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Darmstadt and the Philosophical Turn By Brent Andrew Wetters B.M. University of Michigan, 1999 Meestergrad, Hogeschool Gent Conservatorium, 2001 M.A. Wesleyan University, 2003 M.A. Brown University, 2005 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Program in the Department of Music at Brown University Providence, Rhode Island May, 2012 This dissertation by Brent Andrew Wetters is accepted in its present form by the Department of Music as satisfying the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Date_______________ _________________________________ Katherine Bergeron, Advisor Recommended to the Graduate Council Date_______________ _________________________________ Ethan Kleinberg, Reader Date_______________ _________________________________ Joseph Rovan, Reader Date_______________ _________________________________ Dana Gooley, Reader Approved by the Graduate Council Date_______________ _________________________________ Peter M. Weber, Dean of the Graduate School ii Curriculum Vitae Education Brown University, Providence, RI Spring 2012 Ph.D. in Music (expected) Spring 2008 Oral examination, progression to candidacy Dean Katherine Bergeron (dissertation director, Brown University) 2005-2007 Master of Arts in Music History/Ethnomusicology Master’s paper on Bruno Maderna 2001-2003 Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT Master of Arts in Music Composition Thesis on Paul Celan 1999-2000 Royal Conservatory, Ghent, Belgium Meestergrad in Composition Final project was a set of compositions based on poems by Paul Celan. 1994-1999 University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI B.M. in Music Composition Forthcoming Publications “Allegorical Erasmus” (working title), on Bruno Maderna’s Ritratto di Erasmo for special volume (summer or fall, 2012) of the Cambridge Opera Journal devoted to 20th century Italian Opera. “Idea and Actualization in Bruno Maderna’s Hyperion,” based on a paper delivered at a two-day “Counterpoints” conference on 19th century literature and music, at Fordham University; to be published in Fall, 2012 in 19th Century Music. Residencies and Affiliations 2011 David Tudor Archive, Getty Center, Los Angeles – Two days in October viewing documents and recordings related to Tudor’s realizations of Cage and Stockhausen works. 2011 Internationale Musikinstitut Darmstadt – One week listening to recordings and viewing letters and documents related to Cage and Tudor’s 1958 visit to the Darmstadt Summer Courses. 2006 Archivio Luigi Nono, Venice, Italy – Two separate visits, one in the summer and again in December, viewing scores and sketches by Luigi Nono, and also interviewing Nuria Schoenberg-Nono. 2006 Fondo Bruno Maderna, Bologna, Italy – Three days viewing documents, scores and sketches by Bruno Maderna, with particular emphasis on his radio drama, Ritratto di Erasmo. iii 2006 Paul Sacher Foundation, Basel, Switzerland – One week viewing documents and records in the archive, primarily related to Bruno Maderna and René Leibowitz. 2003 Churchill Northern Studies Centre, Churchill, Manitoba – A week (in January) interviewing researchers at the about the north, and writing about Glenn Gould’s radio work, The Idea of North. Teaching Experience Spring 2009 T.A. for Prof. Marc Perlman (Brown University) Music of Asia Fall 2008 T.A. for Prof. Rose Subotnik (Brown University) Writing about Music Spring 2008 T.A. for Prof. Dana Gooley (Brown University) Jazz and American Culture Fall 2007 T.A. for Prof. David Josephson (Brown University) Music of Beethoven Spring 2007 T.A. for Prof. Dana Gooley (Brown University) Jazz and American Culture Fall 2006 T.A. for Prof. David Josephson (Brown University) Music History II: Monteverdi-Beethoven Spring 2003 T.A. for Prof. Jane Alden (Wesleyan University) History of Western Classical Music (survey) Fall 2002 T.A. for Prof. Alvin Lucier (Wesleyan University) Experimental Music Spring 2002 T.A. for Prof. Ron Kuivila (Wesleyan University) Manager of Electronic Music Studio Fall 2001 T.A. for Prof. Ron Kuivila (Wesleyan University) Electronic Music Selected Writings “Idea and Actualization in Bruno Maderna’s Hyperion” (Portions projected for dissertation chapter IV), 2011. Forthcoming in 19th Century Music, Fall, 2012. “Harrison Birtwistle’s Secret Theatre,” 2008. “Outside Genre: Bruno Maderna’s Portrait of Erasmus” (Master’s Paper), 2007. “Cage Fighting,” 2008. An examination of criticisms of John Cage by Luigi Nono and George Lewis. “The Presence of History in Ethnomusicology,” 2006. Seminar paper for Prof. Jeff Titon’s seminar on the history of ethnomusicological thought. Looks at the role of historical research in ethnomusicology, as well as ethnomusicological studies of Western classical