Musical Borrowing
An Annotated Bibliography

Contributions by Tamara Balter

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[+] Bonds, Mark Evan. "The Sincerest Form of Flattery?: Mozart's 'Haydn' Quartets and the Question of Influence." Studi musicali 22 (1993): 365-409.

The influence of Haydn's quartets Opp. 20 and 33 on Mozart's "Haydn" quartets goes beyond imitation. When Mozart invokes a specific Haydn quartet he uses overt parallels to invite a comparison with Haydn, yet usually changes and transforms the model's form. An element ostensibly borrowed from Haydn is for Mozart a mere point of departure, the striking transformations of which reveal Mozart's rivalry with his model. Mozart's veiled intention, homage combined with confrontation, is also traceable in the rhetoric of his notorious letter of dedication to Haydn.

Works: Mozart: String Quartet in D Minor, K.421 (371-77), String Quartet in G Major, K. 387 (374-75), String Quartet in C Major, K.465 (380-92), String Quartet in A Major, K.464 (392-405).

Sources: Haydn: String Quartet in G Major, Op. 33, No. 5 (371-77), String Quartet in F Minor, Op. 20, No. 5 (374-75), String Quartet in C Major, Op. 33, No. 3 (380-92), String Quartet in C Major, Op. 20, No. 2 (392-405).

Index Classifications: 1700s

Contributed by: Tamara Balter

[+] Burstein, L. Poundie. "Surprising Returns: The VII# in Beethoven's Op. 18 No. 3, and Its Antecedents in Haydn." Music Analysis 17 (October 1998): 295-312.

Analysis of the first movement of Beethoven's String Quartet in D major Op. 18, No. 3 (1798-1800) reveals an intriguing use of a VII# chord at the end of the development and its interaction with, and impact on, other passages in this and in the third movement. Haydn also utilized VII# or a VII#-V progression at the end of developments in more than a dozen sonata-form and sonata-rondo-form movements, including his Piano Trio No. 16 in D major. Haydn's relatively prominent use of VII#, notably in movements in D major, anticipated and influenced Beethoven's Op. 18, No. 3. Both Haydn's and Beethoven's exploitation of that device serves dramatic purposes at similar locations in the piece and exploits related chromatic motives.

Works: Beethoven: String Quartet in D Major, Op. 18, No. 3 (295-301, 308-10).

Sources: Haydn: Symphony No. 66 in B flat Major (302), String Quartet in G Major, Op. 54, No. 1 (303), String Quartet in C Major, Op. 33, No. 1 (303), Piano Sonata in E flat Major, Hob. XVI:25 (303), Symphony No. 104 in D Major (303), Piano Trio in F Major, Hob. XV:6 (304), String Quartet in D Major, Op. 20, No. 4 (304), Symphony No. 93 in D Major, (305, 306), Piano Trio in E Minor, Hob. XV:12 (305, 307), Trio for Piano, Flute (or Violin) and Strings in D Major, Hob. XV:16 (307-9).

Index Classifications: 1700s

Contributed by: Tamara Balter

[+] Feder, Georg. "Similarities in the Works of Haydn." In Studies in Eighteenth-Century Music: A Tribute to Karl Geiringer on His Seventieth Birthday, ed. H. C. Robbins Landon with Roger E. Chapman, 186-97. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1970.

Deliberate reuse of earlier material is rare in Haydn. Similarities of later works to his earlier compositions do occur but they are apparently due to unconscious borrowing or to different realizations of the same musical idea. Some similarities are better explained as usage of the common archetypal musical vocabulary rather than as plain quotations. Self-borrowing in Haydn usually goes beyond mere repetition of the borrowed material, involving a transformation of the borrowed material or an elucidation of its expressive meaning.

Works: Haydn: Chorus "Su cantiamo" (186), L'Anima del Filosofo (186), Piano Sonata in G Major, Hob. XVI:39 (187), The Creation (187, 192-93), Piano Sonata Hob. XVI:10 (187), Baryton Trio in G Major, Hob. XI:125 (188), L'Isola Disabitata (188), Symphony No. 100 in G Major (188-90), Baryton Trio in G Major, Hob. XI:102 (189-90), Armida (189, 192-93), Baryton Trio in G Major Hob. XI:124, (190), Symphony No. 85 in B flat Major (191-92), Symphony No. 45 in F sharp Minor (192), Cello Concerto in C Major, Hob. VIIb:1 (193), Seven Last Words (194).

