Beethoven’s Overture to Coriolanus, Op.

62:Tragedy in Sonata form and Programmatic Music

Kristyn Son

4/30/2013

MUTH 5360
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 Beethoven’s Coriolanus Overture, Op. 62, is an eight minute long piece that depicts the

tragedy of a fallen hero, Coriolanus, based on Shakespeare’s tragedy, Coriolanus and/or

Heinrich von Collin’s play, Coriolan.The CoriolanusOvertureis an important piece of work, as

Michael Broyles writes that it“represents a new type, in which Beethoven, instead of setting a

scene to music, presents the overall essence of the drama.”1Beethoven’s new compositional

technique of using anallusion of tragedy of Shakespeare in its entirety is reinforced strongly in

this overture. Subjectivity does not play the role as an obstacle when linking the drama

programmatically to the music, only possible with Beethoven’s profound ability in representing

the drama with clear designation. Clear designation is largely contributed by the setting of the

mood in this piece. Donald Francis Tovey, a musicologist who is famous for his structural

analysis, chose not to formally analyze Coriolanus Overture for its dramatic aspects highly due

to the abridged beginning of the recapitulation with its missing first theme.2Beethoven does

applythe sonata form profoundly to represent the tragedy of the plot thus, rendering the

narratives based on non-musical ideas, highly reflecting on heroism; therefore, Beethoven’s

Coriolanus Overture must be categorized as programmatic music that employs the sonata form

from the Romantic Era.

The introduction of the piece is suggests ambiguity with its tonality: either in c or f minor.

Ambiguity is also created in the sense of rhythm and time in the opening. The tied whole notes,

quarter note, and then rests grouped in a hypermeter of 4 measures repeated three times with

fortissimo create uncertainty of the meter and tempo to the listeners. These 4-measure

1
Michael Broyles. Beethoven: The Emergence and Evolution of Beethoven’s Heroic Style. (New York: Excelsior
Music Publishing Co., 1987).
2
Donald Francis Tovey. Essay in Musical Analysis: Illustrative music(London: Oxford University Press, 1937).

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hypermeters the soprano voice ascends from C to D to E and bass ascends from F to F# to G,

depicting on the rise of the success and eminence of the hero which is an essential element

before the destruction.

Coriolanus’ fate begins to unfold in the following measures. In the first theme, mm. 15-

50, is broken into three fragments, each separated by a measure of rest. This sense of

fragmentation with discontinuity and juxtaposition induces a strong desire for continuation3,

perhaps forecasting the tragedy of the hero despite his hopes for continuation, Coriolanus. The

fall of the heroine is also depicted with a prolonged descending bass line seen in figure 1.

Metrical irregularity and ambiguity continues from mm.29 to the end of the opening theme. The

transition to the second theme, in mm. 40-50 is important for two reasons. Firstly, the alternating

F and F# in mm. 46-49 in the flute and violin becomes an essential motive throughout the

development. Secondly, the descending line in the winds and violins represents the downfall of

the hero.

Figure 1.

3
David Lewin. Musical Form and Transformation: Four Analytic Essays(London: Oxford University Press Inc.,
2007).

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 The second theme, which begins in Eb Major in mm. 50, the relative major of C minor,

with a very lyrical line contrasting to the first theme, is interpreted as the Coriolanus’ mother and

wife pleading to not attack Rome by Wagner. Tovey further identifies this section with gender:

feminine4. According to James Hepokoski in his article Masculine-Feminine, Wagnerproclaims

that “almost all the master’s symphonic works’ can be conceived expressively as ‘representations

of scenes between man and woman.’”5Tonic in Eb Major is prolonged until the measure 61.

There is a two-measure bridge that leads to f minor which lasts until the measure 69, V/V of Eb

Major. There is another two-measure bridge that connects to V/V of f minor in measure 72, G

minor. This creates a prolonged ascending line indicating rising hopes of Coriolanus’ mother and

wife as he is about the accept their plea. In mm. 78, the transition to the closing section begins

until mm. 101 and the tonality is back to the dominant of C minor.

