As a way of transition into the concerto for violin and orchestra, there’s a theory I’ve heard Max Levinson (faculty at the New England Conservatory), that Beethoven’s work, indeed, can be divided in three, but not three eras, but three manners : three approaches to composition, cycles of renewal for inspiration :
- First, Beethoven exposes innovations in a local level, hides such things as rhythmic ambiguity, a-functional harmony on the micro-level of the work – this is mainly in works with piano, whether sonatas, variations, or sometimes trios (op.1)
- In a second stage, there is the ‘orchestral’ development of these innovations, their ‘celebration’ through extended development, their positive, human qualities brought to the foreground.
- And the latter stage is found in string writing. There, the power of introspection and Beethoven’s own but partial enstrangement with their writing allows him to explore once more the depth and implications of the innovations that were but a spark in the first place.
This is probably the reason why Beethoven often would work on several projects, while for example trying to finish with a set of string quartets as was the case in 1800 (with the op.18), 1806 (op.59) with the summation of 1810 with the Harp and the Serioso quartets (after the glorious hours of 1806-1810, where the spark of the Razumovsky quartets ignited a series of masterpieces). The same pattern follows the Ninth symphony and the last piano sonatas with the op.127, 132, 130, 131 quartets.
So the Kreutzer sonata fits within the first – locally innovative – moment of creation, with unexpected harmonies and voice-leading, while sharing characteristics of the second one too, given the stately, very affirmative state of the piece. The Concerto, on the other hand, has elements of the second and the third categories, as we will see.