Sources: Haydn: Orlando Paladino (186), Piano Sonata in C sharp Minor, Hob. XVI:36 (187), Concerto for Lira, Hob. VIIh:2 (187), Piano Sonata Hob. XVII:D1 (187), Baryton Trio in G Major, Hob. XI:123 (188), Hymnus de Venerabili, No. 4 (188), Symphony No. 61 in G Major (188-90), Baryton Trio in D Major, Hob. XI:91 (189-90), Symphony No. 75 in D Major (189), String Quartet in D Minor, Hob. III:22 (190), Symphony No. 45 in F sharp Minor (191-92), Symphony No. 60 in C Major (192), Symphony No. 68 in B flat Major (192-93), Cantata Destatevi (193), Il Ritorno di Tobia (194).

Index Classifications: 1700s

Contributed by: Tamara Balter

[+] Godwin, Joscelyn. "Early Mendelssohn and Late Beethoven." Music and Letters 55 (July 1974): 272-85.

Mendelssohn was the first to incorporate ideas from Beethoven's late works into his own compositions. For example, his Piano Sonata in E major, Piano Fantasia in F sharp Minor, and String Quartet in A Minor (1826-1833) make use of Beethoven's last piano sonatas and string quartets. Yet these pieces of Mendelssohn involve a high degree of novelty. For instance, a recitative in the Piano Sonata in E Major, which resembles the third movement of Beethoven's Piano Sonata Op. 101, is used as a fugue subject. Mendelssohn's borrowing from Beethoven may also be construed as a unique reinterpretation of their less accessible models for the Biedermeier age.

Works: Mendelssohn: Piano Sonata in E Major, Op. 6 (272-77), Fantasie for Piano in F sharp Minor, Op. 28 (272, 277-78), Fantasia for Piano in E Major, Op. 15 (272, 279-80), String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 13 (280-84).

Sources: Beethoven: Piano Sonata in A Major, Op. 101 (272, 275), Piano Sonata in B flat Major, Op. 106 (276-77), Piano Sonata in E Major, Op. 109 (276, 278-79), Piano Sonata in E flat Major, Op. 81a (278), Piano Sonata in D Minor, Op. 31, No. 2 (278), String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 132 (280-84), String Quartet in B flat Major, Op. 130 (282-83).

Index Classifications: 1800s

Contributed by: Tamara Balter

[+] Jackson, Roland. "Aesthetic Considerations in Regard to Handel's Borrowings." In Alte Musik als ästhetische Gegenwart: Bach, Handel, Schütz; Bericht über den Internationalen Musikwissenschaftlichen Kongress, Stuttgart, 1985, vol. 2, ed. Dietrich Berke and Dorothee Hanemann, 1-11. Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1987.

Examining works of Handel in which he reused earlier pieces with new texts or media reveals that he did not wish to aesthetically improve upon the works from which he borrowed. He sought to adapt the old piece to the new words or instrumentation, not to upgrade it. Yet altering musical detail, such as elucidating or reinforcing harmony (in Agrippina) and enhancing interrelations between elements (in Ode for St. Cecilia's Day), did often result in aesthetic improvement.

Works: Handel: Alexander Balus, "Fair virtue shall charm me" (2), Rinaldo, "Lascia ch'io pianga" (3), Saul, "In sweetest harmony" (3), Agrippina, "E un foco" (4-5), Laudate pueri Dominum, 1707 (5), The Triumph of Time, "Sharp thorns despising" (6), Ode for St. Cecilia's Day (7-10).

Sources: Handel: Apollo e Dafne, "Deh, lascia addolcire" (2), Il Tronfo del Tempo, "Lascia la spina cogl la rosa" (3), Imeneo, "Pieno il core" (3), Arresta il passo, "E un foco" (4-5), Laudate pueri Dominum, ca. 1706 (5), Terpsicore, "Hai tanto" (6); Gottlieb Muffat: Componimenti Musicali per il Cembalo (7-10).

