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Form and Function of the Classical CadenzaAuthor(s): Joseph P. SwainSource: The Journal of Musicology, Vol. 6, No. 1 (Winter, 1988), pp. 27-59Published by: University of California PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/763668Accessed: 24-03-2015 09:55 UTC
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8/9/2019 Classical Cadenza
2/34
Form and Function of
the
Classical Cadenza
JOSEPH
P.
SWAIN
H
ow
many
of us have ever
enjoyed hearing
a
concerto
of Mozart or
Beethoven
stunningly
and
sensitively
played,
only
to have
the
experience
ruined at
the
end of
a movement
by
the
cadenza?
Regrettably,
this
happens
all
too often.
A show of
empty
virtuosity,
perhaps,
or
wrong
for
the
style
of the concerto as a
whole,
or-the most common
problem-a
cadenza that is
simply
too
long.
Joachim
Quantz,
writing
over
two
centuries
ago,
seems to address the
current situation:
2
If none
are made it is
considered a
great
defect,
even
though many
performers
would
conclude their
pieces
with more credit without
them.
Meanwhile,
all
those who
occupy
themselves
with
singing
or
with
playing
solos want
to,
or
must,
make cadenzas.
And
since their
natureand
proper
way
to
perform
them are not well
known,
the fash-
ion
generally
becomes a
burden.
In
his last
comment,
Quantz
goes
to
the heart of the
problem.
We have
very
little
knowledge
or
understanding
of
the structure or
purpose
of
the cadenza
in
the
classical concerto
beyond
its
elementary
definition
as
an
improvisation
on
themes from
the movement.
Amazingly
enough,
there is
no
provision
for
it in
modern theories or
descriptions
of con-
certo
form. Even
though
concert artists
may
well
undertake
to
compose
cadenzas for Mozart
and
Beethoven
concertos,
or at
the
very
least,
choose
among
those
already
composed, conservatory
training
does not
normally
include
study
of the
cadenza
problem.
Yet it
seems obvious
that to write
satisfactory
cadenzas,
the
performer
should
understand
what
relationship
one should
have with
the concerto
movement.
In
view
of both new theories and
conceptions
of the classical sonata
style,
to
Volume 6
*
Number
1
*
Winter 1988
The
Journal
of
Musicology
?
1988
by
the
Regents
of the
University
of California
1
Johann
Joachim
Quantz,
On
Playing
the
Flute,
trans. and ed.
Edward
R.
Reilly
(Lon-
don,
1966),
p.
181.
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3/34
THE
JOURNAL
OF
MUSICOLOGY
which
the
classical concerto
is
an
essential
contributor,
and the undimin-
ished
popularity
of the
classical concerto
repertoire,
it
is time for a
new
appraisal
of
the
cadenza.
There are at least
three
approaches
to the
issue.
The first is
to
inves-
tigate
the
origin
of the
cadenza
and the
opinions
of
eighteenth-century
theorists
and
critics about it. In
this
way
we
may
learn,
not
infallible
rules
for
cadenza
composition,
but
something
about the
original purpose
of
cadenzas,
what
they
were
supposed
to do for
the movements that con-
tained them.
The second
approach
is
to
analyze
the numerous authentic caden-
zas
that
Mozart and
Beethoven have left for their own concertos.
There
could
hardly
be a
better
source for
learning
about the
general
structure
and function of
cadenzas,
and also
about
the
specific relationships
be-
tween
certain cadenzas and their
parent
concerto
movements.
Recent
scholarship,
including large
studies
by
Paul Badura-Skoda2
and
Paul
Mies3,
has
emphasized
this
approach.
The third
approach
is to
apply
modern theories of concerto form
and
the classical sonata
style
to
the cadenza
problem.
Is
there
anything
we can
say
about the form
and
function of the cadenza
given
what we
28
know
about
the
workings
of
concertos and the classical
style
of
Mozart
and Beethoven? The
theoretical
approach
is
risky,
as
always,
because its
assumptions
are
more
easily
challenged,
but
how else
can
conclusions
from the other two
approaches
be assimilated and confirmed? Critics
and
theorists
of the
eighteenth
century
are
just
as fallible
in
their
opin-
ions about music of their own
time
as we
are
about music
in
ours;
there
is
no reason
to
adopt
their "rules" without further consideration of the
music itself. The solutions
of
Mozart and Beethoven
may
be
perfect,
of
course,
but
they
left no
explicit
instructions
on how to
make
more. The
elements that
they
left
in
their cadenzas
only
make sense when
con-
nected
with a
conception
of
the concerto
as a whole.
Origin
and
Development
of the Concerto Cadenza
The
word itself would
indicate
a
link
with the notion
of
"cadence."
Indeed,
of
English,
German, French,
and
Italian,
only
in
the
English
language
is
there
any
verbal distinction between the
two
ideas,
and
that is made
by
borrowing
the Italian
word for
"cadence" as a
special
term.
The
German theorist Daniel Gottlieb
Turk,
writing
around 1789, also points to the cadence as the source of the cadenza:
2
Mozart-Interpretation
Vienna,
Stuttgart,
1957).
3
Die
Krise derKonzertkadenz
eiBeethoven
Bonn,
1970).
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8/9/2019 Classical Cadenza
4/34
CLASSICAL CADENZA
In
former
times,
one added small embellishments before
cadences
(Tonschliissen),
which did not
require
the
suspension
of
meter
...
These so-called
figured
cadenzas
(Kadenzen)
were
evidently
pleas-
ing,
so the
passages
were
expanded,
and were no
longer
tied so
strictly
to the meter. Those
accompanying
were
pleased
to
yield
and
to
wait,
until
finally,
little
by
little,
our embellished cadenzas
(Kadenzen)
came
about. Their
origin
can be
placed
between the
years
1710
to
1716.
Their native
land
is
probably
Italy.
In
a
note,
Turk cites
the Musica
Moderna Prattica
ofJ.
V.
Serbst
(1658),
who describes the cadenza
as
a vocal embellishment
coming
from
Italy,
although usage
in
instrumental
music is also mentioned.
The
dates
may
be from Johann Friedrich Agricola.4
In
more modern
times,
Heinrich
Knodt traced
in
great
detail the
ancestry
of
the
cadenza,
in both instrumental and vocal
music,
back
to
the sixteenth
century.
In both
types,
the occasion
for the cadenza
is the
embellishment and
delay
of a
final
cadence.5
By
the latter half of the
eighteenth
century,
theorists
were careful
to
distinguish
between
"cadence"
and "cadenza."
The
close
relationship
of
the cadenza
with
the harmonic cadence is reinforced.
In his
descrip-
tion,
C. P. E.
Bach cites the familiar
signal
of
the
six-four
chord
under
a fermata:
On
the
entrance
of an
elaborated
cadence,
the
accompanist,
regard-
less of
whether
a
fermata
appears
over the
bass,
holds the
six-four
chord for
a
while and then
pauses
until
the
principal part,
at the end
of its
cadenza,
plays
a trill or
some
other
figure
which
requires
resolu-
tion of the chord. At this
point
the triad is
struck at the
keyboard,
the
seventh
being
taken
as
a fifth
part.6
Similar
distinctions
occur
in
Quantz
and
Tiirk.7
4
Daniel Gottlob
Turk,
Clavierschule
1789),
p.
