Copyright © 2008 by Michael John Malone All rights reserved The Dissertation Committee for Michael John Malone certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Symbols of Transformation: Reconceptualizing the Boundaries of Organicism in the Music of Béla Bartók Committee: Elliott Antokoletz, supervisor Andrew Dell’Antonio D. Kern Holoman K. M. Knittel David Neumeyer Symbols of Transformation: Reconceptualizing the Boundaries of Organicism in the Music of Béla Bartók by Michael John Malone, B.A.; M.M. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin May 2008 In memory of my brother, Timothy John Malone (1974–2007) Acknowledgements This essay has been a long time in the works, and I am happy to have the opportunity to thank the many people who have support- ed and encouraged me along the way—without them, this project would not have been possible. I am indebted to the faculty and staff at the Butler School of Mu- sic at The University of Texas at Austin, and particularly to my advi- sor, Elliott Antokoletz, whose weekly meetings were always stimu- lating and invigorating. I have benefitted greatly from the advice and guidance of Rebecca Baltzer, Andrew Dell’Antonio, Kay Knittel, and David Neumeyer, and it is with fondness that I recall the many en- lightening conversations I had with the late Gerard Béhague. It is with deepest gratitude that I thank my friends and former colleagues at the University of California, Davis, for encouraging me to attend graduate school in the first place—especially Ulla McDan- iel and Wayne Slawson. Cheers to Jonathan and Mickey Elkus whose long and lasting friendship has enriched my life. And for the many years that Kern Holoman has been my teacher, mentor, and friend, I offer him my most profound thanks for his enthusiastic support, and for inspiring me to be a better musician and a better person. Since much of this dissertation was written in Columbus, Ohio, I am obliged Charles Atkinson for making sure I had access to ev- erything I needed from the library at The Ohio State University, and v acknowledgements to Danielle Fosler-Lussier, who has been more of an inspiration than she probably realizes. This project could not have happened without my family and friends: thanks to Jeremey McCreary for the many rousing conver- sations (and to our family for putting up with them); to Kiersten Walker and Cathy Thomas, for food, lodging, and support at a mo- ment’s notice; and Andy Austin, whose friendship has been a con- stant source of strength. For their lifelong love and unconditional support, I extend my heartfelt thanks to my parents, Barbara and John Malone, and my sister Marie. I am tremendously grateful to my wife, Helen, whose enduring love and endless patience make our life a joy. Finally, it is with deepest sorrow that I dedicate this project to my brother, Tim, whose strength in life was an inspiration. vi Symbols of Transformation: Reconceptualizing the Boundaries of Organicism in the Music of Béla Bartók Publication No. ____________ Michael John Malone, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2008 Supervisor: Elliott Antokoletz This dissertation uses Béla Bartók’s 1943 Concerto for Orchestra as a focal point for investigating conceptual models of music based on early twentieth-century notions of organicism. In particular, this project brings together two traditions—one structural, one narra- tive—in an attempt to integrate motivic allusion and programmatic discourse, and places this piece within a metadiscourse of musical ‘Fate’ stories that continually point back to Beethoven. Based largely on the work of George Lakoff, chapter 1 is an over- view of modern category theories that rejects objectivism and estab- lishes a philosophical view of meaning that is shaped by our concep- tual models. Chapter 2 is a comparison of the writings of Schoenberg and Bartók that invoke organicist values of musical development and variation. Stemming from Bartók’s claim that Schoenberg’s Op. 11 vii abstract showed composers the “new ways and means” of modern composi- tion, this chapter speculates on potential influences and involves a reinvestigation of Schoenberg’s Op. 11, No. 1. Chapter 3 examines the difference between strict hierarchical models of music and metonymic reductions. Following a critique of Fred Lerdahl’s recent attempts to apply his Chomskian prolonga- tional model to post-tonal and atonal music, this chapter traces the integration of motivic parallelism and key architecture in tonal mu- sic as a primary organizing feature of musical form, foreshadowing their use by Bartók as replacements for the structural functions of harmony. Chapter 4 investigates the relationship of musical motives and post-Beethovenian narratives of fate/overcoming and fate/death in music by Bizet, Verdi, Tchaikovsky, and Richard Strauss, providing a context for Bartók’s motivic and programmatic allusion to—and transformation of—that very tradition. Chapter 5 draws the material from the previous chapters togeth- er in a structural-programmatic reading of the Concerto for Orches- tra that situates it as a transformation of the evolving traditions that inform it. viii Contents List of Music Examples, Figures, and Tables . xi Prologue . 