"The time gives it proofe": Paradox in the Late Music of Beethoven presents a fresh approach to the study of musical meaning in the complex works of Beethoven's last decade. Several compositions, including the String Quartets Opp. 132 and 130, are examined in terms of a multidisciplinary critical framework that draws on concepts of paradox derived from the fields of myth and literature. This analysis of musical paradox in the selected works of Beethoven provides an effective means of interpreting the many apparently contradictory aspects of this repertoire, and serves as a useful model for the future analyses of narrative design and expressive structure in nineteenth-century music.
"An imaginative, insightful exploration of Beethoven's modernistic concern with radical contrast as an artistic resource. Imeson sets her investigation into a broad interdisciplinary context before addressing the role of paradox in analyses of several important works. She is engaging, articulate, and persuasive." (William Kinderman, University of Victoria)