309.
English
translations
of citations
from
this text are
my
own. "Ehedembrachte
manvor den
Tonschliissenblos
solch
kleine
Verzierungen
an,
welchkein Aufhalten
des Taktes
u.
erforderte....
Diese
sogenannten
figurirten
Kadenzen
gefielen
vermutlich,
man
vergrosserte
daher die
Zusage,
und
band
sich daher nicht
mehr so
streng
an den Takt.
Die
Begleiter
waren
so
gefallig,
ein
wenig
nachzugeben
(zu
verweilen),
bis
endlich nach
und nach unsre
verzierten
Kadenzen
da-
raus entstanden
sind.
Ihren
Ursprung
setzt
man in die
Jahre
1710
bis
1716.*
Das
Va-
terland
derselben isst
wahrscheinlich
Italien."
Johann
Friedrich
Agricola's
work
is
Anleitung
zur
Singekunst
Berlin,
1757),
a translation
of Pier Francesco Tosi's
Opinioni
de' cantoriantichi e moderni
1723)
with some additions of
his
own.
5
Heinrich
Knodt,
"Zur
Entwicklungsgeschichte
der Kadenzen
im
Instrumentalkon-
zert,
Sammelbdnde
er internationalen
Musik-Gesellschaft
XV
(1913/14),
392.
6
Carl
Phillip
Emmanuel
Bach,
Essay
on the True
Art
of
Playing
Keyboard
nstruments,
(1753)
trans.
and ed.
WilliamJ.
Mitchell
(New
York,
1949),
p.
380.
7
See
Quantz,
p. 179
and
Turk,
p.
308.
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8/9/2019 Classical Cadenza
5/34
THE
JOURNAL
OF MUSICOLOGY
By
the time of Turk's
writing
Mozart was
making
a distinction be-
tween "cadenzas" and other
improvisatory
passages
called
"Eingdnge"
(see
letter of
February 15, 1783).
In
contrast to
cadenzas,
which
appear
at the end of a movement
and are associated
with a final
cadence,
these
Eingdnge may
appear
in
any part
of the
movement,
most often
just
be-
fore the
beginning
of a new
section,
as
in
the return
of a rondo
theme,
and have the function of
"leading
in" to
the next
section.
They
contain
no references to
thematic
material,
and are
usually
constructed
of
passagework
based on dominant
harmony
which the onset
of the
next
section
resolves.
Because
the resolution
is
elided
with a new
beginning,
the
character and function
of
the
Eingang
can
be
clearly distinguished
from those of the true cadenza, which, according to the eighteenth-
century
theorists cited
above,
has
a
function
of conclusion on a
high
structural
level.
The
elements of
improvisation
and thematic
reference,
associated
intimately
with
the
classical
cadenza
today,
seem
to
have
come
together
slowly
during
the
second and third
quarters
of
the
eighteenth
century.
Knodt shows that
cadenzas
in
Vivaldi concertos
have virtuoso
technique
and a certain motivic
relationship
with the movement
proper,
but
little
30
improvisatory
character. These
cadenzas
are
written
directly
into the
movement without any suspension of meter.8 On the other hand, the
Capricci
of
Pietro
Locatelli,
which are
supposed
to
be
used
in
his
concer-
tos of
1733,
L'Artedel
violino,
are
composed entirely
of
virtuosic scales
and
arpeggios, typical
devices of
improvisation,
but ones
which do
not
refer
thematically
to the
parent
movement.9
C.
P. E. Bach's
image
of
the
cadenza seems
to
be
that of a "fantasia-like
interlude,"
which seldom
uses
any
melodic
fragments
from the concerto.10
Even
Mozart's
early
keyboard
cadenzas did not use thematic references.'
Quantz,
however,
while
recognizing
the
possibility
of fresh invention
in
a
cadenza,
offers
the alternative of thematic reference when the player's imagination
fails:
Cadenzasmust stem from
the
principal
entiment
of
the
piece,
and
include a short
repetition
or imitation
of
the
most
pleasing
phrases
contained
in it.
At
times,
if
your thoughts
are
distracted,
t
is
not
im-
mediately
possible
to
invent
something
new.
The best
expedient
is
then
to
choose one of
the
most
pleasing
of the
preceding
phrases
and
fashion the
cadenza
from it. In
this
manner
you
not
only
can make
up
for
any
lack of
inventiveness,
but
can
always
confirm
the
prevailing
8
Knodt,
pp.
397-98.
9
Dimitri
Themelis,
Etude
ou
Caprice
Munich,
1967),
p.
57.
10
Pippa
Drummond,
The German Concerto:
Five
Eighteenth-Century
tudies
(Oxford,
1980),
p.
318.
Eva
Badura-Skoda,
"Cadenza,"
TheNew Grove
III,
p.
591.
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8/9/2019 Classical Cadenza
6/34
CLASSICAL
CADENZA
passion
of the
piece
as well. This
is
an
advantage
that
is
not too
well
known which I
would
like to recommend to
everyone.12
Evidently,
aside
from
the basic
conception
of the cadenza as an elabo-
rated
cadence,
there was no
consensus about what
form that
elaboration
should
take
until
late
in
the
eighteenth
century,
when
the
cadenza
had
gained
the status
of
a
performance
tradition.
Even
then,
the
practice
maintained
considerable
variety,
evident
in
the
cadenzas
of Mozart
and
Beethoven
alone.
Unfortunately,
the various cadenza
styles among
other
eighteenth-century
composers
cannot be discussed
in
detail here.
Quantz's
point
about
thematic
reference
having
an
advantage
be-
cause it
will
"always
confirm
the
prevailing passion
of the
piece"
reflects
one ideal about
cadenzas that
theorists
agree
on. Another
is
surprise.
The
cadenza,
while
remaining
faithful
to
the
spirit
of the
work,
should
strive for
improvised
variety
and the
unexpected.
In the words of Daniel
Tiirk:
Although
unity
demands
a
well-ordered
whole,
just
as
necessary
is
variety,
so that
the
listener
will be
kept
attentive.
That
is
why
in
ca-
denzas
one does
as
many unexpected
and
surprising
things
as
is
possible.'3
31
Central
to
this ideal of
surprise
is
the
suspension
of
meter.
Quantz
and
Turk,
writing
about
forty years
apart,
are
in
remarkably
close
agreement
on
this
point:
Regular
meter
is seldom
observed,
and indeed should
not be ob-
served,
in
cadenzas.
