U UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI

Date: May 8, 2009

I, Sheri Renee Lee , hereby submit this original work as part of the requirements for the degree of:

Doctor of Musical Arts in Violin Performance

It is entitled: Four Twelve-Tone Violin Compositions: Performance Practice and Preparation

Sheri Renee Lee Student Signature:

This work and its defense approved by:

Committee Chair: Dr. Steven J. Cahn Dr. Piotr Milewski Prof. Kurt Sassmanshaus

Approval of the electronic document:

I have reviewed the Thesis/Dissertation in its final electronic format and certify that it is an accurate copy of the document reviewed and approved by the committee.

Committee Chair signature: Dr. Steven J. Cahn

Four Twelve-Tone Violin Compositions: Performance Practice and Preparation

A document submitted to the

Division of Research and Advanced Studies of the University of Cincinnati

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Musical Arts

in the Division of Performance Studies Department of Strings of the College-Conservatory of Music

2009

by

Sheri Renee Lee

B. M. Oberlin Conservatory of Music, 1994 M.M. University of Cincinnati, 1999

Committee Chair: Steven Cahn, Ph.D.

ABSTRACT

Title: Four Twelve-Tone Violin Compositions: Performance Practice and Preparation

Author: Sheri R. Lee

Committee Chair/Advisor: Steven Cahn, Ph.D.

Performance Studies Division, College-Conservatory of Music

This project explores strategies for the study and performance of specific twelve- tone violin compositions: Phantasy, op. 47 (1949) by Arnold Schoenberg, Solo Sonata

(1953) by Roger Sessions, Violin Concerto (1963) by Alberto Ginastera and Melismata

(1982) by Milton Babbitt. Special attention is placed on interpretational philosophy, salient musical constructs and performance challenges of the pieces.

Chapter One’s three sections provide background information on the selected composers and compositions. The first section explores each composer's view of and approach to dodecaphony and discusses their common aesthetic as twelve-tone composers. The second section describes the relationships among the composers and performers who premiered the pieces, an element which may be critical to the compositional processes. Audience reactions to early performances of the pieces are also characterized. Finally, the author provides a discussion of selected recordings and performances, and provides a guide to listening to those performances as a strategy for developing a personal, but informed interpretation.

In Chapter Two, the author examines twelve-tone compositional features of each composition that would be most salient in the quest to arrive at a coherent and convincing performance. This chapter also discusses both similarities and differences of styles and

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structures among the featured pieces, based on specific compositional characteristics including both broader structural elements and small motives.

In Chapter Three the author provides strategies on how violinists can overcome the technical challenges of the instrument. Twelve-tone compositions are well suited for the violin, in that the instrument can handle large leaps and sudden contrasts in dynamics, register and range. However, the demands on the performer require an unusual degree of control. This chapter features discussions on violin techniques that focus on coordination between the ears, fingerboard, and arms as well as sections on locating and pre-hearing pitches, deciphering rhythms, and extended violin techniques. Practical advice about printed instructions, color-enhancing notation, and displaying pages in a performance is also included.

This paper is intended to offer a foundation that is both appropriate and useful for violinists studying these works. Preparing modern music for performance is an experience of constant revelation that is both challenging and rewarding. With this research the author strives to provide the context in which the performer understands the compositional constructs and the performance practices specific to a successful performance.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to express my sincere appreciation to Dr. Steven Cahn for his support, guidance, scholarship and willingness to serve as my committee chair. In addition I wish to acknowledge my teacher Dr. Piotr Milewski for his many years of input. Finally, I want to express gratitude to my parents for their never-ending love, support and generosity.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION…………………………………………….……………….……….…1

CHAPTER ONE – PLACING THE PHANTASY, THE SOLO SONATA, THE VIOLIN

CONCERTO AND MELISMATA IN CONTEXT…………………………...... ……....…6

CHAPTER TWO – PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS AND

INTERPRETION………………………………………………………….……………..30

CHAPTER THREE – PRACTICE AND PERFORMANCE……..…………….…..….100

WORKS CITED………………………………………………..…………….….……..153

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LIST OF EXAMPLES

2.1 The short-long repeated note rhythm in the Phantasy…………………………..42

2.2a Excerpt of the Andante from the Solo Sonata in A minor by J. S. Bach, measure,

17…………………………………………………………………………….…..46

2.2b. Excerpt of the Adagio from the Solo Sonata by Sessions, measure 396…..…….46

2.3 Gestures that appear to comment in Melismata, measures 29 – 30….….……….49

2.4 Slurs that indicate phrasing in the opening six measures of the Phantasy………52

2.5 Notes that are repeated in close proximity in the Phantasy, measures 6 – 7…....53

2.6 Dynamics indicate the gestures begin with the pick-up in measures 21 – 23 of the

Phantasy…………………………………………………...……………..………55

2.7 The phrases in the opening measures of the Solo Sonata……………….……….58

2.8 Repeated note sonorities in the Solo Sonata, measures 6 – 7.………...…………59

2.9 Opening phrases in the ‘B’ section in the Scherzo of the Solo Sonata, measures

236 – 248…………………………………………………………….…………..60

2.10 The opening of the Adagio in the Solo Sonata…………………………………..62

2.11 Compare the beginning of the first movement with the first recitative section of

the third movement in the Solo Sonata…………………………………………..63

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2.12 The articulation outlines trichordal segmentation in the opening row statement of

the Violin Concerto…………………………...……………………………..….65

2.13 The articulation separates the row into trichords and hexachords in measure

142 of the Violin Concerto, and the crescendo and rests outline the row as a

whole……………………………………………………………………...……..66

2.14 Tetrachords and trichords that approach the high A in the second movement of the

Violin Concerto………………………………………………………..…………68

2.15 Notes used in the third movement of the solo violin part in the Violin Concerto

emphasize the properties of the original row and set class 3-2 [0, 1, 3] in measure

16…………………………………………………….…………………..…....….70

2.16 Opening phrases in Melismata……………………….…………………………..72

2.17 Measure 80 in Melismata along with similar gestures….…………….….………73

2.18 Similar intervals and rhythms are heard in these gestures in Melismata..……….74

2.19 Gestures in Melismata that end with an abrupt double-stop in the interval of a

second.……….…………………………………………….…………….………75

2.20 In the Phantasy, notes from the opening, from measure 32, and the start of the

Grazioso emphasize the A-C# dyad……………………………………….……..77

2.21 Invariance in the Violin Concerto, second statement of the cadenza using notes

C – B – Bb……..………………………………………………...………………80

2.22 Invariance in the Violin Concerto, third statement of the cadenza using notes

C – B – Bb..……….…………………...…………………………………………80

2.23 Whole-tone segments in the Solo Sonata, measure 16……………….………….84

2.24 Octatonic segments in the Solo Sonata, measures 33 and 34……………………84

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2.25 Whole-tone segments in the Solo Sonata, measures 590 – 593……….…………91

2.26 Stacked fourths in the Solo Sonata, measures 534 and 567……………………...92

2.27 Repeated motive in the Scherzo of the Solo Sonata……………………………..93

2.28 The order of the quarter-tones in “Study Six” of the Violin Concerto emphasize

row R1……………………………………………………………….…………..94

3.1 Practice scale for the Solo Sonata, measure 587……………………………….112

3.2 Practice scale for the third movement of the Violin Concerto, measures 388 –

391……………………………………………………………………….…….113

3.3 Combined interval practice passage for the first movement of the Violin Concerto,

measure 145……………………………………………………………….……114

3.4 Transpose the previous pattern to begin on C, D and F…….………………….114

3.5 A practice scale for measure 145 in the first movement of the Violin

Concerto………………………………………………………………………...115

3.6 Practice shift and fingering for the Phantasy, measures 2 – 3..………….….….117

3.7 Practice shift for the Solo Sonata, measure 107……………………..…………118

3.8 Practice shifts for measures 114 – 116 in the Solo Sonata…………………..…118

3.9 Practice measures 70 – 71 in double-stops………………………….………….124

3.10 Temporary fixed position in the Solo Sonata, measure 174……...…………….126

3.11 Picture of the large stretch in the first movement of the Violin Concerto, measure

84………………………………………………………………………………..127

3.12 Hand contraction in the Phantasy, measure 25…………………………...…….131

3.13 Suggested fingering for Melismata, measures 153 – 154 ………………...……132

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3.14 Picture of an unconventional bow direction needed in the Phantasy, measures

15 – 16.………...……………………………………………………………….134

3.15 Suggested execution of the harmonics in the third movement of the Violin

Concerto, measure 72………………………..…………………………………136

3.16 Suggested execution of the harmonics in the Phantasy, measure 26……..……137

3.17 Isolated rhythm practice for Melismata, measures 80 – 82 ……………………142

3.18 Rhythm practice extracted from the Solo Sonata, measures 187 – 192 ……….144

3.19 Picture of Melismata on cardboard in order to avoid page turns………..…..….149

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LIST OF FIGURES

2.1 Schoenberg’s “fantasy” structure in the Phantasy…….………..……….………35

2.2 First movement of the Solo Sonata…………………………...…………………37

2.3 Combinatoriality in the Phantasy with rows P0 and I5……..….………………..54

2.4 Combinatoriality in the Solo Sonata with rows P0 and I5……….………….…..56

2.5 Each trichord starts with a half-step followed by a minor third in the original row

of the Violin Concerto……………………………………………………………69

2.6 Invariance in the Phantasy, with rows P0, I5 and P6…………………...... ……..76

2.7 Invariance in the Solo Sonata with rows P0, I5 and I8……………….…………78

2.8 Invariance in the Violin Concerto with rows R2 and I2…………………………79

2.9 Twelve-tone and articulated areas in the Phantasy…………...…….……………82

2.10 Uniform technique with traces of dodecaphony in the “Studies” of the Violin

Concerto……………………………………………………….…………………87

2.11 Featured rhythms in the solo violin part in the second movement of the Violin

Concerto……………………………………………………….…………....……88

2.12 Dominant to tonic motion in the first movement of the Violin Concerto…….….98

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LIST OF TABLES

1. INTERVAL OF THE SEVENTH…………………………….…….109

2. INTERVAL OF THE NINTH………………………………………111

3. CREATE SCALES AND ARPEGGIO PATTERNS……….………116

4. UTILIZE SEVENTH POSITION…………….……………………..120

5. LARGE SHIFTS……………………………….………...…...……..122

6. STRENGTHEN AND REDUCE THE WORK OF THE LEFT-HAND

……………………………………………………….….……..129, 130

7. CREATE FLUIDITY WITH NONTRADITIONAL HAND

FRAMES………………………………………………………….….133

8. CHOREOGRAPHED MOVEMENTS……………….…………...…140

9. RHYTHM PRACTICE……………………………………………….145

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INTRODUCTION

The study of modern music encourages a broadening of musical thought and promotes the development of new learning strategies for performance. Instrumentalists who understand the aesthetic promoted by the composition and its salient musical features, who can place the work in historical context and who understand and can meet the technical challenges are most likely to present the music successfully. In this document the author will explore application of the above concepts that a violinist can use in the preparation for performance, from initial readings to mastering the selected twelve-tone pieces.

The exemplary material herein cannot be an all-inclusive representation of twelve-tone music in violin repertoire. If it were, the works examined would include a variety of solos, pieces with violin and piano, and numerous examples of large works and chamber music. Instead, the author has chosen four diverse pieces produced in North and

South America after World War II that feature the violin: Phantasy op. 47 (1949) by

Arnold Schoenberg, Solo Sonata (1953) by Roger Sessions, Violin Concerto (1963) by

Alberto Ginastera and Melismata (1982) by Milton Babbitt. The works demonstrate four distinct approaches and applications of the twelve-tone method and stand as significant examples of the genre.

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While dodecaphony and other modern compositional methods continue to evolve, skepticism towards the body of literature and resistance to the music among performers and audiences persists. Frequently, performers only program standard literature of past eras, or when including modern compositions, they program the most recent curiosity.

Noted American composer and author, Elliot Carter, has discussed the necessity of encouraging the creation of quality music and has aired his frustration with the concern over the marketability of these pieces as a deterrent to the compositional process. He contends that publishers and performers do not focus on promoting and reviving good compositions from the most recent era and that good compositions this ilk are rare; not to be treated cavalierly.1 That is to say, modern masterworks deserve the same consideration and artistic integrity in preparation for performance as do compositions from the acknowledged body of masterworks.

The author intends for this document to support and encourage the survival of quality modern music written for the violin. Audiences will only appreciate music that is performed well, and they will begin to recognize certain pieces as standard masterworks of the modern genre only if artists program them. Performers who understand the works in question more fully and who, through that understanding, see the performance potential of programming the works, will do their part in developing the status of worthy modern music.

Trained musicians in modern music represent a potential for developing a greater appreciation for this music through their teaching, performing and concert

______1 Elliot Carter, “Surveying the Compositional Scene, the Composer’s Viewpoint,” Jonathan W. Bernard, ed. Elliot Carter Collected Essays and Lectures, 1937 – 1995, 3.

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attendance. In addition, numerous music schools and competitions require the study and performance of twentieth-century and contemporary pieces, and competitions that feature contemporary music or require at least one modern work saturate the circuit.

At this time both young and established performers are playing and recording albums of exclusively twentieth and twenty-first century music. For example, celebrated violinist Ann Sophie Mutter recorded an entire CD of twentieth-century music, and the New York Times often carries reviews of concerts that promote the composers. The combination of these elements will eventually encourage and validate modern music consumption.

Nonetheless, the application of tonal hearing and traditional learning techniques to twelve-tone compositions can be frustrating. In the article, Aspects of Contemporary Technique, Paul Zukofsky states that the training materials and thought processes behind today’s violin teaching generally operate as if compositional milestones and technical solutions never happened. He explains that attitudes concerning the violin tend to be narrowly defined by tradition.2

In many ways, modern music inspires artists to confront challenges of their instruments they might otherwise ignore or program around. With many modern compositions, players are required to isolate minute aural and physical techniques that are not crucial for success with other repertoire. Teachers can prepare students for the demands of this music by adapting traditional technique

______2 Paul Zukofsky, “Aspects of Contemporary Technique,” in The Cambridge Companion to the Violin, ed. Robin Stowell (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 143.

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to the new challenges. If violinists are obliged to keep up with innovations in technique, they will enhance the development of their instrument and its music.

As they encounter techniques in contemporary settings, they can successfully navigate them and provide the listener with a more attractive performance.

All too often violinists studying modern pieces find only advanced theoretical and historical information regarding the music and ideas concerning artistic challenges not readily available. In addition, performers can feel increasingly overwhelmed when compositions emphasize a theoretical process like dodecaphony. In this paper the author will show that, contrary to common misconception, one does not need to master modern history and post-tonal theory to perform dodecaphonic compositions successfully. Instead, the music becomes comprehensible when basic philosophical, theoretical and technical properties of the composition are recognized. A thorough understanding of the species and minutia of the compositional technique may not be necessary. Comprehension of the compositional whole and the over-riding principles of construction lead to an authentic and integral performance. The goal of this paper is to offer a useful, appropriate foundation that serves as encouragement for violinists studying modern works.

Chapter One provides background information on the composers and their pieces. The author will explain how the composers arrived at dodecaphony and will give some historical information on the first performances of each composition. Chapters Two and Three describe how a performer can make sense of the music. In Chapter Two the author approaches the pieces without the

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instrument, exploring the most salient theoretical features. In Chapter Three, ideas are given on practice solutions concerning the technical challenges for the violinist.

Each composer has individual ideas on motion, association and contrast, resulting in a diversity of expression. In the Phantasy the listener hears violin and piano interact using both long melodic gestures and fragments of melody in gestured expressive motion.

The Solo Sonata is packed with all the dramatic content, counterpoint, and other essential material of a four-movement large-scale piece. Ginastera’s Violin Concerto combines color, timbres, and virtuosity with creative orchestration that rivals that of Hector Berlioz or Gustav Mahler. Like Mahler, Ginastera uses small intimate forces as well as full, thick, massive textures. Melismata is a charismatic and virtuosic, single-movement solo violin work with remarkable intensity and elegant lyricism.

The music world is in a state of constant change and America is often perpetuating these revolutionary ideas. Elliot Carter states that modern music, like modern man, must express and comprehend for future generations. He expresses the importance that music does not fade away into a shrinking repertoire of a few overworked pieces.3 It is hoped that through this document and other essays and articles on the topic, performers can come to appreciate modern music in the repertoire and, more importantly, develop a strategy for performing the genre with the same integrity and accuracy they bring to other music.

______3 Carter, 3.

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CHAPTER ONE

PLACING THE PHANTASY, SOLO SONATA, VIOLIN CONCERTO AND MELISMATA IN CONTEXT

This chapter is divided into three sections, providing background material on the featured composers and pieces. Attention to detail is established in both musical aesthetics and individual performances. The chapter highlights how composers and instrumentalists alike incorporate their own stylistic ideas into each composition.

The first section, Adopting Dodecaphony: Individual Views, supplies information on Schoenberg, Sessions, Ginastera, and Babbitt and discusses their common aesthetic as twelve-tone composers and their individual approaches to the process. As artists these composers created compositions that present musical vision without concern for social acceptance.

The middle section, Working Relationships and Premieres, includes descriptions of the interaction among the musicians participating in the earliest performances of the

Phantasy, the Solo Sonata, the Violin Concerto and Melismata. Like Joachim and

Brahms before them, performers learned of stylistic and technical approaches to specific pieces through personal contact with composers. At times they worked closely together, as they explored the musical subtext that is difficult to convey through notation alone.

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In addition, the section notes the perspective through which the audiences and critics view the work. By understanding the pitfalls in presentation and considering how music education can assist acceptance of modern works; composers and performers may be able to lengthen the otherwise short life of modern works. Sessions admits he has a fundamental concern about a culture in which the critic instead of the artist is the central figure. He explains that there is a danger in having a critical attitude rather than a love for art, and he contends that we should begin to reserve judgment toward the end product rather than judging through observation of a by product of the artistic experience.4

The final section of the chapter, Listening and Recordings, discusses a few recorded performances of the Phantasy, the Solo Sonata, the Violin Concerto, and

Melismata. Sessions believes that familiarity with the music guides the hearer to an informed impression. He explains that one cannot grasp much or even some of the works in a single hearing.5

With the invention of recording devices and recent history of dodecaphony, the intentions of the composers are documented and accessible. The section will highlight the technical style of each player and comment on his or her interpretation of the music.

Since these performers had closer contact with the composers, the interpretations give first-hand insight into elements beyond the realm of notation.

______4 Claire R. Reis, Composers, Conductors, and Critics (New York: Oxford University Press, 1955), 106.

5 Roger Sessions, “Sonata for Violin” in accompanying notes, Sonata for Violin performed by Paul Zukofsky. CP2 Recordings 3894450, 1976, vinyl LP.

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ADOPTING DODECAPHONY: INDIVIDUAL VIEWS

Schoenberg’s twelve-tone system originates from an interest in the constant move towards unresolved dissonances and developing variation. He began to experiment with serial ideas in 1914 while working on what later became the Jakobsleiter. Initial sketches of its Scherzo represent the earliest layers of serial and twelve-tone thinking.6

From 1920 – 23 Schoenberg’s stylistic development toward dodecaphony accelerated. Regulated circulation of all twelve pitches, the recurrence of motives or collections related by transpositions, inversion, retrograde and retrograde inversion, and the association of linear and chordal structures emerged into his compositions.7 The

Klavierstusk, Opus 23, Number 1, is the first complete composition in which serial ordering is a fundamental principle of the organization.8 However, it was not until after the Suite, Opus 25 in 1923 that Schoenberg was entirely focused on twelve-tone sets.9 As his ideas continued to evolve, he further unified compositions with developing variation by using the twelve-tone row as a theme, where its operations developed the subject to its logical ends.

Schoenberg arrived at a comprehensive system with the Variations for Orchestra,

Opus 31. He began the piece in 1926 and completed it in 1928.10 The composition

______6 Ethan Haimo, Schoenberg’s Serial Odyssey (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990), 42.

7 Ibid., 69.

8 Ibid., 71.

9 Ibid., 104.

10 Ibid., 149.

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includes inversionally hexachordal combinatoriality, linear and harmonic presentations of the row, and exploits the intervallic properties of the set.11

Despite his increasingly radical approach, Schoenberg thought of himself as a traditionalist, part of an inevitable step in the evolution of Austro-German music.12 Like

Bach he employed multiple counterpoint, contrapuntal flexibility with the rows, and vertical and horizontal shifts creating voice-crossings as well as other traditional compositional devices.13 He even suggested that Bach could be considered the first twelve-tone composer using all notes of the chromatic scale.14

In addition, Schoenberg strongly believed in the developing variation incorporated by composers of the classical era, creating gestures in which ideas evolve while the music unfolds. Corresponding to late romantics Brahms, Mahler and Wagner, he provided continuous development and expansive themes. Wagner’s use of asymmetrical melodic lines as well as independent contrapuntal motion clearly influenced Schoenberg's style.15

______11 Ibid., 168 – 177.

12 Arnold Schoenberg, “How One Becomes Lonely,” in Style and Idea: selected writings of Arnold Schoenberg, ed. Leonard Stein, trans. Leo Black (Berkely and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1984), 50.

13 Arnold Schoenberg, “New Music, Outmoded Music, Style and Idea,” in Style and Idea: selected writings of Arnold Schoenberg, ed. Leonard Stein, trans. Leo Black (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1984), 117.

14 Ibid. 117.

15 Arnold Schoenberg, “My Evolution,” in Style and Idea: selected writings of Arnold Schoenberg, ed. Leonard Stein, trans. Leo Black (Berkely and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1984), 80.

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Schoenberg realized that there is potential in dodecaphony as a method of composition since it does not dictate style. His own compositions as well as the compositions of others illustrate the potential to combine dodecaphony with other structures such as sonata form, concerto form, theme and variations, and the ‘fantasy.’

