Fresh perspectives on the symphonies and piano concertos of Ludwig van Beethoven are presented in the inaugural volume of North American Beethoven Studies, published by the University of Nebraska Press and the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies. Edited by music scholar and pianist William Kinderman, this volume compiles recent studies by leading scholars on Beethoven’s major orchestral works, including the first two piano concertos, the Egmont overture, the Missa Solemnis, and key symphonies such as the Third, Fifth, and Ninth. The contributors focus on Beethoven’s creative process, analyzing his surviving musical sketchbooks and loose sketch-leaves, often for the first time. Topics include Beethoven’s reinterpretation of Haydn and Mozart’s composition models, his working methods, the structural expansion of his symphonic forms, the design of variation movements, and his musical symbolism. Four introductory essays explore the relationship between Beethoven’s sketches and the analysis of his finished works, presenting a fascinating and controversial undertaking. This volume illuminates critical issues and challenges traditional interpretations of Beethoven’s celebrated works while avoiding the narrow specialization of recent scholarship. Future volumes will address performance practices, composition, and recording history.