music. Fermate: Caesura and Suspension in Music and Poetics (Wesleyan Masters Thesis), 2003. Examines the musical implications of the poetry of Paul Celan, as well as composers Luigi Nono, Bruno Maderna, Glenn Gould, and Arnold Schoenberg. iv Selected Compositions Tini Variations (in progress) – Piano variations based on Bruno Maderna’s “Ständchen für Tini.” The Wreck of the Ithaca (2005) – Electroacoustic work using field recordings from a 2005 trip to Churchill, Manitoba. Nomina Nuda (2002), Algos (2004), Iustitium (2005) – A trilogy of piano works. Saturn and Jupiter (2003) – A 32-part radio work using field recording from a 2003 trip to the Churchill Northern Studies Centre in Churchill, Manitoba. After Paul Celan – a set of works based on the poems of Paul Celan for various instrumentations. Important pieces are Corona and Gegenlicht (chamber orchestra), Fadensonnen (electroacoustic), Unten (alto-flute), Heimkehr (flute and electronics), Psalm (viola), Chymisch (trumpet, euphonium, percussion), Singbarer Rest I and II (electroacoustic). The largest composite performance of works from this cycle was at the Logos Foundation (Ghent, Belgium), June 12, 2000. Homage to Elizabeth David – Radio documentary about food and cooking, recorded at “Il mezzogiorno” in Ghent, Belgium. God Forgotten (1998) – Setting of Thomas Hardy poem for tenor and string trio. v Acknowledgements I owe an inexpressible debt of gratitude to my wife, Carrie, and my two sons, Jude Owen and Hendrik Gordon, who have been my primary inspiration and who have made this dissertation possible on the most profound level. Carrie, in particular, has suffered through every revision and roadblock, always supporting and offering assistance, even when I was ready to throw in the towel. And while Jude and Henry have offered no small amount of distraction, they have also provided the best possible motivation to finish. Carrie’s mother Becky and father Jim drove countless miles back and forth between Rhode Island and Connecticut to babysit for our children and give me the time I needed to write. My mother offered moral and financial support during the dissertation, and has always given me the space and opportunity to go where my interests have led me. And while my father died shortly after I began writing, I like to think that he is here in spirit to see it finally come to fruition. And finally, among my family members, my brother Kirk is responsible for all of my current interest in Darmstadt and new music more generally. From my earliest days as a piano student, he was always suggesting new and interesting works to play, and his philosophical interest in music has served as a model for my own. Among my professors at Brown University, Katherine Bergeron stands out as the one who guided me through every step of the writing process, and was never content with anything but my best work. She always knew, better than I did myself, what I needed to write, and how I should construct my argument. Without her direction, this dissertation might have been completed earlier, but would have suffered greatly in terms of quality. Also at Brown, Rose Subotnik has been an invaluable reader, and her interpretations of vi Adorno have impacted the deepest levels of my musicological thought. A special gratitude is also reserved for Ethan Kleinberg, who has mentored my writing from the beginning of my transition from a composer to a musicologist at Wesleyan University. Butch Rovan has helped me greatly with the structural musical analyses that form the backbone of chapters II through V. Dana Gooley, although he arrived on my dissertation committee late, has proved to be an insightful reader, and I look forward to his continued input on my scholarship. My other teachers at Brown have also been very supportive and inspiring, including David Josephson, Keith Waldrop, Jeff Todd Titon, Marc Perlman, Suzanne Stewart-Steinberg, and Kiri Miller. My fellow graduate students provided a great context in which to develop my ideas and work. Of my colleagues, a few deserve special mention: Kevin Patton, Paul Chaikin, James Dennen, and Victor Wildman. Many archives have assisted me in my research, and I am especially thankful for the Archivio Luigi Nono in Venice, and Nuria Schoenberg-Nono in particular. Not only were the staff at the archive incredibly helpful and welcoming, Ms. Schoenberg-Nono took the time to share her remembrances of Darmstadt during the 1950s, providing me with a personal entrance into its cultural milieu. Claudia Mayer and the archive of the Internationale Musikinstitut Darmstadt, in providing access to live performances by David Tudor, rescued the dissertation at a point when it seemed on the verge of collapse. It was at the Paul Sacher Foundation where I first found reference to Bruno Maderna’s