When talking about tonal music, we sometimes tend to take for granted the idea that the tonic should always be clearly established either at the beginning or the end. However, there are composers who sometimes deviate from the normal path by creating different types of riddles or tonal enigmas in their works. Some of these riddles can be solved later on as the piece progresses; yet others may need to bexplained with the help of some external references. This thesis examines three such examples, each of which poses its unique enigma. The second movement of Bruckner's Symphony No. 1 presents a dualism between Ab and F (paralleled by their dominants Eb and C); Brahms's Alto Rhapsody involves an enormous auxiliary cadence spanning 2/3 of the piece and a seemingly plagal cadence which turns out to be authentic with the V suppressed; and eventually, Grieg's setting of Dereinst, dereinst, Gedanke mein provides a paradoxical ending which may be understood as incorporating the composer's attitude towards the text.

Prolongation in post-tonal music is a topic that music theorists have engaged for several decades now. The problems of applying Schenkerian analytical techniques to post-tonal music are numerous and have invited several adaptations of the method. The bulk of the thesis offers a survey of prolongational analyses of post-tonal music. Analyses of theorists such as Felix Salzer, Allen Forte, Joseph Straus, Edward Laufer, and Olli Väisälä are examined in order to reveal their various underlying theoretical principles. The thesis concludes with an analysis of Alban Berg's Warm die Lüfte from his Op. 2 collection that focuses on the prolongation of a referential sonority that forms the background of the song. The analysis highlights the most significant analytical techniques and theoretical concepts explored in the survey and codifies them in a generally applicable method of post-tonal prolongational analysis.

Der Beitrag bietet eine Einführung in die Schichtenlehre Heinrich Schenkers ohne Anspruch auf Vollständigkeit. Die Darstellung fokussiert grundlegende Ereignisse in Vorder- Mittel- und Hintergrund, ohne die Lehre vom Ursatz explizit zu berühren (letztere ist nach Auffassung des Autors aufgrund ihres hohen Abstraktionsniveaus als Einstieg nicht geeignet). Nach Klärung einiger für die schenkerianische Analyse zentraler Begriffe wie ›Stufe‹, ›Auskomponierung‹ und ›Tonikalisierung‹ wird sich unterschiedlichen Verfahren der ›Modulation‹ in Exposition und Durchführung diverse Sonatensätze von Wolfgang Amadé Mozart zugewandt. Gezeigt werden gängige kontrapunktische Verfahren (5–6–5-Fortschreitung und chromatischer Stimmtausch) sowie die Bedeutung ›motivischer Parallelismen‹ für den Zusammenhang zwischen thematischer Motivik und harmonischem Stufengang. / This article offers an introduction into Heinrich Schenker’s method of graphic analysis (without any claim of completeness). The approach focuses on fundamental events in the fore-, middle- and background without explicitly addressing the concept of the Ursatz, which the author considers inappropriate for an introduction due to its high level of abstraction. After defining some terms central to Schenkerian analysis like Stufe, Auskomponierung, and Tonikalisierung, different treatments of “modulation” in the expositions and developments of various sonatas by Wolfgang Amadé Mozart will be examined. Common contrapuntal patterns (e.g., 5–6–5 progression and chromatic voice exchange) and the significance of “motivic parallelisms” for the relationship between thematic motives and harmonic progression will be shown.