They
should
consist
of
detached
ideas rather
than a
sustained
melody,
as
long
as
they
conform
to
the
preceding
ex-
pression
of
the
passions.'4
Steady motion and meter (Taktart) should not be maintained
throughout
the
cadenza;
in
addition,
broken-off
measures
(not
com-
pletely
played
through)
must be
adapted
to
go
with one
another. For
the whole
should
seem
more like a
fantasy
originating
from
over-
flowing
sentiment than
a
strictly
worked-out
piece.15
12
Quantz,
p.
182.
13
Turk,
pp.
311-12.
"So
wie die Einheit zu einem
wohlgeordneten
Ganzen erfordert
wird,
eben
so
notig
ist
auch die
Mannigfaltigkeit,
wenn der Zuhorer aufmerksam
erhalten werden soil.
Daher
bringe
man
in
Kadenzen so viel Unerwartetes und
Ueber-
raschendes an, als nur immer m6glich ist."
14
Quantz,
p.
185.
15
Turk,
p.
312.
"Einerlei
Bewegung
und
Taktart darf man in der Kadenz nicht durch-
gangig
beibehalten;
auch miissen
bios
einzelne
abgebrachene
(nicht
vollig ausgefuihrte)
Takte
geschickt
mit
einander verbunden
werden.
Denn
das
Ganze
soil
mehr einer
nur
eben aus der
Fulle der
Empfindung
entstehenden
Fantasie,
als einem
regelmassig
aus-
gearbeiteten
Tonstiicke
gleichen."
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THE
JOURNAL
OF MUSICOLOGY
The writers'
opinion
that
the absence
of meter adds
to the
improvised,
surprising
effects
of
cadenzas
conforms to modern
theoretical views
about meter. Meter supplies low-level continuity to musical structure by
virtue
of
its
regular
grouping
of
beats,
allowing
the human
mind
to
or-
ganize
easily
the
incoming
rhythmic fragments
and
to
proceed
to
higher-level
perceptions.
When that
continuity
is
missing,
the
rhythmic
patterns
presented
to the
listener seem
disjointed,
unexpected,
and sur-
prising.
Turk is careful to
balance
his desire
for
spontaneity
and
surprise
with the
necessity
of
maintaining
some
relationship
with the
parent
movement. What is more
surprising,
in view of
the
cadenza's
reputation
as a performer's improvisation, is his recommendation to some players
to
prepare
the
cadenza ahead
in
order to insure this
relationship:
It
follows
from
the above that a cadenza that has
been learned
by
heart with some effort
perhaps,
or one that
has
been
written
down,
must
be
played,
rather
than
having
random
and
unexceptional
deas
thrown
out,
whatever he
player
happens
to think of first.
6
32
Perhaps
Turk's
recommendation
is a
response
to abuses
of the ca-
denza
practice already present
in his own time.
Evidently,
the
tendency
of
singers
and
players
to
get
carried
away
by
their skills
of
improvisation
goes
well back
into the
first
half of the
century.
Tosi's
complaint
about
cadenzas
in
operatic
arias is
quite
famous,'7
but the
use of aria cadenzas
reported by
Quantz
is even
more
preposterous:
The
object
of
the cadenza is
simply
to
surprise
the listener
unex-
pectedly
once more at the end
of the
piece,
and
to
leave
behind
a
spe-
cial
impression
in
his heart.
To conform to
this
object,
a
single
ca-
denza
would be
sufficient
in a
piece.
If, then,
a
singer
makes two
cadenzasin the first part of an aria,and yet another in the second
part,
t must
certainly
be considered
an
abuse;
for in this
fashion,
be-
cause
of the da
capo,
five cadenzas
appear
in one aria.'8
These
complaints
are
by
no
means limited
to
singers.
Players
of
concerto
cadenzas also earn the
ire
of
the
critics:
The abuse
of
cadenzas
s
apparent
not
only
if
they
are of little
value
in
themselves,
as
is
usually
the
case,
but
also
if in
instrumental
music
'l
Turk,
p.
313. "Ausdem
Vorigen folgt,
dasseine vielleichtmitnoch so vieler Muhe
auswendig
gelernte
oder vorher
aufgeschriebene
Kadenz
doch
so
ausgefuhrte
werden
muss,
als warenes bloss
zufallig
und
ohne
Auswahl
hingeworfene
Gedanken,
welche
dem
Spieler
eben erst einfielen."
17
Tosi,
as translated
into
English
by
J.
E. Galliard
as
Observations
n
the Florid
Song
(London,
1743),
pp.
128-29.
18
Quantz,
pp.
180-81.
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8/9/2019 Classical Cadenza
8/34
CLASSICAL
CADENZA
they
are introduced
in
pieces
in which
they
are
not at all
suitable;
for
example,
in
gay
and
quick
pieces
in
two-four, three-four,
three-eight,
twelve-eight,
and
six-eight
time.
They
are
permissible only
in
patheticand slow
pieces,
or in serious
quick
ones.19
I
would
say
nothing
new,
but
only
repeat
often heard
complaints,
if I
spoke
against
the
very
great
abuse of the embellished
cadenzas
(verzierten
Kadenzen).
For it is not
seldom
that a concerto seems to
be
played solely
for
the sake of the cadenzas. The
performer struggles
not
only
to
achieve
pointless length,
but
also
introduces all sorts of
ideas that have not the
slightest
relation
with the
preceding
composi-
tion,
so that
the
good
impression
which the
piece
has
perhaps
made
upon
the listener for
the
most
part
has
been
cadenza-ed
away
("wegkadenziert"-emphasis
Ttirk's).20
Polemic
was not
the
only
response
to these
abuses. The
eighteenth-
century
theorists
were not short
on
advice
on how
to correct them.
Some
advice
focuses on
length,
particularly
excessive
length,
and for
good
reason. Arnold
Schering,
in
a
1906
study
of the
eighteenth-century
cadenza,
writes that
most of the written
cadenzas
he
had been able
to collect
were
of
great
length,
comparable
to modern
ones,
thus
cor-
roborating
the
complaints
cited
above.2 Knodt
traces a
controversy
between
Agricola
and
Tosi
over
singer's
cadenzas,
whence
comes
Agri-
cola's rule that a
singer's
cadenza should
be
"no
longer
than a breath."22
Turk's advice
begins
with that rule
(without citation)
and then
goes
on
to
elaborate:
With
songs
or wind
instruments,
a
cadenza should last
only
as
long
as
the breath of
the
singer.
With
string
instruments,
perhaps
this rule
need
not be
followed too
strictly;
however,
monstrously
long
caden-
zas,
which
often last
many
minutes,
are
in
no
way
to
be
excused.23
'9
Quantz,
p.
180.
Tosi,
p.
137,
makes
a similar
remark.
20
Turk,
p.
309.
"Ich
wirde
nichts Neues
sagen,
sondern
schon oft
gefuhrte
klagen
wiederholen,
wenn
ich
mich wider
den sehr
grossen
Missbrauch er verzierten
Kaden-
zen
erklarte.Denn
nicht
selten scheint
es,
ein
Konzertwerde
bloss
der
Kadenzen
wegen
gespielt.
