Formal Functions and Voice-Leading Structures in Beethoven's Early Sonata-Rondo Finales

William Caplin asserts in Classical Form that the sonata rondo "is perhaps the most complex of the classical forms" (1998, 235). Although the complexity of the sonata rondo is widely accepted, theories of tonal music have almost completely neglected the form. Even as new and increasingly sophisticated analytical tools have made possible the description of the many variants of sonata form, basic questions about the formal structure and voice leading of the sonata rondo remain unanswered. The present project seeks to fill this critical gap in our theoretical knowledge, establishing a deeper understanding of formal functions and middleground Schenkerian prototypes for sonata-rondo form through an analytical study of Ludwig van Beethoven's early sonata rondos.;Chapter One introduces recent approaches to sonata-rondo form and considers the role and structure of the rondo refrain in the early Beethoven finales. Chapter Two explores the relationship between sonata form and sonata-rondo expositions, describing the ways in which the subordinate theme/first episode (B1) is similar and different from a sonata-form subordinate theme. Chapter Three continues the discussion of formal closure by problematizing the concept of the coda in sonata-rondo form. In Chapter Four, I discuss interruption in sonata-rondo forms, suggesting that many Schenkerian scholars have followed Schenker himself in underestimating the voice-leading challenges posited by sonata-rondo form. Finally, Chapter Five presents four case studies, demonstrating the ways in which the form-functional and Schenkerian techniques developed in this study can explain unusual cases within this repertoire.