Schoenberg’s Phantasy for violin and piano accompaniment was his last instrumental work, completed on March 22, 1949.16 The piece was written toward the end of his life when he began to treat serial works with more freedom. In effect, the

Phantasy is characteristic, of his late twelve-tone style in which he used consonant intervals and free pitch repetition as well as dissonant and angular dodecaphonic constructs.17

Roger Sessions gradually incorporated the twelve-tone method into his compositions. His early movement away from tonality can be seen in From My Diary, a set of short piano pieces composed from 1937 – 40. Full chromaticism and a lack of key signatures in all but two of the ‘entries,’ show a shift to a tonally ambiguous style.18 He also included in his music: literal inversion, whole-tone and fourth properties, and neighboring suspensions – all typical of Schoenberg’s style.19 By the Second Piano

______16 H. H. Stuckenschmidt, Schoenberg: His Life, World and Work, trans. Humphrey Searle (London: John Calder, 1977), 501.

17 Ethan Haimo, “The Late Twelve-tone Compositions,” The Arnold Schoenberg Companion, ed. Walter B. Bailey (Westport, Connecticut, 1998), 158.

18 Alan Douglas Campbell, “Roger Sessions’ Adoption of the Twelve-Tone Method,” (PhD. Dissertation, City University of New York, 1990), 29 – 30.

19 Campbell, 73 – 76.

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Sonata, completed in 1946, Sessions admitted that he had left tonality and was very close to the twelve-tone system.20 However, it was not until 1953 that he officially began incorporating dodecaphony, with the Solo Sonata for violin being the first such piece.21

The switch to dodecaphony happened naturally for Sessions while writing this composition in that he discovered after the first seven notes he had no desire to repeat them and therefore used the other five.22

Sessions' twelve-tone writing is free, not always adhering to note-by-note successions and involving techniques other than dodecaphony for the principal thematic material. The Third Piano Sonata completed in 1965 was his first mature twelve-tone work. Still, Schoenberg’s influence is paramount in that features appearing in the Solo

Sonata remain consistent throughout his later works.23

Sessions considered three basic principles in his compositions, which he described in his book, The Musical Experience of Composer, Performer, and Listener.

The first principle insists that music maintain progression and sustained intensity. He believed that the ear becomes bored when the tension relaxes and applies the concept to every facet of music including meter, pitch, texture, harmonic structure and sonorous qualities. In his next principle, he states that motives become effective through association and some element of repetition. According to Sessions, association gives ______20 Andrea Olmstead, Roger Sessions and His Music (Ann Arbor, Michigan: UMI Research Press, 1985), 82 – 83.

21 Ibid., 103.

22 Ibid., 103.

23 Campbell, 99.

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significance to musical ideas and unity to musical forms. Thirdly he had the fundamental belief in the importance of contrast and variation in large-scale forms.24 In Sessions’ music each movement supports a return that is, in his words “at least as interesting as the exposition.”25

A lack of repeated notes was partly responsible for Sessions’ initial skepticism of the twelve-tone method.26 Earlier in his career, Sessions criticized dodecaphony because he thought there was a lack of concern for the living, breathing musical line.27 As he developed a less traditional view, he began to have a growing sensitivity towards repeated notes in both his compositions and the writings of his students. In contrast to the previous opinion, he suggested that repeated tones tend to, “produce a temporary, even momentary, suspension of movement.”28 Even so, Sessions stressed the primacy of the subjective ear and not the procedure as the chief guide in the process of composing.29

Supporting this axiom, he stated that he is more focused on the overall result than the actual process and frequently denied the importance of the row in his music. As a

______24 Roger Sessions, The Musical Experience of Composer, Performer, Listener (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1950), 62 – 67.

25 Andrea Olmstead, Conversations With Roger Sessions (Boston, Mass.: Northeastern University Press, 1987), 84.

26 Campbell, 85.

27 Ibid., 85.

28 Andrea Olmstead, Conversations with Roger Sessions, 116.

29 Frederik Pausnitz, Roger Sessions (New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, Inc., 2002), 270.

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consequence of these beliefs, the row was a loose component of Roger Sessions’ process.30

Alberto Ginastera incorporated dodecaphony along with the various compositional processes available to him during the time. His music is characterized as an uninterrupted search for synthesis between his culture and the twentieth-century techniques he learned. In the late 1950s, Ginastera began his third creative period, coining it “neoexpressionism.” During this time, he composed his later instrumental works using dodecaphony within the neoexpressive context. His first entirely twelve- tone composition, String Quartet No. 2, Opus 26, was completed in 1958, and the Violin

Concerto completed in 1963.31

Ginastera's diverse approach to dodecaphony incorporated the styles of the entire

Second Viennese School, including Schoenberg, Anton von Webern, and Alban Berg.

As with Schoenberg the primary row and its transpositions are the principle components of the piece. Ginastera also constructed rows of trichordal and tetrachordal set classes, a technique of Webern.

However, Ginastera’s ideas have the most affinity with Berg’s operational techniques. This includes his use of multiple rows, frequent pitch reordering – especially

______30 Campbell, 10.

31 Michelle Tabor, “Alberto Ginastera’s Late Instrumental Style,” Latin American Music Review Vol. 15, No. 1, (Spring-Summer 1994): 2 – 4.

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in secondary rows, quoting past composers and incorporating tonality.32 Personal applications to the structure of the Violin Concerto include aleatory, interdeterminacy, nondodecaphonic material and quartertones. He also makes frequent use of nontraditional eight-note scales including the octatonic collection 8-28 utilized frequently by Bartok and Stravinsky.33 In effect, Ginastera drew on dodecaphony as a resource within a repertoire of compositional techniques. He was influenced by postwar experimentalism, nationalistic developments, and believed in a multiplicity of form. His use of dodecaphony is flexible, free and personal.

Milton Babbitt began employing twelve-tone techniques early in his compositional career. At age 15 he became interested in the Second Viennese School while studying at New York University. Later in 1933 while still in the city, he met

Schoenberg. In addition, Babbitt studied privately with Sessions in New York before the teacher had even begun to use dodecaphony. He later followed Sessions to Princeton and received a Master of Fine Arts in 1942. 34

Babbitt has written many articles on dodecaphony including the first descriptions of combinatoriality, aggregate, set, and serial “time-point” technique.35 His structural

______32 Christopher A. Fobes, "Twelve-Tone Techniques in Alberto Ginastera’s Violin Concerto" (M.M. thesis, Bowling Green State University, 1998), 31.

33 Fobes, 77.

34 Ralph Harstock, “Milton Babbitt,” Music of the Twentieth Century Avant Garde: A Biocritical Sourcebook, ed. Larry Sitsky (Westport, Ct: Greenwood Press, 2002), 17.

35 Ibid.

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system is directly from Schoenberg’s twelve-tone matrix. Unlike Pierre Boulez,

Babbitt’s European counterpart who favored Webern’s more condensed applications,

Babbitt remains committed to the principles of Schoenberg. He often combines and groups compositional components in a way that asserts Schoenberg’s aesthetic of a responsibility to every note, while expanding that accountability to other compositional elements. For example, he expands the functions, (transposition, inversion, retrograde, and retrograde inversion), to time, dynamics, space, register, articulation, rhythm and timbre. Babbitt describes the nature of his extensions of Schoenberg’s constraints to every conceivable dimension as the ‘maximal diversity principle.’36 By 1947 he had written Three Compositions for Piano, which are some of the earliest examples of total serialism.37

Melismata was written in 1982 during Babbitt’s middle period in which he expanded the use of twelve-tone aggregates through arrays and derived rows.38 An array can be described as a string of sets unfolding simultaneously. Since constructing these arrays can be complex, Babbitt reuses a small bunch of all-partitioned arrays in a number of works varying them under certain types of operations.39

To this day, Milton Babbitt continues the practice and development of

Schoenberg’s twelve-tone method. He explains, “twelve-tone has opened the way to

______36 Andrew Mead, An introduction to the Music of Milton Babbitt (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1994), 19

37 Harstock, 17.

38 Mead, An Introduction to the Music of Milton Babbitt, 125.

39 Ibid., 33.

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certain modes of thinking about musical progression, structure, richness, and a reach of relationships, relatedness, depth, and scope of reference, in a way that I could extend personally, that interested me more, and that was simply not available with regard to so- called tonal material.”40

In an article entitled, “Who Cares If You Listen” (not named by the composer),

Babbitt makes four points on his aesthetic approaches to music. First, he describes his music as efficient for its lack of redundancy and its emphasis on each pitch maintaining an important individual purpose. Second, he states how the relation of pitch-class, register, dynamics, duration and timbre determines the coherent structure. Third, this ensures that each work has its own character. The components are more likely to evolve than to derive from any other sources. Last, Babbitt explains this music is derived from an extensive knowledge of music, and like other communication it demands the same amount of knowledge from its receptor.41 As a result, the performer must be accurate and the listener active and informed. Babbitt compares his studies in music to the revolutionary and theoretical developments in physics during the nineteenth century. He sees himself as a research scholar whose mission is to advance the frontiers of knowledge.42

______40 Laura Karpman, "An Interview with Milton Babbitt," Perspectives of New Music XXIV, no. 2 (spring-summer 1986): 81.

41 Milton Babbitt, “Who Cares if you listen?” Contemporary Composers on Contemporary Musicians, Elliot Schwartz and Barney Childs ed. (New York: Da Capo Press, 1998), 246.

42 Ibid., 247.

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In the end, Babbitt has found a way to integrate his own procedures that only augment Schoenberg’s musical philosophy. He continues to be recognized as a distinguished American composer and many well-known virtuosos and ensembles perform his works.

WORKING RELATIONSHIPS AND PREMIERES

Initially, composers had concerns about the quality in the performances of their new compositions. Before coming to the United States, Schoenberg had developed the idea that new compositions were not sufficiently rehearsed.43 Sessions disapproved of performers that did not take the indicated tempo markings or made allowances for technical ease. He had frustration with performers who played slowly and criticized players that took time for difficult double-stops.44 Eventually, instrumentalists specializing in contemporary music emerged and composers wrote specifically for them.

Canadian violinist Adolf Koldofsky, who commissioned the Phantasy, was a friend and colleague of Schoenberg. Koldofsky studied violin with Eugene Ysaÿe and was undoubtedly influenced by the latter’s involvement in contemporary music. Initially,

Schoenberg wrote the violin part in its entirety, then added the accompaniment in agreement with Koldofsky’s request.45 Koldofsky played the Phantasy’s first

______43 Reis, 196.

44 Andrea Olmstead, Conversations with Roger Sessions, 84.

45 Robert Gross. Sonatas/Phantasy performed by Robert Gross and Richard Grayson, Orion Master Recordings, Inc., Malibu, CA. 1974, vinyl LP.

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performance on September 13, 1949 during Schoenberg’s 75th birthday party in Los

Angeles.46 The party included an all-Schoenberg recital presented by the Los Angeles chapter of the International Society for Contemporary Music. At the time of the performance Schoenberg had not yet named the piece, using the generic ‘fantasy.’ The

Phantasy title coincided with its publication in 1951.47

In a New York Times article, Albert Goldberg describes Schoenberg’s 75th birthday celebration: “instead of the riots and disturbances that occurred in Vienna, a capacity audience listened attentively to some of the most demanding and extreme music yet conceived by the mind of man.” The article concedes that to a serious musician it is not music of anarchy, but of fantastic order. 48 Goldberg also gives praise to the musicians for their assured playing. He states that Koldofsky receives additional accolades for “memorizing the amazingly complicated part.”49

Sessions' Solo Sonata was written for violinist Robert Gross, a known virtuoso, composer, interpreter and performer of contemporary music. In fact, the two had previously worked together when Gross premiered the Violin Concerto of Sessions in

1940. Later in a letter written to the composer, Gross requested a solo violin piece. ______46 Willi Reich, Schoenberg: a critical biography, trans. Leo Black (London: Longman Group, 1971), 224.

47 Leonard Stein, “Phantasy” in accompanying notes, Inner Chambers performed by Daniel Kobialka. Ars nova, Ars antiqua recordings R68-3764, 1968, vinyl LP.

48 Albert Goldberg, “Schoenberg’s 75th Birthday Observed,” New York Times (September 14, 1949): Part II, 9.

49 Ibid.

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Sessions constantly sought advice from violinists when composing for the instrument and

Gross served in an advisory role during composition of the Solo Sonata, especially with advice on violin technique. 50 In addition, Sessions visited Gross in Los Angeles where the latter played the Solo Sonata of Bartok for him. 51 The composer admitted that he was initially uncomfortable, then he became at ease writing for the solo instrument.52

The Solo Sonata was composed during the winter and spring of 1953 in Berkeley

California and Gross premiered the piece in San Francisco of that year. During the spring he performed only the first two movements, then the piece in entirety the following season.53 While there seems to be no review of either initial performance of the Solo

Sonata, there is an article about a later performance. In the 1956 Musical Times, critic

David Drew commends violinist Yfrah Neaman for his “gallant effort” but then criticizes him for his lack of technique and slow tempos. Drew continues explaining that the sonata is impressive in many ways and will certainly appear more so when given a better performance.54 Sessions admits that the “whole piece is very difficult technically.”55

______50 Roger Sessions, “Sonata for Violin” in accompanying notes, Sessions Solo Sonata performed by Roger Gross. Orion Master Recordings ORS 73110, 1973, vinyl LP.

51 Ibid.

52 Andrea Olmstead, Conversations with Roger Sessions, 83.

53 Andrea Olmstead, The Correspondence of Roger Sessions (Boston, Mass.: Northeastern University Press, 1992), 413.

54 David Drew, “Alwyn and Sessions,” Musical Times 97 (December 1956): 656.

55 Andrea Olmstead, Conversations with Roger Sessions, 83.

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Ginastera's Violin Concerto was a commission by the New York Philharmonic in celebration of its opening season at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. The opening pages of the score state, “I dedicate it, as an expression of my gratitude and deep admiration, to Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic and to Ruggiero Ricci, its first soloist.”56 However, Ginastera did not complete the Violin Concerto until a month before its performance. The score arrived so late that there was fear its scheduled premiere would have to be postponed.57 The performance did take place in the

Philharmonic Hall, Lincoln Center on October 3rd, 1963.58

The choice of American violinist Ruggiero Ricci must have been an easy decision for Ginastera in that his physical stamina as a violinist is legendary. Noted pedagogue and author Samuel Applebaum stated that Ricci’s reputation and aggressive command of repertoire braves and overcomes any violinistic challenge, no matter how formidable.59

Even with all its critical acclaim, the Violin Concerto was not a public success. This is surprising given that by today’s standards it is the most comprehensible composition in this paper. The New York Times review describes how the audience stirred during its

______56 Alberto Ginastera, Violin Concerto (London, England: Boosey & Hawkes Inc., 1967), i.

57 Raymond Ericson, “Philharmonic gives First Performance of Ginastera Violin Concerto.” New York Times (1857-Current file); ProQuest Historical Newspapers, October 4, 1963: 30.

58 Ibid.

59 Samuel Applebaum and Henry Roth, The Way They Play, Book 5 (Neptune, N.J.: Paganiniana Publications, Inc., 1978), 206.

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performance and walked out in droves although the concert was not over.60 In part this was due to the nature of the audience, which was not made up of contemporary music enthusiasts. The review continues stating that Ricci received tribute for playing the difficult passages with ease, and that at the end of the performance there was a ‘soft chorus’ of bravos from the orchestra.61 The article explains that, “the orchestra and

Bernstein deserve their own share of bravos for their reading of the tricky score, in which the conductor kept the sonorities in delicate balance.”62

Melismata, written in 1982, is ‘to and for’ Paul Zukofsky, the American violinist who departed from the traditional concert repertoire to specialize almost entirely in the performance of contemporary works. In his early years, Zukofsky studied with the renowned violin pedagogue Ivan Galamian. By his mid-twenties, he switched from a conventional career to become the master violin player of contemporary performance.63

He has recorded the concertos of Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924) and Roger Sessions, as well as sonatas of Charles Ives (1874-1954), and works of Phillip Glass (b. 1937), Steve

Reich (b.1936), and Krzysztof Penderecki (b. 1933). Proving he is a top virtuoso violinist, Zukofksy also recorded the Twenty-Four Caprices of Niccolo Paganini.64 He

______60 Ericson, 30.

61 Ibid.

62 Ibid.

63 Boris Schwarz, Great Masters of the Violin (New York, USA: Simon and Schuster, 1983), 579.

64 Ibid., 580.

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maintains an active teaching and performing career, and continues to pioneer modern music.

Unlike the aforementioned process that Sessions undertook with Gross, Babbitt and Zukofsky did not collaborate during the compositional process. Before the performance Babbitt heard Zukofsky play Melismata, and commented that he required no rehearsing, stating that he was an exceptional violinist.”65 Others have noted that

Zukofsky’s attention to detail is a perfect match for Babbit’s compositions, with every gesture choreographed.66

The premiere of Melismata took place on February 2, 1983 in Washington D.C. at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. The concert was part of the American Composers

Series, “One Man.” Similar to Schoenberg’s 75th birthday concert that included the premiere of the Phantasy, the entire concert featured compositions of Babbitt while paying tribute to his many accomplishments as teacher, theorist and composer.67 The audience was undoubtedly made up of primarily Babbitt devotees.

An article in the Washington Post by Joseph McLellan describes the music as

“easy to respect” or to “find interesting”, and admits that Babbitt is largely a composer’s composer. McLellan challenges his readers to consider whether they prefer music in the abstract or that associated with the extra musical. He compares pure structure to the

65 Milton Babbitt, 2004. Letter to the author, 20 August.

66 Paul Zukofsky, in a discussion with the author, October 2002.

67 Joseph McLellan, “Milton Babbitt’s Intricate Music” The Washington Post, February 3, 1983 Section: Style, Page D6.

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aesthetic charms of virtuosity, instrument timbre, rhythmic pulse or melody.68 However, for most composers these ideas are not separate, especially with such integrated works as those of Babbitt. McLellan also noted that Melismata was performed in the “highly capable hands” of Paul Zukofsky.69

LISTENING AND RECORDINGS

The more serialized a composition, the greater difficulty of appreciation through the perspective of tonal hearing. Still, when listening to dodecaphonic compositions, the objective is not to be meticulously aware of the rows, ‘areas’ and other constructs, but rather to perceive the whole of the work. The perceptual effect, as with art music in general, is achieved through compositional principles of tension and release, contrast, and many other elements common to composers of all eras and ilk.

When studying twelve-tone pieces for performance, repeated listening while taking notes with the score in hand advances and facilitates the learning process.

Stopping to rehear a section, in the process, will help one identify patterns aurally and strengthen the visual ‘memory’ of the score. Within recordings one can analyze the tempo, pacing, style (analysis of stroke), and individual interpretations of the performance. If possible, acquiring a multitude of ideas from many recordings is ideal.

Combining this approach with the philosophical and historical information, musicians can determine how literally they should interpret dynamics and other markings. The date

______68 Ibid.

69 Ibid.

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of the performance, stylistic practices of the specific performer or generation of performers, and recent performances should all be taken into consideration when evaluating the interpretation presented on the recording. In addition, the listener should consider the technique of the performer as it may have come into play in the development of interpretation.

Koldofsky recorded the Phantasy with pianist Eduard Steuermann,70 for which a recording could not be found. However in addition to Koldofsky, Robert Gross participated in an early performance and recording of the Phantasy with pianist Richard

Grayson. On July 16, 1951 the duo had intended to perform the Phantasy for Schoenberg on a program in Thorne Hall, Los Angeles, but the composer had died just three days earlier.71

Having prepared the piece thoroughly for the Thorne Hall program, Gross and

Grayson later recorded the piece. Gross plays with a large, rich tone and secure technique, articulating every instruction given in the score. His sustained bow strokes add to the powerful sound called for in the score, and his fast vibrato communicates the intensity of a virtuosic showpiece. Swift tempos in the faster sections help convey the spirit of a free and exhilarating fantasy.

An increasing number of violinists who do not specialize in twentieth-century technique have been incorporating the Phantasy into their programs and recordings,

______70 Stein, “Phantasy.”

71 Sessions, “Sonata for Violin.”

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providing rationale for the inclusion of the composition in the greater body of standard literature. Violinist Jennifer Koh, with pianist Reiko Uchida, has recorded the Phantasy alongside other fantasies for violin and piano. On this recorded performance she plays the Phantasy with the confidence and artistic integrity utilized for all the fantasies on the program, as she balances both elegant and bold styles to achieve a perceptual whole.

Sustaining and connecting her notes, she creates a conjunct quality to her performance, and her secure technique and strong sound create a significant artistic statement.

There are three particularly interesting performances of Sessions’ Solo Sonata worth investigating. Robert Gross, who premiered the work, produced a clean, fluid, and organic recorded performance that emphasizes the living, breathing musical line desired by the composer. As with Sessions’ compositional constructs, Gross’ technique and interpretational language are drawn from the music of the eighteenth- and nineteenth- centuries. Accordingly, the performance articulates the composer’s ideas on motion and thematic association. The sentence structure is clear in that the rising and falling lines maintain an overriding push and pull to the phrase. Sessions’ background and his ties to past composers, as well as Gross’ foundation in music of the past are apparent in the recording. The direct collaboration between performer and composer yield a performance of uncompromised clarity and validity.

In Paul Zukofsky’s recording of the Solo Sonata he captures the excitement and virtuosity expressed by the composer. Zukofsky not only brings out the diversity between sections, but he displays appropriate technical proficiency and attention to details. Through the use of technical nuances, such as varying the speed of bow, vibrato,

25

and sounding point for every moment, he gives a very literal, yet lively interpretation to the work.

American violinist Curtis Macomber provides a very different, but equally moving, recording of the same work, giving it a strikingly unique character. A prizewinner in the Kennedy Center-Rockefeller Foundation International Competition for excellence in the performance of American Music, Macomber performed the Solo Sonata of Sessions; a performance described as being elegant, self-assured, and technically accomplished.72 In Macomber’s 1992 recording of the sonata, he displays a rich lyricism and use of expressive fingerings, made possible through slower tempos that are validated by fantastic passion. The quality of sound and sustained intensity that he produces are remarkable. Macomber’s personal performance language highlights the passionate nature of the music.

Ruggeiro Ricci and Salvatore Accardo have provided the two most significant recordings of the Violin Concerto by Ginastera. Previous to these recordings, both performers developed reputations for virtuosity through their specializations in the music of Paganini.

Ricci’s live recording of the Violin Concerto projects great brilliance and power.

He plays the work with remarkable flair, and his relationship with the composer is evident in his expressive understanding of the piece. He is at ease with the many sonorities and textures of the orchestration as well as the synchronized technical fluency needed for a successful performance. In addition, Ricci’s experience with the concerto

______72 Schwarz, 592.

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genre and his virtuosic capabilities provide a perfect match for the demands of the composition. He performs with the Orquesta de las Americas with Luis Herrera de la

Fuente as conductor.