1 Chapter 1 Imaginary Boundaries. 11 Categorization. 13 Objectivism. 32 The Effects of Linguistic Categories and Naming Strategies . 37 Semiotics, Meaning, and the Conduit Metaphor . 42 Idealized Cognitive Models . 43 Metaphor. 44 Frames . 51 Metonymic Models and Hierarchy . 52 Chapter 2 Organicism and Developing Variation . 55 Organicism and Folk Music . 56 Developing Variation and Coherence. 62 Terminology and the Problem of Signification . 65 On the Relationships of Idea, Motive, Gestalt, and Grundgestalt . 68 Unvaried Repetition . 73 Hidden Relations . 76 The Boundaries of Tonality . 81 Form. 85 Schoenberg’s Op. 11, No. 1 . 87 Chapter 3 Hierarchical Categorization and Metonymy . 122 Tonal Pitch Space Theory in Post-Tonal Contexts. 124 ix contents Metaphors of Hierarchy. 134 Key Architecture and Motivic Parallelism in Tonal Music. 135 Chapter 4 Allusion, Frames, and Narratives of Fate . 160 Narrative Analysis . 165 Toward an Interpretation of b6ˆ. 178 ‘Sighing’ and ‘Fate’: Beethoven and Beyond . 193 Chapter 5 Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra . 235 Móricz’s Sketch Studies and the Composition of the Concerto for Orchestra. 237 Bartók’s Developing Variation . 250 Sub-Surface Developing Variation . 261 Transformations of Fate. 267 Epilogue . 278 References. 282 Vita. 294 x List of Music Examples, Figures, and Tables example 2.1 Schoenberg, Op. 11, No. 1, mm. 1–33 . 91 example 2.2 Schoenberg, Op. 11, No. 1, mm. 50–end . 95 example 2.3 Schoenberg, Op. 11, No. 1, mm. 1–3, alternative divisions of opening phrase . 96 example 2.4 Schoenberg, Op. 11, No. 1, developing variation through systematic expansion of intervals: (a) mm. 1–4; (b) mm. 3–4 . 98 example 2.5 Schoenberg, Op. 11, No. 1, mm. 1–2 and 2–4, developing variation of secondary motive from “soprano” voice to “alto” voice and subsequent inversion . 99 example 2.6 Schoenberg, Op. 11, No. 1, mm. 1–2 and 2–4, developing variation of secondary motive from “soprano” voice to “bass” voice . 99 example 2.7 Schoenberg, Op. 11, No. 1, emergence and development of chromatic vs. whole tone as secondary motive . 100 example 2.8 Schoenberg, Op. 11, No. 1, motivic “folding” as sub-surface motivic parallelism . 102 example 2.9 Schoenberg, Op. 11, No. 1, two kinds of surface motive “unfolding”: (a) from m. 1 to m. 2; and (b) from m. 1 to m. 4. 102 example 2.10 Schoenberg, Op. 11, No. 1. Developing variation of an “idea” (large intervals followed by chromatic intervals) . 106 example 2.11 Schoenberg, Op. 11, No. 1, mm. 1–2 and m. 13, reinterpretation of initial motive through developing variation . 107 xi list of music examples, Figures, and Tables example 2.12 Schoenberg, Op. 11, No. 1, m. 15, developing variation of initial idea. N.B. combination of references: G#–G§ (chromatic tail) from a (mm. 1–2), and F#–D§ from a´´ (m. 9) . 108 example 2.13 Schoenberg, Op. 11, No. 1, developing variation through combination of parameters (and symmetrization of intervals): (a) mm. 1–3; (b) m. 4; and (c) mm. 9–11 . 110 example 2.14 Schoenberg, Op. 11, No. 1: (a) m. 11; (b) mm. 63–64 (end of piece) . 111 example 2.15 Schoenberg, Op. 11, No. 1, mm. 9–11, “unfolding” of 4 +/–2 in accompaniment. 113 example 2.16 Schoenberg, Op. 11, No. 1, mm. 2–3, potential for 4/2 relationship in accompanimental voice-leading transformations. 113 example 3.1 Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 4, movement I, mm. 1–7 . 139 example 3.2 Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 4, movement I, mm. 11–20: (a) piano reduction; (b) reduction of bass arpeggiation as diminished cycle with Db interruption . 141 example 3.3 Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 4, movement I: (a) analysis of key architecture as unfolding of interval-3/9 cycle; (b) dual cyclic unfolding as complex key architecture (N.B., secondary unfolding of interval-4/8 cycle) . 143 example 3.4 Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 4, movment III, analysis of key architecture as augmented triad . 146 table 3.1 Richard Strauss, Don Juan, sonata form, etc. 153 example 3.5 Richard Strauss, Don Juan, opening . 157 example 4.1 J. S. Bach, Mass in B-Minor, Crucifixus, mm. 5–9 . 187 xii list of music examples, Figures, and Tables example 4.2 Josquin Desprez, Miserere mei deus, opening: ‘sighing’ motive in all parts foreshadowing repetetitions in tenor voice . 189 example 4.3 Johann Mattheson, Der Vollkommene Capellmeister [1739], examples of emphasis: (a) chapter 8; (b) chapter 12.