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A University of Sussex DPhil thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details AESTHETIC EXPERIENCE IN MUSIC: CASE STUDIES IN COMPOSITION, PERFORMANCE AND LISTENING Suzanne Mary Wilkins Submitted for the degree of DPhil in Music University of Sussex August 2012 ii I hereby declare that this thesis has not been, and will not be, submitted in whole or in part to another University for the award of any other degree. However, the thesis incorporates to the extent indicated below, material already submitted as part of required coursework for the degree of Masters in Music, which was awarded by the University of Sussex. Sections 3.3.3- 3.3.7 are revised and expanded versions of a term paper submitted for the course Music and Critical Thought II as part of this MA in Music. The interview transcript within Appendix E, pages E2-E15, appeared in the Appendix of the same paper. Signature:.................................................... S. M. Wilkins iii Acknowledgements It would not have been possible to write this thesis without the encouragement and support of my brilliant supervisor, Björn Heile, whose dedication to this project went beyond the call of duty. His dependability, clear-thinking and open-minded approach have all contributed beyond what can be expressed to my academic development and have been a source of great reassurance to me. Thank you so much! I am also grateful to my second supervisor, Nick Till, for asking difficult questions which without doubt have improved this thesis and for helping me to calm down when I was having a panic! I’m very grateful to the Reid Trust for the Higher Education of Women and the Snowdon Award Scheme for funding a large part of my studies. It was a great help to have the assistance of Andy Field when developing the empirical project in Chapter One. I’d also like to thank Red Priest and their management, and particularly frontman Piers Adams, for their openness and willing assistance in the preparation of Chapter Three. I’d like to thank my family for their continued support, guidance and love: Mum, Dad, Zoë, Louise, Jo, Darren, John, Nanny, Nutmeg (the guinea pig) and of course baby Felix. I’d especially like to thank Harry (the bunny) for his unfailing devotion. He never got bored of hearing about the thesis and always offered a listening (lop) ear when things weren’t going well. Many friends have helped me over the course of this project, whether through supporting my research, offering pleasant (but admittedly not always helpful!) distractions, or just buying me a drink when I needed a moan. A huge thanks to all of you, and especially: Caroline Hodge, Jacqueline Li, Mez Jones, Anna Jordanous, Suzi Hughes and Gemma Farrell. My years at Sussex wouldn’t have been the same without the fun, friendship and opportunities given to me by the University of Sussex Concert Band. Conducting this ensemble has given me some of my happiest moments of my life as well as boosting my confidence in ways no academic degree ever could. Thank you all of you! Last, but not in any way least, I’d like to express my gratitude to everyone at the church of St. Mary the Virgin in Willingdon, especially my fellow choir members. In particular, I’d like to thank Kay and Douglas Caffyn for their love and kindness which has helped so much over the course of this doctorate. iv UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX Suzanne Mary Wilkins DPhil in Music Aesthetic Experience in Music: Case Studies in Composition, Performance and Listening This thesis explores the roles of the composer, listener and performer in the construction of aesthetic experience and develops new theories in order to elucidate these roles. It uses a series of six diverse case studies to show how these relationships can shape the experience created in the reception of music. In so doing, it sees the creation of musical experience as an intersubjective phenomenon. The theories explored within this work suggest new and different foci on the relationships between the roles within musical production and reception and greatly expand existing understanding of how music is communicated meaningfully and how cultural value is attributed to certain musical works. These theories are all constructed using the concept of the chain of communication which includes the relationships between composers, listeners and performers. The first chapter uses two case studies to investigate musical listening through an empirical investigation into Johann Sebastian Bach’s Double Violin Concerto and a reception-based examination of Gustav Mahler’s Fourth Symphony. In the second chapter, musical composition is studied through examinations of a variety of works by Joseph Haydn and Franz Schubert. Finally, Chapter Three looks at musical performance through case studies on the work of the Early Music ensemble Red Priest and Procol Harum’s song ‘A Salty Dog’. The approaches used to examine the case studies are taken from a variety of fields and areas, ranging from music psychology to myth-studies. In this way, this work fills a gap in musicological understanding of aesthetic experience, as it combines research from a variety of fields to further elucidate musical experience: an approach which has not previously been used within musicology. In so doing, this work examines how experience can be shaped and how it is subject to historical and cultural conditioning. v Table of Contents Statement ........................................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ iii Summary ....................................................................................................................... iv Contents.......................................................................................................................... v 0 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 0. 1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 0.1.1 Aesthetic Experience ....................................................................... 2 0.1.2 Key Terminology ............................................................................ 9 0. 2 Overview by Chapter .................................................................................. 17 1 The Listener’s Role in the Construction of Aesthetic Experience ..................................................................................................................................... 22 1. 1 Introduction..... ........................................................................................ ....22 1.1.1 A Listener’s ‘Horizon of Expectations’ and Composer-myths ....... 25 1.1.2 Myths and Mythologisation ........................................................... 29 1. 2 The Bach Myth..... ................................................................................... ....31 1.2.1 Empirical Case Study: Listener Expectations and J. S. Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins, BWV 1043 ................................................... 40 1. 3 The Mahler Myth..... ................................................................................ ....47 1.3.1 Mahler’s Fourth Symphony as Programme Music ......................... 55 1.3.2 The Symphony and its Programme in Relation to the Mythologisation of Mahler .................................................................... 71 1.3.3 Cognitive Dissonance .................................................................... 73 1. 4 Conclusion ................................................................................................. 76 1.4.1 Mythologisation and Alignment .................................................... 77 2 The Composer’s Role in the Construction of Aesthetic Experience ..................................................................................................................................... 80 2. 1 Introduction..... ........................................................................................ ....80 2. 2 The ‘Public’ and ‘Private’ Works of Joseph Haydn..... ............................. ....86 vi 2.2.1 ‘Private’ versus ‘Public’ Symphonies: Haydn’s Symphonies Numbers 90-104 .................................................................................... 91 2.2.2 ‘Private’ versus ‘Public’ Piano Sonatas: Haydn’s Late Piano Sonatas .................................................................................................110 2. 3 Success and Failure in the Works of Franz Schubert..... ......................... ....114 2.3.1 Schubert and the Lied ...................................................................114 2.3.2 Schubert and Opera: Alfonso und Estrella ....................................122 2.3.3 Schubert the Symphonist: Two C major Symphonies (D589 & D944) ...................................................................................................130