ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes a conceptual framework for hearing and analyzing the development sections of A-major compositions written in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It presents the developmental landscapes through a lens that brings into focus two specific aspects of tonal design: the key areas that are realized and the types and degrees of sharpwise and flatwise motions between them. Analysis of sonata form movements by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms, and Schubert suggest ways in which composers employ bait-and-switch tactics; delay arrivals on keys; refuse to commit to a key altogether; and juxtapose stationary, sharpwise, and flatwise strategies. Stationary developments share several common traits. The composers announce their stationary intentions immediately invariably during the initial two to four measures of the development. An overview of A-major compositions reveals many variations on stationary developments, ranging from simple examples such as the Schubert to more complex offerings like the Haydn.
