When we have equivalences of this kind, there are no longer 48 distinct row forms. Webern brings out this symmetrical row by overlapping the ends of rows forms with the beginning of the next. Does that remind you of something symphonic? The repeat markings and the material distribution are loosely suggestive of the Exposition and Development — Recapitulation repeats in Sonata form works, or at least rounded binary.
So that might be chalked up in favor of the symphonic reading. Recapitulations and cyclic forms are one thing, but for Western classical music, serious adherence to symmetry is a peculiarly 20th Century concept. Another key consideration at odds with the notion of sonata form are the extensive canons in each section. Notice the similar timbral sequences in the two pairs. For instance, in the first pair, we have a horn part, then a clarinet part, and finally a lower string instrument before returning yes, you guessed it!
Variation 1 related to variation 7. Variation 2 related to variation 6. Variation 3 related to variation 5. Variation 5 related to variation 3. Variation 6 related to variation 2.
Variation 7 related to variation 1. Does this make it thoroughly modern? Or does the symmetry contribute to a new kind of goal-directed teleological music typical of at least 19th Century music since at least Beethoven? Most importantly, what is the aural effect of all this symmetry?
Did the Harvey quote above make you bristle? That said, Webern has gone to considerable lengths at least in places to illuminate the structure of the work. If nothing else these works seem to speak of a conviction to the musical traditions these composers inherited, just as Schoenberg was so keen to locate his apparently radical, modernist works in that tradition, and particularly as heir to the work of Brahms. This time, those trichords are all instances of the same pitch class set : [].
This structural division is made abundantly clear in the first few measures in which the row is set out in its four parts in separate instruments, pulse values, and registers. There follows a fermata. If you permute the order of those trichord cells, you can get other, related rows forms:. That being the case, we have a set of 4 equivalent rows, and thus only 12 distinct row forms this time.
Descriptive information to help identify this dissertation. Follow the links below to find similar items on the Digital Library. A brief biography is included in the paper and Webern's professional career as a conductor is viewed and considered as to its affect on the creation of the Symphony with emphasis on his relationship with Schoenberg and the Society for Private Musical Performance.
The genesis of the Symphony and its early performance history is examined, as well as the structure of op. These techniques include the presentation of melodic lines in terms of octave register, timbre, dynamics, articulation, durations, rhythm, and instrumentation. Unique identifying numbers for this dissertation in the Digital Library or other systems. Theses and dissertations represent a wealth of scholarly and artistic content created by masters and doctoral students in the degree-seeking process.
Relationship to this item: Has Part. What responsibilities do I have when using this dissertation? Dates and time periods associated with this dissertation. Dirlam, Richard. Klangfarbenmelodien in Anton Webern's Symphony, Op. Messiaen, G. Weber, M. Ravel, F. Haydn, W. Mozart, and R. Vaughan Williams , dissertation , August ; Denton, Texas. Webern told Schoenberg that this movement lasted 15 minutes; in fact, it's more like seven in performance. The second movement is a three-minute set of variations on an bar theme, which crams in as much expressivity as the variation-based finale of Beethoven's Eroica Symphony, but on a somewhat more concentrated scale!
Now, if you want to delve into the canonic complexities of Webern's symphony, or the subtleties of the way it manipulates its tone row, I refer you to composer George Benjamin's essay on the Symphony, as well as his thoughts on the piece in a collection of essays published for Alexander Goehr's 70th birthday.
George describes the idea of the canon in the first movement: "The simultaneous ramifications on past, present, and future inherent in any one creative decision provide a sustaining context, the sequential nature of canon literally pulling the music forwards, devouring empty manuscript paper ahead". But he finds poetry in all this constructivism: this first movement of the Symphony seems "weightless - a complex, crystal-like object hovering in space".
And that's the greatest connection of all: between the way this music is made, and the sounds it makes. Benjamin's description beautifully captures the sense of stasis in this first movement of the Symphony , the uncanny feeling that time is not moving like an unstoppable arrow, but rather softly expanding and exploding in all directions, like the growth of a crystal - or, since it's nearly Christmas, a snowflake.
The limpid clarity of the music, the spaces and silences around the musical material in the orchestration, the fact that Webern makes it impossible for you to miss a single note, and that each pitch has its own definite meaning and expression - it's all part of the articulation of the structure of the music.
Every line you're hearing is a usually symmetrical fragment of the grander design of the note row - itself symmetrically constructed - that the whole piece is based on.
You literally hear time going backwards as well as forwards in this music, since Webern's canons play with the fact that the second six notes of the row are a transposed version of the first six, played backwards, and there are also bigger symmetries at work, to do with the shapes of both halves of the movement. Keeping up? Not sure I am, but that's not the point!
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