Petra
Weber-Bockholdt: Die Vertilgung der Potentialität. Beethovens Arbeit am
ersten Satz der Cellosonate g-Moll op 5, Nr. 2
In the first movement of
Beethoven’s Cello Sonata in g, op. 5, no. 2, the tonality of E-flat plays
a decisive role, one that can be characterized as signifying the unexpected. A
meaningful interpretation of the sketches is conditional on the recognition of
the function of this key within the composition. The author maintains that the
study of Beethoven’s sketches in general can only be fruitful when viewed
from the perspective of the completed work, and underscores this by describing
a sketch’s essence as intentional and potential, as
compared to the work itself which is real: a completed work’s reality thus negates these inherent
qualities of a sketch.