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This dissertation raises problems with the methodology of Schenkerian analysis and attempts to find solutions. Balancing ideological critique, intellectual history, and musical analysis with criticisms of the theory itself, my aim is to argue that Schenker’s conception of his own theory—and in particular of his background Urlinie—has greatly restricted the analytical possibilities of his methodology, including how it is practiced today. Chapter 1 will introduce and summarize this argument as a whole, including some of my musical and philosophical priors. Chapter 2 will explore how Schenker’s assumptions about his theory fulfill what I will (following Nicholas Cook) characterize as a “retrospective prophecy,” which I argue is continuous with the motivated and circular reasoning that propped up Schenker’s problematic wider ideology. Chapter 3 introduces two ideas that combat this tendency and inform my own analyses: the “modified” approaches to Schenker (in the work of scholars like David Neumeyer) as well as “oscillation” between different analytical interpretations (as Marianne Kielian-Gilbert describes work like Joseph Dubiel’s). Chapter 4 attempts to bring these two together, and I argue that this opens the way to a greater degree of analytical possibility than has hitherto been realized. In short, I argue that contemporary Schenkerian analysis has remained too tied to Schenker’s original formulation, to the detriment of the theory, but that not many Schenkerians have appreciated this. Along with attempting to find solutions to my problems, then, I want to convince Schenkerians that there are problems here to be solved in the first place, by showing how the very things analysts find valuable about the theory can be improved through the incorporation of “modified” and/or “oscillatory” approaches.

Many scholars have discussed Austrian music theorist Heinrich Schenker (1868-1935). While discourse has mainly focused on Schenkerian analysis, recent scholarship has started to examine the role of Schenker as a person (e.g., Schenker as a Jewish individual, Schenker as a racist, etc.), and how these identities influenced his views on music. Yet, within these new explorations and discussions, the aspect of disability and Schenker as an individual with a disability have not been as seriously examined. After examining his biography through the lens of disability in the introduction (Chapter 1), this thesis discusses disability's influence on Schenker through two additional chapters. The second chapter explores disability within the social context of fin-de-siècle Vienna and attempts to deduce, from the opinions of Schenker’s contemporaries, what Schenker's own views on disability might have been. The third chapter then demonstrates, through statistical analyses, that disability affected the everyday mechanics of writing for Schenker and how this in turn influenced his style of prose. The thesis concludes (Chapter 4) that there was a correlation between Schenker’s disability and the different writing styles observed in his earlier work and his later, post-disability work. By shedding light on Schenker’s disability, the thesis aims to provide a platform for future discussion on this subject, either in the field of musicology, music theory, or disability studies.

This thesis uses two different musical analytical systems, one of Heinrich Schenker and one of Paul Hindemith, to analyze tonality within "Die Gurre Lieder" and "Fourth String Quartet" by Arnold Schoenberg.

The thesis investigated the social and symbolic significance of acquiring a 'music education' through the taking of piano tuition and external public music examinations. It aimed to discover why the learning of the piano and the certification of musical attainment are so prevalent and revered among Malaysian music students. Its purpose was to unravel the socio-cultural raison d'etre of this approach to music education through the creation of a metatheoretical schema, which is premised upon the theories of symbolic interactionist, George Herbert Mead, music analyst, Heinrich Schenker and social theorist, George Ritzer. Central to the argument in this instance is the symbolic significance associated with the act of playing the piano. The investigation attempted to determine if this 'act' conveyed a symbolic meaning that is peculiar to a specific cultural vista. It further examined the degree to which this practice represented both a validation and a sense of conformity to social norms in the continuity and stability of an expanding middle class society in Malaysia. The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) is the largest of the five main external public music examination boards that operate in Malaysia. Since 1948, over one million candidates have enrolled for ABRSM examinations in Malaysia and a team of approximately thirty ABRSM examiners visit Malaysia for three months every year. The majority of the candidates are pianists. Given such large numbers of piano candidates, one might expect a healthy development of musical talent in the country with aspiring pianists eager to demonstrate their musical prowess. However, this does not seem to be the case. On the contrary, there appears to be a curious lacuna between the growing number of students who enrol for external public music examinations and the seemingly lack of interest in public music making and the honing of general musicianship skills. The thesis hence examined the symbolic meaning of this socio-rausicological phenomena.

The thesis investigated the social and symbolic significance of acquiring a 'music education' through the taking of piano tuition and external public music examinations. It aimed to discover why the learning of the piano and the certification of musical attainment are so prevalent and revered among Malaysian music students. Its purpose was to unravel the socio-cultural raison d'etre of this approach to music education through the creation of a metatheoretical schema, which is premised upon the theories of symbolic interactionist, George Herbert Mead, music analyst, Heinrich Schenker and social theorist, George Ritzer. Central to the argument in this instance is the symbolic significance associated with the act of playing the piano. The investigation attempted to determine if this 'act' conveyed a symbolic meaning that is peculiar to a specific cultural vista. It further examined the degree to which this practice represented both a validation and a sense of conformity to social norms in the continuity and stability of an expanding middle class society in Malaysia. The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) is the largest of the five main external public music examination boards that operate in Malaysia. Since 1948, over one million candidates have enrolled for ABRSM examinations in Malaysia and a team of approximately thirty ABRSM examiners visit Malaysia for three months every year. The majority of the candidates are pianists. Given such large numbers of piano candidates, one might expect a healthy development of musical talent in the country with aspiring pianists eager to demonstrate their musical prowess. However, this does not seem to be the case. On the contrary, there appears to be a curious lacuna between the growing number of students who enrol for external public music examinations and the seemingly lack of interest in public music making and the honing of general musicianship skills. The thesis hence examined the symbolic meaning of this socio-musicological phenomena.

Karl-Birger Blomdahl (1916-1968) and Ingvar Lidholm (1921- ) were two leading figures in modern Swedish music. While studying in Stockholm they created a study circle known as the Monday Group. Regarded as anti-romanticists, Blomdahl and Lidholm revitalized musical creation by prioritizing compositional technique (as in hantverk, i.e. craft), melodic line and Gestalt concepts such as organicism. Following a study of this shared historical, aesthetic and theoretical framework, this thesis proposes a detailed analysis of thirty works by Blomdahl and Lidholm, dating from the 1940s. Based on the initial aesthetic and theoretical context and also on the theories of Schenker and Meyer, the analytical method used enables a graphical and textual representation of the compositional coherence and dynamic of the respective works. This thesis establishes the essential melodic, tonal and organic divergences in the musical languages of Blomdahl and Lidholm. Additionally, this thesis shows that the notions of linearity, dissonance and counterpoint have a deeper significance in Blomdahl’s and Lidholm’s respective musical languages than is to be found in many texts dating from this period. Finally, this thesis highlights aesthetic and compositional components that significantly invigorate modern music in Sweden.

Most studies of the Mass in B Minor deal with the history of the work, its reception history, primary sources, performance practice issues, rhetoric, and even theological and numerical symbolism. However, little research focuses on an in-depth analysis of the music itself. Of the few analytical studies undertaken, to date only a limited number attempt to explain Bach's use of parody technique or unity in the whole composition. This thesis focuses on understanding three primary concerns in regards to the Mass in B minor: to comprehend how preexistent material was adapted to the context of the Mass, how this material functions in the network of the entire composition, and how unity is achieved by means of large-scale voice leading. The results of this study not only provide new information about this monument of Western music, but also provide insight to the deep sense of large-scale structure in Bach's work.

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.