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When Theories of Psychology and Composition Intersect

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WHEN THEORIES OF PSYCHOLOGY AND COMPOSITION INTERSECT: A CASE STUDY OF SCHOENBERG, DUTILLEUX, AND LANSKY _______________________________________ A Thesis presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School at the University of Missouri-Columbia _______________________________________________________ In Partial FulfillMent of the RequireMents for the Degree Master of Arts _____________________________________________________ by ELISABETH C. ROBERTS Dr. Judith Mabary, Thesis Co-Advisor Dr. Michael J. Budds, Thesis Co-Advisor MAY 2020 © Copyright by Elisabeth C. Roberts 2020 All Rights Reserved The undersigned, appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School, have exaMined the thesis entitled WHEN THEORIES OF PSYCHOLOGY AND COMPOSITION INTERSECT: A CASE STUDY OF SCHOENBERG, DUTILLEUX, AND LANSKY Presented by Elisabeth C. Roberts A candidate for the degree of Master of Arts And hereby certify that in their opinion it is Worthy of acceptance ________________________________________________________ Dr. Judith Mabary __________________________________________________________ Dr. Michael J. Budds ____________________________________________________________ Dr. Nicholas Smith ____________________________________________________________ Dr. Steven Hackley ____________________________________________________________ Dr. Neil Minturn ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are a plethora of individuals Who, upon reflection, have helped me reach the point at Which I was confident in my passion for Musicology and able to produce such research. First and foreMost, I thank my faculty advisors—Dr. Judith Mabary and Dr. Michael J. Budds—Who have encouraged me to pursue What sets my soul afire and to be excellent in that chase. My parents, Charles and Michelle, also have my deepest appreci- ation as they have spared years of their lives to educate and instill their love of knowledge in me. In my younger days, When I pursued both creative Writing and piano lessons, my Mother suggested that one day I Might enjoy fusing my love of both and Write about Music. I did not agree with her in my preteen years; I have admitted since then that she was More perceptive than I had given credit. I Would also like to dedicate my Work to my high school English tutors, Heather Ives and Melinda Meuser, for their tireless efforts in pioneering live, online English tutoring in its development. Although acadeMic Writing is not alWays the favored part of a Music degree, it is because of theM that I felt at ease with this aspect of Music and also capable of comMunicating the things I love Most about this incredible art practice. I further recognize other teachers Who have inspired me: Howard Bahr, William Edgar, Frank Felice, Steven Sachs, AndreW Sauer- Wein, and countless others—thank you for helping a young scholar understand that Music is so Much More than technique, notation, and performance credit; thank you for focusing my lens on the Meaning of the art. Finally, my Warmest gratitude to my intiMate ac- quaintances, friends, colleagues, and my sister, Caroline, Who have supported me eMo- tionally and acadeMically throughout the duration of this project. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . ii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. .vi ABSTRACT. .vii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION. .1 Literature Survey Methodology CHAPTER II: BECOMING CONSCIOUS: THE ADVENT AND EVOLUTION OF COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY IN WESTERN CULTURE FROM 1900 TO 1990. .10 Psychology before 1900 Psychology from 1900 to 1920 Psychoanalysis and Sigmund Freud Early French Psychology Psychology from 1913 to 1959 BehaviorisM Cognitive Psychology: World War II-1959 Cognitive Psychology from 1959 to 1990 The Cognitive Revolution Cognitive Psychology until 1990 SumMary CHAPTER III: THE UNCONSCIOUS REVEALED IN ARNOLD SCHOENBERG’S SIX LITTLE PIANO PIECES, OP. 19 . 26 Contextual Information about the Composer and Relevant Psychological Trends Six Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19 iii Significance and History Musical Aspects Task Environment Considerations Schoenberg’s Personal Psychology and Interests Further Cultural Considerations Informed Interpretation CHAPTER IV: SOLLIER, EARLY MEMORY THEORY, AND HENRI DUTILLEUX’S MÉTABOLES . .46 Contextual Information about the Composer and Relevant Psychological Trends Métaboles Significance and History Musical Aspects Task Environment Considerations Sollier and Proust Dutilleux and Proust Informed Interpretation CHAPTER V: THE CONCERT HALL OF THE MIND: ATTENTION, PERCEPTION AND AUDITORY PROCESSING IN PAUL LANSKY’S CHATTER SERIES . 66 Contextual Information about the Composer and Relevant Psychological Trends The chatter Pieces Significance and History Musical Aspects Task Environment Considerations Lansky’s Philosophy of Electronic Composition iv Cognitive Effects in the chatter Series Informed Interpretation CHAPTER VI: CONCLUSION . .93 APPENDIX A: TIMELINE OF IMPORTANT EVENTS . .98 APPENDIX B: DEFINITIONS . 