the Simrock publishing house in 1832. These arrangements translated the virtuosic sonata
into different mediums for wider dissemination, making it more readily available to both musicians active
in the chamber music scene, and domestic students and dilettantes proficient at the piano. Both
arrangements manage to transform the 'Kreutzer' into a different format while retaining aspects of both
the conversational relationship between musicians as well as the technical demands of Beethhoven's original
sonata.
The string quintet arrangement tends to fragment melodic ideas between parts, rather than transplanting
entire phrases or providing a direct transcription - exceptions generally occurring at important transitions
or particularly special moments. This generates a highly differentiated conversational landscape to that the
original, which manifests also in the visual shift to five performers. While the arranger also reworks some
of the piano writing into more idiomatic string writing , it still demands a high level of technical proficiency
from all five players.
The four-hand arrangement reworks the same dialogue and thematic ideas into a more intimate setting, taking
an almost entirely opposite approach to the quintet. As the two instrumental parts are combined for one
instrument, the difficulties from Beethoven's piano part are divided quite literally between primo and secondo.
In a similar manner, the conversational and thematic interplay resemble Beethoven's original in a far more
direct manner than the quintet. Although the four-hands medium is recognised more for study and wider transmission
of concert pieces, it is difficult enough that the virtuosic essence of Beethoven's 'Kreutzer' is maintained.
This dissertation closely examines the relationship between the two instruments within Beethoven's
'Kreutzer' Sonata, and the manner in which both the contemporary arrangements - fundamental and ornamental -
remove none of the virtuosic and captivating essence of Beethoven's 'Kreutzer', while simultaneously
allowing them to bridge the divide between the emergent nineteenth-century concert hall scene, close study
of the score, and domestic music-making.
Beethoven's 'Kreutzer' Sonata transgressed the expectations – and likely captivated the minds – of
early nineteenth-century musicians and audiences alike. The 'Kreutzer' is stylistically removed
from his Op. 10 No. 1 composed less than six years earlier; it demands virtuosic technical
proficiency from both performers. Through the combination of harmonic evasion playing on audience
expectations in the first movement and the conversational interplay between the personalities of
both performers and instrument al parts alike, this audacious work has fascinated the minds of both
listener and critic from the 1803 premiere through to the modern day.
In 1805 an Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung review suggested that it would require two virtuosi to
study the work in order to communicate the 'Groteskeste' work to an audience – this is indicative
of not just technical difficulty but also the importance of the dynamic relationship between the
two partners of the duo to the 'Kreutzer'. This highly charged relationship inspired Tolstoy and
Prinet (and by extension Janacek and many twentieth- century film and multimedia artists) to create
adaptations of 'Kreutzer'.
High-quality musical arrangements of 'Kreutzer" appeared as early as 1827, when Carl Czerny completed
a four-hand version of 'Kreutzer'. This was closely followed by an anonymous string quintet arrangement
released by the Simrock publishing house in 1832. These arrangements translated the virtuosic sonata
into different mediums for wider dissemination, making it more readily available to both musicians active
in the chamber music scene, and domestic students and dilettantes proficient at the piano. Both
arrangements manage to transform the 'Kreutzer' into a different format while retaining aspects of both
the conversational relationship between musicians as well as the technical demands of Beethhoven's original
sonata.
The string quintet arrangement tends to fragment melodic ideas between parts, rather than transplanting
entire phrases or providing a direct transcription - exceptions generally occurring at important transitions
or particularly special moments. This generates a highly differentiated conversational landscape to that the
original, which manifests also in the visual shift to five performers. While the arranger also reworks some
of the piano writing into more idiomatic string writing , it still demands a high level of technical proficiency
from all five players.
The four-hand arrangement reworks the same dialogue and thematic ideas into a more intimate setting, taking
an almost entirely opposite approach to the quintet. As the two instrumental parts are combined for one
instrument, the difficulties from Beethoven's piano part are divided quite literally between primo and secondo.
In a similar manner, the conversational and thematic interplay resemble Beethoven's original in a far more
direct manner than the quintet. Although the four-hands medium is recognised more for study and wider transmission
of concert pieces, it is difficult enough that the virtuosic essence of Beethoven's 'Kreutzer' is maintained.
This dissertation closely examines the relationship between the two instruments within Beethoven's
'Kreutzer' Sonata, and the manner in which both the contemporary arrangements - fundamental and ornamental -
remove none of the virtuosic and captivating essence of Beethoven's 'Kreutzer', while simultaneously
allowing them to bridge the divide between the emergent nineteenth-century concert hall scene, close study
of the score, and domestic music-making.
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Keywords
Ludwig van Beethoven, Kreutzer sonata, Sonata for violin and piano, Analysis, appreciation, Arrangement (Music), Opus 47, No. 9, op. 47