Inaug.-diss.--Strassburg. / Lebenslauf. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2000. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 110-113). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Zugl.: Diss.

Zugl.: Bremen, Univ., Diss., 2009

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität St. Gallen, 2000.

August Halm (1869-1929) was a composer and theorist whose writings on music, especially his Harmonielehre (1900) and Von zwei Kulturen der Musik (1913), were widely known and highly respected in the early 20th century, particularly in Germany. In Von zwei Kulturen der Musik, Halm describes two historical cultures of music, opposes them dialectically, and identifies their synthesis. His first culture--melody--is exemplified by Bach’s fugues. The second culture--harmony--is exemplified by Beethoven’s works in sonata form. Halm believed a third culture that united the previous two had arisen in Bruckner's symphonies, the subject of his next book, Die Symphonie Anton Bruckners (1914). In Von zwei Kulturen, Halm demonstrates the way that these two cultures are different manifestations of dynamic forces in music. To Halm, a well-written fugal subject contains the seed from which the entire piece is generated. A fugue will only be as good as its subject, for its listener must be able to immediately apprehend the dynamic course of the piece. In contrast, the sonata form is the form of opposition that gains its energy from the working out of its two primary key areas. His idea of the organic nature of form is clear in his description of the fugue as the "formula of individuality" and the sonata as the "formula of the collective activity of many individuals,” that is, an “organism in the large.” Halm’s Von zwei Kulturen also provides us with valuable commentary on analytical practices of the time, as Halm criticizes the hermeneutic approaches taken by theorists such as Hermann Kretzschmar (1848-1924) and the narrative approach taken by critics like Paul Bekker (1882-1937). Halm believed that analysis or criticism that relied upon hermeneutic description or imposed narratives not only failed to educate one on the merits of good music and musical form, but also encouraged one to evaluate music according to the inventiveness of the analyst or critic. It is my hope that the English version presented here will introduce many readers to Halm’s unique perspective on music and criticism. / text

Against the prevalent psychological interpretation of the will to power, I textually substantiate the claim that Nietzsche sees it as a cosmological principle driving both biological and cultural evolution. I deploy this strong view in securing the coherence of On the Genealogy of Morals, long regarded as a hopelessly disjointed work. I show that for Nietzsche the historical development of values reflects the constructive activity of the will to power as it transforms the human species into a more powerful social organism. On my view, the Three Essays comprising the Genealogy address three different historical periods during the evolution of morality; I treat them in chronological order. The Second Essay presents Nietzsche’s speculative account of the earliest stages of this process. He identifies several basic features of human nature and details how they evolved along with certain prehistoric social institutions. In the First Essay Nietzsche explains how religious leaders in the ancient world effected a value reversal in morality: they redefined the “good” of the noble ruling class as “evil” and created a new standard of good based on the needs and desires of the underclass. I argue that Nietzsche’s explanation can be understood fully only by taking into consideration the features of human nature which evolved during the prehistoric era described in the Second Essay. Finally, the Third Essay reveals the ramifications for contemporary Western culture of this evolutionary process and the subsequent transformation of values. / text

... Die Erkenntnis, dass Unbestimmtheit in letzter Konsequenz nicht eliminiert werden kann und vielleicht sogar gar nicht eliminiert werden darf, setzt sich langsam durch. Über Begriffe wie Angst oder Freiheit wirkt Unbestimmtheit in unserem Alltag, ohne dass wir uns dessen letzten Endes bewusst werden. Dieses Buch befasst sich nun ausführlich mit der Frage, woher kommt Unbestimmtheit, wie kann man sie abbilden, was bedeutet Unbestimmtheit für das menschliche Leben, und vor allem was ist Unbestimmtheit... (Auszug aus der Einführung)

Die kulturwissenschafdiche Behandlung der Aufklärung, wie sie in den letzten Jahren verstärkt zu beobachten ist, führe ich im Wesentlichen auf drei unterschiedliche und nicht zusammenhängende Grunde zurück. Der erste ist eine weltweite Umorientierung der Forschung im Bereich der Literaturwisscnschaften, der zweite liegt in einer Befreiung vom philosophisch-normativen Potential des Begriffs selbst und der dritte hat etwas mit der Einbeziehung von Medien aller Art zu tun.

This thesis explores Arnold Schoenberg's use of meter in Das Buck der hangenden Garten, Opus 15. The thesis works from the premise that Schoenberg treats meter in a manner analogous to that usually associated with pitch material: meter is motivic in nature, and can be subjected to developmental techniques. The concepts of fluctuating meter and suspended meter are developed, and used to describe the music; these concepts are derived from an analogy with Schoenberg's own terms schwebende Tonalitat and aufgehobene Tonalitat (fluctuating and suspended tonality). Selected excerpts from the song cycle are analyzed. The analyses focus on issues of meter, although some pitch analysis is used to complement the discussion.