Salvatore Accardo recorded an extraordinary live performance of the Violin

Concerto with the Hopkins Center Orchestra. His technique is astonishing and his sound is never over-powered by the large orchestral forces. The recording is different from

Ricci’s in that Accardo produces more conjunct lines. Though aggressive, Accardo emphasizes an unforced sound with unwavering intonation, within a framework of the prescribed metronomic markings. He believes that the musical ideas and the inherent spirit of the music, not the academic, artificial tempo markings, should govern music making.73 Though the pacing of the phrases is more fluid than that found in other recordings, Accardo’s tempos are faster and the recorded time of the work is shorter.

Zukofsky and Macomber present interpretations of Melismata that are particularly interesting for their differences. Through discussions about interpretation with both of them, this author was able to codify the two very different approaches. Zukofsky focuses on the clear and clean realization of the manner in which the notes and phrases unfold.

He practices string crossings and utilizes harmonics to accurately produce the pitches while maintaining rhythm. Because Babbitt applies integral serialism in Melismata, accuracy of every detail is central to a successful performance of the piece. Zukofsky’s

______73 Samuel Applebaum and Henry Roth, The Way They Play, Book 8 (Neptune City, N. J.: Paganiniana Publications, 1980), 29.

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interpretation stays true to this principle. Expressive and artistic liberties are applied within Babbitt’s set boundaries.74

In contrast, Macomber emphasizes mood and avoids string crossing by using many expressive shifts.75 His interpretation reflects the literal meaning of the title as he takes more liberties with the score than does Zukofsky. In fact, Macomber’s trademark lyricism and highly expressive playing have extended the piece from its recommended thirteen minutes to nearly twenty. Since Zukofsky was not available to make the initial recording of the piece, Macomber has produced the ‘official’ inaugural recording of

Melismata. Babbitt speaks highly of both performers and is thrilled with the outcome of the recording just as he was at its first performance.76

As demonstrated by these performances and recording, a successful performance of Melismata requires a commitment to solving significant technical problems as well as interpretational challenges. In a letter, Babbitt writes that other violinists have had difficulty getting Melismata up to tempo, and that not many have tried. He explains, “the work has led a quiet life.”77

The same can be said of the Violin Concerto by Ginastera. This large piece requires enormous forces as well as an extremely talented orchestra. A performance

______74 Zukofsky, in a discussion with the author, October 2002.

75 Curtis Macomber, in a discussion with the author, October 2002.

76 Milton Babbitt, 2004 letter to the author, 20 August.

77 Ibid.

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coordinating complicated rhythms as well as operating in the context of dodecaphony is an enormous task for the conductor, orchestra and soloist. Without a substantial commitment of time and energy from a good orchestra, a violinist performing this piece will have to do so with piano reduction. However, the piano part is also technically challenging and does not communicate the many sonorities sought by the composer.

In the end, instrumentalists emphasize their own stylistic practices along with the intentions of the composer to produce an artistic entity that reflects both creative processes. The integrity of the combined process relies on the intellectual and artistic integrity of the performer. Continuing the investigation into performing the Phantasy, the Solo Sonata, the Violin Concerto, and Melismata, the next chapter brings certain compositional aspects to light and the chapter that follows applies violin technique. The idea is to continue building onto a foundation of information to create a better understanding of the music.

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CHAPTER TWO

PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETION

Musicians are required to use a multifaceted approach when exploring modern music. Unlike the chapter that follows, this chapter has the player study the score apart from the instrument. The goal is to prepare the performer for an initial grasp of the components of each piece without focusing on the complexities of creating a sound. As the reader delves into each composition, he/she will, of necessity, need to refer to the score.

Most performers find the abstract analysis of a twelve-tone composition complicated, yet the instrumentalist must find coherence and unity within a piece in order to create a convincing performance. The first section, Overall Construction, examines how players can begin to make sense of these four compositions through basic observations about overall construction, including formal aspects and stylistic requirements. For example, in this chapter the author discusses how variations of opening material in the Phantasy, the Solo Sonata, and the Violin Concerto contributes to the articulation of compositional subsections and to the unity among the larger components. In contrast, Melismata, a work of total serialism, is more difficult to

30

decipher. Still, by understanding the compositional context in which Babbitt’s work exists, the performer and listener can better relate to his music and cultivate interest in his compositions.

Typically, composers of twelve-tone pieces include a combination of conventional and progressive ideas, or at least references to those precepts, in their structures. The next section, Pacing and Rhythm, examines how various compositional elements co-exist across a wide range of compositional ‘schools.’ At times the pacing, symmetry, and style of the Phantasy, the Solo Sonata, the Violin Concerto, and

Melismata resemble that of tonal music from the 18th and 19th centuries.

The manner in which musical lines or elements interact brings a work to life, but the nature of that interaction is at the crux of who the composer is. Each of these pieces includes elemental interactions, however an additional ingredient in the composers’ identities and the nature of their works is metrical displacement and/or rhythmic complexity. In dodecaphony the correlation between notes and rhythm is often unconventional. Rhythms do not correspond with metrical conventions to imply strong and weak beats or accents familiar to listeners of more conventional music. At times, composers apply asymmetrical rhythmic patterns instead to de-emphasize unwanted tonal implications or rhythmic cadences. With these elements, each composer finds a way to express either a link or departure from tradition.

The largest contribution of Schoenberg is the use of the primary row and its operations. In dodecaphony the primary row corresponds in function to the melodies of traditional repertoire. The following section, Making Sense of the Melody, focuses on interpreting this main line. One reason performers find dodecaphony difficult to

31

understand is the lack of repetition in the row. Although notes can be restated, the order of pitches is more or less maintained until the end of the series. In addition, the row does not always appear in the original form due to the series having been altered through the operations of transposition, inversion, retrograde or retrograde inversion. Motives transform before the listener can process them and musical figures continue in developing variation, changing beyond recognition.

Still, the performer can be aware of revisited pitches, recurring motives and intervallic content. They can also observe that many phrases provide a contour and general arrangement in time that coincide with the row. Composers often indicate shapes through points of articulation, and gestures and phrases are reinforced with rests, register, dynamics and performance techniques. Notated fingerings and bowings can also sculpt desired shapes. In this regard, the melody of Phantasy is the most straightforward among the works being studied and will be the easiest to examine. Babbitt’s use of the row is most strict, yet least obvious, and will be discussed in broader terms.

Schoenberg cultivated audible invariance as a trait in his music, as did his followers and protégés. Invariance occurs when a collection of notes remains

“unchanged” after an operation has been completed.78 In the next section entitled,

Invariance, the author explains how these relationships within a composition assist the performer in finding correlations between musical lines. Though dodecaphony does not afford the listener the same degree of repetition as tonal music, under the standard

______78 Robert D. Morris, Composition with Pitch-Classes: A Theory of Compositional Design (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1987), 343.

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operations of transposition, inversion, retrograde and retrograde inversion, the trained ear can hear thematic clarity when invariance becomes apparent.

In the next section, entitled Areas and Articulated Divisions, the author will show how dodecaphony and articulation combine to provide motion from section to section.

Similar to tonal music practices, dodecaphony includes symmetrical structures, areas with common associations and stylistic changes that outline the divisions in the piece. As motion unfolds from section to section through each composer’s individual devices, the scores express a combination of twelve-tone organization and areas of similar articulation related to each other as well as music of the past. The observation of this context provides connection for the participants to the greater body of music.

The section that follows, Non-Row Material, the author describes how Sessions and Ginastera integrate material that is not directly related to the row into their pieces.

Strict twelve-tone writing is short-lived in the Solo Sonata and often replaced by sections of row-derived features such as whole-tone and fourth patterns. The composer also includes triadic music that less relates to the row. Likewise, Ginastera incorporates octatonic material, quotation, and quarter-tones in the Violin Concerto. Accordingly, performers ought to convey non-row material as a significant ingredient in their interpretation of the overall composition.

All four pieces lack key signatures, yet at times the compositions focus on certain key centers, if only for fleeting moments. These pitches are stated often, held at length, placed in registral extremes, or reinforced by the dynamics, the rhythm and/or the meter.

The next section, Emphasized Notes, discusses how the music may ‘center’ around specific notes in each piece. Furthermore, Sessions and Ginastera employ real tonal

33

centers and, to some degree, use traditional tonality. The author describes how these two composers blend fifth motion and leading tones into their twelve-tone works to incorporate conventional harmony with and without function in this section.

When referring to the Phantasy and the Solo Sonata, rows are described by using the original row as P0. In the Violin Concerto, this author describes rows based on the fixed pitch-class number. For example, row P2 is the primary row because this row begins with note, D.

Finally, the reader should note that in discussions about the Violin Concerto page numbers and lines refer to the violin solo part published by Boosey and Hawkes, edited by Ruggiero Ricci.79 Likewise, the page numbers in Melismata pertain to the C. F. Peters

Corporation publication.80

OVERALL CONSTRUCTION

Phantasy: A true ‘fantasy.’ The Phantasy of Schoenberg has similarities with the

‘fantasies’ of Bach, Mozart and Beethoven. Though by their nature, ‘fantasies’ do not have a specific formula and leave the organization to the discretion of the composer, some basic characteristics are associated with the term. In similarity to the ‘fantasies’ of traditional composers, Schoenberg’s Phantasy consists of effective virtuosic

______79 Alberto Ginastera, Violin Concerto, Reduction for Violin & Piano by Maurice Cole, (New York: Boosey & Hawkes, 1967).

80 Milton Babbitt, Melismata, (New York: C. F. Peters Corporation, 1983).

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passagework, and a show of brilliance and contrasting ideas in established regions.81

These regions include sections of various articulations that provide individual character and contribute to the ‘fantasy’ form. In outer sections of the Phantasy, Schoenberg provides a slow grave while inner sections pen slow moving melodies, dance-like themes and rhythmic scherzos.

The piece opens with an explosive theme in the violin part that is repeated two other times, once in measure 32 and again in the final section, measure 154. In the first recurrence Schoenberg applies the same notes in the identical register, but in a calmer mood. In the last section the notes do not exactly coincide with the articulation however

Schoenberg applies the original explosive character to the statement.

In the second section of obvious articulation change, starting in measure 25, the composer writes a short Piu mosso that is less abrupt than previous material and proceeds at a continuous pace. The closing section unifies Schoenberg’s ‘fantasy’ structure with a transformation of both initial articulated sections. These sections/areas of varying articulation are demonstrated by the following in Figure 2.1, below.

Figure 2.1. Schoenberg’s ‘fantasy’ structure with the Phantasy

Opening Sections Middle Sections Closing Section Grave Lento, Grazioso Tempo I Piu mosso Tempo I, Scherzando (Grave and Piu mosso) Poco Tranquillo, Scherzando, Meno mosso

______81 Arnold Schoenberg, Structural Functions of Harmony, (New York: W. W. Norton, 1969),180 – 181.

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The Solo Sonata: A large-scale four-movement structure. In the Solo Sonata

Sessions follows the traditional nineteenth century four-movement structure, and in keeping with a common practice of late 19th-century Romanticism, Sessions presents the four movements as a continuous form, without pauses between the movements. Unlike the Phantasy, the individual sections within the movements of the Solo Sonata are not openly labeled. However, the divisions become apparent after a few practices or hearings.

Sessions utilizes the regeneration of material as a regular, perhaps trademark device82 in much of his music, and true to that practice Sessions maintains a variation of the opening section in each movement of the Solo Sonata. The first movement divides into three main episodes. Each episode is separated by a transformation of the initial gesture that expands its intervals. The second episode begins in measure 53, and the third episode in measure 85. In each case the gesture is followed by developmental material derived from it. Unifying the piece, the third episode is a variation of the first episode in both character and pitch (figure 2.2).

______82 Andrea Olmstead, Conversations with Roger Sessions, 84.

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Figure 2.2. First movement of the Solo Sonata

Episode I

Opening statement – Un poco piu mosso – Tempo deciso

Episode 2, measure 53

Variation of the opening statement – Un poco lento ed appassionato

Episode 3, measure 85

Variation of the opening statement – Un poco piu mosso – subito deciso

Notice that the third episode is a variation of the first episode utilizing similar articulation and pitches.

The final gesture of the last episode is a reverse of the opening, illustrating the end of movement.

Consistent with large-scale four-movement forms, the second movement features a molto-perpetual scherzo, marked Molto Vivo. Similar to such movements in

Beethoven compositions, this scherzo is fast and presented in ternary structure that includes a contrasting ‘B’ section. The outer sections are triadic while the ‘B’ section utilizes twelve-tone context. This inner section resembles the ‘trio’ of the traditional scherzos with its change to a slower eighth-note pulse and longer valued notes. The third section of the scherzo (and trio) is a true da capo, returning with no alteration. As such,

37

this movement is the only instance of a return with no variation in all of Sessions’ music.83

Sessions marks his third movement Adagio e dolcemente in congruence with a typical 19th-century slow movement. The quasi-rondo form alternates contrapuntal material from the opening that features quarter-note movement with recitative-like sections. The articulation suggests a rondo structure, while the usual tonal implications do not apply. The movement ends with three statements that foreshadow the opening of the last movement further unifying the composition.

Sessions provides a last movement that is relatively short and that divides into three sections. In the outer sections he features driving dotted rhythms, while in the middle he highlights multiple-stops with stacked fourths and sixteenth-note runs. Near the end of the movement, measures 604 – 606, Sessions regenerates material comparable to the first movement. Through a full statement of the original row, including decelerating material that correlates to the first movement, the composer integrates the fourth movement with the piece as a whole.

Ginastera: An unconventional concerto form. In the Violin Concerto, Ginastera adopts the traditional three-movement scheme: fast - slow - fast. However, each movement has a unique structure unrelated to the concerto genre. Even so, like the

Phantasy and the Solo Sonata, individual movements in the Violin Concerto include variations of opening material.

______83 Andrea Olmstead, Roger Sessions and His Music, 105.

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Ginastera opens the first movement with a cadenza that is immediately followed by six studies and a coda, resembling the form of a ‘theme and variations.’ The Coda features material from both the Cadenza and Study I. Measures 139 – 147 are related to the opening three systems, and the material from measures 1 – 9 of Study I are included in measures 148 – 157.

The composer titles the second movement Adagio for 22 soloists and features the principal players of the orchestra along with the solo violinist. The score indicates that the movement is an “homage to the soloists of the New York Philharmonic.”84 As with a concerto for orchestra, instruments emerge from within and recede back to the larger orchestral context as the composition transpires. The form of the movement is divided into five parts articulated by the violin solo, as well as by transformations of tempo and row. In addition, each section features a rhythmic motive not found in the others.85 In the final section, measures 96 – 117 resemble measures 1 – 22 of the movement.

The last movement, Scherzo Pianissimo e Perpetuum Mobile, is comprised of two labeled sections, both rounded. The first part, Scherzo Pianissimo, has five sections that shift in texture and rhythmic activity. In measures 284 – 287, the celli and bass recall the material from measures 65 – 70. Also, the violins sustain a high-pitched harmonic in measures 282 – 87 as they do in measures 60 – 63.

In the second part, Perpetuum Mobile, Ginastera provides four short sections that differ from each other in orchestration and solo violin technique. In the beginning of the

______84 Ginastera, “Analysis.”

85 Fobes, 64.

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section, measure 288, Ginastera incorporates a subtle variation of opening material from this movement. However, the most significant regeneration is the large-scale cyclical form of the piece as a whole. The Perpetuum Mobile acts as a coda to the entire concerto. The section reuses a contour comparable to the end of the opening cadenza and highlights music from the studies. The same row material is presented and it utilizes the same octatonic collection 0,1.86

Melismata: An unfolding structure. More than the other compositions in this document, the form of Melismata is derived from the extended twelve-tone process in that the construction unfolds throughout the piece. Babbitt combines and groups compositional elements that maintain Schoenberg’s aesthetic of responsibility to every note while he expands that accountability to other components.

Like the Phantasy, Melismata is an explosive and virtuosic single-movement work. However similar to the Solo Sonata the music is unaccompanied, and with fewer ties to traditional forms and constructs, the composition sounds more abstract. For example, there is no reprise in Melismata, as is common to A-B-A structures, and there are no clear areas of uniform articulation. As a result the sectional boundaries are not obvious to the listener or performer. Though compositionally controlled, the overall effect is a piece of lyrical improvisation.

______86 Fobes, 51.

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PACING AND RHYTHM

Interactions between violin and piano in the Phantasy. Though primarily for the violin, much of the Phantasy is written as a conversation between violin and piano.

Despite the less important thematic role assigned to the piano, both performers must emphasize this interaction to capture the essence of the music.

Using the first measure as an example, readers of the score will notice that the piano part is active while sustained notes of longer value are scored for the violin. The relatively secondary role is also evident in that the piano interjects during brief pauses or rests in the violin part and these interjections provide a conversational character. For example, in measure 2 the piano begins the phrase with the same short-long rhythmic motive found in the violin part in measure 1. In turn, the violinist and pianist execute rhythmic motives that respond to each other and provide an interplay that shapes and creates the musical phrases.

Moreover, the two-note motive that begins the composition recurs throughout the piece as a gesture that delineates the beginning of phrases, starts larger sections, and also appears in the middle of phrases. For example, this motive introduces the Grazioso and chorale sections, as well as occurs throughout the opening Grave and reprise. It should be noted that the composer varies the motive’s pitch, rhythm and metrical placement within the measure (ex. 2.1), however, the motive remains recognizable.

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Example 2.1. The short-long repeated note rhythm in the Phantasy

Measure 1 Measure 4

Pick-up to measure 14 Pick-up to measure 16

Measure 52 Grazioso Measure 58

Measure 64, ‘Tempo I,’ the chorale melody Measure 157

In nearly every occurrence of this motive, the violinist should execute the shorter note with an up-bow and the longer note with a down-bow to project required emphases.

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Phantasy: Recognizable styles. At times, the pacing and stylistic implications of the Phantasy resemble that found in other music traditions. For example in the Lento, beginning in measure 40, the piano part consists of a repetitive figure commonly found in the accompaniment of tonal music from the 18th and 19th -centuries, while it accompanies a lyrical, descending violin phrase. Another stylistic convention found in older music and embedded in the Phantasy is a chorale-like melody. However, the stately and robust character is uncommon to the piece and lasts only eight bars.

In another such moment, Schoenberg incorporates a Viennese-type waltz with the

Grazioso, measure 52. This represents the first closed thematic section of the composition and further illustrates the affinity Schoenberg feels for his Austro-German heritage. The Grazioso, can be divided into three parts containing an A-B-A structure.

The A’s are near repetitions in rhythm, articulation and contour. However, Schoenberg creates a modern impression, rather than literal construction, of a triple meter through rhythmic elisions. The triple emphasis is obscured visually in the score and aurally for the listener as Schoenberg extends them across bar lines. After a few hearings one comes away with a ‘quasi-triple’ feel.

A slightly less obvious example of a conventional A-B-A form in the Phantasy is found in the use of two scherzandos. The scherzandos, beginning at measure 85 and measure 117, are similar in character to each other and are separated by a poco tranquillo. As in the Solo Sonata example, these scherzandos resemble a small-scale version of the traditional ‘scherzo’ written by composers such as Ludwig von Beethoven.

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In his scherzandos in the Phantasy, Schoenberg introduces completely new material, new motives and rhythmic patterns at a quick tempo and imbues them with a sarcastic quality.

Schoenberg provides additional patterns in his transitions that reflect past traditions of the Viennese School. For many of the transitions in the Phantasy,

Schoenberg scored recurring downward gestures that end in consonances. The resolution of stress that these transitions provide is effective because of their relationship to similar devices in tonality. Notice the descending note cadences occurring before the Grazioso and before the Piu mosso in measures 67 – 71. Both conclude with note repetition and the consonant interval of the sixth. Furthermore, in measures 76 – 80 of the colando and at the cadence in measure 23 one finds consonant thirds. There is also a large-scale downward motion in measures 125 – 133 that ends with an E-Eb dyad. The transitional material that follows the section features the same two notes, which eventually lead into the closing material.

Solo Sonata: Late romanticism. The Solo Sonata uses the traditional pacing of a late 19th -century large-scale form. Just as Strauss and Wagner did in their thoroughly chromatic, but tonal music, Sessions writes lines that continually rise and fall, and thus maintain a push and pull toward and away from tension. To insure that his intentions are clear to the performer, Sessions frequently provides verbal directions along with expressing his ideas with notational devices. For example, throughout the piece, he provides texted instructions on tempo including stringendo, animando, ritenuto and calando. These instructions inform the performer on the character of nearly every phrase.

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Sessions also uses traditional rhythmic repetition in close proximity as a compositional element. In the first movement of the Solo Sonata, measures 74 – 77 settle into prolonged dotted rhythmic motives. The last movement incorporates a Brahmsian- style device that moves from duple to triple rhythmic groupings in close proximity to each other. Like Brahms, Sessions alternates dotted rhythms with steady eighth-note rhythms and triplet passages to achieve his desired effect. With this movement he creates a scored that is easier to decipher by employing few meter changes, repeated rhythmic sequences and a constant beat.

Still, the Solo Sonata has a sense of rhythmic displacement particularly where texted instructions appear in nearly every line. The final section of the first movement is saturated with directions on tempo, timbre, mood and articulation. Measures 95 through the end of the movement indicate a variety of directions including tranquillo, animato, decisivo, pesante, slentando and more all within the same page. Additionally, phrases start in the middle or latter portion of the bar, as well as on weaker parts of the beat, such as in measures 13 and 14. More rhythmic displacement occurs in the second movement of the Solo Sonata where Sessions adopts the style of a 19th -century perpetual-motion by employing constantly moving eighth-notes. The composer creates a contemporary sound to the composition by using various time signatures that shift the strong and weak beats.

Throughout the Solo Sonata, the moving pulse and varied moods help preserve the contemporary experience regardless of the conventional compositional elements that are also present.

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Solo Sonata: Using harmony and melody with a single instrument. At times, the

Solo Sonata contains glimpses of distinct polyphonic aspects much like the Solo Sonatas and Partitas of J.S. Bach. The Adagio of Sessions’ Solo Sonata applies counterpoint reminiscent of the rocking motion, even pulse, and suspensions used in the Andante of the Solo Sonata in A minor by J. S. Bach (ex. 2.2a,b).

Example 2.2a. Excerpt from the Andante of the Solo Sonata in A minor by J. S. Bach, measure 17.

Example 2.2b. Excerpt of the Adagio from the Solo Sonata by Sessions, measure 396.

Like Bach, Sessions expresses lyrical and contrapuntal elements using the single instrument through the duration of his Solo Sonata.

Violin Concerto: Unique orchestration combined with solo virtuosity. To a greater degree than the other composers discussed in this paper, Ginastera utilizes articulation and rhythmic conventions to create the pacing and approach of a

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conventional three-movement concerto form. This includes the freedom of a flexible cadenza, structured sections of consistent rhythms, and extreme lyricism.

Concertos are inherently a conversation between orchestra and soloist and the orchestration in the Violin Concerto is impressive. Ginastera refers to the composition as an exploration of sonorities.87 He uses a massive orchestra in both full textured and chamber music fashion. In addition to the large orchestra with Bb clarinets, he adds the higher Eb clarinet as wells as the bass clarinet. The orchestration also includes six distinct groups of percussion besides timpani, and significant roles for celest and harp. In the opening notes Ginastera specifies a large string section, supplying a detailed list of the arrangement in the score.88 He also incorporates a variety of timbre and color throughout the orchestra and solo part, creating a collage of sounds that enhance the polyphonic texture.

Both first and last movements of the solo violin part feature sections of uniform rhythm. Similar to rhythmic uniformity found in etudes, the uniform rhythms in the

“Studies” of the first movement encourage the listener to focus on the contour of the melodic line by avoiding the distraction that complicated rhythms might cause. In the last movement, Ginastera utilizes constant, straightforward, recurring rhythms within a fast-tempo context, as one finds in many standard violin concertos.

However akin to other aspects of the Violin Concerto, rhythms also include an eclectic fusion of tradition and experimentation. At times asymmetrical rhythms involve

______87 Ericson, 30.

88 Ginastera, “Analysis.”

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complicated ratios; such as the 15:16, 7:4 and 12:8 ratios he scores in the second movement. Also in the Violin Concerto, certain rhythms include slashes that indicate aleatory, as in rehearsal number 90 of the middle movement. The composer only provides approximate speeds of the various aleatoric rhythms in his opening notes, otherwise leaving interpretation up to the performer.

Not unlike Babbitt, Ginastera occasionally serializes rhythm in the Violin

Concerto. In his thesis, Christopher Fobes points out that in the additional rows not taken from the original matrix, Ginastera extends dodecaphony by creating a relationship between pitch-class and rhythm.89 To a greater measure than the other pieces in this paper, Ginastera’s Violin Concerto intertwines a variety of modern compositional techniques with traditional compositional practices.

Melismata: Interactions in integral serialism. In Melismata Babbitt creates a post-modern sound, in part, by a lack of sequences, providing few transitory moods, and by including no conventional correspondence between articulation and pitch. However, like the other pieces Melismata is not exempt from material that appears to interact. With the serialization of dynamics, register and timbre, interactions among certain gestures evolve. Andrew Mead describes the way in which Babbitt applies lyne pairs, each differentiated by the use of high, middle, and low registers of the violin.90 The resultant abrupt changes in register create gestures resembling musical commentary. Likewise,

______89 Fobes, 32.

90 Mead, An Introduction to the Music of Milton Babbitt, 168.

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conversational effects occur in gestures where changes in timbre appear. For example, the music on page eighteen alternates arco and pizzicato bowings that create conversational effects between the diametrically opposing sounds. During page seven, sul ponticello, sul tasto, and ordinary playing alternate. An example that incorporates dynamics, timbre and register is the fortissimo and pianissimo gestures in measures 29 –

30 that appear to comment (ex. 2.3).

Example 2.3. Gestures that appear to comment in measures 29 – 30 of Melismata

Rests, changes in timbre, contour and dynamics contribute to giving the effect of musical commentary.

As mentioned, there is a close relationship between the intervals and the rhythm in Melismata. Babbitt uses equal-note-value strings, in this case quarter-notes, in which the rhythmic subdivisions are determined by intervals in the piece.91 Because of the constant quarter-note base, the composition is considered one of his ‘pulse’ pieces.92 Yet, as a result of the unfolding process, frequent asymmetrical rhythms, give the illusion of

______91 Andrew Mead, “About “About Time’s” Time: A Survey of Milton Babbitt’s Recent Rhythmic Practice,” Perspectives of New Music 25, No. 2 (Winter/Summer 1987): 218.

92 Ibid., 215.

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metrical freedom that is reflected in the title of the piece. In his own way, Babbitt is able to compose a piece through strict construction whose effect sounds aleatoric. This serialization of rhythm is a clear extension of how Babbitt further transforms

Schoenberg’s ideas.

MAKING SENSE OF THE MELODY

Twelve-tone composers often divide the row into four three-note groups

(trichords), three four-note groups (tetrachords), or two six-note groups (hexachords).

These constructs provide context for melodic ideas drawn from within or outside the groupings. In addition, composers draw on a combination of rests, articulation, contour, rhythms, and dynamics to imply phrases and to outline or delineate gestures.

Schoenberg, Sessions, Ginastera, and Babbitt express the row melody in linear fashion, with counterpoint and multiple-stops. Schoenberg and Sessions convey the row with fewer extended violin techniques while Ginastera rapidly alternates between traditional and modern violin techniques. On the other hand, Babbitt expands dodecaphony by serializing the timbres of con sordino, ponticello and sul tasto in his melodies. Babbitt also serializes rhythm and the high, middle and low registers of the violin. Locating and organizing gestures and responding to compositional techniques help performers to develop a deeper understanding of the music.

Phantasy: Periodic sentences. Schoenberg set the precedent for non-strict row realization in his melodies. In his later works he begins to let his own compositional style override pitch-class order. Row melodies in the Phantasy incorporate occasional

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reordering, free repetition, and hexachords independent of the rest of its row. In congruence with his late style, Schoenberg does not avoid intervals commonly used in tonal music, but still exploits the use of dissonance in the form of seconds, sevenths, tritones and ninths. Unlike the Solo Sonata and the Violin Concerto, the Phantasy adheres to the twelve-tone process throughout.

The basic row in the Phantasy is

F# – D>. This row can be divided into two hexachords, and in this case the second hexachord of the row is an inversion of the first. The piece opens with the initial hexachord of the original row followed by the initial hexachord of the inversion at a fifth.

Similar to practices of classical era composers, Schoenberg separates the row melody in the Phantasy into periodic sentence structure. The opening section of the piece exemplifies Schoenberg’s harmonic ideology that is grounded in strong relationships between phrases and hexachordal structure. As Joel Lester explains in the article, “Analysis and Performance in Schoenberg’s Phantasy, op. 47,” the opening hexachord is clarified by a registral opening and closing of the phrase on the G string.

Long notes that enclose a more active middle section further articulate the gesture. The next few phrases have similar outlines helped largely by the piano part. Likewise, a similar contour unfolds on a large-scale level with the first three hexachordal gestures.

The outer hexachordal gestures focus on the lower registers and contain less activity, while the middle gesture finishes in the high register and sounds open ended. Lester

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continues by considering measures 7 – 9 an extension that mirrors the opening of measures 1 – 6 (ex. 2.4).93

Example 2.4. Slurs indicate phrases in the opening six measures of the Phantasy.

Notice how the third phrase ends with the retrograde of the original hexachord, returning to the same Bb that starts the piece. Throughout the Phantasy, local and large-scale gestures outline hexachords.

In the following measures, sonorities are reinforced by note repetition that occurs when a hexachord is played back to back with its retrograde. In measures 6 and 7 the Bb is restated when the transposition and its retrograde coincide. On the opposite sides of

______93 Joel Lester, “Analysis and Performance in Schoenberg’s Phantasy, op. 47,” Pianist, Scholar, Connoisseur: Essays in Honor of Jacob Lateiner, ed. Bruce Brubaker and Jane Gottlieb (New York: Pendragon Press, 2000), 154 – 160.

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each Bb in those measures, the violin plays an A/C# double-stop. Even though the double-stops are in different registers, the same sonorities are emphasized (ex. 2.5).

Example 2.5. Notes that are repeated in close proximity in the Phantasy, measures 6 – 7.

For these measures the piano rests, making the violin sonorities the only ones that are heard.

Hexachordal phrases are also outlined in the beginning of the Grazioso. The initial hexachord of row RI7, is an antecedent gesture enclosed by rests. The consequent phrase begins with the fifth note of the row and finishes with frequent note repetition and deceleration. Similarly, the longer hexachordal gesture in measure 56 uses row R2 as the melody. The phrase is expanded by free note repetition and is left open-ended. Its consequent phrase ends similarly to the previous example, with a poco ritard and returning to the lower register.

Schoenberg favored combinatorial rows in many of his compositions and the

Phantasy is no exception. A row is combinatorial if half of its row can be combined with another making a new row without duplicating pitches. The original row of the Phantasy is hexachordal combinatorial at the inversion of fifth. This makes those two rows, P0 and

I5, semi-combinatorial (figure 2.3).

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Figure 2.3. Combinatoriality in the Phantasy with rows P0 and I5

Basic Row (P0): Hexachord 1 Hexachord 2 Bb – A – C# - B – F – G E – C – G# – D# – F# – D

I5: Hexachord 1 Hexachord 2 D# – E – C – D – G# - F# A – C# – F – Bb – G – B

Combinatoriality The initial hexachord of the basic row and the row I5 can be combined to create a new twelve-tone row without duplicating any pitches. The same is true for the second hexachords.

As mentioned, Schoenberg begins the Phantasy by exploiting the initial hexachords of the two combinatorial rows, P0 and I5. Throughout the piece, when a hexachord or entire row is expressed in the violin part, it is most often accompanied by the piano with the complementary combinatorial hexachord or row, and visa versa. For example, the second section of new articulation, measure 25, groups hexachords in both instruments. Its gestures are simultaneous complementary hexachords played by the violin and piano in each beat. The hexachords in the first beat are exchanged between the two instruments in the second beat. Voice exchange is another compositional element integrated into a twelve-tone context by Schoenberg. This happens again with a different row in the third and fourth beats. However, the rising contour throughout the measure establishes that the larger phrase includes more than the beat-by-beat exchange of hexachords. The direction of each gesture rises until the climax at the end of the

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measure. The overall phrasing is completed by a consequent phrase that finishes in measure 29.

In addition to contour, the Phantasy reinforces gestures with crescendo and diminuendo markings. Each gesture in measure 21 begins with an anacrusis to the downbeat thirty-second notes. A diminuendo denotes the end of the gesture. With a different dynamic the phrase could have been interpreted in another way. For example, starting and ending the gesture on the downbeat of the measure would yield an incorrect interpretation of the phrase (ex. 2.6).

Example 2.6. Dynamics indicate the gestures begin with the anacrusis in measures 21 – 23 of the Phantasy.

Or:

The gesture does not begin on the downbeat:

Notice that in this case each gesture does not always outline a hexachord.

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Throughout the Phantasy, instrumentalists must use a combination of dynamics, contour

and/or hexachordal segmentation in realizing the melody.

Solo Sonata: Sustained intensity. Sessions opens the Solo Sonata with the entire

primary row, . This row melody

demonstrates an emphasis on fourths and whole-tones. The row divides into trichords of

two genres: fourths prevail in trichords one (G-G#-C#) and three (E-B-F#), while whole-

tones prevail in trichords two (A-F-Eb) and four (C-D-Bb). Movement by fourths as well

as movement by step contributes to the more tonal sounding row.

Similar to constructs in the Phantasy, the original row in the Solo Sonata is

hexachordal combinatorial at the inversion of a fifth. Likewise this makes the two rows,

P0 and I5, semi-combinatorial (figure 2.4).

Figure 2.4. Combinatoriality in the Solo Sonata with rows P0 and I5

Basic Row: Hexachord 1 Hexachord 2 G – G# – C# – A – F – Eb E – B – F# – C – D – Bb

I5: Hexachord 1 Hexachord 2 C – B – F# – Bb – D – E Eb – Ab – C# – G – F – A

Combinatoriality The initial hexachord of the basic row and the row I5 can be combined to create a new twelve-tone row without duplicating any pitches. The same is true for the second hexachords.

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Unlike the Phantasy, Sessions utilizes complete rows in the first few bars of his

Solo Sonata. However, instead of the periodic phrases of the Phantasy, the Solo Sonata melodies expand and overlap into long phrases typical of late romantic composers. For example, the opening six measures combine many gestures to realize one expansive phrase that completes three row statements. The rows state P0, I5, and P0 respectively, and rests precede the initial entrance of each phrase formed by the rows. However the shape, contour and rhythm of each phrase reveal one long statement.

Unlike the Phantasy, the piece is not introduced by hexachordal segmentation.

The first gesture rises from open G and expands the intervals to culminate in a climax at a fermata on a high E, the seventh note of the primary row. The composer completes the row with a five-note arced gesture. However, the gesture is left open-ended in that it is short, fast and still in the upper register of the instrument. The statement that follows, I5, does not begin until after a pause of more than a beat of rest, which separates the two rows. Similarly, row I5 consists of two arced sixteenth-note gestures that rhythmically relate to the last gesture of the primary row. Each is similar in contour but continually descends in pitch. Still, the shorter pauses and placement of the gestures in the middle register demonstrate that the phrase continues beyond this row statement.

The last beat of measure 4 begins a restatement of the primary row, but this time the larger phrase returns to the low register and quiet dynamic of the beginning. This last row statement ends with a rhythmic deceleration, including both longer note values and a rallantando. The opening results in one introductory phrase, full of instructions with various gestures that maintain a push and pull until the tension ends in measure 6 (ex.

2.7).

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Example 2.7. The phrases in the opening measures of the Solo Sonata.

The next few measures represent transitional material that features row R0. The music gradually emerges into the main body of the section, which begins with both the retrograde of the primary row and row I5. They are displayed in opposing registers in measure 11 (ex. 2.7). The opening clearly states the melody, the musical basis for the

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entire piece. A violinist performing the Solo Sonata should make certain that the smaller gestures maintain the tension until the larger phrases are complete.

Similar to the Phantasy, as rows P0 and R0 intersect sonorities are reinforced in the ear since the notes recur in close proximity. In measures 6 and 7, one phrase ends with a Bb/D double-stop, and the next one begins with the same double-stop in a different register (ex. 2.8).

Example 2.8. Repeated note sonorities in the Solo Sonata, measures 6 – 7.

Since a solo instrument performs the piece, the Bb and D sonorities linger in the ear.

Though not technically twelve-tone, the opening of the second movement begins with a twelve-note statement. The following material is largely triadic. Still, Sessions uses slurs, rests, and dynamics to indicate gestures in spite of the change in compositional technique.

In the dodecaphonic middle section of this movement, awareness of the dynamics and rests are essential in understanding the melody. Articulation indicates full rows and hexachords. The ‘B’ section opens with the transposition, P7, of the primary row.

Unlike the first movement, Sessions applies hexachordal segmentation in the initial

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statement, separating the gestures with rests. In this instance, the two motivic ideas consist of four and two-note motives, not the usual trichordal segmentation (ex. 2.9).

Example 2.9. Opening phrases in the ‘B’ section in the Scherzo of the Solo Sonata, measures 236 – 248

As the music continues, the phrases progressively expand. The next phrase follows with a full statement of P7 where the identical melody from the previous hexachord offers the

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listener familiar material to grasp. A large leap, crescendo and accents interrupt the gesture to extend the melody into the full row statement. The phrase ends with a falling note gesture and rest, further completing the phrase.

In the next few bars, starting in measure 241, the instrumentalist must rely on dynamics and contour to interpret the melody since the phrase that states rows I8 and R1 is not enclosed by rests. Sessions outlines the phrase with arced contour, accents in the middle, and with crescendo and diminuendo markings. Measures 243 – 244 state row

R1, and measures 245 – 246 state row I8. In this instance, the articulation does not always coincide with the rows (see ex. 2.9). As the music continues dodecaphony becomes less strict, and row-derived material is developed. As a result, examining the dynamics, contour, rests and articulation become increasingly important to the performer.

At times, dynamic markings contribute to reinforcing phrases that are complicated by rests and small motifs. In the opening of the Adagio in the Solo Sonata mini-gestures that feature suspensions are repeated within longer periodic phrases articulated by the dynamics. On a middle level, each measure separates a hexachord. Sessions applies crescendo and diminuendo markings to ensure that the larger phrases are not overpowered, or obscured, by the suspensions and hexachordal segmentation. In addition, the contour of the quarter-note line reinforces the longer phrases of the melody.

The challenge in the contrapuntal sections of the third movement is for the violinist to continue the forward motion of the phrase even though it is comprised of small gestures

(ex. 2.10).

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Example 2.10. The opening of the Adagio in the Solo Sonata.

Solo Sonata: Recurring melodic ideas. Recurring melodic ideas between the movements can also be heard in the Solo Sonata. The diatonic ‘A’ sections of the second movement feature climbing, explosive moments similar to the first phrase of the composition. Likewise in the anacrusis to measure 150, intervals expand into the high register of the instrument.

In another example, the opening three notes of the first movement begin with the identical contour and intervals as the gesture that starts the first recitative section, measure 406, in the Adagio. Both are transpositions of the same hexachord, and the listener can distinctly hear the intervallic correspondence between these two sections (ex.

2.11).

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Example 2.11. Compare the beginning of the first movement with the first recitative section of the third movement in the Solo Sonata

The beginning of the first movement of the Solo Sonata.

The beginning of the first recitative section of the Adagio in the Solo Sonata, measure 406.

In sculpting desired phrases, the performer should examine the components of motives and gestures that influence decisions of form, as well as attending to the various compositional indicators.

Violin Concerto: Segmented melodies. Like Schoenberg, Ginastera makes referential use of the primary row in the Violin Concerto. As with the Solo Sonata of

Sessions, twelve-tone constructs do not always control the formal process of the Violin

Concerto, however, they do control most sectional boundaries. The opening system,

– C# – E – F – Gb – Eb – Ab – G – Bb – B – C – A>, states the primary row, and the

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following material serves as a musical basis for the entire piece.94 Ginastera has chosen a row where the two hexachords are transpositions of each other. The row utilizes consonant intervals, neighboring tones and sounds diatonic (see ex. 2.12).

To a greater extent than the other pieces being studied, this row behaves similar to a traditional melody. Since all the intervals of tonal music are exploited, this composition is more accessible to the layperson. Ginastera frequently uses thirds and sixths, and does not avoid outlined fifth motions in the Violin Concerto. In fact, the first and last notes of every row formed in the matrix constructed from the primary row represent a perfect fourth or fifth. He also chooses rows that, after transformation, maintain many of the same tonal characteristics of the primary row.

The composer reveals the primary row in an obvious manner in the first two movements, as row statements extend through a majority of the thematic material.

Unlike the Phantasy, unrelated rows are also used to express the melody. In his secondary rows, derived rows, and non-row material Ginastera provides segmenting and free-ordering that suggests tonality in both orchestral and solo parts.95 Secondary rows, which represent a small part, are often stated once and apply non-standard transformations. Still, most secondary rows are derived from the primary row, thereby

______94 Fobes, 76.

95 Ibid., 31.

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keeping the music coherent.96 The primary row is basically a point of departure, even though it is the primary unifying factor in the music.97

Ginastera’s Violin Concerto also elicits a sense of rhythmic symmetry and pacing that coincides with the rows. To a greater extent than the hexachordal segmentation of

Schoenberg and Sessions, Ginastera employs many examples of clear trichordal, tetrachordal and hexachordal segmentation reinforced by rhythm, articulation and contour. For example, the first trichord is expressed in an attention getting exclamation similar in style to the opening of a classical symphony. The next two trichords are two distinct rising three-note slurs, and the last trichord punctuates the row statement with a single note followed by a double-stop. Rhythm, articulation and contour together articulate the trichords of the row and the row as a whole (ex. 2.12).

Example 2.12. The articulation outlines trichordal segmentation in the opening row statement of the Violin Concerto.

______96 Ibid., 15.

97 Ibid., 31.

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In the third system of the cadenza, two hexachords are stated with the articulation of grace notes followed by double-stop eighth-notes. Each hexachord begins with a fermata, further articulating the gestures. In another example found in measure 142, rests enclose a twelve-tone row. This row is expressed as a traditional run that separates two trichords and a hexachord within a written-in accelerando. Slurs, rhythms and dynamics articulate the trichords, hexachord and the row as a whole (ex. 2.13).

Example 2.13. The articulation separates the row into two trichords and a hexachord in measure 142 of the Violin Concerto, and the crescendo and rests outline the row as a whole.

The composer utilizes this device for articulating the row and its components throughout the Violin Concerto, as illustrated in ‘Study II’ of the first movement where he outlines many hexachordal gestures. Each hexachord is expressed by slurred, double- stop sixteenth-note thirds in each beat. By exploiting the interval of the third within the hexachords and by providing repeated notes in close proximity, the composer contributes to listener accessibility within this section. Similar to the Phantasy and the Solo Sonata, the soloist must perform each hexachord with motion and continuity. In so doing, the

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performer maximizes the effect of individual beats rising or falling to give the melody direction from the beginning to the end of the study.

In the second movement, the composer uses rhythm and contour to indicate hexachordal segmentation in the melody. Measures 57– 64 delineate trichords and hexachords by using slurs with rows R1 and P1, and there is a near repetition of this technique in measures 65 and 66. In the latter measures, Ginastera uses double-stops in the solo violin to create a fuller texture. The melody becomes apparent to the ear as the listener hears the repeated rhythms.

Violin Concerto: Deciphering sweeping gestures. At times, melody is difficult to decipher in slow dodecaphonic movements. This is especially true when composers employ phrases that appear seamless and apply asymmetrical rhythms. However, finding correspondence with the row assists in understanding the meoldy.

In the opening melody of the second movement, passages that approach the high

A share similar contours and intervals. At the same time, the composer varies rhythms and presents different pitch groupings taken from the primary row. For example, the approach to the high A in measures 2 – 3 uses the third tetrachord of the row. In measure

10, however, the pitches are from the third trichord, while measures 12 and 14 feature the last tetrachord (ex. 2.14).

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Example 2.14. Tetrachords and trichords that approach the high A in the second movement of the Violin Concerto.

a. Measures 2 – 3 use the third tetrachord of the primary row

b. Measures 10 – 11 use the third trichord

c. Beats three and four of measure 12 use the first tetrachord.

d. Measure 14, beat two uses the first tetrachord.

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In the final and largest gesture of this nature, measures 15 – 16, the composer uses the second hexachord and expands the figure five beats before arriving on the high A.

Of interest, the primary row in the Violin Concerto is derived from set class 3-2

[0, 1, 3]. Trichords two, three, and four are transformations of the first.98 As a result, each trichord represents the same intervals.

Figure 2.5. In the primary row of the Violin Concerto, each trichord starts with a half- step followed by a minor third

D – C# - E F – Gb – Eb Ab – G – Bb B – C – A

½ step + minor 3rd ½ step + minor 3rd ½ step + minor 3rd ½ step + minor 3rd

[0, 1, 3] [0, 1, 3] [0, 1, 3] [0, 1, 3]

Starting in measure 316 and through much of the last movement of the Violin Concerto, the construction of the solo violin part centers on this set class. The sixteenth-notes mix the properties of the row and the octatonic collection, 8-28, exploiting set class 3-2

[0,1,3] (ex. 2.15).

______98 Ibid., 6.

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Example 2.15. Notes used in the third movement of the solo violin part in the Violin Concerto emphasize the properties of the original row and set class 3-2 [0,1,3] in measure 16

The remaining pitches D, F and E, also belong to the same set class.

While finding rows in the Violin Concerto is rather effortless, even enjoyable, performers can engage in a more detailed analysis to decipher the function and nature of the rows as they pertain to interpretation. Keeping track of Ginastera’s movement in and out of dodecaphony, as well as his use of secondary row forms requires an in depth study.

A detailed explanation of the twelve-tone melodies can be found in a thesis by Fobes, titled "Twelve-Tone Techniques in Alberto Ginastera's Violin Concerto," where he discusses the components of the piece in more detail.

Melismata: Melodic observations. The structure of Babbitt’s melodic elements can be seen as a direct extension of Schoenberg’s emphasis on row material. As mentioned in the first chapter, during the middle period of his compositional evolution,

Babbitt expanded the use of twelve-tone aggregates through arrays and derived rows.99

One will remember that an array is a string of sets unfolding simultaneously. These

______99 Mead, An Introduction to the Music of Milton Babbitt, 125.

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arrays provide a background structure for the piece.100 Every pitch in multiple rows is included, having procedural connections often on many levels. All in all, Melismata is a highly polyphonic display of aggregates realized as expressive music for solo violin. It is based on a transformation of a six-part, all-partition array of fifty-eight aggregates.101

In Melismata, Babbitt serializes dynamics, rhythm, timbre and register, which can obscure the relationships between pitch and other elements. Moreover, the shifting dynamics in Melismata range from triple piano to triple forte. Babbitt considers his dynamics absolute, stating that each degradation of dynamic is unique and literal.102

Theoretically, the connections among these elements are logical, nevertheless Babbitt assists the performer in locating gestures by providing slurs that indicate desired connections and associations.103 Since analyzing Babbitt’s music is complicated, these indications are invaluable to the performer when interpreting the composition. Babbitt’s music can be, at times, conjunct or disjunct. Portions of his works seem idiomatic for the hand and ear, while others present significant challenges for both.

With Melismata, Babbitt has selected a serial construction whose character represents the title, a dramatic, breathless and ‘melismatic’ composition. In some instances, gestures combine to form straightforward melodic statements. The first phrase

(articulated by the slur) sounds open-ended, while the second phrase appears to comment

______100 Joseph Dubiel, “Three Essays on Milton Babbitt,” Perspectives of New Music 28, no. 2 (Summer 1990): 220.

101 Mead, An Introduction to the Music of Milton Babbitt, 163.

102 Ibid., 311.

103 Babbitt, Melismata, 1.

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on the previous one. The third phrase is a gesture with contour that appears to respond to the preceding material by returning to the initial register (ex. 2.16).

Example 2.16. Opening phrases in Melismata.

At times the melody reflects endless expansive phrases. For instance, pages seven and eight portray dramatic intensity through continuous sustained lines. Similarly, the final phrase of the piece extends with a fermata over the double bar lines. In effect the music appears to continue unceasingly into thin air.

Even though Melismata employs total serialism, one can still hear similar treatment of set pitch classes that result in audible relationships and associations. Quick gestures comparable to the one in measure 80 are frequent. Similar gestures appear in measures 83, 177, 232, 304, 347, 355 and 357. These gestures begin and end in the same range, use sixteenth- or thirty-second notes, often feature the interval of the fourth, and have similar contours (ex. 2.17).

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Example 2.17. Compare measure 80 in Melismata with similar gestures

a. Some gestures begin and end with the fourth as in measure 80.

b. Measure 83 begins with a double-stop fourth and ends with a fourth leap

c. Measure 232 begins with a fourth leap

d. Measure 347 begins with a fourth leap

The end of measure 3 features a quick gesture of which a few variations occur.

This motive includes a large leap followed by a step. Because it appears in the opening

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of the piece after rests and can sound diatonic, the listener’s ear remembers the motive.

Comparable gestures occur in measures 101, 133 and 267 with varied dynamics but similar contour, rhythm and intervals (ex. 2.18).

Example 2.18. Similar intervals and rhythms are heard in these gestures in Melismata.

Measure 3 Measure 102

Measure 133 Measure 267

Another example occurs in phrases that end with an abrupt double-stop in the interval of a second. This happens in measures 12 – 13, 36, 83, 204 and 339 (ex. 2.19).

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Example 2.19. Gestures in Melismata that end with an abrupt double-stop in the interval of a second.

Measures 12 – 13

Measure 204

Measure 339

The interval resonates in the ear because of the dissonant, abrupt ending.

As was the case in Schoenberg’s Phantasy, Babbitt has incorporated playful note repetition as a compositional element. Near the end in measures 380 – 384, gestures similar in pitch, contour and rhythm recur. Babbitt also signifies the end of the piece by applying note repetition in the last two measures.

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Still, melody, articulation, and dynamic markings do not coincide in total serialism. For example, starting in measure 151, shifting dynamics occur within larger phrase markings. In these circumstances, violinists are required to avoid allowing traditional thought to influence the phrase. Within the slurs, direction ought to be maintained regardless of the dynamics.

Though frequently not in close proximity, comparable gestures appear throughout

Melismata. Being aware of these moments assists the listener in comprehending the composition and provides continuity and musical integrity to a performance of the work.

In Babbitt’s music, it is essential that the violinist precisely follows each instruction.

However, the way that the slurs relate to each other can be interpreted by the manner in which the music speaks to the performer. Similar to traditional repertoire, rests can help determine the pacing. Yet it is important that Babbitt’s music is expressed literally.

INVARIANCE With invariance, under distinct row transformations certain pitch-class segments remain intact. In the Phantasy, the basic row and row I5 share the A-C# dyad, and rows

I5 and P6 share the Eb-E dyad. Rows P0 and P6 share tetrachord C# – B – F – G and dyads F#-D and C-G# (figure 2.6).

Figure 2.6. Invariance in the Phantasy, with rows P0, I5 and P6.

I5: Eb – E – C – D – G# – F # A – C# – F – Bb – G – B

Basic Row: Bb – A – C# – B – F – G E – C – G# – D# – F# – D

P6: E – Eb – G – F – B – C# Bb – F# – D – A – C – G#

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A number of phrases feature the A-C# and E-Eb dyads, and as a result, correspondence between those sections is audible. The opening phrase and the first phrase of the Grazioso use two different hexachords that feature the A-C# dyad. Notice that the dyad is more apparent in measure 32, compared to the opening measure, because the articulation changes on pitch, A (ex. 2.20).

Example 2.20. In the Phantasy, notes from the opening and measure 32 emphasizing the A-C# dyad.

Notes from the start of the Grazioso in measure 52 emphasize the same dyad

The anacrusis to measure 21 also starts a phrase with the A-C# dyad, using the second hexachord of row I5. To add, the A-C# dyad is featured at the end of a phrase and the start of the following phrase (measures 6 – 7, see ex. 2.5 on page 53).

Invariance with the E-Eb dyad is heard in the two transitions, measures 125 – 133 and measures 148 – 150. In measures 125 – 133, there is a deceleration that ends with an

E-Eb dyad, using row R6. Correspondence is heard with the following material, when a transition, using row I5, features the same dyad in measures 148 – 150.

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In another example, the initial hexachords of rows P0 and P6 share a tetrachord that uses the pitches, C# – B – F – G (see figure 2.6). In the Phantasy this combination of notes is a recognizable pattern throughout sections that feature these rows. In both tetrachords the outer notes are G and C#, and the inner notes are F and B. Furthermore, since P0 is the primary row of the piece, the tetrachord is often featured in important points of articulation. The motive can be found at the start and finish of phrases such as in measures 1, 4, 128 – 129 and 155. It can also be found in the middle of phrases, as in measures 7, 9, 17, 32 and 162. In addition, the piano plays the motive in close proximity, reinforcing the notes in the listener’s ear.

Rows in Solo Sonata are rich in invariant relationships (figure 2.7). However,

Sessions’ use of full rows and lack of dodecaphony causes the invariance to be sparse and difficult to notice.

Figure 2.7. Invariance in the Solo Sonata with rows P0, I5 and I8

I5: C – B – F# - Bb – D - E Eb – Ab – C# - G – F – A

P0: G – G# - C# - A- F – Eb E – B – F# - C – D – Bb

I8: Eb – E – A – F – C# - B C – G – D – Ab – Bb – F#

In row I5, B-F#, C#-G# and Bb-D are dyads that also appear in PO, while F#-Bb is a dyad in I8. Also, P0 and I8 share the A-F#-C# trichord and all three rows share the Eb-E dyad.

One dyad, Eb to E, occurs in all three rows and is featured throughout the piece, including in the opening statement where a large leap highlights the dyad using row P0. The dyad

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also dominates the beginning of the quarter-note sections in the third movement, using row P8. Later, the last movement begins with the same pitches.

Invariance also occurs in the Violin Concerto, where recurring melodic formulations happen in all three movements. For the most part, the invariance occurs along with the orchestra part. Still, the composer incorporates invariance in the cadenza of the solo violin part, using rows R2 and I2 (figure 2.8).

Figure 2.8. Invariance in the Violin Concerto with rows R2 and I2.

The retrograde and the inversion of the primary row share the same ordering of the notes C – B – Bb and F# – F – E (also described by Fobes)104

R2: A – C – B – Bb – G – Ab Eb – F# – F – E – C# – D

I2: D – Eb – C – B – Bb – C# G# – A – F# – F – E – G

Ginastera incorporates both trichords as recurring chromatic motives in his cadenza. The C – B – Bb motive appears early in the second statement, using row I2.

The motive is apparent to the ear as it provides movement in the low register (ex. 2.21).

______104 Fobes, 62.

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Example 2.21. Notice the C-B-Bb motive provides motion in the low register in the second statement of the cadenza of the Violin Concerto.

Following in the next statement, row R2, begins with the same notes, this time in the extreme high register of the violin, which further emphasizes C – B – Bb as an important melodic fragment (ex. 2.22).

Example 2.22. The C-B-Bb motive in the third statement of the cadenza of the Violin Concerto

The same statement recurs in the coda of the movement, measures 146 – 147.

Similarly, the F# – F – E motive helps complete the second statement of the cadenza, using row I2. In the following system, the E – F – F# appears as a gesture in a repeated rhythmic pattern, using row RI2. The same notes provide the melodic material in the fifth system of page 4, this time applying the row P2.105 The motive is particularly apparent here, since it provides motion in the midst of sustained trilled notes. As these

______105 The page numbers in the Violin Concerto refer to the violin part in the edition by Ricci, published by Boosey and Hawkes.

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examples demonstrate, the emphasis of invariance assists the performer and listener in finding associations between twelve-tone melodies.

AREAS AND ARTICULATED DIVISIONS

Phantasy: Varied areas of articulation and dodecaphony. In the Phantasy, twelve-tone organization and sections of uniform articulation occur at varying rates.

Serially, the piece is divided by transformations of the initial row, including the retrograde forms, and the related combinatorial row, at an inversion of a fifth. This combination constitutes an ‘area’ that functions somewhat like the tonicized areas of tonal pieces. Large-scale twelve-tone motion in the Phantasy involves movement from area to area.106 The Phantasy utilizes every available area in the matrix, with exception to the area utilizing rows P8, I1, R8 and RI1 (figure 2.9).

______106 David Lewin, “A Study of Hexachordal Levels in Schoenberg’s Violin Fantasy,” Perspectives of New Music Autumn/Winter 1967, 19.

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Figure 2.9. Twelve-tone and articulated ‘areas’ in the Phantasy

This table is similar to the table described in “A Study of Hexachordal Levels in Schoenberg’s Violin Fantasy” by David Lewin107

Measure numbers Serial area Stylistic area measure numbers 1 – 21 ½: P0, I5, R0, RI5 1 – 24 Grave (first stylistic theme) 21 ½ - 25 ½: P9, I2, R9, RI2 25 ½ - 26: P6, I11, R6, RI11 25 – 31 Piu mosso (second stylistic theme) 26 – 27 ½: P11, I4, R11, RI4 27 ½ - 29 ½: P3, I8, R3, RI8 29 ½ - 31: P11, I4, R11, RI4

32 – 33: P0, I5, R0, RI5 32 – 33 Poco meno mosso (recurrence of opening statement)

34 – 51: P5, I10, R5, RI10 34 – 38b Meno mosso 40 – 51 Lento 52 – 59: P2, I7, R2, RI7 52 – 63 Grazioso 60 – 76: P10, I3, R10, RI3 64 – 71 Tempo I (Choral melody) 72 – 84 Piu mosso 77 – 84: P7, I0, R7, RI0 85 – 101: P4, I9, R0, RI9 85 Scherzando 93 Poco Tranquillo 102 – 109: P1, I6, R1, RI6 110 – 116: P9, I2, R9, RI2 117 – 134: P6, I11, R6, RI11 117 Scherzando 135 – 142: P3, I8, R3, RI8 135 – 153 Meno mosso (transition to recapitulation) 143 – 161 ½: P0, I5, R0, RI5 154 Tempo I (the return of the opening two 161 ½ - 162 ½: P5, I9, R5, RI9 stylistic themes and conclusion) 162 ½: - end P0, I5, R5, RI9

Area: Each area includes two rows that are hexachordally combinatorial at the inversion of a fifth along with their retrogrades.

In much of the Phantasy, only the hexachords of each ‘area’ appear. Notice that in the score, not every type of row attributed to an ‘area’ is utilized. Sometimes, just the transposition of the original row and its retrograde are used. Furthermore, articulation and twelve-tone areas coincide in a few notable moments in the Phantasy, including the

______107 Lewin, 20.

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first change of articulation in measure 25, the first recurrence of the opening statement, the Grazioso at measure 52 and in both Scherzandos at measures 85 and 117.

Solo Sonata: Introducing the areas with dodecaphony. Unlike Schoenberg in his

Phantasy, Sessions employs compositional techniques that couple articulation changes and dodecaphonic devices to form sections in the Solo Sonata. Though similar to

Schoenberg’s Phantasy, all of the pitches in the beginning of the first episode are expressed in strict twelve-tone ordering and can constitute an ‘area’ described by P0, I5 and their retrogrades (see ex. 2.7 on page 58).108

In the first movement, variations of the opening gesture separate the episodes.

They are matching in style and represent transpositions of the primary row. However,

Sessions utilizes strict twelve-tone writing only briefly and often replaces it with sections of row-derived features, such as whole-tone and fourth patterns. For example, there are lines that shift from the odd whole-tone collection [Db-Eb-F-G-A-B] to the even collection [C-D-E-F#-Ab-Bb].109 Shortly after the completion of the first five row statements, measures 14 – 18 express alternating whole-tone patterns (ex. 2.23).

______108 Campbell, 96.

109 Ibid., 94.

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Example 2.23. Measure 16 of the Solo Sonata alternates notes from the odd and even whole-tone collections.

The original row reappears in measures 27 – 28 to complete the end of a section within the first episode. The new section starts in measure 30 with a retrograde of the original row. Shortly after this statement, Sessions employs instances of octatonic segments (ex. 2.24).

Example 2.24. In the Solo Sonata, measure 33 contains notes from the octatonic collection 1,2, while measure 34 contains notes from octatonic collection 2,3.

Measure 33, oct1,2 Measure 34, oct2,3

The following two episodes function in a similar manner. The initial gesture of the second episode, measure 54, states a variation of the opening gesture using row P11.

Later in measure 85, the third episode, Sessions applies the original row, but this time in a different register. The following developmental material features whole-tone, octatonic, and fourth segments in each episode. Like the beginning, the movement ends

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with an ‘area’ made up of P0, I5, and their retrogrades, measures 114 – 132.110 Sessions uses the row to outline episodes and enclose areas throughout the first movement of the

Solo Sonata.

Sections in the second movement are separated by changes in articulation and compositional method. The identical ‘A’ sections are not twelve-tone and are articulated by perpetual eighth-notes. This ‘A’ section will be further discussed in the section, Non-

Row Material in this chapter.

For the ‘B’ section, the eighth-note motion ceases and the music becomes lyrical.

As in the first movement, this ‘B’ section begins and ends with row statements. The rows presented are related to the primary row by transposition using row P7, and by inversion using I8. The first row in the section, P7 also relates to the primary row by the interval of a fifth, combining a hint of conventional harmony. However, many measures separate the fifth relationship, and the motion, or functionality, remains undetected by the ear.

Similar to the first movement, the inner material of the ‘B’ section generates whole-tone and fourth patterns.

Sessions begins the Adagio e dolcemente (measure 390) and starts a later section

(measure 441) with the first hexachord of P8. These two sections feature the rocking quarter-note theme that is alternated with recitative-like sections throughout the movement. To introduce the first recitative section, he uses the first hexachord of P3. As usual, the following material is row derived, and whole-tone, fourths and octatonic patterns dominate. Generally in this movement, articulation patterns demark the areas, though dodecaphony is used in a few important areas of marked articulation. In the last

______110 Ibid., 96

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movement whole-tone and fourth properties outweigh the dodecaphony, making the articulation the deciding factor in determining divisions.

Violin Concerto: Areas defined by the articulation and uniform compositional technique. Ginastera’s Violin Concerto is largely sectional. Divisions are defined by the articulation, tempo, instrumentation, solo technique and dodecaphony. Yet, within sections of similar articulation, the compositional technique is usually uniform. Like

Paganini, Ginastera’s emphasis on the articulation and performing technique sometimes outweighs strict compositional constructs: in this case, serial presentation. While the cadenza in the first movement clearly states primary row material, the “Studies” value articulation above dodecaphony in the violin solo part. As mentioned earlier, individual

“Studies” focus on a single performing technique as do many etudes used in violin training (figure 2.10).

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Figure 2.10. Each “Study” in the Violin Concerto features a uniform technique in the violin solo. As a result, dodecaphony combines with orchestra, and row derived elements appear in the violin solo.

Featured articulation in the “Studies” Compositional Elements

Study I – Multiple-stops in eighth-note triplets Traces of P2

Study II – Slurred thirds Symmetry of [0347]

Study III – Mixed staccato and spiccato sixteenth notes Traces of P2 & P7 - Mixed single and double-stopped notes

Study IV – Ricochet bowing Symmetry of [0167]

Study V – Harmonics Traces of R2, P2

Study V I – Quarter-tones R1 within the quarter-tone row

Ginastera separates the areas of the second movement using orchestration, tempo, row transformations and rhythms. In the violin solo, the first section contains upward sweeping gestures that move toward emphasized notes, repeated or held at length. The section features the primary row and the note A. The next section, starting in measure

23, includes dotted rhythms and emphasizes the note D. Also unique to the violin part, there is a series of diatonic major triads expressed with tremelos in measure 32. A closer look reveals that the first two beats are taken from the octatonic collection 1,2 while the next two beats use the collection 2,3. The third section starts in measure 45, and the violin solo makes a late entrance at the end of measure 53. Thematic material appears in measure 57 using the row R1 with double-dotted rhythms. The next section, beginning in measure 74, features the same rhythms from the previous section but with an ‘agitated’

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tempo. This section ends with a rallentando that includes ricochet material featuring ad lib and aleatoric rhythms for the performers. The last section (measure 96) begins with two statements ending in fermatas. The material that follows is a variation of the first two sections. Sweeping gestures return, however this time the notes A and E are held at length and placed in registral extremes. At first the middle movement is seamless and hard to decipher until the uniqueness of each section is brought to the forefront (figure

2.11).

Figure 2.11. Sections and featured rhythms in the solo violin part of Movement II in the Violin Concerto

Section Emphasized Notes, Rhythms, or compositional technique

1: mm. 1 – 22 A, sweeping gestures

2: mm. 23 – 44 D, tremolo rhythms with thirds

3: mm. 45 – 73 B, thematic dotted rhythms

4: mm. 74 – 95 B, dotted rhythms plus aleatory rhythms

5: mm. 96 – 117 A,E, opens with fermatas and a return to sweeping gestures

Within the titled divisions of the last movement, areas are articulated by various violin techniques, register and character. The primary row does not appear as much as other elements during the violin solo. Though Ginastera is outlining hexachords and rows, the orchestration and solo violin technique articulate the divisions for the listener.

More interesting than what is being used to divide the areas, is what is not utilized. For example, the first section of this movement, Scherzo Pianissimo, utilizes the same dynamic and tempo throughout. Often, last movements have a uniform pace,

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however the dynamics vary. Amidst the consistency in some basic elements of the music in this section, the composer employs variety of orchestration, solo technique and mood.

There are short sections that feature left-hand pizzicato, tremelo, staccato, ricochet, harmonics and sections of uniform bowing. A similar balance is achieved in the first movement’s sections of uniform violin technique.

The opening is percussive and omits the solo violin. After the violin enters, the composer focuses the music on the harmonics, spiccato and the extreme high register of the solo instrument. In the next section the composer scores for the middle registers of the violin, and the solo appears thematic rather than atmospheric. When the left-hand pizzicato figures begin, the section comes alive with new energy. As the energy of the sections dissipates, the solo effect changes to tremolo, alternating with sul ponticello and sul tasto bowing techniques.

