Ioannis
Fulias, “Sonata forms
and their theoretical evolution: 19th-century theorists (II)”, Polyphonia 12, Athens 2008, p. 8-37.
In
the fifth part of this extensive survey of
the theoretical evolution of sonata forms from 18th to 20th centuries an
attempt is initially made towards a clarification of Carl Czerny’s peculiar contribution
to this issue. Based to a large extent on Reicha’s theory, Czerny introduces interesting
aesthetic views on sonata form and highly original explanations of several
technical options for its construction during the transitional period from the
classic to romantic era. However, the larger part of this paper is rightfully
devoted to a critical review of Adolf Bernhard Marx’s most influential theory
of sonata (and “sonatina”) form, with special emphasis on its “dynamic”
elements and on matters concerning subsequent misapprehensions. Among the minor
mid-19th-century theorists is mainly Johann Christian Lobe who gives rise to further essential observations, while other
contemporary texts (by Hippolyte-Raymond Colet, Gabriel Gauthier, Peter Singer,
Ernst Friedrich Richter, Benedict Widmann, and Arrey von Dommer) touch almost
exclusively on matters of terminology. Finally, Ebenezer Prout’s description of
any (simple) sonata type serves as a representative exemplification of the
late-19th-century “school sonata form”.
© Ioannis
Fulias