Return to search

The Influence of Thomas Mann's "Doctor Faustus: The Life of the German Composer Adrian Leverkühn as Told by a Friend" upon Alfred Schnittke's Compositional Style as seen through His "Fuga for Solo Violin" (1953)

Alfred Schnittke was a prolific and nuanced musical figure of the twentieth-century, contributing significantly to the fields of musical philosophy and composition. One of his most researched contributions, that bridges both disciplines, is his definition and implementation of the compositional technique, polystylism. His 1971 essay, "Polystylistic Tendencies in Modern Music," served as the first serious discussion of the term, providing a narrower definition, differentiating it from other techniques, and discussing its importance in the oeuvre of twentieth-century artists. Schnittke is also known for his fervent desire to overcome the gap between Ernstmusik (serious music) and Unterhaltung (music for entertainment). This lifelong pursuit, combined with polystylism, lead him to create an eclectic catalogue that championed the ideas it was pioneering. However, there is little research done on the 1947 literary work that served as a creative catalyst to all these ideas: Thomas Mann's Doctor Faustus: The Life of German Composer Adrian Leverkühn as told by a Friend. In contrast to other telling's of the Faust legend, Mann's version features a composer-protagonist, Adrian Leverkühn, who sells his soul for twenty-four years of creative musical-genius. During this time, Leverkühn composes numerous successful works, even developing a new system of musical composition. Mann's telling regularly goes into lengthy detail when describing these musical works, compositional techniques, and extramusical associations. To ensure that these musical topics were technically and theoretically sound, Mann chose the philosopher and music critic, Theodore Adorno, to be the primary editor and consultant when writing Doctor Faustus. Exploring and unpacking these connections to Mann's Doctor Faustus exposes numerous hidden layers, even codes, within Schnittke's compositions. Through a close examination of Schnittke's first completed composition, Fuga (1953), many of these Mann influences and hidden layers can be observed and analyzed.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc1986236
Date08 1900
CreatorsMcKamie, Mark Alexander
ContributorsOlschofka, Felix, Taylor, Don, Gerling, Daphne
PublisherUniversity of North Texas
Source SetsUniversity of North Texas
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis or Dissertation
FormatText
RightsPublic, McKamie, Mark Alexander, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights Reserved.

Page generated in 0.0021 seconds