The forecast of the downfall of Coriolanus becomes evident in the development section

especially in mm. 106-109. With descending parallel 6/3 chords, the bassoon carries a

descending line. The emphasis of the descending line happens again in mm. 136-139 with the

bassoon doubled with the celli. There is a 5-6 exchange in the celli with DbBbGbE

progression. Throughout the development section, Beethoven plays with the motive with major

and minor seconds.

The Coriolanus Overture adopts the sonata form;however, Beethoven does not

completely abide by the rules. The recapitulation which begins in mm. 152in f minor has

curtailed introduction and is interjected by the bridge to the second theme paralleling with mm.

40-45. The deformed recapitulation of the masculine theme may represent

4
James Hepokoski. “Masculine-Feminine: Are Current Readings of Sonata Form in Terms of a ‘Masculine’ and
‘Feminine’ Dichotomy Exaggerated? James Hepokoski Argues for a More Subtle Approach to the Politics of
Musical Form.” The Musical Times Vol. 135, No. 1818 (Aug., 1994): 494-499.
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Hepokoski, 496.

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Coriolanus’compliance with his mother and wife, depicted by the second theme. The decision

which is an important element in Shakespeare’s tragedies will bring misfortune to the heroine

and he will eventually fall at the end also represented by the downward step motion in mm. 168-

176. The second theme returns to C Major.

The coda plays an important role when interpreting the overture in programmatic sense.

William E. Caplin, the author of Classical Form coined the coda with the term “shaping a new

dynamic curve” with dissolutions.6 Contrasting to the introduction of the piece, the sharing

material has a new dynamic level at piano. The coda starts in I of C minor and ends with very

soft pizzicato in the strings to represent the whisper of death of Coriolanus. There are

disagreements among musicologists whether Beethoven adopted the Shakespeare’s tragedy or

Colin’s play.Nevertheless, murdered or committed suicide respectively, in both plots, Coriolanus

faces an unfortunate ending to his life regardless of how much he desires for the longevity of his

life.

Beethoven’s Coriolanus Overture, Op. 62 has an unconventional recapitulation in a

sonata form; however, programmatically, there is a profound reason that supports the deformity

of the recapitulation. He eloquently foreshadows the hero’s misfortune from the very beginning.

The struggle between masculine and feminine is ended when the heroine accepts the plea to

retreat his army. Upon his acceptance of the feminine side, Coriolanus as the heroine’s fate is

defeated to the decision; therefore, the masculine theme is interjected and the feminine theme,

the second theme, is present in its entirety.

6
James Hepokoski and Warrant Darcy, Elements of Sonata Theory: Norms, Types, and Deformations in the Late-
Eighteenth-Century Sonata (New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 2006).

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 Bibliography

Broyles, Michael. Beethoven: The Emergence and Evolution of Beethoven’s Heroic Style. New
York: Excelsior Music Publishing Co., 1987.
Grey, Thomas S., Wagner’s Musical Prose: Texts and Contexts. New York: Cambridge
University Press, 1995.
Hepokoski, James. “Masculine-Feminine: Are Current Readings of Sonata Form in Terms of a
‘Masculine’ and ‘Feminine’ Dichotomy Exaggerated? James Hepokoski Argues for a
More Subtle Approach to the Politics of Musical Form.”The Musical Times Vol. 135, No.
1818 (Aug., 1994): 494-499.

Hepokoski, James, and Warren Darcy, Elements of Sonata Theory: Norms, Types, and
Deformations in the Late-Eighteenth-Century Sonata. New York: Oxford University
Press, Inc., 2006
Lewin, David. Musical Form and Transformation: Four Analytic Essays. London: Oxford
University Press Inc., 2007.
Tovey, Donald Francis. Essays in Musical Analysis: Illustrative Music. London: Oxford
University Press, 1937.
Wagner, Richard. Selected Letters of Richard Wagner.Trans. and ed. Stewart Spencer and Barry
Millington. New York: W. W. Norton, 1988.