Date of Award

Summer 8-2013

Degree Type

Honors College Thesis

Department

Music

First Advisor

Stephen Redfield

Advisor Department

Music

Abstract

This thesis attempts to shed light on Beethoven's final sonata for Piano and Violin, the Sonata for Piano and Violin op. 96 in G major. Presented first is a survey of music for violin and piano throughout previous centuries (in itself a valuable resource for those who want to approach this ambiguous and disorganized subject) followed by a discussion of Beethoven's sonatas leading up to the composition of Opus 96. Then follows a more detailed discussion of the piece itself as seen through the eyes (more accurately, heard through the ears) of one who has prepared a performance of it and has thus spent much time becoming acquainted with the music – the author of this paper. The most notable observations include the identification of various styles of writing for the two instruments, as they relate to other compositional techniques discussed in the preceding chapters, and also the engendering of the notion that the music itself in Opus 96 is tied to the aesthetic of a duet.

Included in

Composition Commons

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