Beethoven’s “Tempest” Exposition

Abstract

Janet Schmalfeldt’s formal reading of Beethoven’s “Tempest” Sonata (first movement) invites further considerations regarding the retrospective reinterpretation of formal functions. This essay, stimulated by her analyses, investigates three aspects of the exposition section: (1) the problem of the main theme in relation to a possible introduction and the subsequent transition; (2) the functionally ambiguous status of the “standing on the dominant” in the new key; (3) the difficulty of determining a final cadence for the exposition and the resulting confusion between cadential and post-cadential functions.

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