A personal interpretation of Ludwig van Beethoven's last piano sonata, op. 111, from a spiritual viewpoint

dc.contributor.advisorBaltzer, Rebecca A. (Rebecca Anne), 1940-en
dc.contributor.advisorMartin, Danielle, pianisten
dc.creatorLee, Soo-yunen
dc.date.accessioned2011-08-08T16:01:23Zen
dc.date.available2011-08-08T16:01:23Zen
dc.date.issued2003-08en
dc.descriptiontexten
dc.description.abstractLudwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) composed thirty-two piano sonatas during his lifetime, and each of the sonatas has its own characteristics. Among them, the last sonata, Op. 111, has been discussed from many different viewpoints, yet no theory completely fulfills our curiosity even today. The purpose of this treatise is to approach this work in terms of its spiritual aspects to a performer. This treatise will discuss mainly Beethoven’s last piano sonata, Op. 111, interpreting it from a spiritual perspective based on Beethoven’s final years of life. In this treatise, the first part discusses Beethoven’s final years as well as several special features of Op. 111. The second part delineates how I apply a spiritual interpretation to Op. 111 based on Beethoven’s life and his musical world. No one doubts that Beethoven’s music contains certain spiritual aspects, especially in his final period of composition. Without understanding the spiritual element, no one can understand and interpret his music properly. Martin Cooper said in the preface to his book, Beethoven: The Last Decade, “…it was during those ten years that Beethoven finally came to realize the potentialities of both his art and his nature….” I also believe that Beethoven’s music from his last period contains several special and unique features that can be distinguished from his earlier works. In Op. 111, I strove to find Beethoven’s spiritual meaning and apply it to the context of a performer. My main sources have been J. W. N. Sullivan’s Beethoven: His Spiritual Development, and Wilfrid Mellers’ Beethoven and the Voice of God. As these sources also do, I include many spiritual statements with religious substance. Since I strongly believe that Beethoven was a religious person, his spiritual world cannot be separated from the religious matter, even though it still carries controversy.
dc.description.departmentMusicen
dc.format.mediumelectronicen
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2152/12919en
dc.language.isoengen
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author. Presentation of this material on the Libraries' web site by University Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin was made possible under a limited license grant from the author who has retained all copyrights in the works.en
dc.subjectBeethoven, Ludwig van, 1770-1827. Criticism and interpretationen
dc.subjectBeethoven, Ludwig van, 1770-1827. Sonatas, piano, no. 32, op. 111, C minoren
dc.titleA personal interpretation of Ludwig van Beethoven's last piano sonata, op. 111, from a spiritual viewpointen
thesis.degree.departmentMusicen
thesis.degree.disciplineMusicen
thesis.degree.grantorThe University of Texas at Austinen
thesis.degree.levelDoctoralen
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Musical Artsen

Access full-text files

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
leeso036.pdf
Size:
7.79 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format

License bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.66 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description: