scholarly journals Valentin Timaru – The Concerto for Violin and Orchestra. The Ratio of Combining Formal Principles within the Genre

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-106
Author(s):  
Emanuela-Fabiola Prip
Keyword(s):  
Formal Structure ◽  
Sonata Form ◽  
Musical Form

AbstractThe Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (1976) uses aesthetic and stylistic features often found in Valentin Timaru’s compositions: the Romanian musical-folkloric expression, the modal-diatonic and the modal-chromatic language, the free chromaticism, the improvisational nature, the musical articulations with generative purpose, the cyclic thinking and structuring, the preoccupation with the musical form, the proportion and the alternance of the forms used within the genre, as well as the juxtaposition of different formal principles in one part. The four constitutive movements (Lamento, Melopoeia, Variations, and Epilogue) are connected through the thematic interdependence (parts I and IV), the abandonment of the classical formal structure (the sonata form) and the attacca connections.

Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
L. Poundie Burstein
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Sonata Form ◽  
Musical Form

Musical form is often discussed by appealing to metaphors that compare formal sections either to types of containers or to segments of journeys. Although both metaphors are usually combined and used interchangeably by most music analysts, since the nineteenth century container metaphors for form have tended to dominate. This contrasts with what was witnessed during the eighteenth century, where journey metaphors for musical form were more prevalent. The introductory chapter broadly compares container metaphors and journal metaphors for form, especially as they apply to sonata-form expositions in works composed during the Galant era. This chapter also introduces some of the features that tend to distinguish eighteenth-century formal discussions from modern ones, and it concludes with a preview of some of the strategies to be explored in subsequent chapters.

Does a ‘monothematic’ expositional design have tautological implications for the recapitulation? An alternative approach to ‘altered recapitulations’ in Haydn

2010 ◽  
Vol 51 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 369-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Neuwirth
Keyword(s):  
Formal Structure ◽  
Main Theme ◽  
Sonata Form ◽  
Analytical Studies ◽  
Development Section ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Structural Aspects

‘Altered recapitulations,’ commonly regarded as a distinguishing feature of Joseph Haydn’s sonata form movements, are usually explained in terms of the ‘monothematic’ design of the exposition. According to the logic used in such analytical studies, recomposing the recapitulation would have been aimed at restoring the proportional balance between exposition and recapitulation, a need that resulted from the omission of the seemingly redundant, retransposed secondary theme along with the preceding transition. Though such an explanation has long been considered indisputable, this article casts doubt on the validity of the redundancy principle by showing that Haydn often did retain the monothematic section in the recapitulation. Rather, the recomposition of the recapitulation results from two important structural aspects thus far largely neglected in the literature: (1) the repetitive formal structure of the main theme, which is often considerably reworked in the recapitulation; and (2) the insertion of a separate newly composed dominant zone in the recapitulation that serves to compensate for the lack of a structural dominant at the end of the development section. Finally, it is argued here that Haydn, who was deeply rooted in the late Baroque tradition, by no means regarded multiple ‘double returns’ as either problematic or redundant, for he may have been thinking more in terms of an overriding ritornello structure.

Journeys Through Galant Expositions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Poundie Burstein
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Vantage Point ◽  
Sonata Form ◽  
Musical Form ◽  
Standard Series ◽  
And Performance

Through much of the eighteenth century, commentators often described musical form in relation to a type of journey leading toward a set of specific tonal/harmonic/melodic/rhythmic goals, punctuated along the path by a standard series of resting points. Partly in reaction to developments witnessed in music composed during the high Classical era onward, since around the nineteenth century descriptions of musical form have tended to combine or even replace these “journey” metaphors with those that rely more heavily on architectonic analogies. When dealing with works composed around the middle of the 1700s, however, there are advantages for viewing musical form as it unfolds, much in the manner described by those who composed, improvised, listened to, and performed at the time. Taking as its focus the part of the movement now known as the exposition, this study analyzes the form of sonata-form works from Galant era by applying concepts and methodologies that stem from the eighteenth century, particularly those proposed by Heinrich Christoph Koch. It argues that analyzing this music through such a vantage point provides a valuable opportunity for understanding its form in a down-to-earth manner that can directly inform practical aspects of listening and performance.

Forming Form through Force

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Cecchi
Keyword(s):  
Force Field ◽  
Sonata Form ◽  
Musical Form ◽  
Structural Principle ◽  
Compositional Choices ◽  
Continuous Interaction ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Point Of Departure

This chapter identifies connections between the formal strategies used in both Bruckner’s and Mahler’s symphonies. Its point of departure is the ‘energetic’ theory of musical form developed by Ernst Kurth in his monograph on Bruckner (1925), particularly the idea of the ‘intensifying wave’. On that basis it confronts the formal strategies of the first movements of Bruckner’s Ninth and Mahler’s First symphonies, focusing on the relationship between the structural disposition of ‘intensification processes’ and the deliberate blurrings of traditional formal boundaries based on ‘sonata form’. In the mentioned symphonies of Mahler and Bruckner, composition emerges as a ‘force field’ where sonata form does have a role to play, provided it is viewed not as an abstract scheme but as a concrete spectrum of compositional choices in continuous interaction with other instances, particularly a structural principle based on the disposition of intensification processes and the reaching of climaxes.

Other Eighteenth-Century Approaches to Expositions

2020 ◽  
pp. 91-104
Author(s):  
L. Poundie Burstein
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Sonata Form ◽  
Theoretic Approach ◽  
Musical Form

Toward the end of the eighteenth century, some music commentators—including Francesco Galeazzi, A. C. F. Kollmann, and Franz Christoph Neubauer—reacted to recent stylistic trends in their discussion of music form. Accordingly, their writings placed greater emphasis on cadences (as opposed to resting points of various types), implied sections, and thematic character as vital elements for understanding musical form, thereby serving as harbingers for later discussions of musical form. Even so, their observations and descriptions of the section that modern terminology labels as the sonata-form exposition—as well as the works they choose as exemplars of the form—suggest a theoretic approach that differs in some telling ways from what is typical in modern accounts of sonata form.

Musically puzzling I: Sensitivity to overall structure in the sonata form?

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roni Y. Granot ◽  
Nori Jacoby
Keyword(s):  
Musical Training ◽  
Sonata Form ◽  
Musical Form ◽  
Piano Sonata ◽  
Tonal Structure ◽  
Distance Score ◽  
New Type ◽  
Opening And Closing ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Puzzle Task

Previous studies have suggested that listeners are not sensitive to the overall tonal structure of musical pieces. This assumption is reexamined in the current study in an active musical puzzle task, with no time constraints, focusing on the presumably most directional musical form – the sonata form. In our first study (reported here, and referred to as “the Mozart study”), participants with varying levels of musical training were presented with disordered sections of Mozart’s piano sonata K. 570/I in B flat major and asked to rearrange the ten sections into a musically logical coherent whole. A second study (to be reported in Musicae Scientiae issue 16[1]) replicated the task in a different group of participants who listened to Haydn’s piano sonata, Hob: XVI-34/I in E minor. In contrast with previous studies, we do not focus on listeners’ ability to recover the original sonatas. Rather, we explore emergent patterns in their responses using new types of analysis. Our results indicate that listeners show: (1) Some sensitivity to the overall structure of A-B-A’ around the non-stable B section; (2) Non- trivial sensitivity to overall “directionality” through a new type of analysis (“distance score”); (3) Correct grouping and placement of developmental sections possibly related to listener’s sensitivity to musical tension; (4) Sensitivity to opening and closing gestures, thematic similarity and surface cues and; (5) No sensitivity to global harmonic structure.

scholarly journals Johann Nepomuk Hummels Sonate in fis-Moll Op. 81 – Studien zu Entstehungshintergrund, Rezeption und formaler Struktur