Der
Ausfuhrer
schweistdaher
nicht nur in
Absichtauf
die
zweckmassigeLange
aus,
sondern
bringt
noch
uberdies
allerlei Gedanken
darin
an,
die auf das
voherge-
gangene
Tonstuck
nicht die
geringste
Beziehung
haben,
so dass
dadurchder
gute
Ein-
druck,
welchen
das
Tonstiick
vielleichtauf
den Zuhorer
gemacht
hatte,
grosstentheils
wieder
wegkadenziert
wird."
21
"Die
Freie
Kadenz im
Instrumentalkonzert des
18.
Jahrhunderts,"
InternationalMu-
sicological
Society
Congress
Report
(1906),
p.
204.
22
Knodt,
p.
394.
23
Turk,
p.
311.
"In
Gesange
oder auf
Blasinstrumenten oil
eine Kadenz
eigentlich
nur so
lange
dauern,
als
der Athem
des
Sangers
zureicht.Auf
besaiteten
Instrumenten
mochtezwar
dieser
Grundsatznicht so
strenge
zu
befolgen
sein;
aberdessen
ungeachtet
sind doch
die
ungeheuer
langen
Kadenzen,
welche
nicht selten
mehrere Minuten
dauern,
keines
Weges
zu
entschuldigen."
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8/9/2019 Classical Cadenza
9/34
THE
JOURNAL
OF
MUSICOLOGY
A
second
guideline
is
that
the cadenza should
preserve
the
overall
sense
of
the
prevailing key
of the
concerto.
This idea is
put
into
very
practical language by C. P. E. Bach:
Moreover,
the
principal
key
must not be
left
too
quickly
at
the
begin-
ning,
nor
regained
too
late
at the
end.
At the start the
principal
key
must
prevail
for
some
time so that the
listener
will be
unmistakably
oriented. And
again
before the close
it
must be well
prolonged
as a
means
of
preparing
the listener
for
the
end
of
the fantasia and im-
pressing
the
tonality
upon
his
memory.24
A
third rule is
that
cadenzas
should
not modulate
into distant
keys.
This is obviously a corollary to the second; if the sense of the home tonic
is to be
maintained,
keys
which would weaken that
sense should
be
avoided,
especially
in
view of the
cadenza's
traditional
position
at the
end of the movement:
You
must not
roam
into
keys
that are too
remote,
or
touch
upon
keys
which have no
relationship
with the
principal
one.
A
short ca-
denza must
not
modulate out of its
key
at
all.
A
somewhat
longer
one
34
modulates most
naturally
to
the
subdominant,
and a still
longer
one to
the dominant
of
the dominant.25
Modulations
into
other
keys,
especially
very
distant
ones,
should
not occur for
example,
in
short
cadenzas,
or
they
must be
brought
about with
great
insight
and likewise
only
in
passing.
In
no
case
should one
modulate to a
key
that
the
composer
himself has not
mod-
ulated
to
in
the
composition.
This rule is
founded,
I
think,
in the laws
of
unity,
which must be
consciously
followed
in all works
of the fine
arts.26
Finally, these writers emphasize time and again that the cadenza
must match
the character of the
particular
concerto.
These comments
are
most often rather
vague generalities
about
being
faithful
to
the
spirit
of
the
work,
but
occasionally
technical
matters can
affect this
question.
Turk
warns
against making
too
many
difficult
passages
if
they
subvert
the
impression
(Eindruck)
of the
piece, citing
the use of
fancy passages
in
slow
movements as a
special
offense.27
24
Bach,
p.
431.
25
Quantz,
p.
184.
26
Turk, p. 311.
"Ausweichungen
in andere, besonders sehr entfernte, Tone finden
entweder
gar
nicht statt z.B. in
kiirzen
Kadenzen,
oder
sie
missen
mit vieler
Einsicht,
und
gleichsam
nur
im
Vorbergehen angebracht
werden.
Auf einen Fall
sollte
man
in
Tone
ausweichen,
worein
der
Komponist
in
dem Tonstucke selbst
nicht
ausgewichen
ist.
Diese
Regel
griindet
sich,
wie mich
dunkt,
auf die Gefess der
Einheit,
welche bekannter-
massen
in alien Werken der schonen Kunste
befolgt
werden milssen."
27
Turk, pp.
31o-11.
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8/9/2019 Classical Cadenza
10/34
CLASSICAL
CADENZA
The
guidelines
as
proposed by
the theorists above
attempt
to
return
the
performance
of
cadenzas to
their
original
purpose,
that
is,
to embel-
lish a final cadence in a concerto or aria. Although the reports of abuses
by
performers
may
be
exaggerated
and
certainly
cannot
indicate
the
frequency
of
such
abuse,
they
do tell
us
that late
eighteenth-century
per-
formers had
perhaps
lost
sight
of the
original
intention
behind the
ca-
denza. The cadenza
had attained
the status
of
a
performance
tradition,
or at least
a
requirement,
but not before
great expansions
of its
improvi-
satory
elements
had made its
original
function
impossible.
By
limiting
the use
of
foreign
keys,
the technical
display,
and above
all,
the
length
of
a
cadenza, Bach, Quantz,
and Turk
hoped
to restore this
function.
The
Cadenzas of
Mozart
Mozart
composed
at
least
sixty-four
cadenzas
and
Eingdnge
for his
concertos.
Why
he,
the master
improviser,
composed
them at all
is unclear. Gobels
speculates
that he wrote
them for friends
and
students
who could not
improvise
so
well,28
while Badura-Skoda
thinks
that
in
the
case of
the mature
cadenzas
Mozart did not
improvise
in
performance,
but used these
written
cadenzas
himself.29
Also
unclear
is the
chronology
of
the
cadenzas
and
their
parent
concertos;
evidently,
many
cadenzas
were
written at a later
time,
except
perhaps
the cadenza
to the Piano
Concerto
K.488,
which
is written
into
the
autograph
score
of
the work.
What is
clear,
however,
is that Mozart
had a definite
idea
of what a
cadenza should
be from
the
completion
of the
"Jeunehomme"
Piano
Concerto,
K.271 (1775)
to the
end
of
his
life.
The
similarity
of
form and
procedure among
all the mature cadenzas
is
striking.
He never
reached
the
final,
desperate
solution of
Beethoven,
however,
that there
should
be
one
ideal
cadenza
for
a concerto.
For both the Piano
Concertos
K.453
and
K.456
Mozart wrote a
pair
of
cadenzas
for the
opening
movements,
and these are not mere
reworkings,
but
entirely
different
cadenzas.
Even as his
own
conception
of
the cadenza's
form
and
function
crystal-
lized,
he did not
give
up
the
performer's
option
to
improvise.
The first observation we can make
about
Mozart's cadenzas
is that
they
follow the
guidelines
of our theorists
quite
strictly.
That
they always
retain the
spirit
of
the
parent
work
is
difficult
to
demonstrate,
of
course,
but
perhaps
in
Mozart's case that can
go
without
saying.
They
never
seem
too
long,
and
indeed,
by today's
standards
they
are
quite
short.
