The expanded type-1 sonata form in 19th-century music

This research falls into the field of ‘music theory and analysis’. It explores the expanded type-1 sonata form in the 19th-century music under sonata-theory, form-function, and voice-leading perspectives.

The expanded type 1 has been drawn recent literature’s attention because of its unique characteristics. It is a two-part sonata form (two rotations) which lacks a development section. However, the second rotation (recapitulation) presents an expansion (added section) which provides more tension in all aspects (structural, formal, proportional) and makes this type one of the most dramatic sonata types. In addition, the expansion allows for dialogue with other sonata types, such as type 3, yielding hybrid sonata formats.

The thesis attempts to define expansion’s formal and structural characteristics and interpret their possible implications on the movement’s overall formal organization. The key questions are: How does expansion interact with the surrounding units? How the exact location of the expansion affects the P–TR zone (the first half of the recapitulation) and the overall form? In what ways the layers of music (rotation, form function, thematic, voice-leading structure etc.) interrelate in hybrid sonata forms? Additionally, how does Brahms’ conflation of two-part and three-part designs contribute to our understanding of these forms?

The discussed repertory includes chamber and symphonic opening and slow movements of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Dvořák, and Brahms.

The thesis aims to deepen our understanding of the expansion’s profile, clarify its implications in hybrid cases, and contribute to the ongoing discourse on redefining 19th-century musical form.

Regas Regakis is a doctoral student in the Research Study Programme at the DocMus Doctoral School of classical music

Keywords: 19th-century sonata form, expanded type 1 sonata form, Formenlehre, displaced development.