Index Classifications: 1700s

Contributed by: Tamara Balter

[+] Kamien, Roger. "The Slow Introduction of Mozart's Symphony No. 38 in D, K. 504 'Prague': A Possible Model for the Slow Introduction of Beethoven's Symphony No. 2 in D, Op. 36." Israel Studies in Musicology 5 (1990): 113-30.

The slow introduction of Beethoven's Second Symphony bears a striking resemblance to Mozart's introduction to his symphony K. 504. A number of features are similar, including the chord progressions, the length (of the entire introduction, the second section, and the concluding pedal point), the enharmonic reinterpretations of preceding chromatic tones, the use of mode mixture in the second section, melodic details, and the rhythmic acceleration that prepares the opening Allegro. Yet Beethoven also departs from his Mozart model, for instance in composing a more symmetrical, shorter opening section. Beethoven's sketches for the symphony further indicate the existence of a link to Mozart's introduction.

Works: Beethoven: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36.

Sources: Mozart: Symphony No. 38 in D Major, K. 504, Prague.

Index Classifications: 1800s

Contributed by: Tamara Balter

[+] Kinderman, William. "Bachian Affinities in Beethoven." Bach Perspectives 3 (1998): 81-108.

Beethoven was first influenced by Bach during his Bonn years, and that influence grew and became more profound in his late works. In several instances a specific piece by Bach is intimated as Beethoven's model, yet that influence rarely amounts to straightforward borrowing. For instance, the C minor episode in the finale of Beethoven's "Grande Sonate" in E flat Major, Op. 7 recalls Bach's Prelude in C minor from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I. This stylistic allusion, which involves a relentless ostinato that stresses turn figures, is incorporated by Beethoven as a dramatic element. The finale of Beethoven's Piano Sonata in F Major, Op. 54, refers to Bach's Fugue in E Minor from WTC I. Both sonatas evoke the toccata-like idiom of the Bach works, yet the model is transformed by Beethoven and assimilated into his dramatic framework. Beethoven's Diabelli Variations (notably Nos. 29 and 31) include textural and melodic resemblances to Bach's Goldberg Variations, and are best construed as an homage to Bach.

Works: Beethoven: "Grande Sonate" in E flat Major, Op. 7 (85-87), Cello Sonata in A Major, Op. 69 (88), Piano Sonata in A flat Major, Op. 110 (88, 97), Diabelli Variations, Op. 120 (101-3).

Sources: Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, Prelude in C Minor (85-87), "Es ist vollbracht" from St. John Passion (88), Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, Prelude in E flat Minor (97, 101), Goldberg Variations (101-3).

Index Classifications: 1700s, 1800s

Contributed by: Tamara Balter

[+] Kinderman, William. "Hans Sachs's 'Cobbler's Song,' Tristan, and the 'Bitter Cry of the Resigned Man.'" Journal of Musicological Research 13, nos. 3-4 (1993): 161-84.

Wagner's Die Meistersinger makes several allusions to Tristan und Isolde. These begin furtively in the second act, gradually come near the surface, and culminate in Act III, scene 4. The allusions include explicit quotations of the Tristan chord and a passage originally sung by King Marke, a relationship in key, orchestration and voice leading that is reminiscent of the love music in Tristan, and an adaptation of larger formal structure from the prelude to Tristan. Analysis of the above, as well as the "Cobbler's Song" from Act II, helps reveal the complexity and meaning of Hans Sachs's inner conflict and resignation.

Works: Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (161-83).

Sources: Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (161, 170, 172-83).

Index Classifications: 1800s

Contributed by: Tamara Balter

[+] Korsyn, Kevin. "Directional Tonality and Intertextuality: Brahms's Quintet Op. 88 and Chopin's Ballade Op. 38." In The Second Practice of Nineteenth-Century Tonality, ed. William Kinderman and Harald Krebs, 45-83. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1996.

