Yet another Beethoven centered beam
Posted: 13 Mar 2024, 20:30
This example from the first movement of the "Appassionata" shows the same characteristics as in the previous threads on this subject. He must keep the prevailing stem direction and a beam break would imply too great a break:
There seems to have been general recognition that this centered beam is phrasing, and later editions, such as the Breitkopf Complete Works break the beam. This creates a misleading impression: Interestingly Beethoven doesn't use a centered beam when the passage recurs an octave lower, because a centered beam here would destroy the proper stem direction and the change of staff is sufficient to show the phrasing:
The engraver of the first edition seems to understand this and goes to great lengths to include the centered beam:There seems to have been general recognition that this centered beam is phrasing, and later editions, such as the Breitkopf Complete Works break the beam. This creates a misleading impression: Interestingly Beethoven doesn't use a centered beam when the passage recurs an octave lower, because a centered beam here would destroy the proper stem direction and the change of staff is sufficient to show the phrasing: