Musical Topoi in Brahms's 7 Fantasien, Op. 116 (original) (raw)
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Music Scholarship, 2022
The article deals with the thematicism and thematic work in the first movement of Mozart's Piano Sonata KV 311/284c (1777). The analysis of thematical process in this instrumental composition is examined under the angle of correlation between the contemporary and historical approaches: 1. the correspondence of the music theory concepts that were part of the lexicon of Wolfgang Amadeus and Leopold Mozarts (Ideen, il filo), with a complex of musical-analytical terms of our time, formed both in line with the historically informed theory, and in the context of the general theory of musical composition and form; 2. the comparison of research methods of the musical-thematic plan in the English-language and Russian musicology of the last half century. Sonata KV311/284c does not pertain to the number of Mozart's compositions that have already been studied earlier from the point of view of the theory of topoi, which makes its analysis of additional interest. The article defines the topoi in the first Allegro, demonstrates their distribution in the sonata form, traces the logic of motivic and thematic transformations. The similarity of the "plotline", which is formed from the relationship of the elements of the musical text (tonal, harmonic, melodic, textural, dynamic, etc.), began to be examined in musicology during the last third of the 20th and the early 21st centuries through the prism of the concept of narrative analysis. Such a plotline in Mozart's sonata unfolds on two levels. The first is the typical for the sonata form "deducibility" of all themes from the main theme, that is, a certain "obligatory tonefabula" of the sonata composition (a term by Rostislav Berberov). The second level is the presence of an individual "intonation fabula" (a term by Inna Barsova), which is realized through the correlation of motives. In this plot, the archetypal narrative of comedy described by Almén (Byron Almén, 2003, 2008) gets its original embodiment. Thus, when considering the works of Mozart, both narratological analysis and the identification of a "common" classical musical language have significant prospects. At the same time, the relationship between the concepts that have been brought into scholarly use in our time and the concepts that have come from the 18th century is by no means unambiguous. The modern terms
Expression particulars of Brahms’s music language, mirrored in hs Compositions for Piano
" BULLETIN OF THE TRANSYLVANIA UNIVERSITY OF BRASOV, SERIES VIII - PERFORMING ARTS", 2020
This article refers to the main features of expression in the music language in the piano compositions of Brahms. From the broad and long works for piano from his youth, the sonatas-true "disguised symphonies", the music language of the composer evolves during his maturity towards the complexity of variations for piano and piano concertos-designed as genuine "symphonies with piano as an obligatory instrument", so that, toward the end of his life, Brahms concentrate his full mastery into miniatures for piano, Opp. 116-119, true jewels, which represent the "swan song" of the German master. The expression particulars of his music language will be analysed through highlighting the sources and style types, style parameters and musical aesthetics elements that are specific of Brahms's work. The depth of Brahms's personality and experiences are mirrored through an elaborate musical discourse, where the Romanticist composer maintains the Classicist balance, logic and a rigorous control of the composition thinking, but the Classicist matrix is subjected to workthrough and an innovating spirit, under the star of aesthetical elegance. Novel is the fact that this apparent balance in the music of Brahms conceals strong inner tension. Thus, through a poetic language, the composer succeeds in expressing the deepest mysteries of the human soul, the finest vibrations, the most untranslatable impulses.
"Variation as Thematic Actualisation: The Case of Brahms's Op. 9."