Using a device not included in the other pieces studied in this document,

Ginastera incorporates quotation in the next section. He quotes the opening of the

Twenty-fourth Caprice by Niccolo Paganini (further discussed in the next section). The composer also incorporates harmonic glissandos as a unique feature in this section.

Though the first section of the movement uses the pianissimo dynamic, areas are brought to the surface through orchestration and violin technique.

The main aspect of the final section, Perpetuum Mobile, is speed or tempo. The section seems more like a traditional concerto than a contemporary work, because the soloist has to execute fewer extended techniques. Also, there are no instances of timbral changes or complicated bowings. Measures 370 – 373 feature traditional broken octaves

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similar to the concertos of Mendelssohn, Dvorak and Tchaikovsky. Due to the quick tempo, the section is brief.

Melismata: Knowledge inspires enthusiasm. Much like the Phantasy, the construction of Melismata adheres to a definite serial process. Comparable to the way

Schoenberg uses ‘areas,’ Babbitt uses the repetition of elements in the array to form all the partitions.111 Babbitt applies two circle-of-fifth transformations to preserve the basic partitional structure of the array in Melismata.112 However, with exception to the indicated slurs, Babbitt does not reinforce his sections using the traditional means of rests, articulation, dynamics and contour. These compositional elements are serialized, and without an in depth knowledge of Babbitt’s theory, it is difficult, if not impossible for the performer to delineate these larger partitions. Still, gaining at least a superficial understanding of the compositional process helps the instrumentalist appreciate and respect the music.

NON-ROW MATERIAL

As previously mentioned, strict twelve-tone writing is short-lived in the Solo

Sonata and often replaced by sections of row-derived features, such as whole-tone and fourth patterns. These patterns are featured throughout the piece and bring coherence and unity to the composition. Descending motives that are similar to the one in measure 7, exploit the whole-tone properties of the row. Whole-tones also occur in measure 63 and

______111 Andrew Mead, “About “About Time’s” Time.” 219.

112 Mead, An Introduction to the Music of Milton Babbitt, 163.

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at the end of 66 in the first movement. More whole-tone elements are featured in the last movement, where the row is a looser component in the structure. For example, measures

590 – 592 exhibit a descending motion that emphasizes whole-tones in a rhythmic sequence (ex. 2.25).

Example 2.25. Measures 590 – 593 in the last movement of the Solo Sonata illustrate a string of sequenced segments emphasizing whole-tones.

Similarly, fourth patterns are related to the primary row and permeate the piece.

Fourths in important points of articulation occur in the transition between sections ‘A’ and ‘B’ of the second movement and the transition into the third movement. The first and last movements uniquely include stacked fourths. These stacked fourths from the first movement, measure 117, foreshadow stacked fourths that are featured material in the middle section of the last movement, measures 533 – 539 and 566 – 568 (ex. 2.26).

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Example 2.26. Measures 534 and 567 in the last movement of the Solo Sonata feature stacked fourths.

Measure 534 Measure 567

However, the Solo Sonata also contains material with less correspondence to the row, such as the descending thirds in measures 19 and 21 of the first movement.

Stylistically, descending third phrases reverse the upward motion of the opening measures. Another example is a chain of thirds that can be found in the last movement, measure 522. The phrase is introduced with repeated notes and then followed by a rest.

The diatonic sound of this gesture and the enclosed nature of the music create a unique moment for the listener.

The most extreme example of the composer utilizing non-row material in the Solo

Sonata is the previously mentioned ‘A’ sections of the Scherzo. The section is triadic, providing retrospective relationships that make it easier for the ear to decipher. Also unique among the works studied is the literal da capo, a return with no alteration, from the movement. Within this section, a distinct recurring motive appears that features the interval of the third and outlines a perfect fourth. With exception to the first eighth-note, the motive sounds tonal and appears to temporarily centralize around the accented top

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note. Step-wise and third motion in the motive resembles a melody from earlier compositional traditions (ex. 2.27).

Example 2.27. Recurring motive as it appears in measure 161 in the Scherzo of the Solo Sonata. Without the first notes, the motive would sound diatonic.

The figure is repeated in measure 162 and transposed in measures 181, 184, 186, 207 –

208, 209 and 229 – 230. The da capo further emphasizes the pattern.

Ginastera also integrates various non-row material into the Violin Concerto. As with the Solo Sonata, Ginastera’s music relates to his original row. For example, in

“Study 6” of the first movement he serializes quarter-tones by creating a ‘twenty-four- tone’ section. In his opening printed remarks in the score, Ginastera describes the twenty-four-note scale on which the etude is based.113 Still, when Ginastera applies this scale, the order of the pitches agree with row R1 (ex. 2.28), rather than standing as a separate, distinct entity.

______113 Ginastera, “Analysis.”

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Example 2.28. The order of the quarter-tone section in “Study Six” of the Violin Concerto’s first movement. Hollow notes represent the row R1.

In addition, Ginastera follows the lead of Alban Berg in using musical quotation within his Violin Concerto. Beginning in measure 180, Ginastera borrows the famous opening three-beat motive found in the Twenty-fourth Caprice of Niccolo Paganini. He explains that the quotes should be played, “as if the shadow of the great violinist were hovering over the orchestra.”114 The section has both complete and incomplete statements of the motive. The Paganini quotation forms set class 4-14[0,2,3,7], which can also be found in the primary row.115 Throughout the concerto, Ginastera has found a way to uniquely exploit the adaptability of dodecaphony to other modern compositional techniques to create a cohesive whole.

Both Sessions and Ginastera integrate non-row material in a manner that is organic to the music. By hearing and relating the intervallic correspondence with the row ______114 Alberto Ginastera, “Analysis.”

115 Fobes, 50.

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the performer can more fully understand the music. As a result, performers can place non-row material in context for the listener, as an important ingredient to the overall portrayal of the piece.

EMPHASIZED NOTES

In the Phantasy, Schoenberg frequently uses the note G at distinctive points of articulation. The first phrase ends on a prolonged G in measure 2. The next prolonged G occurs in measure 4 starting a new phrase. Also, in the last chord the lowest note is G.

Babbitt utilizes playful note repetition in Melismata as well, and at times pitches stabilize, if not center, on a single pitch. For example, page two of Melismata has a recurring high Eb and later a C appears. Those identical pitches in the exact register are re-visited with some frequency on page four, seven, nine and to some degree throughout the piece.

To a greater extent, Sessions and Ginastera employ definite tonal centers and write passages that move toward traditional tonality in sound and approach, if not achieve, functional relationships between pitches. As an example, the first statement of the Solo Sonata, P0, I5 and P0 respectively, starts on G and ends on D outlining a fifth.

This movement begins and ends on the open G string, while the first phrase of the second episode starts with open D (measure 54), providing an additional fifth relationship. The middle section ends with a fermata on an A/C# double-stop, suggesting A major and creating fifth motion between the beginning and ending of the episode. The next episode returns to G, but an octave higher than the opening statement. For the most part, the

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inner material obscures the fifth relationships. However, after a few run-throughs the relationship becomes apparent.

As mentioned, the ‘A’ section of the second movement often sounds diatonic.

The section is not twelve-tone. Rather, it stabilizes around notes and outlines thirds. In addition, the movement begins on the open D string, creating fifth motion with the previous movement. This ‘A’ section emphasizes the note E in measures 147 – 149, then in measure 155, and again in measures 161 – 162. E recurs briefly in measure 229, as well. However the open D string returns as a pedal note, providing transition into the ‘B’ section. The composer does not achieve tonality in this passage, since the D is played with an Eb creating dissonance rather than resolution. The ‘B’ section also ends with a

D/Eb double-stop. In the da capo the exact same notes are used to transition into the third movement.

For the third movement, Sessions starts with row P7 that is related to the original row by the interval of a fifth. Additional fifth motion appears between the first contrapuntal section, starting on D#, and the following lyrical section that begins with

A#. At times this section of music focuses on the open string notes of the violin, thereby naturally providing fourth and fifth relationships. Emphasis on D and G can be found in instances of marked articulation. D is emphasized in measures 416, 466 and 468, while

G is the focus of attention in measures 435, 455, 462 and 489. Similar to the previous movements, the relationships are obscured by the context in which they occur.

However, a very apparent tonal center is revealed in the final clear resolution on an A that ends the entire piece. A few measures before, in measure 606, Sessions pauses

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on a D fermata. This creates fourth motion with the final note, A. The last note is approached by both neighboring tones along with C#, the third, suggesting tonality.

With its lack of chromaticism (with exception to the leading tone), use of thirds and strong fifth motion, the Violin Concerto centers around pitches to a greater extent than found in the other pieces in this paper. For example, the two opening statements, P2 and I2, are expressed with many of the same intervals and articulations. These rows are related by inversion, and the use of thirds and outlined fifth motion suggests tonality.

Furthermore, the melodies of the two statements provide matching contour.

The opening statement begins on D, while stepwise motion expands the D into a minor third. The composer uses C# with quasi leading-tone motion to D, and the row is completed with a double-stop, whose lower note is A: the dominant. The A is resolved by the next statement that begins with D. The composer continues to use these tonal tendencies as the work unfolds. Eventually, it becomes clear that the D in the cadenza is actually the dominant of G, when enters as the orchestra accompaniment begins on that pitch. The end result realizes the traditional 18-century cadenza that exploits the dominant before being resolved to tonic by the orchestra. Throughout the first movement, most points of important articulation open and end with D, A or G (figure

2.12).

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Figure 2.12. Clear large-scale dominant to tonic motion in the first movement of the Violin Concerto

Section with the dominant Initial note Resolution note Section of Resolution Cadenza D G Study I

Study III A D Study IV

Beginning of Coda D G End of Coda

In the second movement the composer creates a strong fifth motion between the orchestra and the solo. Also, tonality is, or at least tonal tendencies are, created by notes that are emphasized through sustaining, repetition, register and/or duration. In the first section, while the orchestra often begins and ends phrases on D, the violin solo repeats and holds A. In the next section (measure 23), the violin solo starts on D. Later the pitches C# and G# are emphasized. Additional fifth motion and tonal tendencies occur throughout the concerto. When working on the Violin Concerto, performers must emphasize both the row and the elements of traditional tonality, since they are intertwined.

Chapter conclusion. The preceding discussion demonstrates that dodecaphony is the essential element in the conception of the Phantasy, the Solo Sonata, the Violin

Concerto and Melismata. While dodecaphony does not dictate style, texture or form, the process brings coherence through a clear structural basis. Even within the works of

Schoenberg, the twelve-tone process lends itself to a variety of compositional output.

Likewise, Sessions, Ginastera and Babbitt bring radically different realizations to their violin compositions. Yet, each composer promotes the ideal of conceptual unity and

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organically developing ideas. Small motives, melodies, sectional boundaries and overall structural elements relate in that the parts and whole are linked by common constructs.

Performers interpret music by responding to both musical and physical demands presented by the composer. From a performer’s perspective, instrumental challenges often surface as theoretical ideas are distinguished, and physical demands are affected by the elements of interpretation. In essence, the body responds physically to the musical requests of composers. Both relationships, intellectual and physical, are essential in the creative process of preparing a twelve-tone work for performance.

The next chapter offers solutions in coordination, hearing and memory for the

Phantasy, the Solo Sonata, the Violin Concerto and Melismata. As with compositional components, various instrumental techniques often intertwine to shape the piece. Though treated in separate chapters, physical strategies and structural interpretations should be worked out both separately and together. As in most compositions, continual practice and repeated performances bring fresh ideas and new understanding to the music.

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CHAPTER THREE

PRACTICE AND PERFORMANCE

Twelve-tone compositions are well suited for the violin in that the instrument can handle large leaps and sudden contrasts in dynamic, register and range. However, frequent changes in these elements demand an unusual amount of control from the instrumentalist. Furthermore, modern pieces require a high degree of independence between the bow and fingerboard. Violinists must therefore expand the technique of both arms and hands. As a result, performers need to locate and organize all finger patterns within a piece, while coordinating a studied bow hand.

When learning the Phantasy, the Solo Sonata, the Violin Concerto or Melismata, the performer must give careful consideration to these factors from the start. The first section of this chapter, General Technique, supplies the violinist with a brief discussion on vibrato and intonation. The section also highlights the necessity of understanding all the instructions and emphasizes technically new approaches along with traditional training.

The initial difficulty for any violinist is to obtain complete aural and physical familiarity with the intervals of the piece. The following section, Train the Ear and

Understand the Fingerboard, evaluates the physical interactions needed in order to

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become comfortable with the melody. In dodecaphony the notes are not repeated in close proximity, and traditional intervals are often avoided. For example, the dissonant intervals of the seventh and ninth are key ingredients in these pieces and occur more than they would in other literature. As a result, performers may be less adept at producing the intervals with facility. Anticipating disjunct intervals and hearing less familiar patterns, then becomes an essential skill to develop, as one learns compositions of this nature.

Also, creating various nontraditional scales and arpeggio patterns for practice helps the ear recognize how the intervals behave in a linear context.

Each piece includes its share of large shifts. Leaps over opposing registers demand intensified ear training as well as physical acuity. These large shifts are executed through mastery of the high odd-numbered finger positions, as well as mastering the aural acuity needed to recognize and produce the pitches. Familiarity with seventh position is essential. Calculating the intervallic distance of the shift on the fingerboard and placing the left elbow appropriately, require a heightened attention to the coordination of both arms and the ability to pre-hear pitches. Aural acuity is enhanced through pitch repetition exercises, and awareness of the physical location of the note on the instrument is achieved through repetitive execution.

The next section, Strengthen and Reduce the Work of the Left-hand, reviews concepts on creating stamina. Pedagogue Samuel Applebaum, in the series The Way

They Play, indicates that left-hand technique gives a violinist speed, flexibility and endurance.116 One might also consider double-stops as an effective way to train, since the

______116 Samuel Applebaum and Sada Applebaum, The Way They Play, Book 1 (Neptune City, N.J.: Paganiniana Publications, 1972), 149.

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work of the left-hand is reduced to fewer motions while the ear is engaged in discriminating pitches. Furthermore, while unnecessary right-hand motion is avoided, the connected, or fluid, motion used in the left-hand for double stops encourages a more legato, fluid overall technique.

While traditional composers are concerned with idiomatic writing that avoids complicated finger twisting, twelve-tone composers sacrifice comfort in the compositional process. As a result, performers need to develop quick, lateral left-hand motion to reduce unwanted sounds. Eugene Gratovich, editor of 16 Contemporary

Etudes, believes lateral left-hand movement must be mastered for developing finger flexibility.117

A blocked hand frame, or temporary fixed hand frame, is advantageous for a series of difficult gestures that demand reduced physical movement. A blocked hand frame, by its nature, limits excessive activity in the left-hand. Other passages may include awkward double-stops with the simultaneous use of contrasting rhythms and polyrhythms. These passages require the performer to practice the elements separately before playing them together.

Next, Create Fluidity with Nontraditional Hand Frames, further examines the motion of the left-hand. Nontraditional hand movements grant freedom from unwanted shifts and string crossings within the phrase and can be achieved by expanding and contracting the shape of hand. For example, if the octave is divided in half it results in

______117 Allan Blank, Ralph Shapey, and George Flynn, 16 Contemporary Violin Etudes for Study and Performance, ed. Eugene Gratovich, (n.p.: American String Teachers Association, 1982), 3.

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two tritones. This produces an extension of the left-hand by half-step when played on one string and a contraction when played as two consecutive double-stops. Similarly, a succession of four consecutive half-steps produces a contracted hand-span of a minor third. These fresh ideas on hand movement can create dexterity within difficult passages that might not otherwise be achieved.

In choosing an appropriate technique for passages, the performer must also consider the effect the choice will have on tone color and other elements of performance.

New approaches to the bow arm can convey dynamics, timbre and color that differ from that of traditional technique. Additionally, the choice of bowing can help accommodate the dynamic or timbral request of the composer, especially when harmonics are involved.

Smooth string crossings are also a constant concern for the performer as the technical demands of a piece are met. Accordingly, the violinist must experiment with a creative use of bow speed, bow pressure and distribution in seeking an appropriate solution. The following section, Choreographed Movements, will examine the coordination needed to deal with these issues.

The next the section, Rhythm Practice, provides practice solutions for complicated rhythms. Modern pieces include both asymmetrical rhythms and fast meter changes. As a result it is important to create scales with unusual divisions of the beat that correspond to the music. Also, devising practice scales that incorporate irregular accents helps the performer promote a feeling of stability in the midst of the perceived chaos promoted by frequent meter changes and rhythmic asymmetry.

Each section in the chapter includes tables that feature specific violin techniques pertaining to the pieces, and designates measures where they are located in the Phantasy,

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the Solo Sonata, the Violin Concerto and Melismata. The performer can increase comfort in the execution of these problematic areas by isolating techniques for practice. As a result, violinists become increasingly solid in their playing of other pieces as well.

Of course, every violin technique that may be required to execute these compositions is not included in this study. Instead, the study is limited to techniques and technical exercises that help solve specific challenging areas in the music. For some single measures, several different practice techniques may be prescribed. Also, identical measures are not restated under the same technique. The three movements of the Violin

Concerto are divided by horizontal lines in the box. 118 Due to Babbitt’s indication that each note can be played stopped or a harmonic, examples in Melismata are this researchers suggestions, rather than directives from the composer. These tables are included to illustrate how similar diagrams can be used in the preparation of other compositions, at the discretion of the performer.

In the end, one of the biggest obstacles for the violinist is to refrain from allowing the technical demands of the music to overwhelm the artistry of the performance. To that end, one should keep in mind the inherent goals of conservation of energy, fluidity of motion, and ease of execution. It is not enough to start with slow practice and to gradually increase the tempo as facility allows. Sections should be repeated several times, in many different ways, to give attention to the angle and positions of both arms

______118 In the diagram, the Violin Concerto examples begin on page 2 in congruence with the violin part, edited by Ricci and published by Boosey & Hawkes. The cadenza will be referred to by the page number and system or line on the page since measure numbers do not apply.

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and hands. When practicing, every effort should be made to avoid unnecessary movement, thereby saving energy.

Because problems with tension arise that lead to reduced ease and flexibility, it is absolutely necessary to rest when tired. Since the structure of the music is of foremost concern, the accuracy of the performance is essential to an exact portrayal of the piece.

Still, it is important to give precedence to musical rather than technical goals. At all times, the performer must ‘make music’ in order to maintain the integrity of the composition.

GENERAL TECHNIQUE

INTONATION

In all music, tuning and intonation present ongoing concerns. With unfretted string instruments, such as the violin family, intonation includes optional systems for the performer. Some of these choices are made easier with dodecaphony given that there is no hierarchy of pitch or responsibility to traditional harmony. For example, tonic to dominant motion are brought to the surface most effectively when intervals are pure, but raised leading tones bring energy and tension to the music. In most cases, however, equal temperament is the appropriate system, and the performance of all four of these pieces would benefit from practice with a tuner, all of which refer to equal temperament.

Exceptions occur when tonal centers are implied, as in sections of the Solo Sonata and the Violin Concerto. These considerations should factor into the violinist’s interpretation and especially when the performer is unaccompanied.

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VIBRATO

For the most part, vibrato is administered in the usual manner. Schoenberg’s music, coming from late romanticism, follows traditional expressive techniques. Unless otherwise instructed, faster vibrato is utilized for moments of high intensity, and slower vibrato for lyricism. The same applies to Sessions, whose extended phrases and diatonic writing also have close ties to romanticism. For the most part, the Violin Concerto follows the previous model.

Ginastera, however, includes techniques in his music that could be masked by wider vibrato. For example, in “Study 6” there are quarter-tones in which vibrato would interfere with clearly executing each tone. Similarly with Babbitt, some have argued that his pieces should be played without vibrato in order to focus attention on the core pitch.

Some composers of integral serialism occasionally prefer computer performances of their compositions to ensure a strict portrayal of the music. However, Melismata was not written for the computer, and the title itself suggests a melodic, lyrical composition.

Generally, the application of vibrato helps interpret phrases, brings out gestures and enhances the quality of the sound. In the end, the decision is up to the violinist who must take into consideration the general stylistic background and explicit intent of the composer.

INSTRUCTIONS

All four composers provide a combination of conventional and experimental markings that occur at extraordinary rates in the scores. In the hands of some composers,

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instructions may be supplemented by a key or table of explanations that describe nontraditional symbols, provide staging instructions, or include other performance suggestions.

Schoenberg and Sessions rely on more traditional models, at times providing additional explanations as footnotes. Babbitt incorporates opening explanatory notes in

Melismata, explaining parameters, such as the performer having the freedom to choose harmonics or a stopped string for any note. Babbitt also mentions that the accidentals affect only those notes they immediately precede.

In the Violin Concerto, Ginastera injects into the score two full pages of instructions on how to play and perform the composition. Also, he requests that the explanations be included in the concert program notes. It is extremely helpful to maintain a copy of the instructions, especially in the initial stages of preparation. For in the end, the performer must be mindful of technical, logistical and musical considerations in order to create a proper realization of the piece.

TRAIN THE EAR AND UNDERSTAND THE FINGERBOARD

INTERVAL OF THE SEVENTH

Execution of the interval of the seventh is particularly relevant to successful performances of the Phantasy, the Solo Sonata, the Violin Concerto and Melismata.

Therefore, performers who are preparing these works would be well advised to practice performing scales in sevenths and recognizing the nuances between the major and minor

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forms of the interval. In time and with repetition, these intervals sound increasingly consonant, or at least not as dissonant.

Sevenths occur in important points of articulation at the end of the Phantasy, in measure 21 of the Solo Sonata, and at the end of both the first and last movements of the

Violin Concerto. The basic fingering of the seventh implements the reverse configuration used in the double-stopped thirds, where one applies the first and third fingers or the second and fourth fingers. With dodecaphony, successive sevenths maintain a mixture of major and minor as well as diminished and augmented stepwise motions between the fingers. As a result, players need to recognize the distance between the intervals vertically and horizontally.

Because of the increased aural demand in measure 21 of the Solo Sonata, the performer must practice the melodic lines of each finger independently and together for both aural and physical control.

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Table 1. INTERVAL OF THE SEVENTH

Isolating the interval of the seventh in practice helps the ear to better recognize them.