They
are full of thematic references but these are never
organized
into a
continuous
fantasy,
but rather
move from
one to
another
quite
28
Franzpeter
Gobels,
"Neue
Kadenzen zu alten
Konzerten,"
Musica
XXXV
(1981),
369.
29
P.
Badura-Skoda,
p.
215.
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11/34
THE
JOURNAL
OF
MUSICOLOGY
abruptly.
Both
Eduard Melkus and
Paul
Mies
use the word
"quotes"
(Zi-
tate)
to
describe this effect.30
Most
of
all,
Mozart
strictly
observes the
pro-
hibition against distant modulation. Indeed, as Paul Badura-Skoda
points
out,
he never modulates at
all,
but remains
firmly
rooted
in
the
tonic
key,
and
this
characteristic
is not
usually
written into modern
ca-
denzas
for
Mozart
concertos.31 The harmonic effect
of this is
by
no
means stable or
tranquil,
but one
of
significant
tension
on
the
low
level,
as described
by
Denis
Matthews:
They
appeared
to
be
suspended
between the six-four
chord and its
resolution:
they
may
have tacked
on other
keys
but
rarely
f ever
es-
tablished hem
in
the Beethoven
way.32
Indeed,
the most
concise
way
to describe a Mozart
cadenza would be
to
say
that it is
an
improvisation
on
a
prolonged
dominant
chord. This is
just
the sensation
that
Matthews describes: the listener
keeps
waiting
for
the resolution at the
orchestral
entrance,
which is
the
beginning
of the
final
phrase
of the
movement.
This
suggests
that
Mozart's cadenzas
con-
form
to the
original
purpose
of the
cadenza,
which
is
to
embellish a
final
36 cadence. If
the
orchestra
introduces
the
cadenza
with
a
I
6-4,
and
the
soloist
moves
from
that
to a
dominant trill which
is
resolved
by
the
orchestra with
I
in
root
position,
what is
that
but
an
extended ca-
dence
formula?
What does it
mean,
in
practical
or
technical
terms,
to
prolong
a
sin-
gle
chord for so
long
and retain
its function? Mozart
employs
several
techniques
to
accomplish
this.
The first is a liberal
use
of
1
6-4
harmony,
especially
at
the
beginning,
which
accords
with the advice
of C.
P.
E.
Bach that "the six-four chord should be
kept
as much
in mind
as
possible
at
the
beginning
of
elaborations."33
This
only
makes
sense. Theorists
have
long
conceived of the cadential
I
6-4
as a dominant
chord with
a
double
appoggiatura,
which
immediately
resolves
to
V.
While
the triads
may
change
in
Mozart's alternation
of
I
6-4
and
V,
the constant
pres-
ence of the fifth
degree
in
the bass
gives
a
higher-level
impression
of
V.
Using
the
I
6-4
at
the
beginning
creates a smooth
transition
from
the
through-composed
orchestral section
into the
improvisatory
cadenza.
Then,
as
Badura-Skoda
points
out,
the
I
6-4
disappears
in the
middle
of the
cadenza,
when its transitional
function is no
longer
necessary:
30
Mies,
p.
65.
Eduard
Melkus,
"Die
Kadenzen in
Mozart-Violinkonzerten,"
Musica
XXXVI
(1982),
26.
31
P.
Badura-Skoda,
p.
219-20.
32
Denis
Matthews,
"Adrian
Boult Lecture: Cadenzas
in Piano
Concertos,"
Recorded
Sound LXVIII
(1978),
724.
33
Bach,
p.
381.
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8/9/2019 Classical Cadenza
12/34
CLASSICAL
CADENZA
EXAMPLE
1.
First
cadenza to
Piano Concerto
K.
453,
/1-7
t~-r
I#^
rf 2Fr
^T Lv
i p n
It
is remarkable hat
in
Mozart's
adenzas,
quoted
themes
always
appear
n
the home
key,
and
then,
if the cadenza
begins
with a
theme,
mostly
over the
I
six-four chord. But when the theme
appears
first in
37
the
middle section of
the
cadenza,
t is
in its
original
arrangement.34
For
instance,
consider
a
cadenza for the Piano Concerto
in
G,
K.453
as seen
in
Example
i.
Here
Mozart
introduces the main
motive,
unac-
companied,
as
in
the
beginning
of
the
movement. When
the
left hand
enters,
the chord is
not
I,
but
I
6-4.
This alternates
with V7 until the
harmony
changes.
The effect is one of
instability
and tension.
A
second
strategy
is
that Mozart
never
leaves the home
key,
which of
course
would
instantly
banish
any
tension
associated with the dominant
chord, and yet he never has a strong cadence within that key, which
would have the
same result. The
harmony
can
imply
other
keys,
cer-
tainly,
but the
high-level
sense
of
the home
tonic
is
always
present.
The
cadenza
quoted
above continues
as shown
in
Example
2.
It
appears
that
the
key might
be
moving
to D
major
in
measures 8 to
1
,
but this turns
out
to be a
secondary
dominant.
Then,
after
a
long
run
which
lands on
a
low
F-sharp (implied
V
6-5),
Mozart
begins
a series
of
progressions
which
imply
G,
E
minor,
A
minor,
D
minor,
and C
minor. But a tradi-
tional chord
analysis
would
certainly
describe
this as a series
of second-
ary
dominants:
I,
VII
6/VI, VI,
V
6-5/VI, VI,
V
6-5/VI, VI,
V
2/II,
V
6-5/V,
V
2,
V
6-5/IV,
V
2/VIIb,
V
09,
IV
6-4,
V
6-5.
A
Schenkerian
analysis
of
the
passage,
as seen
in
Example
3,
reveals
the clear descend-
ing
scale that moves
chromatically
downward
from G and
lands on that
34
P.
Badura-Skoda,
p.
215.
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THE
JOURNAL
OF
MUSICOLOGY
EXAMPLE
2.
First
cadenza to Piano Concerto K.
453,
1/8-25
rC.
r
"
f
'f
'
i I
yiiF
rfr
--
7
..if
?
-
/r-- fe--,
t
f e
...,'l ~.f.,
_
,,. _.. .,..
^ 4 ^ j
. ~ F ~ ,
38
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8/9/2019 Classical Cadenza
14/34
CLASSICAL
CADENZA
EXAMPLE
3. First
cadenza
to Piano Concerto
K.
453,1/18-25,
Schenkerian
analysis
v^J-
'-'
'l
'
r
r-
*:
;
#;
'?
-'
very same low F-sharp which introduced the passage. Thus Mozart
presents
the listener with a brief
development
of
an
important
motive of
the
concerto
in
the
right
hand,
supported by
quick
harmonic
changes
which
allow
him
to avoid the tonic cadence and
maintain
the dominant
tension
throughout.
The
chromatic
changes
simply prolong
the
domi-
nant
chord,
so that
it
can last twelve measures
instead
of three
or
four.
Sometimes
the chromatic
harmony
supports
the
dominant
more di-
rectly
as a
series of
secondary
dominants
or diminished
chords
circum-
scribing
the
fifth
degree
of
the home tonic.
