In this article Mark Gotham tries to clarify which musical motive - kind of protypical theme – Beethoven wanted to base his 10th symphony on.
When musicians talk of a musical ‘motive’ they refer to a kind of protypical theme, simpler than any specific manifestation, which lies behind the ‘real’ music. The idea is common in the analysis of existing music, but it can be instructive in parsing the initial ideas for a work ‘to come’, particularly for composers like Beethoven who would frequently sketch out musical ideas initially in this way.
Here you can read the complete article (pdf, 155.8 KB).