Practice Phantasy Solo Sonata by Violin Concerto by Melismata by technique by Arnold Roger Sessions Alberto Ginastera Milton Babbitt below Schoenberg

THE M. 28 M. 2 Mixed intervals M. 22 SEVENTH including 7ths The interval M. 166 last M. 15 beat 3 occur throughout M. 140 of the double-stop the first movement seventh uses M. 17-18 ______M. 248 beat 3 the reverse ______fingerings of M. 19 double- III M. 290 the third stop 231-245 Beginning of gestures M. 21 chain of 7ths Last 3 bars

M. 70 clear arrival on 7ths double-stop

M. 183 string of 7ths

M. 498 pick-up string of 7th

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INTERVAL OF THE NINTH

As in the case of seventh intervals, the Phantasy, the Solo Sonata, the Violin

Concerto and Melismata routinely employ the interval of the ninth. Aurally, performers can practice ninths in a manner similar to practicing sevenths. Hearing the ninth is as demanding for the ear, but performing ninths is more of a challenge for the left-hand.

The problem lies in extending the conventional left-hand frame by step. Measure 79 of the Solo Sonata includes mixed seventh and ninths, therefore serving as a good source for comparing the challenges of the two tasks.

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Table 2: INTERVAL OF THE NINTH

Isolating intervals of the ninth in practice helps the ear to better recognize them.

Practice Phantasy by Solo Sonata by Roger Violin Concerto Melismata technique Arnold Sessions by Alberto by Milton below Schoenberg Ginastera Babbitt

THE NINTH M. 58 M. 1-2 Eb to E leap Mixed intervals M. 85-86 The interval (diminished M. 12 beat 2 including 9ths th of the ninth 10 ) M. 14 beat 2 throughout the M. 174 extends the M. 20-21 first movement hand frame by M. 93 beat 2 M. 79 mixed 7th and 9th step passage M. 2 M. 117 M. 92-93 mixed 7ths and 9ths through transitional M. 9-10 M. 153 material ______M. 109 arrival on 9th double-stop M. 81-125 M. 157 sequencing 9th and Beginning of the 7th pattern motives M. 213 7th and 9th under difficult finger M. 378-381 coordination Mixed 7ths and M. 216 string of dim 8ves 9ths and 9ths M. 224-228 7th and 9th M. 405-408 double-stops Mixed 7ths and M. 233-235 transition 9ths between A and B sections M. 259 G#-A# M.261 M. 269 in sigh motives M. 414 M. 436 end of section M. 548 ninth leap M. 559 M. 484

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NONTRADITIONAL SCALES

The performer can construct scales and develop interval patterns for practice much in the same way conventional scales and arpeggios are practiced. Furthermore, these constructs can be transposed into every position across the fingerboard to provide exercises of general application, rather than for only one instance. This skill is paramount in sections where the melody is difficult to pre-hear, as in the sweeping gestures of the Solo Sonata. Using measure 587 as an example, one can create a passage that places the pitches in linear order (in effect, a scale), thereby practicing the pertinent shifts and specific pitch tasks efficiently (ex. 3.1). Through repetition, the ear along with the arm will remember the pattern and motions essential to executing the given passage from the score.

Example 3.1. Practice scale for the Solo Sonata, measure 587: *

*Throughout the chapter, open note heads are used for practice and are notes not included in the score.

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Similar gestures appear in the second movement of the Violin Concerto. Creating practice scales for the rising and falling lines in measures 388 through the beginning of

391 of the third movement, will train the ear to hear this passage with greater ease and will act as a shift study for the specific tasks in the score (ex. 3.2).

Example 3.2. Practice scale for the third movement of the Violin Concerto, measures 388 beat 2 through the beginning of measure 391:

Likewise, the challenges found in various measures in Melismata are facilitated by the development of practice scales. For example, scales can be created for measures

27 – 28, 93 – 98, and 120 – 121. To a lesser extent, one can construct scales for passages in the Phantasy, since linear passages are interrupted by large leaps. In these cases, the performer is restricted to developing practice strategies for shorter passages. In all cases, the performer should make certain to build scales that include the relevant shifts.

NONTRADITIONAL INTERVAL PATTERNS

As with scale-wise passages, performers can increase facility in executing arpeggiated patterns that are found in the music by creating corresponding arpeggiated

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exercises that progress up and down the fingerboard. This technique is essential in the

Violin Concerto and the Solo Sonata, where sweeping mixed-interval passages pervade the music. For example, the coda in the first movement of the Violin Concerto, starting in measure 143, features a series of diminished thirds that can be practiced forward and backward, as well as transposed. Also, a combined interval passage can be produced for measure 145 and similarly transposed for practice (ex. 3.3 and ex. 3.4).

Example 3.3. The first movement of the Violin Concerto, measure 145:

At first, practice the above pattern with all the traditional rhythmic variations.

Example 3.4. Next transpose the previous pattern to begin with the notes below on the G-string

In addition, a comparable arpeggio and scale process can be applied to the last movement, measures 197 – 215. In general, all passages that benefit from building arpeggios will also improve from creating scales (ex. 3.5).

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Example 3.5. In addition, construct a practice scale for measure 145 of the Violin Concerto.

Within the Solo Sonata there are also mixed-interval passages that can be facilitated by practicing them in isolation, as well as by filling in notes to complete a scale. For instance, performers would benefit from building both intervallic and scaler passages in measures 552 – 553 of the last movement. The same technique can be applied to measures 555, 557 and 559. As with scaler passages, it is essential that performers maintain the shifts used in the performance of the arpeggios in order to create a most effective practice strategy.

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Table 3. CREATE SCALES AND ARPEGGIO PATTERNS

Create scale and arpeggio patterns to train the ear and both arms in complicated passages. In Melismata, construct scales with and without the related harmonics.

Practice Phantasy Solo Sonata by Violin Concerto Melismata techniques listed by Arnold Roger Sessions by Alberto by Milton below Schoenberg Ginastera Babbitt NON M. 162 M. 17-18 I M. 27 end TRADITIONAL M. 44 whole-tone P. 5 line 7 through 28 SCALES scale Create M. 109 Study II, create M. 82 nontraditional M. 269 create a scales with thirds scale passages in scale with 9ths M. 177 the suggested M. 450 Study VI, 24-tone measures M. 497 16th notes scale M. 295-296 M. 555 II M. 557 Create scales for M. 310-316 M. 587 passages throughout the M. 329-331 second movement M. 341 III M. 80-84 M. 350-352 NON M. 162 M. 19 I M. 93-96 TRADITIONAL Page 3 line 3&4 INTERVAL M. 22 beat 3 & 4 Study IV M. 141 PATTERNS II Create M. 552-553 M. 5 M. 154 nontraditional M. 10 intervallic patterns M. 559 M. 12 M. 359-360 similar to M. 14-17 arpeggios in the M. 589 double- III suggested stops and mixed M. 261 measures intervals M. 262 M. 270 M. 274-275 M. 75-85 M. 119-124

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UTILIZE SEVENTH POSITION

Traditionally, violinists learn the odd finger positions first due to conventional wisdom holds that they are easier to execute than the even positions. For example, through reference points, fifth position is built on the same fingerings as first position.

Seventh position utilizes the same fingerings as third position, and it includes as a reference point, a natural harmonic where the first finger is located.

The combination of aural skill and muscular memory of where seventh position is located, plays an important role in the opening of the Phantasy. By placing the first finger over the E harmonic on the E string in seventh position, the performer is prepared to make the large leap in measures 2 and 3. Accordingly, the hand is in position to play the Gb enharmonically as an F# with second finger (ex. 3.6).

Example 3.6. Practice this shift and fingering for the Phantasy, measures 2 – 3:

With this fingering, violinists will be able to quickly locate the Gb and administer a wide, fast vibrato that maintains the intensity of the opening statement.

Likewise, knowing seventh position is essential for leaps in the Solo Sonata

(examples 3.7 and 3.8).

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Example 3.7. Practice the first shift in measure 107 of the Solo Sonata as:

Example 3.8. Practice the shifts in measures 114 – 116 of the Solo Sonata as:

In the Violin Concerto, the composer exhausts every violinistic technique, thereby creating tasks that require the strength and virtuosity needed in such compositions as those by Niccolo Paganini and Wilhelm Ernst. Compared to the Phantasy and the Solo

Sonata, the large leaps are more difficult physically than aurally. In the end of the second phrase of the opening cadenza the composer features a double-stop tenth that leaps to another double-stop tenth, within a rapid tempo. The tenths are not nearly as difficult to hear as the passage is to perform physically. In another example, the grace-note leaps in measures 146 and 147 are extremely complex; combining mixed-interval double-stops that require enormous shifts. Likewise, isolated high C-naturals and C-sharps in the third

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movement are more of a challenge to reach physically, than they are to hear. Again, success in the performance of these passages relies on knowing the location of seventh position and being aware of the placement of the left elbow.

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Table 4. UTILIZE SEVENTH POSITION

Keep in mind that shifts require many repetitions to master.

Practice Phantasy by Solo Sonata by Violin Concerto Melismata by technique Arnold Roger Sessions by Alberto Milton Babbitt listed below Schoenberg Ginastera UTILIZE M. 2-3 high Gb M. 2 I M. 4 high C is a SEVENTH M. 145 grace tenth away POSITION M. 6, 10th M. 11 beat 1 note leap from M. 25 G# The double-stop first position to M. 26 G# th reference of M. 14 7 position M. 54 the harmonic M. 9 beat 2 M. 57 Ab in seventh M. 42 II M. 66 on A position M. 17 Ricci M. 82 helps secure M. 54 for G recommends 7th M. 93 difficult M. 25 beat 4 position M. 119 passages M. 63 beat 1 throughout in the M. 141 M. 40 violin part M. 161-162 M. 75 end M. 177 M. 153 last III M. 199 beat M. 102 high M. 220 double-stop M. 212 use 7th M. 245-248 M. 154 extend position as a M. 284 hand by ½ step M. 107 for Bb reference M. 292 to play Bb M. 294 mf M. 116 M. 315, beat 2 M. 324 both gestures M. 151 shift down M. 353, double to 7th stop M. 354, double- M. 191 stop M. 355 M. 245 M. 363 M. 380-387 M. 251

M. 281-282

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MORE LARGE SHIFTS

When violinists encounter shifts that do not employ direct references, such as seventh position, and that leap from opposing registers, the performer lacks direct physical cues for locating the pitches and must rely on intensified ear training.

Notwithstanding the challenges these tasks pose for the ear, the player will enjoy better success with the physical motion of the shift by leading with the left elbow to facilitate the changes in positions. The first practice strategy is to train to pre-hear pitches through repetition and aural exercises. At the same time, the violinist must understand the intervallic distance of the shift on the fingerboard. Accordingly, a successful practice strategy will include both singing pitches and being aware of the exact location of the left elbow.

To a greater extent than in the other pieces being studied, isolated high pitches in

Melismata are difficult to pre-hear. Though Babbitt does give the player the option of using a harmonic note, more often than not a true forte cannot be achieved without the natural finger pressure on the string that is not present in the production of harmonics.

As in the example in measure 40, volume and timbre will be much different than the preceding notes, if the high Eb is played as a harmonic. Since all the pitches are part of the same gesture, as Babbitt has indicated with an over-arching slur, changes in timbre and/or volume are unacceptable byproducts of the technique used to execute the passage.

Therefore, the violinist must learn the position on the fingerboard that will yield the notes, memorize the arm motion, and keep an aural memory of the previous Eb (measure

39) as aural reference on which to build the passage.

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Table 5. LARGE SHIFTS

Large shifts require many repetitions for facility.

Practice Phantasy by Solo Sonata by Roger Violin Concerto Melismata by technique Arnold Sessions by Alberto Milton listed below Schoenberg Ginastera Babbitt OTHER M. 73-75 M. 2 I M. 22-23 hear LARGE P. 3 line 2, to E/G and keep the SHIFTS M. 160 M. 22 grace note to C double-stop high C in the These shifts P. 4 line 2 ear require an M. 162 beat M. 54 high F# increased 4 II M. 40 shift to knowledge M. 90 last double- M. 66-67 Eb to stay of the M. 166 stop M. 99 forte location of M. 101-103 the elbow M. 114-116 M. 66-67 and the III placement of M. 150 to C M. 245-250 M. 139 the finger on M. 261-275 the M. 204 to Eb M. 152 instrument M. 239 to C M. 169

M. 431 to high Eb M. 220 to C# in fff M. 468-469 keep the D-C# in ear M. 329 to C

M. 378-379

M. 390

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STRENGHEN AND REDUCE THE WORK OF THE LEFT-HAND

USE DOUBLE-STOPS TO PRACTICE

As mentioned earlier in this chapter, double-stops are one of the best ways to train, since the work of the left-hand is reduced to fewer motions. In preparation for performing any of the four compositions being considered in this paper, performers will find that the practice of traditional double-stop thirds, fourths, sixths, octaves and tenths, as well as the unconventional sevenths, seconds, and ninths is essential to success. This is particularly true with the Violin Concerto, which implements many octaves and thirds.

The performer will also find it advantageous to use exercises in both broken and blended formats.

Often, unnecessary motion is avoided when linear passages are practiced as double-stops. For example, the thirty-second notes in measure 25 of the Phantasy could not be played rapidly without being practiced as double-stops. However, compared to the other pieces, the Phantasy is largely disjunct, so that the practice of double-stops for entire passages is not necessary. Still, the violinist can reduce unnecessary activity through the use of double-stops for two or three notes, especially when the notes are revisited in close proximity. For example, in measures 4 and 5 it is beneficial to keep all the fingers down in a triple-stop position and to keep the G stopped through beat 3 of measure 5. Also, keep notes B and F pressed until they are no longer used.

Likewise, quartal passages and mixed-interval patterns in the Solo Sonata should be practiced as chords (ex. 3.9).

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Example 3.9. Try practicing the Solo Sonata, end of measure 70 through the first beat of 71 in the following double-stops:

Performers would benefit from this kind of exercise, as well, in the preparation of

Melismata, where passages alternate between adjacent strings. Practice measures 106 –

107 and 232 – 233 of Melismata in double-stops. Like the Phantasy, passages with fewer adjacent notes also benefit from double-stop practice.

LEFT-HAND LATERAL MOVEMENT

In the first “Study” of the Violin Concerto, the chords rapidly alternate among double, triple and quadruple-stops, requiring constant lateral left-hand movement. Each chord requires that the fingers move across strings quickly during the multiple-stops. To achieve this, one must practice keeping the fingers close to the strings, and the right hand should never begin playing until the left-hand is thoroughly prepared. Additionally, the pressure of the left-hand should be light in order to reduce any cramping and to facilitate lateral movement.

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CONTORTIONS AND FINGER TWISTING

While traditional composers are concerned with idiomatic writing that avoids complicated finger twisting, twelve-tone composers sacrifice comfort in the compositional process. For example, double-stops in high positions require unusual finger twisting. In beat three of measure 65 of the Solo Sonata, the exact position of the elbow must be reconsidered for every note.

Likewise, fifths in high positions require using the same finger across strings in a short time-span. As a result, it is customary for musicians with small fingers to contort their hand positions momentarily. Measures 96 and 103 of the Solo Sonata feature fifths that require the performer to experiment with the placement of the left elbow and flatten the finger over both strings in order to play the double-stop fifths. In measure 96, the Un poco piu mosso begins with fifths in fifth position, where violinists without large fingers will have to flatten their finger across the fingerboard, contort their body, and temporarily abandon the traditional hand frame in the process. Similar passages occur in measures

156 and 429.

BLOCKED HAND POSITION

A blocked hand position can be described as maintaining the general shape of the left-hand and the location of its fingers in a fixed position while executing an entire gesture or series of gestures. Violinists often use blocked hand positions in compositions that involve sequencing or arpeggiation, and at times an extended position is asserted as a temporary-fixed or blocked position. This technique involves holding adjacent fingers in a minor third configuration or a more widely separated position for an entire passage. As

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an example in the Solo Sonata, the passage at measure 174 of the second movement is best executed with multiple finger extensions that remain ‘fixed’ for the second and third beats (ex. 3.10).

Example 3.10. Temporary fixed position in the Solo Sonata, measure 174:

Performance of “Study Four” in the Violin Concerto requires that a blocked hand position be maintained throughout, often using all the left-hand fingers at once. As with the bowing in this study, standard concertos, show pieces, and etudes frequently couple ricochet bowing with blocked hand positions. In the Violin Concerto of Ginastera the performer is required to use intervals much larger than the minor third between two adjacent fingers, all within the context of atonality. Measure 82 includes a stretch of a minor seventh, while in measure 84 that already large interval is expanded into an octave reach between fingers three and four of the left-hand (ex. 3.11).

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Example 3.11. Large stretch in Ginastera’s Violin Concerto, Movement 1, measure 84.

After repeating each ricochet pattern individually, the final step is to connect the chords one by one, until the entire passage is mastered. To prevent injury to the left- hand, the performer should stop practice of this technique at any level of discomfort.

Parenthetically, many violinists exercise with Chinese marbles to stretch the muscles of the left-hand as an extra-musical callisthenic to expand the muscles between the fingers.

POLYPHONY IN DOUBLE-STOPS

When performing passages that require opposing gestures, performers encounter coordination issues as one hand follows the natural synchronizing reflex of its motion with the other hand. A solid technique breaks down this reflex and allows for the execution of polyphonic effects on an instrument, otherwise created for melodic tasks.

When practicing opposing gestures, a violinist should apply a layered practicing technique, that is, lines should be mastered one at a time. After being mastered separately, lines should be practiced together, achieving their related and complementary state.

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As discussed in the previous chapter, the third movement of the Solo Sonata features sections of counterpoint. Fingers should remain on the string as much as possible in order to sustain resonance and steadiness of pitch. As with the music of Bach, the performer should maintain a left elbow position equal to the level of the string on which the main voice is produced. In page four in the cadenza of the Violin Concerto,

Ginastera uses two separated lines with two staves to be played as double-stops. Each line is difficult and must initially be practiced independently. Later, when combining the voices the performer must emphasize the main line, so that it is not overshadowed by the complementary gesture.

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Table 6. STRENGHTEN AND REDUCE THE WORK OF THE LEFT-HAND

A well thought-out practice reduces the work of the left-hand. In addition to the following passages, practicing trills is a good way to strengthen the left-hand. Always stop at any level of cramping.

Practice Phantasy by Solo Sonata by Violin Concerto Melismata by techniques listed Arnold Roger Sessions by Alberto Milton below Schoenberg Ginastera Babbitt USE DOUBLE- M. 4-5 M. 145 I M. 106-107 STOPS TO P. 4 line 1 M. 232 PRACTICE M. 25 M. 171 & 174 strengthen left through 233 Using double- arrange into hand M. 239 stops to practice M. 161-162 triple stops P. 5 line 1 M. 389 reduces the work engaging all M. 392 of the left-hand M. 212-214 fingers at once fragments M. 150 same M. 269-275 III M. 211-215 LEFT-HAND M. 29 M. 45-46 stay in I M. 232 LATERAL position P. 3 line 2 in MOVEMENT M. 129-31 M. 76 stay in aleatory rhythm Always stay loose position grace notes while keeping the M. 152 M. 224-228 P. 3 line 6 fingers on the III – throughout Study I - all string double-stop sigh M. 148 motive M. 150 M. 462-463 keep II fingers down M. 99-101 until ready

CONTORTIONS M. 65 beat 3 I M. 97 AND FINGER double-stops Page 3, line 5 TWISTING M. 96 contort for end At times double- 5thfollowed by 7th ______stops require M. 156 5th ______unusual placement double-stops III of the finger on M. 179 5th Last chord – the fingerboard double-stop large distances in and the left elbow M. 429-430 5th all fingers across double-stops strings M. 529 5th double-stop

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Table 6 continued Practice Phantasy by Solo Sonata Violin Concerto Melismata by techniques Arnold by Roger by Alberto Milton Babbitt listed below Schoenberg Sessions Ginastera BLOCKED M. 25 M. 174 I M. 221, G to end HAND P. 3 line 5 POSITION M. 27 M. 179 blocked reach in M. 282, beat 2 A temporary last beat through blocked fixed position M. 28 in M. 269-275 extension to last over ricochet P. 5 line 4 – 5 in several notes M. 527 sequence M. 56-59 Study IV M. 109 extended hand in ricochet bowing M. 110 II M. 11-12

M. 64 III M. 225

M. 378-381 extended block hand position

M. 405-408 POLYPHONY M. 20-21 M. 339 IN DOUBLE- P. 4, lines 2-5 STOPS M. 59 Practice each line M. 61 independently and together. M. 65-66 Simultaneous gestures M. 92 compliment and relate to each M. 213 other. Place the elbow under the M. 390-405 line with the melody

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CREATE FLUIDITY WITH NONTRADITIONAL HAND FRAMES

Hand expansion and contraction is an essential skill for violinists performing twelve-tone compositions, since nontraditional hand frames reduce or eliminate unwanted shifts and string crossings within phrases.

HAND CONTRACTION

In the Phantasy, measure 25, performers can acquire a faster speed if the first two gestures are played with a contracted hand frame (ex. 3.12).

Example 3.12. Suggested fingering for the Phantasy, measure 25:

Similarly, in measure 117 of the Solo Sonata the chord must be played with a contracted hand frame to both hold tempo and produce a smoother chord. The performer will use a different finger for each note of this passage.

HAND EXPANSION

Along with hand contraction, a violinist must choose stretching instead of shifting to enhance continuity of line that can be interrupted by shifts. In stretching, the second finger is used to enable the entire hand to reach higher, while the third finger helps the

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hand to reach back. At measure 65 of the Solo Sonata, there is a slide that stretches the hand open. Using the second finger on the slide leaves the hand anchored for the lower notes that must be played in second position and that occur in the first beat of that slide.

At the same time, the hand reaches upwards for the rest of the phrase in ninth position.

Another example of a stretch occurs in the last chord of the Violin Concerto.

Because of the large distances between fingers, many violinists will need to place the left elbow in front of their body and lower the violin to reach this chord.

Melismata, whose title suggests connection, requires much extension to achieve continuity. Zukofsky stresses the importance of using this technique in Melismata.119

For example, in measure 153 the performer should use the third finger (instead of fourth finger) on the high B, which will help the first finger reach back temporarily for the F’s.

At the same time, the hand is in position to reach with the fourth finger for the upcoming high C in measure 154, (ex. 3.13).

