Andrew Aziz | San Diego State University (original) (raw)
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Publications by Andrew Aziz
Music Theory Online, 2022
The current essay investigates Joel’s chromatic excursions in his contemplative songs, many of wh... more The current essay investigates Joel’s chromatic excursions in his contemplative songs, many of which infuse modal mixture chromaticism against a prevailing major key backdrop. In particular, I spotlight Joel’s exploration of “enharmonic duplicity,” in which chromaticism reflects the complexity of human nature through enharmonic transformations. Part I of the essay explores enharmonicism in “Honesty,” the first of several B♭ major songs that reinterpret mixture scale degrees (♭ and ♭) along its route; I also consider how Joel introduces mixture in his opening descending bass lines. Part II explores the harmonic and functional ambiguity in the complex song, “Laura.” Part III considers the enharmonic complexities of “Vienna” through the lens of the opening bar’s augmented triad; I also consider comparative examples of augmented triads in “Zanzibar” and “Where’s the Orchestra.” Owing to Joel’s vast exposure to the common-practice canon, I fuse perspectives from nineteenth-century as well as contemporary theories of pop/rock harmony.
Music Theory Spectrum, 2022
The current essay undertakes a rigorous investigation of formal closure in the High Classical era... more The current essay undertakes a rigorous investigation of formal closure in the High Classical era of sonata expositions, focusing particularly on the boundary point between secondary and closing zones. In particular, I shine a spotlight on virtuosic passages—and how they impact our perception of formal closure—in the piano sonatas of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. This essay codifies how virtuosity can be a primary ingredient for deferral of closure (termed “virtuosic deferral”), by capturing an application of Schmalfeldt’s concept of retrospective reinterpretation in reverse—specifically, the backtracking of the closing function to the secondary theme (C S). Furthermore, I demonstrate how an exposition’s “display episode” (à la Hepokoski and Darcy) as a virtuosic passage for a soloist within concertos—can function autonomously within sonatas as an agent for virtuosic deferral. Integrating intuitions from concertos, I present analyses of a wide range of sonata movements, distinguishing my approach from those that view early-as-possible closure (e.g., Hepokoski and Darcy), or the “large view of S” (e.g., Caplin). My narratives supplement the New Formenlehre toolbox by offering a compromise between otherwise divergent readings of form, as well as posit interpretations of works that would otherwise be viewed as problematic within a theory’s designed limits.
Music Analysis, 2021
This article develops analytical tools which illustrate temporal disruptions in the programmatic ... more This article develops analytical tools which illustrate temporal disruptions in the programmatic works for Debussy and Ravel and reshape traditional modes of sonata analysis. In Debussy, a new analytical paradigm, one that invokes his affinity for filmic techniques, is the aborted rondo‐sonata, which employs a post‐expositional breakthrough following an expositional disruption: a rondo form retrospectively morphs into a sonata following the breakthrough. For Ravel, the key analytical tool is what I call resetting of the formal compass (RFC): virtuosic passages, analogous to a formal Etch‐A‐Sketch as a reaction to the music having become ‘lost’ or ‘confused’, that restore formal consciousness. Previous scholarship on Ravel suggests the presence of arch form; the current theory permits an interpretation consistent with a linear, forward‐vectored thematic trajectory. Each of these concepts is based on sonata form's rotational structure, in which temporal fissures disrupt the order of thematic modules either by binding two non‐continuous thematic events or by neutralising formal function to resume thematic progress. When the analyses in are considered in tandem, they can help to build a unifying theory of fin‐de‐siècle French sonata forms.
Music Theory and Analysis, 2020
Anticipating Beethoven’s late style, his Piano Sonata Op. 106, “Hammerklavier,” contains distinct... more Anticipating Beethoven’s late style, his Piano Sonata Op. 106, “Hammerklavier,” contains
distinct passages that serve to suspend formal time (noted by numerous scholars, including Adorno, Dahlhaus, Greene, Kinderman, et al.) and disrupt the forward progress of thematic zones within a sonata form. In this essay, I tie this suspension of time to a specific formal space introduced by Hepokoski and Darcy (2006)—the “caesura-fill”—which serves as a venue for compositional exploration throughout Beethoven’s sonata oeuvre. Because caesura-fill music occurs between two thematic zones (transition and secondary themes), it has the potential not only for expansion but also for establishing a state of transcendence. In part 1, I investigate the presence of expanded caesura-fill in the exposition of the “Hammerklavier”, which enters a transcendental state and postpones the secondary theme zone; harmonic and textural effects in the music underscore this aesthetic. In part 2, I draw comparisons to early- and middle-period works, most significantly the Eroica Symphony, Op. 55, and the “Archduke” Piano Trio, Op. 97. Finally, in part 3, I illustrate how the exposition of the “Hammerklavier” provides a script for the development section to again enter a zone of transcendence, using sharp-side keys to postpone and ultimately undermine the recapitulation.
Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy Online, E-Resource, 2018
Proceedings of EuroMac IX, 2017
Background Following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, French composers—particularly Saint-Saën... more Background Following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, French composers—particularly Saint-Saëns, Franck, Fauré, and d'Indy—began to compose works in a musical form that had to that point been associated almost exclusively with Austro-Germanic composers: the sonata. The next generation of French composers experimented with the form's thematic and harmonic dimensions, highlighting the recapitulation in particular as a potential source of dramatic meaning. Among them, Debussy and Ravel experimented with sonata forms in " abstract " and " programmatic " genres. In their abstract pieces, they responded to the conventions associated with a work's title, e.g. " sonata. " In the programmatic works, they supplied sonata forms for works that provided a blank formal canvas.