Music Analysis, 2012
Variations may be classified into (a) those which show that the composer knows his theme, and (b) those which show that he does not. (Tovey 1972, pp. 139–40) 1 I Generally speaking, variation sets in the Classical period are characterised primarily by embellishment and change of texture, effected so as to create a multitude of views of the same object. In the Romantic period, on the other hand, the theme is not so much decorated as reinterpreted: its harmonic and melodic constituents are exposed, then reconfigured. The change can be traced back to as early as 1802, the year in which Beethoven wrote his Eroica Variations, Op. 35, describing them to his publishers as having been composed in 'a truly new manner'. Yet, like many generalisations, this binary opposition distorts reality to a certain extent: not all variations in Classical sets are primarily decorative, and even those that are often employ figuration and texture in subtle, strategic ways so as to foreground, elucidate and alter tonal and motivic elements of the theme. 2 Indeed, decorative and interpretative functions can coexist. Conversely , some variations in Romantic sets are unapologetically decorative: their figuration fails to shed new light on their themes. 3 However, the stylistic dichotomy proposed here does, I believe, reflect a general trend, according to which nineteenth-century variations reimagine their themes more often, and more significantly, than do their eighteenth-century predecessors. 4 This dichotomy may be recast from the standpoint of a theme. The implicit corollary of the belief that Classical variations are essentially decorative is that the theme in a Classical set is an autonomous entity with fixed melodic and harmonic components, susceptible to embellishment but not reinterpretation. In other words, anyone who presupposed a set of variations to be primarily ornamental would probably also regard the theme as self-contained, self-defined and directly given – an entity whose underlying structural properties are neither laid bare nor fundamentally altered in the course of the variations. By contrast, anyone who granted variations greater interpretative potency would probably regard the theme not as an a priori entity but as something whose identity is contingent upon the processes to which it is subjected. Again, although we can not neatly align the former conception with the pre-Eroica sets and the latter one with those of Beethoven's middle period and beyond, I contend that the themes
What is a musical feature? Forte’s analysis of Brahms’s Opus 51, No. 1, revisited
A theory of musical features is presented. The theory emphasizes how a given work is distinguished from other works in some musical corpus. A number of general concepts are defined including presence, salience, distinctiveness, and significance. Intratextual factors such as prevalence, primacy, and recency, are distinguished from intertextual factors such as evocation, quotation, allusion, parody, and model. The theory is illustrated by evaluating the principal motive proposed by Allen Forte in his study of Brahms's opus 51, no. 1. Forte's "alpha" interval-class set is shown to be unable to distinguish quartet No. 1 from other quartets by Brahms. On the basis of the theory, several refinements are made to Forte's alpha feature. Only when the prime form of the interval-class pattern is joined with a long-short-long rhythm does the resulting feature become distinctive of the work. Perceptually-pertinent properties are shown to be helpful in assembling a distinctive feature definition.
Defining the Late Style of Johannes Brahms: A Study of the Late Songs
Defining the Late Style of Johannes Brahms: A Study of the Late Songs Natilan Crutcher Johannes Brahms has long been viewed as a central figure in the Classical tradition during a period when the standards of this tradition were being altered and abandoned. His resistance to innovation creates some difficulty when trying to pinpoint his "late style", and how he fits into the late style concept. While existing scholarship on Brahms's late style tends to focus on his chamber works, this document focuses on his late Lieder. This document provides a study of Brahms's literary considerations, a comparison of his early and late songs, and a comparison between Brahms and some of his contemporaries. In the end, this study sheds light on when Brahms's late period begins, the characteristics of his late style, the contextual factors that contributed to its development, and how Brahms fits (or does not fit) into the established notions of the concept of the late style in music. I would like to thank my chair and voice teacher Dr. Hope Koehler for the time, encouragement, patience, and wisdom you have invested in me for the past 6 years. I am grateful for how you have helped me become who I am today, and I will always carry you in my heart. I would like to thank the rest of my committee members Dr. William Koehler, Dr. David Taddie, and General Hambrick for your council and instruction. Thank you for pushing me to be better and fueling my desire to want more out of my education.
Brahms’s Early Orchestral Works: Toward a More Complete Catalog of Metric and Rhythmic Devices
2011
"Johannes Brahms stands as one of the central-most figures of late 19th century German art music. Brahms was the first true successor to Beethoven in the symphonic tradition, and according to Bozarth, “creatively synthesized the practices of three centuries with folk and dance idioms and with the language of mid- and late 19th-century art music.”1 Some would consider Brahms’s orchestral output to be his most important contribution, and many volumes have been devoted to cataloguing the significant melodic, harmonic, and formal features of his four symphonies. Fewer have been devoted either to the early orchestral works or to the rhythmic and metric techniques employed. Michael Musgrave, in his 1983 essay on Arnold Schoenberg’s theoretical writings about Brahms, writes: Although Schoenberg says a great deal about [Brahms’s] phrasing, he comments little on rhythm, on the pattern of relationships against a pulse. Of course he knew it was important- ‘When Brahms demanded that one hand of the pianist play twos or fours while the other played threes, people disliked this and said it made them seasick. But this was probably the start of the polyrhythmic structure of many contemporary scores.’ –yet it interested him less, so he said less about it.2 Though recognized by Schoenberg as important, Brahms’s manipulation of musical time has historically received significantly less investigation in the peer-reviewed literature, warranting further exploration into rhythm and meter in this corner of period/genre envelope."
Influences of The Baroque and Classical Elements in Brahm's cello Sonata op.
This proposal aims to present the historical context of Johannes Brahms's Cello Sonata Op. 38. In my argument, I will focus on the comparison between Brahms's usage of the minuet form and fugal writing (in the second and third movements of the sonata) in relation to the Classical era minuet and Baroque fugue technique. In this proposal, I will explore this connection through the aspects of form, harmonic progression, thematic material and presentation.