Example 3.13. Suggested fingering for Melismata, measures 153 – 154:

______119 Paul Zukofsky, in a discussion with the author, October 2002.

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Table 7. CREATE FLUIDITY WITH NONTRADITIONAL HAND FRAMES

Practice Phantasy by Solo Sonata by Violin Concerto Melismata techniques listed Arnold Roger Sessions by Alberto by Milton below Schoenberg Ginastera Babbitt HAND M. 25 M. 117 CONTRACTION M. 24-26 M. 140 to do trill M. 246 beat 3 & 4 M. 475 HAND M. 57 – 58 M. 14 G to C# & P. 4, M. 3 use 3rd M. 153 EXPANSION also keep chord finger to play A fingers M. 20-21 and extend hand M. 54, C blocked and M. 22 grace note back. over their to high C P. 4, M. 3 same M. 66 nd respective M. 65 use the 2 with Gb notes finger for the slide P. 4 line 3 M. 119 M. 67 stretch of an th M. 83 beats 11 P. 4 line 4 beats M. 124 3 & 4 M. 103 beat 2 for 7-8 incorporating grace note and M. 136, Gb double-stops double-stop P. 5 using 2nd M. 274 finger on E in M. 151 M. 155 M. 393 grace notes to entire M. 423 extend the hand M. 178 gesture M. 430 upwards starting on M. 448 M. 227 rd beat 2 M. 459 using 3 Study II, use beat 2 finger to open fingers 1&2 or hand to reach back 3&4 for thirds M. 233-34 M. 482 M. 82, 7th btwn M. 309-10 fingers 3&4

M. 84 octave btwn fingers 3&4

M. 26 A octaves

M. 90 pick-up use 3 instead of 4 to open the hand and use 1 on F#

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CHOREOGRAPHED MOVEMENTS

For each of these works, performers will find sections where they are required to develop specific strategies of movement (choreography) that enable execution of the tasks. In these passages, harmonics, string crossings, and changes of timbre demand the choreographed motions.

HARMONICS

For a successful performance of each composition, violinists will need a thorough knowledge of, and ability to use, both natural and artificial harmonics. Harmonics can be used for timbral and structural reasons. In either instance, correct execution of the harmonics will require heightened attention to both left and right hands. Violinists must experiment with unconventional bow directions, differing pressures, as well as bow speed for the best realization of natural and artificial double-harmonics (ex. 3.14).

Example 3.14. An example of an unconventional bow direction needed in Schoenberg’s Phantasy, measures 15 -16:

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Understanding the various positions and locations for harmonic notes on the instrument helps facilitate the performer’s comfort in performing all four pieces.

However, many violinists do not fully understand the possibilities harmonics present and are not practiced at producing them on their instruments. Zukofsky has published an article explaining both natural and artificial harmonics that should help educate the uninitiated. The article includes harmonics that use the third, fourth and fifth fingerings, and he explains double harmonics, two harmonics played simultaneously.120

In Melismata, Babbitt encourages the violinist to use harmonics interchangeably with natural playing. However, violinists must consider all the musical concerns before deciding where to use harmonics. Using harmonics facilitates the accuracy of the notes in the composition, helps sustain the line by allowing less space between notes in different registers, assists rhythm and can cut down on awkward string crossings.

However, the ease of using harmonics should not take precedence over the composer’s requirements for dynamics and timbre (previously mentioned on page 121 of this chapter, regarding Melismata, measure 40.) To discover the effects produced by harmonics, violinists should also create their own practice scales and arpeggio patterns that incorporate the harmonics related to passages in the pieces. From this experience, a more studied and informed decision can be made regarding their use in performance.

Schoenberg and Ginastera incorporate the harmonic trill in the Phantasy and the

Violin Concerto. For execution, the original note must be stopped firmly while the bow is placed slightly closer to the bridge, and the bow stroke will have to be a bit faster and

______116 Paul Zukofsky, “On Violin Harmonics,” Perspectives of New Music 6, no. 2 (Spring-Summer 1968): 174 – 181.

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heavier than usual. In both violin parts the composers give complicated suggestions on how to implement the passages with the left-hand, not all of which are preferred by this author. For example, the easier way to execute the trill in measure 72 of the third movement of the Violin Concerto, is to play it in the high register of the A string (ex.

3.15).

Example 3.15. Try playing the notes in the Violin Concerto, Movement III, measure 72 as:

Instead of the printed:

In measure 26 of the Phantasy, the same technique facilitates the harmonic thirty- second notes. One should place the first finger lightly over the E harmonic on the A string, stop A# on the D string with the second finger, and play the F# lightly with the third finger a whole-step away from the first finger on the A string (ex. 3.16).

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Example 3.16. Try playing the notes of the Phantasy, measure 26 as:

Instead of the printed:

STRING CROSSINGS

Often in modern music, awkward string crossings are unavoidable. In all four pieces, the performers are required to sacrifice comfort in order to create an accurate portrayal of the pieces. Still, violinists should make every effort to minimize movement through hand and wrist rotation and the placement of the right elbow. In addition, players must consider bow distribution and the speed of the stroke as an important factor.

At first, practice string crossings on the relevant open strings, even though when the pitches are added later, the violinist will have to re-adjust bow position as changes in sounding point emerge.

Because of its disjunct nature, the Phantasy has many instances of string crossings. For example, the anacrusis to measure 27 through 28 is full of them. One can minimize movement in these crossings by placing the elbow slightly higher than normal

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and incorporating small hand and wrist motions. Each beat should be practiced separately before attempting them consecutively, at first with open strings then stopped notes. When the printed notes are added, the exact position of the muscles will change because of the shortened string length and the differing sounding points. Accordingly, violinists will have to leave time for this extra step in practice. In addition, this passage includes quick thirty-second note figures, so it is important that the performer uses enough bow to make every note resonate adequately.

Due to the serialization of register in Melismata, unusually large and frequent string crossings materialize. For example, the thirty-second notes in measure 37 cross several strings regardless of whether the violinist chooses to use stopped or harmonic notes. This musical gesture should be practiced in both separate bows and slurs, paying close attention to sounding points and required bow speeds. To reduce the problematic nature of these string crossings, the performer must pay increased attention to the movement of the right wrist and coordination in both hands and arms during execution.

CHANGES OF TIMBRE

The performer may find that a dance-like motion becomes useful when changing quickly among bowings, such as sul tasto (playing on the fingerboard), sul ponticello

(playing on or near the bridge), and col legno (using the wood of the bow). Sul ponticello will produce a quasi ‘white-noise effect’ while sul tasto produces a softer, hazy sound. 121

As an example, adjusting from sul tasto to sul ponticello in addition to changing from

______121 Blank, Shapey, and Flynn, 30.

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loud to soft requires well-choreographed circular movements of the bow. The performer may adopt clockwise or counterclockwise movements to mask the bow changes, depending on the circumstance.

Page seven of Melismata requires circular motions. The serialization of sul tasto, sul ponticello, and natural playing as well as the various dynamic degradations within short time-spans complicate this passage. The performer will find that a prepared bow arm, combined with the aural and physical planning of the left hand, will assure success.

In the end, the right arm and left hand develop a rhythm resulting in a well- choreographed upper body dance. Furthermore, as more technical elements are added to the performer’s tasks, the violinist must thoroughly consider the movement, or choreography that is advantageous. The mixture of harmonics, left-hand pizzicato, and mixed bowings in the Violin Concerto forces the violinist into a near dance motion as measures 119 – 125 are performed.

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Table 8. CHOREOGRAPHED MOVEMENTS

Practice ideas Phantasy by Solo Sonata by Violin Concerto Melismata by listed below Arnold Roger Sessions by Alberto Milton Babbitt Schoenberg Ginastera HARMONICS M. 8 M. 81-82 mixed I M. 23 in forte Evaluate the with stopped Study V all M. 169-170, to bow direction, M. 15 – 24 notes types avoid string sounding point, double-stop M. 212 crossings and bow speed harmonics M. 284-285 III M. 218, last M. 66-75 beat M. 82 mixed M. 150-155 M. 230, beat 2 with stopped M. 183-185 note STRING M. 2 M. 15 I M. 11 CROSSINGS M. 18 P. 5 M. 18 last String M. 25 beat 3 & 4 M. 45-46 P. 3 gesture crossings M. 76-77 ______M. 37 require M. 27 M. 79-80 M. 57 first flexibility in M. 145 II gesture the hand and M. 85-124 both M. 155 M. 99-101 M. 74-78 wrist to create Scherzandos M. 269-275 ______M. 83 smaller III M. 102-103 motions. Bow M. 154 - 155 M. 89 M. 105 speed also M. 245-253 M. 113 must be M. 364 M. 133-134 considered so M. 350 M. 146-147 that every note is heard. CHANGES M. 7-25 P. 4 line 3 M. 75-80 OF TIMBRE mixing Page 7 Changes of counterpoint M. 120 timbre can and harmonics Page 9 create dance- Pages 10-11 like motions M. 119-125 top that often mixing M. 152 require harmonics, left- Page 13 top 4 planning hand pizz and systems mixed bowings Page 14 Page 15 M. 252-269

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RHYTHM PRACTICE

Often, contemporary music includes complicated asymmetrical rhythms and fast meter changes. In addition, the traditional correlations between rhythm and pitch often do not apply, and blatant use of metrical displacement results in rhythmic disorientation.

For the most part, the Phantasy incorporates straight-forward rhythms that yield few examples of asymmetry. Likewise, the first and last movements of the Violin Concerto and the final movement of the Solo Sonata employ conventional rhythms. However, the remaining movements of these compositions, as well as Melismata, contain instances of asymmetry and disorientation that require specific rhythm practice.

At first, performers can practice rhythms on open strings, reducing the complications that the pitches introduce. Next, performers may wish to practice the prescribed rhythms using traditional scales and arpeggios, and finally, they can insert the prescribed pitches given in the piece.

CREATE EXERCISES WITH UNUSUAL SUBDIVISIONS OF THE BEAT

Melismata maintains a constant flow of quarter-notes, whose subdivisions are frequently changing. With the serialization of rhythm, a multitude of subdivisions of the main pulse evolve. Sometimes, unusual subdivisions are utilized for a portion of the measure, while at other times successive beats are divided in a radically different manner.

Rests can also contribute to complicating a passage, as in measures 80 – 82, which involve a string of complicated rhythms. The performer may divide this challenge into

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smaller tasks by learning each beat separately, before practicing the whole passage. At first practice the rhythm using open strings, initially on the same string then incorporate the related strings in the score. Next practice the rhythms with metronome while playing a conventional scale. Then lastly insert the notes printed in the score. One may wish to practice such passages with and without the printed slurs (ex. 3.17).

Example 3.17. Practice the following rhythm from Melismata, measures 80 – 82:

In addition, practice traditional scales by dividing individual beats into 7, 10 and 11 subdivisions. Whatever the practice strategy, it is essential that the performer learn to play challenging rhythms accurately (literally) to ensure that the interpretation of the composition is valid.

Throughout the second movement of the Violin Concerto, the composer explains difficult rhythms by ratios that divide asymmetrically. Beats are separated into 3, 5, 7, 9,

10, 12, 13, 14 and 21 notes, while the accompaniment adds difficulty by dividing the beat in another way. The soloist may prepare his part by setting the metronome to even subdivisions, while practicing odd subdivisions without the accompaniment.

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Sessions’ style employs asymmetrical rhythms similar to Wagner creating the need for exercises with unusual subdivisions of the beat. For example, in measure 25 of the Solo Sonata the performer needs to independently practice the changing length of the sixteenth-note. Measures 453 – 455 supply a different meter for each measure, and within each measure the pulse divides into quadruplets, triplets and quintuplets. Soon after, the unit of beat changes from the quarter-note to the half-note, where the half-note is also divided into triplet and duple patterns. Each beat, then measure should be practiced separately. Also practice rhythms separately and successively with conventional scales up and down the fingerboard. The performer should execute the entire figure only after the subunits are first mastered.

FEEL THE SMALLEST NOTE VALUE SUBDIVISION

Performers can devise an excellent practice strategy by developing a feeling for the smallest note subdivision while allowing for the ever-changing shifts of stress. Often with asymmetrical or changing meters unconventional rhythms evolve. Creating exercises with irregular accents gives the performer a feeling of anticipation for the uneven pulse.

In preparation for performing the second movement of the Solo Sonata, the violinist may initially practice the movement feeling the quick eighth-note pulse. The performer may then wish to transpose the rhythm in the practice session through every conceivable eighth-note pattern, including the traditional 6/8, 9/8 and 12/8 interchanging with 8/8, 7/8, 10/8 and 11/8. Comfort with the rhythm found in the composition may evolve through this process. However, there are times in the music when the eighth-note

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is not constant, requiring the violinist to learn to feel the fluctuating quarter-note and eighth-note patterns that are necessary to accurately convey the larger phrases (ex. 3.18).

Example 3.18. Rhythm extracted from the Solo Sonata, measures 187 – 192:

The first movement of the Solo Sonata contains frequent meter changes and the application of unusual meters. For example, nestled in measure 61 is the meter,

4+2+3/16. The performer has to divide the beat into its smallest unit, the sixteenth-note.

Furthermore, the sixteenth-note subdivision must be internalized two beats before the measure begins. Performers can experience success with these tasks by first executing the passages without slurs, filling in all the notes with sixteenth-notes. In another example in the third movement of the Solo Sonata, Sessions writes a variety of complicated rhythms that the composer attempts to facilitate by further dividing the measure with dotted bar-lines.

Melismata also benefits from this type of practice, particularly as shorter notes change lengths in small time spans. For example, the quarter-note subdivisions in measures 96 – 98 change the length of the sixteenth-notes and thirty-second notes. One should practice each beat individually, then later add one beat at a time to the whole.

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Table 9. RHYTHM PRACTICE In addition, practice challenging rhythms with traditional scales.

Practice ideas Phantasy Solo Sonata by Violin Melismata by listed below by Arnold Roger Sessions Concerto by Milton Babbitt Schoenberg Alberto Ginastera CREATE M. 38 M. 25 II M. 3 EXERCISES M. 54-56 M. 24 WITH M. 59 M. 453-455 M. 52-53 UNUSUAL M. 101-103 M. 80-83 SUBDIVISIONS M. 187-197 M. 93-98 OF THE BEAT M. 105-110 M. 162 M. 177-178 M. 228 M. 232 M. 268 M. 271-273 M. 330 M. 342 M. 389 FEEL THE M. 38 M. 58-59 M. 48-49 SMALLEST M. 80-83 NOTE VALUE M. 59 M. 61 M. 93-98 SUBDIVISION M. 129-132 Create exercises M. 64 M. 154-156 that concentrate M. 184 on the smallest M. 66 M. 199 note value M. 230 subdivision All of the second M. 250 movement M. 268 M. 271-273 M. 411-414 M. 342 M. 365 M. 391

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OTHER LEFT-HAND TECHNIQUE

PIZZICATO GLISSANDO

The respective composers of the Phantasy and Melismata score pizzicato glissando as an additional left-hand technique that bears mentioning. Performers will find that using the fingernail on the string, rather than the fleshy part of the finger, helps produce better projection and articulates the first and last notes of the slide. In essence, the fingernail defines the glissando without deadening the vibration of the string, as do the softer tissues of the finger.

For example, in measures 10 – 12a of the Phantasy, the passage is to be played loudly, starting and stopping on specific notes, and sustaining an extended duration for a pizzicato note. If the figure is plucked in the traditional manner, the end of the slide and the final note will not resonate. With the fingernail applied to the string, however, volume is maintained from the beginning until the end of the glissando. As a result, both the first and last notes can be heard.

QUARTER-TONES

With the Violin Concerto, the soloist faces the challenge of hearing and executing quarter-tones. Fortunately, Ginastera has articulated the best way to execute this passage in opening explanatory notes. Still, quarter-tones demand keen hearing that has not been cultivated as long as other aural acuity tasks. It is helpful to work with a tuner, striving to hear the notes as darker or lighter shades of the diatonic note with which they are

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associated. This perspective is similar to the way that jazz players think about ‘blue’ notes as being the lower shade of a diatonic note.

MORE PRACTICAL ADVICE

COLORED ART PENCILS

When preparing the score for practice and performance, performers may wish to use colored art pencils to mark specific techniques, or challenges, as a way of anticipating the upcoming task. Since the colors will draw the eye to those passages in advance, the performer can anticipate the technique with prescribed strategies. At least in the early stages of preparation, the colored problem passages will alert the performer to what is coming, allowing the performer to react in time.

Total serialism incorporates an increasing number of unpredictable and rapid changes. Because the details are part of the compositional process, these instructions are paramount to an accurate portrayal of the piece. For example, if all notes played ponticello are reinforced in purple, performers will be prepared well in advance for those gestures.

Paul Zukofsky advises color-coding in Melismata, applying specific colors for ponticello, sul tasto and pizzicato.122 However, for some players incorporating too many colors can be confusing. This author has found Melismata easier to learn if a single dynamic and a single timbre are color enhanced. For example, anticipating the combination of dynamic and timbre is easier if all degradations of forte are in blue, and

______122 Paul Zukofsky, in a discussion with the author, October 2002.

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the timbre ponticello is in red. Additionally, flags of the dynamics can be highlighted while the stems of timbre are reinforced, so that any combination of timbre and color can be seen simultaneously. In this way, the colors can be interpreted separately and in combination. Parenthetically, one should note that it is important to use bright, bold colors. Color-coding is beneficial for challenges in each piece and should be used according to the preference of the performer.

REDUCING PAGES

Because of the increased aural and technical demands of these compositions, the players are not required to perform from memory. The only exception in this document is the Phantasy. Because of its shorter length and showpiece style, the Phantasy is often performed by memory. As was mentioned earlier, the first performer, Koldofsky, played the Phantasy for memory.123

For all four pieces the violinist must reduce the music and arrange several pages together to avoid interruptions caused by page turns. Furthermore, reducing pages is a beneficial learning technique when mastering a composition. As performers become increasingly comfortable with a piece, they can further reduce the music, or visual cues, they need. As one progresses toward mastering the score, a convincing performance relies increasingly less on the printed part. Nevertheless, it should be pointed out that with a great number of pages to display, the performer will most likely need to attach

______119 Albert Goldberg, “Schoenberg’s 75th Birthday Observed,” New York Times (September 14, 1949): Part II, 9.

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them to the hard back of cardboard, wood or some other stable surface that will provide for increased display space (ex. 3.19).

Example 3.19. This is a picture of Babbitt’s Melismata on cardboard. Unless further reduced a minimum of three music stands is needed in the performance.

The pieces in this document require a variety of modern technical styles for performance for which the composers set their own criteria for evaluation and understanding. Often, technical matters are altered to enhance stylistic continuity.

Deciding on pitches or passages to emphasize and what gestures speak to the performer takes constant re-evaluation. As organic art forms, the pieces continually reveal themselves to the player in new and interesting ways, and the composers’ instructions take on new significance as participants become increasingly familiar with the piece.

The performer must be creative in devising an individual interpretation of each composition, but at the same time, freedoms taken, or individual choices must occur within the artistic parameters of the works, themselves. Working on modern music is an experience of constant revelation, challenging yet rewarding. Ultimately, violinists

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should approach each work of art with an open mind, and with anticipation for the adventure and discovery that such music presents.

DOCUMENT CONCLUSION

Dodecaphony has proven to be one of the most influential compositional techniques of the twentieth century. Composition students are required to practice dodecaphony, and its study occupies a significant place in college music curricula. Many composers have adopted dodecaphony as a trait, if not the principal construct, of their music. Furthermore, twelve-tone music and teaching have influenced and continue to influence composers who may or may not literally embrace serialism. Sessions claimed that, “All of us, no matter in what way we compose, compose differently because of

Arnold Schoenberg.”124

The progressive ideas of Schoenberg, expanded through Sessions, Ginastera and

Babbitt, represent an important repertoire. The Phantasy, the Solo Sonata, the Violin

Concerto and Melismata represent the variety and high artistic outcome possible with dodecaphony in the hands of master composers. The works prove that twelve-tone compositions are a wonderful expression of highly unified and integrated structures created by pitch as well as other elements. In addition, the diversity between the pieces illustrates that dodecaphony can be adapted to varying, but equally valid, creative processes with great results.

______124 Glenn Gould, Arnold Schoenberg: A Perspective (Cincinnati: University of Cincinnati Occasional Papers No. 3, 1964), 16 – 17.

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For the performer and listener, twelve-tone music becomes easier to understand as the similarities in properties and existing relationships between the notes are revealed.

Eventually, collections of notes make sense, and the components of the composition come to life. As structural elements materialize, individual interpretation of the music develops.

In addition, modern music encourages instrumentalists to expand the possibilities of their instruments. These pieces challenge the performer to go beyond the realm of tonal interpretation by reaching a new level of inspiration through extended violin technique and nontraditional hearing. Performers combine the rigorous applications learned in standard repertoire with isolating the unusual aural and minute physical details required in learning modern music. They connect a heightened awareness with a creative individual style.

Today’s young musicians and audiences enjoy the advantages of an already established modernist movement, as the proliferation of modern music continues through performances at music schools, institutes and on recordings. As a result of both greater exposure to modern music and the general acceptance of dodecaphony and other modernist music as worthy art, young musicians approach the performance of such works with greater eagerness than did perhaps earlier generations. The eagerness with which they approach the music will bring an increased exposure and acceptance to the genre.

This, in itself, constitutes a significant step forward in the maturation of dodecaphony.

Furthermore, continued advancement of classical music improves the quality of life, not just for its loyal constituents, but is a healthy alternative to expand the mind that is not unreachable for the interested layperson. There is a growing public perception that

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creative and critical thinking linked with cultural appreciation benefits people in ways from prolonged mental sharpness to just plain personal appeal.

In the end, it is important that quality music survives despite the economic and cultural pressures. Similar to the resurrection of J.S. Bach through Felix Mendelssohn, performers, instructors and historians alike can familiarize these and similar works with the concert-going and record buying public. Through constant reintroduction, a repertoire of standardized modern music will emerge. Schoenberg’s Phantasy is already a rising example. In another quote Sessions states, “I would prefer by far to write music which has something fresh to reveal at each new hearing than music which is completely self-evident the first time, and though it may remain pleasing makes no essential contribution thereafter.”125

______125 Roger Sessions, “Sonata for Violin” performed by Paul Zukofsky.

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