Music Theory Online, 2015
Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy Online, 2015
Music Theory Online, 2014
Talks by Andrew Aziz
Drafts by Andrew Aziz
Music Theory Online, 2022
The current essay investigates Joel’s chromatic excursions in his contemplative songs, many of wh... more The current essay investigates Joel’s chromatic excursions in his contemplative songs, many of which infuse modal mixture chromaticism against a prevailing major key backdrop. In particular, I spotlight Joel’s exploration of “enharmonic duplicity,” in which chromaticism reflects the complexity of human nature through enharmonic transformations. Part I of the essay explores enharmonicism in “Honesty,” the first of several B♭ major songs that reinterpret mixture scale degrees (♭ and ♭) along its route; I also consider how Joel introduces mixture in his opening descending bass lines. Part II explores the harmonic and functional ambiguity in the complex song, “Laura.” Part III considers the enharmonic complexities of “Vienna” through the lens of the opening bar’s augmented triad; I also consider comparative examples of augmented triads in “Zanzibar” and “Where’s the Orchestra.” Owing to Joel’s vast exposure to the common-practice canon, I fuse perspectives from nineteenth-century as well as contemporary theories of pop/rock harmony.
Music Theory Spectrum, 2022
The current essay undertakes a rigorous investigation of formal closure in the High Classical era... more The current essay undertakes a rigorous investigation of formal closure in the High Classical era of sonata expositions, focusing particularly on the boundary point between secondary and closing zones. In particular, I shine a spotlight on virtuosic passages—and how they impact our perception of formal closure—in the piano sonatas of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. This essay codifies how virtuosity can be a primary ingredient for deferral of closure (termed “virtuosic deferral”), by capturing an application of Schmalfeldt’s concept of retrospective reinterpretation in reverse—specifically, the backtracking of the closing function to the secondary theme (C S). Furthermore, I demonstrate how an exposition’s “display episode” (à la Hepokoski and Darcy) as a virtuosic passage for a soloist within concertos—can function autonomously within sonatas as an agent for virtuosic deferral. Integrating intuitions from concertos, I present analyses of a wide range of sonata movements, distinguishing my approach from those that view early-as-possible closure (e.g., Hepokoski and Darcy), or the “large view of S” (e.g., Caplin). My narratives supplement the New Formenlehre toolbox by offering a compromise between otherwise divergent readings of form, as well as posit interpretations of works that would otherwise be viewed as problematic within a theory’s designed limits.
Music Analysis, 2021
This article develops analytical tools which illustrate temporal disruptions in the programmatic ... more This article develops analytical tools which illustrate temporal disruptions in the programmatic works for Debussy and Ravel and reshape traditional modes of sonata analysis. In Debussy, a new analytical paradigm, one that invokes his affinity for filmic techniques, is the aborted rondo‐sonata, which employs a post‐expositional breakthrough following an expositional disruption: a rondo form retrospectively morphs into a sonata following the breakthrough. For Ravel, the key analytical tool is what I call resetting of the formal compass (RFC): virtuosic passages, analogous to a formal Etch‐A‐Sketch as a reaction to the music having become ‘lost’ or ‘confused’, that restore formal consciousness. Previous scholarship on Ravel suggests the presence of arch form; the current theory permits an interpretation consistent with a linear, forward‐vectored thematic trajectory. Each of these concepts is based on sonata form's rotational structure, in which temporal fissures disrupt the order of thematic modules either by binding two non‐continuous thematic events or by neutralising formal function to resume thematic progress. When the analyses in are considered in tandem, they can help to build a unifying theory of fin‐de‐siècle French sonata forms.
Music Theory and Analysis, 2020
Anticipating Beethoven’s late style, his Piano Sonata Op. 106, “Hammerklavier,” contains distinct... more Anticipating Beethoven’s late style, his Piano Sonata Op. 106, “Hammerklavier,” contains
distinct passages that serve to suspend formal time (noted by numerous scholars, including Adorno, Dahlhaus, Greene, Kinderman, et al.) and disrupt the forward progress of thematic zones within a sonata form. In this essay, I tie this suspension of time to a specific formal space introduced by Hepokoski and Darcy (2006)—the “caesura-fill”—which serves as a venue for compositional exploration throughout Beethoven’s sonata oeuvre. Because caesura-fill music occurs between two thematic zones (transition and secondary themes), it has the potential not only for expansion but also for establishing a state of transcendence. In part 1, I investigate the presence of expanded caesura-fill in the exposition of the “Hammerklavier”, which enters a transcendental state and postpones the secondary theme zone; harmonic and textural effects in the music underscore this aesthetic. In part 2, I draw comparisons to early- and middle-period works, most significantly the Eroica Symphony, Op. 55, and the “Archduke” Piano Trio, Op. 97. Finally, in part 3, I illustrate how the exposition of the “Hammerklavier” provides a script for the development section to again enter a zone of transcendence, using sharp-side keys to postpone and ultimately undermine the recapitulation.
Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy Online, E-Resource, 2018
Proceedings of EuroMac IX, 2017
Background Following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, French composers—particularly Saint-Saën... more Background Following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, French composers—particularly Saint-Saëns, Franck, Fauré, and d'Indy—began to compose works in a musical form that had to that point been associated almost exclusively with Austro-Germanic composers: the sonata. The next generation of French composers experimented with the form's thematic and harmonic dimensions, highlighting the recapitulation in particular as a potential source of dramatic meaning. Among them, Debussy and Ravel experimented with sonata forms in " abstract " and " programmatic " genres. In their abstract pieces, they responded to the conventions associated with a work's title, e.g. " sonata. " In the programmatic works, they supplied sonata forms for works that provided a blank formal canvas.
Music Theory Online, 2015
Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy Online, 2015
Music Theory Online, 2014