Brahms used Chopin's Ballade, Op. 38 as a model for the second movement of his Quintet, Op. 88. Both pieces experiment with directional tonality (beginning and ending in different keys) and show structural correspondences, such as polarity between contrasted thematic segments that extend tonality, tempo, texture, and mood. In both works the second tonality is anticipated by local tonicizations of it in the initial sections; both pieces end with the opening theme, but in the second key. In addition, Brahms's Op. 88 reshapes his earlier Saraband and Gavotte in A Major (ca. 1855). Analyzing that multifaceted process of borrowing, using Harold Bloom's theory of poetic influence and Mikhail Bakhtin's concept of dialogism, shows that it resulted in a dialogic piece, which is tonally more radical than Chopin's Ballade.

Works: Brahms: String Quintet in F major, Op. 88 (48-55, 60-79).

Sources: Chopin: Ballade Op. 38 (47-55,59-68, 71-79); Brahms: Saraband in A, Gavotte in A Major (45-46, 68-70).

Index Classifications: 1800s

Contributed by: Tamara Balter

[+] Kramer, Lawrence. "The Ganymede Complex: Schubert's Songs and the Homoerotic Imagination." In Franz Schubert: Sexuality, Subjectivity, Song, 93-128. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Examining Schubert's lied Ganymed (1817), set to Goethe's poem of 1774, and comparing it to an earlier setting of the same poem by Johann Reichardt (1794) reveals that the latter was Schubert's model. Both settings use directional tonality, ending in a key a third lower than their initial key; both have their crucial division on the same words ("wohin? / hinauf!"); and both have comparable cadential melismas on the last two words. Yet Schubert, surmounting the limitations of his model, realizes the erotic atmosphere of the text by accelerating the tempo and by using lyrical, increasingly flourishing, melismas.

Works: Schubert: Ganymed (118-28).

Sources: Johann Reichardt: Ganymed (127-28).

Index Classifications: 1800s

Contributed by: Tamara Balter

[+] Nettheim, Nigel. "How the Young Schubert Borrowed from Beethoven." The Musical Times 132 (July 1991): 330-31.

Identification of two borrowings from Beethoven in Schubert's Fantasy for Piano four hands, D. 28 (1813) helps explain Schubert's learning process, as well as the later naming of his work. In the middle Allegro Schubert borrowed elements from Beethoven's Piano Sonata in C Minor, Op. 13 (Pathétique). Schubert's friend, Albert Stadler, later affixed to the Fantasie the peculiar title Grande Sonate, which is similar to the one attached to the Pathétique, to draw attention to that borrowing. In the last twenty bars of the Allegro Schubert borrowed elements from Beethoven's Appassionata Sonata, Op. 57, and even ended his movement, which begins in B flat major, in F minor, the key of Op. 57.

Works: Schubert: Fantasie for Piano four hands, D. 28, Grande Sonate (330-31).

Sources: Beethoven: Piano Sonata in C Minor, Op. 13, Pathétique (330), Piano Sonata in F Minor, Op. 57, Appassionata (330-31), Piano Sonata in C Major, Op. 3, No. 2 (331).

Index Classifications: 1800s

Contributed by: Tamara Balter

[+] Nettheim, Nigel. "The Derivation of Chopin's Fourth Ballade from Bach and Beethoven." The Music Review 54 (May 1993): 95-111.

Chopin's fourth ballade, Op. 52 (1842) borrows elements from several preludes and fugues in J. S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, as well as from Beethoven's Appassionata Sonata. The ballade's harmonic plan is closely linked to these borrowings: the borrowed Bach pieces, which are all in B flat major or minor, make B flat minor prominent in the ballade, most notably in its main theme. The F minor ending of the ballade is best explained as a borrowing from the Appassionata sonata, which is in the same key. Also borrowed from Bach are a five-voice stretto and some thematic material (for instance, a quotation from one fugue is used as a counterpoint to material taken from another fugue). By emulating Bach, Chopin pays homage to him. From Beethoven's Appassionata Chopin borrowed thematic materials, its passionate mood, and form. Chopin also borrowed from the Appassionata in his Prelude in D Minor, Op. 28, No. 24, yet there the borrowing is limited to mood and thematic material and is better construed as competitive with Beethoven. Understanding these borrowings is essential for tracing Chopin's compositional process and explaining the anomalies in the fourth ballade.