This is the
case
at the end
of
39
the very brief first cadenza to the first movement of K.456, as shown in
Example
4.
The
descending
minor
scale
leads
right
through
the domi-
nant
F
to
a
diminished seventh
on
E
natural,
which
acts
like
a
large
lead-
ing
tone
or
appoggiatura
to
the
dominant,
which arrives
presently
after
a flourish.
EXAMPLE
4. First cadenza to Piano Concerto K. 456,
1/14-18
rit,La b;
v
?I'T7LC?I
; h t
e)
-ir-
l l-
9w
-.
Pw
~
a,
i l
iI
j
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The effects of all of these harmonic
devices are
amplified
by
Mo-
zart's
careful
exploitation
of
the
piano register,
principally
the
bass.
This
is
reserved for the
principal
tones
of the
prevailing
dominant
harmony,
so
that
they
seem
like a
pedal
for the entire cadenza.
Note that
in
Exam-
ple
2
from
K.453
above,
the two
F-sharps
which
frame the chromatic
passage
are in
the
same
octave,
and
they
are the
lowest notes
in
the ca-
denza to that
point.
Because the listener accords
a
stronger
harmonic
function to low
notes,
the effect of the
dominant
harmony
is
more
credi-
ble
than
the
variety
of
implied keys
that
follow,
especially
when
the same
note returns
after
the
passage.35
While the bass
register
strengthens
the dominant
prolongation
in
Mozart's cadenzas,
the
high register
weakens
any
authentic cadences
that
have
to be made
for
purposes
of low-level
articulation,
or
because
they
are intrinsic
to the
original
material
(see
Example
5).
The
series
of
V-I
progressions
in
measures
22
to
27
is
included
because
Mozart
is
quoting
exactly
the
original
setting
of
the motive
(although
in the
con-
certo
it
immediately precedes
rather
than
follows
the half-note
idea).
But
even the
rather
firm
gesture
in measure
27
does
nothing
to
resolve
the
tension
of the
high-level
dominant
in
the
cadenza
because
it
is
so
40
high
in the
piano
register.
The
very
next
passage
resumes
the
dominant
with octaves on F, deep in the bass.
In
the
commentary
on Mozart's
cadenzas,
two
writers,
Matthews
and
Paul
Badura-Skoda,
have
noticed
a consistent
three-part
form:
In almostall
of Mozart's
reat
cadenzas
can
one
ascertain
a
definite
three
part
form:
a cadenza
beginning
(I)
which
starts
a)
either with
a
theme
from the
concerto
movement
or
b)
with
virtuoso
runs,
at times
already
known,
at times
newly
invented,
and
flows nto
a
middle
part
(II),
which almost
continually
develops
with
sequences
an
important
theme
or motive
from the concerto
movement,
mostly
over a
sus-
tained bassnote or chord.This leadsinto a numberof virtuosoruns,
passages
n
thirds, etc.,
until the
close
of the cadenza
(III),
which
usu-
ally
ends
with a
trill.36
The details
of
Badura-Skoda's
description
support
the
idea
of
the
cadenza
as a
prolonged
dominant.
The
rarity
of
the
principal
theme
at
the
beginning
of the
cadenza
is
due
to its close
association
with
tonic
sta-
bility.
After
all,
its
firstjob
is to establish
the
key
clearly
at
the
beginning
of
the concerto.
When
it is
used,
it
must be
transformed
or
harmonized
anew
to match
the
dominant
function
of the cadenza.
We have
already
35
The
importance
of
the bass
register
with
respect
to harmonic
function
is discussed
in
Fred
Lerdahl and
Ray
Jackendoff,
A Generative
Theoryof
Tonal
Music
(Cambridge,
Mass.,
1983),
pp.
88,
162-63.
36
P.
Badura-Skoda,
p.
216.
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8/9/2019 Classical Cadenza
16/34
CLASSICAL CADENZA
EXAMPLE
5. Second cadenza to Piano Concerto
K.
456,
1/23-31
I,bL-
r
j
i
-.
L
ir-,IJ
I
LJf L I
J
eLJ,~T
h<
.
=
30
~1,
-
H7
L-L:~~n
41
seen
an
example
of
this
in
the
first
cadenza
for
K.453,
where the theme
is
harmonized
with
the
I
6-4.
A
different
sort
of
case
is found
in
the
cadenza
for
the Piano Concerto
K.459,
as seen
in
Example
6. After
a
series of virtuoso
triplets
over
the
dominant
C,
Mozart transfers
the
trip-
let figure to the bass and introduces the main theme, a martial tune
which
originally
was harmonized
with
I
and
V on the first
two measures
of it.
Now,
in order to
blend
with the
preceding
harmony
and
to
sustain
the dominant
function,
Mozart uses a
slightly
different
version
of the
tune
which can be harmonized
V-I.
Mozart's
transformation
empha-
sizes the
V,
because it is heard first
in a
metrically stronger position
than
v
~~d
1 -4
-3
A
r
-O
-
r
O
"',_A-
o
C
-L
-0 g-t
E
bIr=Ir
6?_
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THE
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EXAMPLE 6.
Cadenza
for
Piano Concerto
K.
459,
I/7-12
42
I I "'
wI
LI1
I
,
F
Fr
^Ir
rI
: ~
. r ;
i
.
;'
f
f
r
f-r_-i-
I
I
W-6
I
I
I
6-.,
the I.
This
corresponds
with an
especially
beautiful
moment
from the
concerto
itself,
when the
piano
enters and uses
the
theme,
for the first
time, in a series of secondary dominant sequences (see Example 7).
Here
is an
instance
of the
composer relating
events
in
the
cadenza
to the con-
certo
movement
proper
in a more substantial
way,
an idea
that will be
applied expansively
by
Beethoven.
Badura-Skoda
also
points
out that
in
the second
part
of the
cadenza,
the
setting
of a concerto theme
is characterized
by "Fortspinnung"
ather
than the well-rounded
original
version.37
Again,
this
is
only logical
in
view of the cadenza's
dominant
function.
If
a
single
harmony,
a
single
tendency
is to be
prolonged,
the last
thing
that is wanted
is
any
kind of
strong
articulation,
such as would be created
by
a
closed,
well-rounded
theme.
Indeed,
the
three-part
form itself indicates
Mozart's
plan.
If the in-
tent is to sustain a
single
chord
on
the
high
level,
three sections is about
37
P.
Badura-Skoda,
p.
228.
A I
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8/9/2019 Classical Cadenza
18/34
CLASSICAL
CADENZA
EXAMPLE 7. Piano
Concerto
K.
459,1/111-114
fr
A
r r
f i
v ^ j
t
1t ; -r
^ff^
r
ef9
U
_____?~~O
r ~ T
^^r~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
the maximum
that can
be
accommodated
in
a cadenza.38The
only
alter-
native
is to
change
the
key
or
to
change
the fundamental
harmony,
ei-
ther of
which would
undermine
the original intent. The consistency of
the
three-part
structure
in
Mozart's mature cadenzas reveals the con-
straint
under which
he is
working.