Das Thema dieses langsamen Satzes ist asymmetrisch: Sein Nachsatz ist doppelt so lang wie sein Vordersatz. Eine genetisch-rekonstruktive Analyse zeigt den Nachsatz als Auskomponierung einer Mittelgrundstruktur, die auch in auskomponiertem Zustand nicht mehr als vier Takte zu messen bräuchte. Diese Deutung allerdings besagt nichts über die innerkompositorischen Gründe der besagten Asymmetrie – eine explanatorische Lücke, die der vorliegende Beitrag durch eine quasi Schönberg’sche Deutung des strukturanalytischen Befundes zu füllen sucht: Der Vordersatz des Mozart’schen Themas enthält einen verborgenen dreistimmigen Kanon. Eine Stimme dieses Kanons bricht vorzeitig ab. Der erste Melodieton des Nachsatzes reagiert auf diese Störung, indem er die letzte stehengelassene Tonhöhe dieser Stimme aufgreift. Dies aber erzeugt eine neuerliche Störung, die hinreichend auszubalancieren voller acht Takte bedarf. / The theme of this slow movement is asymmetrical: its consequent is twice as long as its antecedent. A genetic-reconstructive analysis reveals the consequent to be a composing-out of a middle-ground structure that would need not measure more than four bars when fully composed. This interpretation, however, says nothing about the true compositional reasons for the asymmetry in question. The present contribution attempts to fill this explanatory gap using a quasi-Schoenbergian interpretation of the analyzed structure: the opening movement of Mozart's theme contains a hidden three-part canon, except that one voice of this canon breaks off prematurely. The first melody tone of the consequent reacts to this disturbance by picking up where the other voice left off. This, however, creates a new disturbance that requires eight bars to be sufficiently balanced.

In Verbindung mit der Juxtaposition der Tonarten E- und G-Dur wird die Urlinie über ihre Funktion als struktureller Hintergrund hinaus hinsichtlich ihrer Bedeutung für eine hermeneutische Interpretation diskutiert. Daran schließen sich Beobachtungen zum Verhältnis zwischen Text und Musik in Schuberts Komposition an. / In this article the Urlinie is discussed in connection with the juxtaposition of keys E major and G major. The discussion goes above and beyond the Urlinie’s function as structural background in order to address its significance for hermeneutical interpretation. Observations regarding the relationship between text and music in Schubert follow.

Belgian composer Joseph Jongen (1873-1953) was an eclectic composer who successfully maintained his own unique musical vocabulary—particularly in his piano compositions. Jongen composed very little between 1940-1941—the period in which he and his family fled to the countryside of Mazères, France, living as refugees for several months before returning to Sart-lez-Spa, Belgium, due to the outbreak of WWII. Reflective of this time in his life, Vingt-quatre petits préludes dans tous les tons pour piano, op. 116 is composed in a particularly intimate and despairing way. Through a complete Schenkerian analysis and outline of the musical framework of op. 116—Jongen's last collection of piano pieces—this dissertation sheds light on the technique, imagination, and uniqueness of Jongen's WWII-period piano compositions. More specifically, this research outlines the deep-level tonal and formal structures, investigates the cryptic semantic meaning and intimate personal expression, and defines the aesthetic achievements of Jongen's Twenty-four Little Preludes in All Keys for Piano, op. 116.