Works: Chopin: Ballade No. 4, Op. 52, Prelude Op. 28, No. 24 (104-5).

Sources: Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, Prelude in B flat Minor, (96-98, 101-3), and Book II, Fugue in B flat Major (97, 109); Beethoven: Piano Sonata in F Minor, Op. 57, Appassionata (104-7); Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, Prelude in B flat Major (108-10).

Index Classifications: 1800s

Contributed by: Tamara Balter

[+] Oster, Ernst. "The Fantaisie-Impromptu: A Tribute to Beethoven." In Aspects of Schenkerian Theory, ed. David Beach, 189-207. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983.

A Schenkerian analysis of Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu, Op. 66 (1834) and Beethoven's Piano Sonata Op. 27, No. 2, both in C sharp minor, reveals remarkable similarities between the two. These parallels imply that Chopin's Op. 66 was deeply influenced by Beethoven's Op. 27, No. 2, notably by the coda that ends its finale. These works share: key (the outer movements or sections in C sharp minor, the middle ones in D flat major), main motive, inversion of the motive at the end of a movement or section, literal quotation, and more. These similarities, and data documenting Chopin's fondness of Beethoven's sonata, explain Chopin's refusal to publish his piece. Chopin's study of Beethoven, epitomized in his Op. 66, is a unique case where a genius demonstrates his thorough understanding of another genius.

Works: Chopin: Fantaisie-Impromptu in C sharp Minor, Op. 66.

Sources: Beethoven: Piano Sonata in C sharp Minor, Op. 27, No. 2.

Index Classifications: 1800s

Contributed by: Tamara Balter

[+] Petty, Wayne C. "Chopin and the Ghost of Beethoven," 19th-Century Music 22 (Spring 1999): 281-99.

Beethoven's influence on Chopin has been scarcely noted, partly due to the paucity of available data on Chopin's acquaintance with Beethoven. Yet Beethoven's presence is patent in Chopin's Piano Sonata in B flat Minor, Op. 35 (1839), where he bids Beethoven farewell; it is a rite of separation in which Chopin finds his own voice. The opening of the first movement refers to the opening of Beethoven's Piano Sonata in C Minor, Op. 111, but an interrupted cadence signals a sharp departure from it. That cadence has its closure in the funeral march that alludes to the funeral march of Beethoven's Piano Sonata in A flat Major, Op. 26, and signals the end of Beethoven's presence in the sonata. From that moment on, in the contrasting, nocturnal, trio section, Chopin affirms his own voice. Whereas the first three movements project a human struggle to achieve individuality, the inventive finale takes an ironic stance to that idea.

Works: Chopin: Piano Sonata in B flat Minor, Op. 35 (283-99).

Sources: Beethoven: Piano Sonata in A flat Major, Op. 26 (285, 288-89, 294, 298), Piano Sonata in C Minor, Op. 111 (289-90, 298).

Index Classifications: 1800s

Contributed by: Tamara Balter

[+] Tyson, Alan. "Two Mozart Puzzles: Can Anyone Solve Them?" The Musical Times 129 (March 1988): 126-27.

Instances of borrowing in two works by Mozart raise the question whether he failed to acknowledge the sources from which he borrowed. The melody in the second minuet in Mozart's Divertimento in D Major, K. 251 is similar to the Provençal melody of a minuet for piano by Angela Diller and Elizabeth Quaile (published in 1919 by G. Schirmer, New York: Second Solo Book for the Piano). Did Mozart borrow from a Provençal source also tapped by Diller and Quaile? Tracing the source and establishing its date of origin can resolve that question. Another case: the ending of the quintet in the first act of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte (No. 5) is reminiscent of a song by Johann Baptist Henneberg. The latter was published in a book of songs called Frühlingslieder (1791) that also contains three songs by Mozart. Did Mozart borrow that melody from Henneberg (say, to please Schikaneder's Kapellmeister) or did both composers use a popular Viennese tune?

Works: Mozart: Divertimento in D Major, K. 251 (126-27), Die Zauberflöte (127).

Index Classifications: 1700s

Contributed by: Tamara Balter



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