Robert Fuchs as Kleinmeister with specific reference to developing variation in his Piano Trio, Op. 22 PM Engelbrecht 23204117 Formal assignment submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Doctor Musicae in Music performance at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University Supervisor: Dr H van Rensburg Co-supervisor: Prof BM Spies November 2014 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the following people who contributed to the success of this work: Dr Jetty van Rensburg, my supervisor, for her valuable support, advice and time; Prof Bertha Spies, my co-supervisor, for sharing her specialised knowledge of music theory and giving me her undivided attention, as well as her unsurpassed consideration for the life and vocabulary of a performing artist; Prof Hannes Taljaard for his additional advice; Dr Bernarda Swart for her inspiration; the NWU for awarding me a postgraduate bursary; the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust for granting me a bursary to undertake research in Vienna, more specifically to consult the two biographies of Robert Fuchs written by Anton Mayr and Adalbert Grote which are not available in South Africa; all my friends for their support and help whenever I needed it; Monique Esterhuyse for editing this mini-dissertation; and my family for always supporting me in everything I do. i ABSTRACT In accordance with the notion of the so-called “new musicology” that musicological studies should steer away from the canon of masterpieces, this study concentrates on Robert Fuchs as an example of a Kleinmeister. His Piano Trio in C major, Op. 22, is a demonstration of developing variation, a term coined by Arnold Schoenberg to refer to the technique of motivic development within a musical composition as a whole. According to Schoenberg, the music of Johannes Brahms illustrates the most advanced manifestation of developing variation in that he often starts to develop his motives from the very opening of a piece. The technique of developing variation became one solution to the key problem composers faced in the later nineteenth century, namely how to create large forms from very concise thematic material. The purpose of this study is, firstly, to describe the concept of developing variation, providing** a historical perspective with specific reference to Brahms, and, secondly, to trace the manifestation of developing variation in Robert Fuchs‟s Piano Trio in C major, Op. 22, a work which Fuchs dedicated to Brahms. The empirical section of this study shows that the characteristic feature of the germ cell (G-A-G) that appears at the beginning of this composition, namely a movement away from and a return to the point of departure, manifests on micro- (motivic), meso- (thematic), and macro- (structural) level. On micro-level the germ cell grows teleologically by means of metric displacement, rhythmic changes, augmentation, diminution, intervallic expansion, inversion, retrograde, retrograde inversion, extension, sequential treatment, liquidation and further derivatives of the germ cell until a large form is created: a four-movement work for three instruments. This study also demonstrates how the shape of the germ cell can be found in larger structures as themes and the overall structure of each of the four movements. Keywords Developing variation Robert Fuchs Brahms Schoenberg Piano Trio in C major, Op. 22 ii OPSOMMING In ooreenstemming met die idee van die sogenaamde “nuwe musikologie” dat musikologiese studies van die kanon van meesterwerke moet wegbeweeg, konsentreer hierdie studie op Robert Fuchs as ‟n voorbeeld van ‟n Kleinmeister. Sy Klaviertrio in C majeur, Op. 22, is ‟n demonstrasie van ontwikkelende variasie, ‟n term wat deur Arnold Schoenberg geskep is om na die tegniek van motiwiese ontwikkeling binne ‟n komposisie as ‟n geheel te verwys. Volgens Schoenberg illustreer die musiek van Johannes Brahms die mees gevorderde manifestasie van ontwikkelende variasie deurdat hy dikwels reeds reg aan die begin van ‟n stuk begin om sy motiewe te ontwikkel. Die tegniek van ontwikkelende variasie het een oplossing geword vir die belangrikste probleem waarvoor komponiste in die laat negentiende eeu te staan gekom het, naamlik hoe om groot strukture uit baie bondige tematiese materiaal te skep. Die doel van hierdie studie is eerstens om die konsep van ontwikkelende variasie te beskryf en ‟n historiese perspektief met spesifieke verwysing na Brahms te verskaf, en tweedens om die manifestasie van ontwikkelende variasie in Robert Fuchs se Klaviertrio in C majeur, Op. 22, ‟n werk wat Fuchs aan Brahms opgedra het, na te speur. Die empiriese afdeling van hierdie studie toon aan dat die kenmerkende eienskap van die kiemsel (G-A-G) wat aan die begin van hierdie komposisie voorkom, naamlik ‟n beweging weg van en ‟n terugkeer na die vertrekpunt, op mikro- (motiwiese), meso- (tematiese) en makro- (strukturele) vlak manifesteer. Die kiemsel groei op mikrovlak teleologies deur middel van metriese verskuiwing, ritmiese veranderings, vergroting, verkleining, intervalvergroting, omkering, kreeftegang, kreeftegang omkering, verlenging, sekwensiële behandeling, disintegrasie en verdere afgeleides van die kiemsel totdat ‟n groot struktuur daargestel is: ‟n vierbewegingwerk vir drie instrumente. Hierdie studie toon ook aan hoe die gestalte van die kiemsel gevind kan word in die temas en in die oorkoepelende struktuur van elkeen van die vier bewegings. Sleutelwoorde Ontwikkelende variasie Robert Fuchs Brahms Schoenberg iii Klaviertrio in C majeur, Op. 22 iv CONTENTS Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. i Abstract ............................................................................................................................. ii Opsomming ...................................................................................................................... iii List of musical examples .................................................................................................. vii List of tables ................................................................................................................... viii Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background, problem statement and substantiation ............................................ 1 1.2 Research goal and method of investigation ........................................................ 5 1.3 Chapter division .................................................................................................. 5 Chapter 2: Developing variation ........................................................................................ 7 2.1 Definitions and background history ..................................................................... 7 2.1.1 Definitions .................................................................................................... 8 2.1.2 Thematic transformation .............................................................................. 9 2.1.3 Developing variation versus repetition ........................................................10 2.1.4 Correlation with musical prose ....................................................................11 2.1.5 Organicism .................................................................................................11 2.1.6 Evolution of developing variation ................................................................13 2.1.7 Developing variation as an analytical tool ...................................................15 2.2 Developing variation as described in the literature on Johannes Brahms ...........16 2.2.1 Origin of developing variation in Brahms‟s music ........................................17 2.2.2 Compositional procedures ..........................................................................18 2.2.3 Formal structures ........................................................................................19 2.2.4 Application of developing variation ..............................................................20 2.2.5 Brahms the Janus figure .............................................................................22 2.2.6 Brahms‟s legacy .........................................................................................23 2.3 Conclusion .........................................................................................................25 Chapter 3: Robert Fuchs ..................................................................................................27 v 3.1 History and background .....................................................................................27 3.1.1 Early life ......................................................................................................27 3.1.2 Studies .......................................................................................................27 3.1.3 Teaching career ..........................................................................................28 3.1.4 Fuchs‟s career as a composer ....................................................................28 3.1.5 Fuchs‟s development as composer .............................................................29 3.1.6 Last years ...................................................................................................30 3.2 The Fuchs–Brahms link .....................................................................................31