100 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 102 v LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 4.1 Opening StateMent from “Incantatoire,” Wind Section (Transposed) . .51 4.2 Xylophone, Celesta, and Harp Notation for a Textural Motive, m. 2 of “Incantatoire” . .53 5.1 ExaMple of Multiple StreaMs in Jean-Louis Duport’s Cello Etude No. 7. 70 5.2 Bregman’s DiagraM of the StreaMing Effect in a Sequence of Tones . 70 5.3 A Portion of Lansky’s FORTRAN Code for the Chatter Effect . .88 vi ABSTRACT Although Music had been understood for centuries to affect and even express cer- tain psychological states, the Method of observation and study essential to the evolving field of psychology and neuroscience in the tWentieth century ushered in a profoundly different approach to considering the sense of self, the World, and creativity. Conse- quently, knowledge about psychology appears to have affected creative activities. It then follows that, as the discipline of psychology—Made Manifest specifically in cognition and MeMory—evolved in Western society, its Morphing theories flavored the perspec- tives of Musicians in their craft. The objective of this thesis is to exaMine the effects of psychology on three prominent tWentieth-century composers in the context of one Musi- cal Work by each: Six Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19 (1911) of Arnold Schoenberg (1874- 1951), Métaboles (1964) by Henri Dutilleux (1916-2013), and the chatter series (1985- 1988) of Paul Lansky (born 1944). These compositions serve as successive representa- tions of psychological influence, in Which it becomes apparent that societal vieWs of psy- chology can play a subtle but powerful and reflexive part in Music creation. Each Work was composed for a different instrumental Medium and represents a separate national tra- dition. In essence, I am proposing a neW kind of case study, in Which the composition of art Music can be evaluated as a fulfillMent of creators Who are interacting to some degree with their own personal knowledge of conteMporaneous psychology, Whether explicitly or iMplicitly. vii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The popularization of psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) and the nas- cent field of cognitive science fundaMentally influenced Many aspects of Western society in the tWentieth century, aMong theM—and by no Means surprisingly—the Musical arts. Although Music had been understood for centuries to affect and even express certain psy- chological states, the Method of observation and study essential to psychoanalysis and neuroscience ushered in a profoundly different approach to considering the sense of self, the World, and creativity.1 With these neW discoveries the Work of composing can be considered a psychological act as it too consists of cognitive processes. Consequently, knowledge about psychology appears to have affected creative activities. It follows then, that as the discipline of psychology—Made Manifest specifically in cognition and MeMory—evolved in Western society, its Morphing theories flavored the perspectives of Musicians in their craft. Although not all composers Working after the advent of studies in psychology have been documented as eMbracing its findings, there are traceable symptoms of the im- pact of psychological development in the language used by some artists to describe their creative Work and their Musical representations of perception. With this in Mind, the ob- jective of this thesis is to exaMine the effects of psychology on three prominent tWenti- eth-century composers in the context of one Musical Work by each: Six Little Piano 1 Freudian theory suggested that dreams, suppressed memories, and other mental activity not only contributed to psychological change but was a window into a person’s past. The increasing nor- malization of psychological inquiry and treatment, topics previously taboo to discuss, ushered in new methods by which to explore and to express the self. 1 Pieces, Op. 19 (1911) of Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951), Métaboles (1964) by Henri Dutilleux (1916-2013), and the chatter series (1985-1988) of Paul Lansky (born 1944). In addition, I will consider the conteMporaneous psychological trends in the decades sur- rounding the compositions and discuss their priMary iMpact with regard to Western soci- ety. DraWing from a cognitive-Musicological approach, my analysis of the Musical ex- aMples will serve as evidence to support my theory alongside other factors, notably the composers’ task environments and their Methodologies for completing artistic goals.2 These compositions serve as successive representations of psychological influence, in Which it becomes apparent that conteMporaneous societal vieWs of psychology can play a subtle but powerful
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