This
constraint on
the
length
of the cadenza can be
easily
noticed in
a brief
survey
of
the
proportions
of some of
these cadenzas
compared
to
their
parent
movements,
as
seen
in
Table
1.
With two
exceptions-the
first
cadenza to
the slow
movement of
K.453,
and the first cadenza to
K.456-the
proportion
of the
cadenza to the
rest
of the
parent
move-
ment
is
quite
consistent.
This
consistency
indicates
both
the limits
of
the
dominant
function of
the
cadenza and the structural level to
which
the
cadenza would
belong.
If it
occupies
one
tenth of the
movement,
it
be-
38
This
assertion
is
based on recent
evidence
concerning
human musical
perception.
See
Joseph
P.
Swain,
"The
Need
for
Limits
in
Hierarchical
Theories of
Music,"
Music
Perception
V
(Fall,
1986), 121-47.
43
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THE
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TABLE 1
Work Measures n Measures n %Length of
Concerto
Cadenza
Cadenza
(incl.
cad.)
K.453,
372
37
10.1
374
39
10.4
K.453,
II
141
19
13.5
136
14
10.3
K.
456,
I 382
18
4.7
399
35 8.8
K.
456,
III
357
33
9.2
K. 459, I 433 34 7.9
K.
459,
III
559
53
9.5
comes an
important
structural
event,
as well
it should
be,
but
by
no
means a
dominating
one,
comparable
to
an
exposition
or
recapitulation.
Indeed,
Mozart
clearly
intends that the
cadenza
elaborate and
amplify
the
next-to-last
tonal
statement
of the
recapitulation,
one in which
the
soloist confirms the tonic
key
and
participates
thereby
in the
process
of
harmonic resolution. All
that
is left is for the orchestra
to
concur
with
the
very
last
cadential event.
The Cadenzas
of
Beethoven
Our
survey
of the
authentic
classical
cadenzas
en-
counters
serious difficulties
in
the contributions
of
Beethoven,
difficul-
ties which did
not
come
up
in the
discussion
of the
Mozart
corpus.
First
of all there is the bewildering variety of the Beethoven cadenzas. While
those of
Mozart seem both to confirm and refine
the
vision of his con-
temporary
theorists and
present
a
consistent,
functional,
and
musically
logical
solution to the cadenza
problem,
Beethoven's
cadenzas seem to
be a
series
of
experiments,
at
times
wildly
contradicting
most of the
aforementioned theoretical
guidelines,
and
at other
times
adhering
to
them
with
puritan
restraint. Some
are,
by eighteenth-century
stand-
ards,
of
gargantuan
length;
others are
fewer
than
twenty
measures
long.
Some seem to be
models of Mozart's
conception,
with
a
clear domi-
nant
function;
others
are
so
highly
chromatic that
at
points
no harmonic
tendency
is discernible. What
can
Beethoven's
idea
of
the form and
function
of
the
cadenza
possibly
be
in
the face
of
such
diversity?
Another
problem
is the matter
of
chronology.
It is not known with
any certainty
the order
of
composition
of the
cadenzas,
nor
the time of
composition
for
any
one of them.
The
Kinsky catalogue suggests
that
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CLASSICAL CADENZA
Beethoven had
composed
them
all
by
1809,
for various students
and ac-
quaintances,
but
there
is no
hard
evidence
for
this;
1809
is
chosen
be-
cause it is the year of completion for the last concerto, the "Emperor."
Willy
Hess
points
out that
the three cadenzas
composed
for
Op.
15
must
date
from
1804
at the
earliest,
since
they
make
use of notes above
f3,
a
range
not used
previously.39
This observation
would
not
apply
to the
cadenza
for
Op.
19,
which does not
go
beyond
the
f3.
What Hess makes
clear, however,
is
that
at least
in the
case
of
Op.
15,
and
perhaps likely
in
all the
piano
concertos
except
Op.
73,
the ca-
denzas were
composed
well
after the
composition
of the
parent
con-
certo.
With
Mozart,
whose
style changes during
the
period
of his
mature
piano concertos are quite subtle, this issue of a time lapse is not so seri-
ous.
With
Beethoven,
whose
change
in
style
between
Op.
19 (1794)
and
Op.
73
(1809)
is
far-reaching
and
continuous,
difficult
questions
arise
about the
composer's opinions
of his earlier
work,
compositional proc-
ess,
whether he could
really compose
in a
personal
style
from which he
had since
evolved,
and
whether he would even
want
to.
One
aspect
of this
chronological tangle
is sure.
When Beethoven
wrote his
"Emperor"
Concerto
in
1809,
he no
longer
wished
to allow the
soloist
the
option
of
playing
his
own
cadenza.
Instead,
at the
point
of the
45
I 6-4, Beethoven writes directly in the score: "Do not make a cadenza
here,
but
play immediately
the
following."40
There follows a brief ca-
denza of
nineteen measures
with
a
single
thematic reference
and clear
dominant
function.
Evidently,
Beethoven
had had
a
change
of
heart
about the cadenza and
its
role
in
a concerto movement.
A
story
told
by
Ferdinand Ries
about his
performance
of
Op.
37
in
July
1804,
with
Beethoven
conducting, might
reveal
some
interesting
aspects
of
Beethoven's
earlier
attitude toward the
concerto cadenza:
I
had
asked Beethoven to write
a
cadenzafor me,
but he
refused
and
told me to write
one
myself
and he would correct it. Beethoven was
satisfied
with
my
composition
and made
few
changes;
but there was
an
extremely
brilliantand
very
difficult
passage
in
it,
which,
though
he liked
it,
seemed to him
too
venturesome,
wherefore
he told me to
write another in
its
place.
A week before the concert he wanted to
hear the cadenza
again.
I
played
it and
floundered
in
the
passage;
he
again,
this
time
a
little
ill-naturedly,
old me to
change
it. I
did
so,
but
the new
passage
did not
satisfy
me;
I
therefore studied the
other,
and
zealously,
but was not
quite
sure
of it.
When the cadenza
was
reached
in
the
public
concert Beethoven
quietly
sat down.
I
could
not
per-
suademyselftochoose the easier one. WhenI boldlybeganthe more
39
Willy
Hess,
"Die
Originalkadenzen
u
Beethovens
Klavierkonzerten,"
chweizerische
Musikzeitung
CXII
(1972),
271.
40
"Nonsi fa una
Cadenza,
ma s' attacca ubito
l
seguente."
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difficult
one,
Beethoven
violently erked
his
chair;
but the
cadenza
went
through
all
right
and
Beethoven
was
so
delighted
that
he
shouted "Bravo"
oudly.41
Even
if
this
story
exaggerates
some
details,
it can tell
us
something
about cadenzas
in
Beethoven concertos.42
First,
they
were not
always
im-
provised,
even when the soloist
was an
excellent
pianist.
