Music and Drama in Six Beethoven Overtures: Interaction between Programmatic Tensions and Tonal Structure

Abstract

The present study examines the programmatic character of six Beethoven overtures: the three Leonore Overtures, Coriolan, Egmont, and the Fidelio Overture. It divides into two parts. The first gives theoretical background for the analyses, discussing similarities and differences between the main analytic approach that has been adopted, Schenkerian analysis, and plot as described in literary theory, specifically in structuralism. It also deals with some viewpoints on the overture that were prevailing in the Classical era. The second part is analytic. It examines the overtures in chronological order. Special emphasis is laid on the manner in which the musical surface and deep structural levels can be seen as together creating the dramatic character of the overtures. It is suggested that the programmatic quality of the works can be best understood as the outcome of an interaction between the relatively distinct extramusical allusions created by the foreground and the basic tonal tensions of more remote levels. The study closes with an epilogue that concentrates on two topics. First, it examines how the programmatic organization changed in the overtures. Second, it discusses whether one can find structural procedures similar to those creating the programmatic character of the overtures in Beethoven's other instrumental works and in music of the later nineteenth century.