1st Edition

Beethoven and Greco-Roman Antiquity

By Jos van der Zanden Copyright 2022
288 Pages 33 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

288 Pages 33 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

288 Pages 33 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

Ludwig van Beethoven had a life beyond music. He considered it his duty to spend leisure-time improving his Bildung (sophistication). To this end he familiarised himself with tangible manifestations of Greco-Roman antiquity, for he perceived these cultures and their representatives as examples of intellectual, moral, and artistic perfection. He consumed such writers as Homer, Plutarch, Horace,... Read more

Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1 Aims and Objectives

1.2 The Quest for Bildung

1.3 Scholarly Writing

1.4 Method and Structure

Chapter 2 Influences I: Bonn

2.1 Bonn Politics

2.2 The French Revolution and Ancient Rome

2.3 Brutus and Republicanism

2.4 The Czerny Enigma

2.5 Nepos

2.6 Cicero and Feder

2.7 German Grossmannsucht

2.8 The Creed of the Illuminati: ‘Read the Ancients’

2.9 Summary

Chapter 3 Influences II: Vienna

3.1 Winckelmann and German Classicism

3.2 Goethe and Schiller

3.3 Ancient Texts Available in German

3.4 Educational Material

3.5 Antiquity in Opera

3.6 Painting and Sculpture

3.7 Summary

Chapter 4 Greek Literature I: Homer

4.1 The Translations by Johann Heinrich Voss

4.2 References in Primary Sources

4.3 The Canon in Egerton 2795

4.4 Nephew Karl’s Studies

4.5 Beethoven’s Copy of the Odyssey

4.6 Passages that Caught Beethoven’s Eye

4.7 The Role of Schindler

4.8 Summary

4.9 Appendix: Markings in Homer’s Odyssey

Chapter 5 Greek Literature II: Xenophon, Euripides, and Greek Poetry

5.1 Xenophon and Platonism

5.2 Euripides

5.3 The Greek Anthology

5.4 Summary

Chapter 6 Literature from Imperial Rome: Plutarch, Horace, and Tacitus

6.1 The Schirach Edition

6.2 References in the Sources

6.3 Plutarch’s Characters

6.4 Some Effects on Beethoven

6.5 Horace

6.6 Tacitus

6.7 Summary

Chapter 7 The Role of Hellenistic Philosophy

7.1 Platonism and Stoicism

7.2 Beethoven’s Reading

7.3 Passions

7.4 Moral Issues

7.5 Summary

Chapter 8 Antiquity in Beethoven’s Music

8.1 A Survey of the Works

8.2 Bacchus

8.3 Unresolved Dissonances

8.4 Other Opera Plans

8.5 Socrates

8.6 The Problem of Der Sieg des Kreuzes

Chapter 9 Closing Observations

9.1 Overview and Analysis of the Findings

9.2 Implications of the Source Findings

9.3 Possible Ramifications for the Music

9.4 Conclusions and Recommendations

Biography

Jos van der Zanden for many years was a producer and director of broadcasting for Dutch Public Radio (the classical music radio station) and throughout this time published many articles on Beethoven, as well as books (also on Schubert and Mozart). In 2020, he completed his PhD at the University of Manchester.