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This thesis investigates the relationship between Hindemith’s music theory and his evolving compositional practice. It focuses on the first volume of his Unterweisung im Tonsatz (1937); both evaluating the very identity of the treatise and analysing how it may be applied to free composition. Above all, this work highlights the increased use of quartal pitch collections found in Hindemith’s Unterweisung-based compositions. Archival documents from the universities of Yale, Berlin, Buffalo, and the Frankfurt Hindemith Institute augment this process, and are used to revise our understanding of how Hindemith’s music theory originated, and how it relates to his practice and teaching. The dissertation begins by exploring the theoretical and intellectual climate of the Rundfunkversuchsstelle at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik within a critical commentary of Hindemith’s music theory. It then develops a new theoretical perspective of quartal pitch space, and atonal prolongation, to provide an analytical toolkit. The list of compositions in the Unterweisung appendix, which Hindemith felt most successfully demonstrated his theory in practice, structures the next three chapters. The Sonata for Solo Viola op. 25/1, a pre-Unterweisung composition, is followed by the Ludus Tonalis, which was published soon afterwards, which is investigated for its explicit theoretical connections. The third analytical chapter focuses on the Das Marienleben cycle as a work written before the Unterweisung, and subsequently revised with theoretical concerns. The final two chapters investigate the prominent decline in popularity experienced by Hindemith, both regarding his theory and compositions, from the 1950s. This is epitomised by a number of strongly-worded polemics published in The Music Review, much of which, it may be argued, is inaccurate or unduly critical. The thesis ends by constructing a Hindemith legacy based on a selection of archival documents and scores, together with a selection of trends in composition and music theory.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:22:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2006-08-07Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:48:36Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 mannis_gdb_me_ia.pdf: 3194427 bytes, checksum: 2374fc542cb39f88a904a9fe24e7d7ef (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O presente trabalho de mestrado tem como seu principal objetivo demonstrar que a aplicação de diferentes métodos analíticos a uma mesma obra e sua posterior comparação é uma metodologia eficaz para o estudo da linguagem musical, em particular de uma obra específica e que, através deste procedimento, informações de interesse teórico e interpretativo, que vão além da aplicação isolada de cada método, podem ser alcançadas. Para tanto, foi feita a análise de um movimento de grande duração inserido em uma obra extensa, composta pelo austríaco Gustav Mahler (1860-1911): a Sinfonia nº3. Sobre esta obra foram realizadas três análises: formal segundo Schoenberg e Rosen; motívica, segundo Réti; e schenkeriana, segundo Salzer.Os métodos foram comparados entre si, de modo a identificarem-se as convergências e divergências entre eles; com base nas divergências e convergências, foramindicadas possibilidades de leitura da obra. Ao final, estes resultados foram confrontados com gravações realizadas por grandes orquestras, tendo à frente regentes reconhecidos como grandes intérpretes da obra de Mahler, verifinco como foram solucionados os problemas de divergência analítica e observando, ainda, se as convergências podem ser confirmadas em suas interpretações. / The present Master's Degree dissertation seeks to demonstrate that the utilization of different analytical methods to a single opus, and their posterior comparation, in an efficient method for the study of musical language, particularly of an specific opus, and that, through this procedure, information on theoretical and interpretative interest that go beyond the isolated utilization of each method can be reached. Therefore, three analysis of the first movement of Gustav Mahler's 3rd Symphony were made. The three analysis were; formal, according to Schoenberg and Rosen; motivic according to Réti; and schenkerian, according to Salzer. The methods were compared to each other so it would be possible to identify similarities and differences amont them. Then, based on these similarities and differences, possibilities of reading of the work were indicated. In the end, these results were confronted with recording made by great orchestras, conducted by great maestros well-known as great interpreters of Mahler's opus, verifying how the problems of analytical diffrences were resolved and observing as well if the similarities coud be confirmed in their interpretations.

The period between 1880 and 1885 was a significant time in Claude Debussy's life and compositional career. 1880 marks the date of his first published composition, "Nuit d'étoiles," and 1885 is the year in which he began his two-year tenure in Rome after winning the coveted Prix de Rome in 1884. During the intervening time Debussy composed about forty songs. Scholarly literature, especially analytical literature, tends to focus heavily on music in Debussy's mature style, often casting his early compositions in an unfavorable light. Writing on Debussy is scattered with references to the early songs but authors almost always situate them on one end of a continuum that shows an evolution of compositional style culminating in maturity. Such a view tends, if only tacitly, to regard early works as inferior instances of juvenilia rather than works worthy of study in their own right. In this dissertation I establish a foundation for regarding Debussy's early songs as significant compositions in their own right, independent from anachronistic comparisons with his more mature compositional style, and provide justification for considering the songs as a unified, identifiable repertoire within Debussy's larger œuvre. Using a modified Schenkerian analytical approach, I identify consistencies among the songs that give them an independent identity and provide support for their classification as an identifiable collection of works. I consider the songs within a proper historical narrative and in close association with poetry, French musical culture, and issues related to Debussy's biography. Furthermore, I delineate Debussy's compositional aesthetic in the early songs and examine his relationship to other notable contemporary composers of the mélodie, thus showing how his early style emerged from the tradition of the mélodie, how he participated in late-nineteenth century art-song culture, and how he ultimately pushed the genre of the mélodie forward.