Time, sign, tension: a semiotic perspective on Beethoven's rhythmic construction in „Piano Sonata in E minor, op. 90”

Abstract

At the heart of the performing approach is the issue of rhythm as a vector of formal coherence, semantic tension, and expressiveness in Beethoven's piano sonatas. Classical phraseological structures arise from a rhetoric of continuity and becoming, where musical time is a dialectical process between metrical stability and transformative impulse. Through techniques like motivic shortening, progressive acceleration, sonic expansion, and metric reconfiguration, Beethoven redefines the relationship between expressiveness and sound structure, creating a language in which rhythm becomes the generative principle of form. From a semiotic and aesthetic perspective, Beethoven's beats goes beyond the technical dimension, becoming a signifier of will, inner tension, and temporal drama. An analysis of the Sonata in E minor, Op. 90, shows the fragile balance between the tragic force of the first movement and the contemplative lyricism of the second movement, expressing an inner temporality between discourse and revelation. In this conception, rhythm is not only a structural phenomenon but also a metaphysical principle of expressive unity in Beethoven's sonatas.