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Tiemeyer
Keyword(s):  
Formal Structure ◽  
Technical Development ◽  
Second Step ◽  
Sonata Form ◽  
Formal Organization ◽  
Short Article ◽  
Dynamic Design ◽  
The Third ◽  
Formal Design

The article examines the significance of one of Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s masterpieces. First, it highlights the circumstances of its production and the contemporary critical acclaim in the AmZ. In a second step, Robert Schumann’s involvement with this work is shown. In his journal, the sonata of Hummel is mentioned several times which indicates the engagement of the young piano discipline. In a short article, published in the NZfM in the year 1839, Schumann links this sonata with the compositional “way of Mozart” and thus gives an important hint to the formal design of the piece itself. Aspects of formal organization and structure of this sonata are analyzed and presented in the third part of the essay. In opposition to Beethoven’s motivic development, Hummel pursues another strategy of formal structure by stringing together each of the segments and themes. Thus, the focus shifts from a dynamic design of sonata-form to a more epic layout of the piece. Additionally, technical development and innovations concerning piano techniques and virtuosity are examined.

scholarly journals A COURSE IN HERMENEUTICS OF WORKS OF ART IN HIGHER PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION PROGRAMMES

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 50-60
Author(s):  
Natalia Bragina ◽  
Jelena Jermolajeva
Keyword(s):  
Professional Education ◽  
Formal Structure ◽  
Sonata Form ◽  
Universal Method ◽  
Analytical Skills ◽  
Works Of Art ◽  
History Of Art ◽  
History Of ◽  
Psychoanalytic Approach ◽  
Higher Professional Education

The article stems from the problem that has developed in modern higher education programmes such as Humanities, History of Art and Musicology. Learners of these programmes are required to digest an increasingly large amount of information. Yet, the abundance in information, which is not always comparable in quality, obstructs the development of students’ analytical skills. It seems feasible to introduce an innovative course in Hermeneutics of Works of Art into the Humanities, History of Art and Musicology programmes, the course is based on a universal method of artwork analysis elaborated by one of the authors of the article. The article aims to outline the main principles of this course, which is meant to help learners to understand the formation of semantics in various forms of art and to identify the ways of emotional and intellectual impact of artworks. This objective can be achieved by drawing upon a limited number of artworks. The musicological method of analysis is taken as a basis since its technology has been elaborated most thoroughly. This method focuses on the analysis of the formal structure of the work because the form itself contains the most important information about the content. The article shows that the basic structures of European academic music, such as periods, two- and three-part forms, variations, and the sonata form, are universal and derive from the most ancient mythological prototypes. These structures can be easily found in all forms of art and have similar semantic connotations. The proposed method also includes the analysis of polyphony, motivational dramaturgy, and space-time relations in the text, as well as the psychoanalytic approach to content interpretation. The idea of the hermeneutic circle is used to harmonize a general analysis of an artwork and a detailed analysis of its separate elements. The approbation of the proposed study course has demonstrated good results in developing students’ abilities to analyse a work of art.

The First Movement of Mahler’s Tenth Symphony and the “Burden” of Romantic Form

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-340
Author(s):  
Eric Hogrefe
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Sonata Form ◽  
Musical Form ◽  
Classical Form ◽  
Hayden White ◽  
Metaphor And Metonymy

AbstractStudies of post-Classical form must inevitably contend with the issue of how eighteenth-century practices retain relevance in later repertory. This article offers a framework for considering musical form and historical distance around the beginning of the twentieth century. Following historian Hayden White, I analyze the first movement of Mahler’s Tenth Symphony as an example of formal troping. Mahler’s movement is shown to enact a conflict between metaphor and metonymy in its treatment of Adagio practice and sonata form. In portraying Mahler’s form tropologically, this article emphasizes the role of historical distance within Mahler’s formal imagination.

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