This would ac-
cord with the advice of
Turk
and the
opinion
of
some
scholars that
only
gifted
and
experienced composers
would have
improvised
cadenzas at
the
moment
of
performance.
Second,
the
suggestion
that,
if
a
cadenza
were
to be
composed,
Beethoven
would
not
only agree
to one
not writ-
ten by himself, but insist that it be composed by the soloist, is quite aston-
ishing
in view of
what
we
know
about the
composer's
meticulousness
with
regard
to
his
own works.
Evidently,
he
believed,
in
1804,
in
the
per-
former's
right
and
responsibility
to create
this
improvisatory
comment
on the
master's
piece.
Finally,
the
cadenza
in
this
story
was
of
considera-
ble
length.
Beethoven did not care to stand
through
it.
Evidently,
Beethoven,
unlike
Mozart,
did not have a
firm
concep-
tion
of what the
cadenza
should be
like,
and
his
changing
views
about
its
46
place
and
purpose
in the concerto
would
naturally
affect the structure
and function of each one he composed. So we must regard his collected
cadenzas
as a
series
of
experiments,
whose
course cannot
really
be evalu-
ated
until
their
chronology
is established.
However,
if
we
regard
Beethoven's
work in
the
concerto
genre
as
similarly
developmental,
the
wide
variety
in
the cadenzas
parallels
his
experimental
treatment of the
concerto
form
itself.
Indeed,
one characteristic
that
all
his
cadenzas
share
is that their structures
respond
to the
demands
and
special
fea-
tures
of the movements
for which
they
are
composed.
The cadenzas
fall into three
groups:
the
long
cadenzas
for first
movements, the short cadenzas for first movements, and the cadenzas
for third
movements.
The
Piano
Concerto
in
B-flat
Op.
19,
originally
composed
in
1794-
95,
has a
long
cadenza
that is like
no other
that
Beethoven
wrote.
It
be-
gins
like
a
fugue,
whose
subject
is a variant
of the
principal
triadic theme
of the
first movement. The
working
out
of the
fugue
is
characterized
by
that
unique
brand of chromaticism
that characterizes
Beethoven's later
works,
especially
his
large-scale
attempts
at
fugal writing.
The
purpose
41
From Ferdinand Ries and
Dr.
Franz
Wegeler,
Biographische
Notizen
uber
Ludwig
van
Beethoven.
This
translation
appears
in
Thayer's Life
ofBeethoven,
ed.
Elliot Forbes
(Prince-
ton,
N.J.,
1967),
p.
355.
42
The
general reliability
of
Ries
has
recently
been
confirmed. See
Alan
Tyson,
"Fer-
dinand
Ries
(1784-1838):
The
history
of his contribution
to
Beethoven
biography,"
gth-Century
Music
VII
(1984),
209-
21.
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8/9/2019 Classical Cadenza
22/34
CLASSICAL CADENZA
of
such chromaticism is to sustain the tonic
key
as
long
as
possible
on
the
high
level,
with
the chromatic
progressions
creating
low-level events to
organize the structure.
Indeed,
the use of this
chromatic device reveals
the
purpose
and
nature of this cadenza. It
is
no
Mozart-like
dominant
prolongation
but a
high-level
tonic
prolongation.
There
is no
predominance
of
I
6-4
har-
mony,
no
special
reservation of
the
bass
register
to sustain the
dominant
function.
Instead,
the
subject boldly
announces the tonic
triad,
and
the-
matic material is
introduced,
after a dominant
pedal,
in
B-flat
minor,
so
that the
prevailing
harmonic
sense
is one of tonic
stability,
not dominant
tension. There is
a brief
foray
into
E-flat,
then
more dominant
harmony
which resolves to a tonic pedal, which lasts eight measures. The cadenza
ends with a
firm
tonic cadence
reiterated
over two
measures,
then a
flourish on
a B-flat scale to lead back to the orchestra's entrance.
That none of the theorists'
guidelines
are observed
in
this cadenza
is
due
to
a
fundamental
change
of
purpose.
The cadenza is
not an
embel-
lished
cadence,
not
a
prolonged
dominant,
but
a
larger
event with tonic
stability.
None
of the
guidelines
need
be
observed,
even that one warn-
ing
against
changes
of
key,
because there is no dominant function
to be
sustained. The tonic
pedal
and
strong
cadence
within
the cadenza
at the 47
end are perhaps the most surprising of all, but it must be noted that this
seventy-nine-measure
cadenza is followed
by
only
six measures of or-
chestral
coda. Beethoven
evidently
felt
that,
in
view of the
proportions
involved,
the cadenza should
help
the
orchestra make the last cadential
gesture
of the
movement.
There
are
three
long
cadenzas for the first
movement
of the Piano
Concerto in C
Major, Op.
15
(completed
1795).
One has
sixty-two
mea-
sures but is
incomplete.
It
begins
by
establishing
the tonic
with
the main
motive but then
moves
away
with
diminished chords until E-flat
major
is
established with a large dominant preparation, complete with trills. The
second
lyrical
theme is
heard
in
this
key,
which
quickly dissipates
into C
minor
before the music cuts off.43
Another
cadenza
is
only
thirty-two
measures,
thus
within
propor-
tions
established
by
Mozart. This
may
be
indeed
one
of
the
closest
models of
Mozart's
conception;
it does
reserve the lowest
register
for
pitches
appropriate
to
dominant
harmony.
However,
the
key
of
E-flat
major
is also established in this
cadenza,
although
with much less em-
phasis,
to set
the fanfare theme.
This
quickly
moves to dominant har-
mony in C which sets up the final trill.
This
emphasis
on
the
key
of E-flat
in
both cadenzas is an
attempt
to
43
This cadenza has been
completed
by
Edward T. Cone.
See "A Cadenza
for
Op.
15"
in
Beethoven
Essays:
Studies
n Honor
of
Elliot
Forbes,
ed. Lewis Lockwood
and
Phyllis
Ben-
jamin (Cambridge,
Mass.,
1984).
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8/9/2019 Classical Cadenza
23/34
THE
JOURNAL
OF
MUSICOLOGY
relate
them to the
movement
proper
in
a
more substantial
way
than
by
thematic reference
alone. E-flat
major
is an
important
structural
key
of
the movement; it sets the first appearance of the lyrical melody in the
exposition
(m.
49)
and is the
only important
tonal
center
in the
develop-
ment
section
(mm.
266-84).
A third
cadenza to the
first movement
is
perhaps
the
most
problem-
atic
of all
Beethoven's
cadenzas,
and also seems
to be
the
one
preferred
by
pianists
who
play
this
concerto.
It is
by
far
the
longest
of all
Beethoven's
cadenzas,
126
measures,
a
length
which far
outstrips
the
development
section of
the movement
(c.
eighty
measures)
and
nearly
equals
the
132
measures
of
the
recapitulation.
Like
the
first
one,
it be-
gins with the main motive in the key of C, which is followed by long ar-
peggiated passages
of
harmonically ambiguous
material.