Displaced Spaces, Shocks, Negations: a Musical and Gestural Analysis of Stefan Wolpe’S Studies for Piano, Part I (1946-48) and Its Implications for Performance

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Displaced Spaces, Shocks, Negations: a Musical and Gestural Analysis of Stefan Wolpe’S Studies for Piano, Part I (1946-48) and Its Implications for Performance Displaced Spaces, Shocks, Negations: A musical and gestural analysis of Stefan Wolpe’s Studies for Piano, Part I (1946-48) and its implications for Performance By Ina Henning A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts Graduate Department of Music University of Toronto © Copyright by Ina Henning 2013 Displaced Spaces, Shocks, Negations: A musical and gestural analysis of Stefan Wolpe’s Studies for Piano, Part I (1946-48) and its implications for Performance Ina Henning Doctor of Musical Arts Graduate Department of Music University of Toronto 2013 Abstract The core project of this dissertation is a musical and gestural analysis of Studies, Part I: Displaced Spaces, Shocks, Negations, A New Sort of Relationship in Space, Pattern, Tempo, Diversity of Actions, Interactions and Intensities (1946-48) by post-tonal composer Stefan Wolpe (1902-72). The analytical methods consist of Set Class analysis (Allen Forte), the Effort Shape analysis of gesture (Rudolf von Laban), and the Time and Tone analysis of accordion performance (Joseph Macerollo). Wolpe played a leading role in the emergence of abstract expressionism among the painters, poets, dancers and composers of New York in the mid to late 1940s.Wolpe’s oeuvre reveals a unique way of composing in the post-tonal era. Chapter 1 provides the historical and stylistic contextualization of this particular study Displaced Spaces. Chapter 2 is concerned with the musical analysis, presented as pitch class and shape analysis. By nature, Wolpe’s pieces are best described as very physical, which explains the rationalization for the application of the gestural analysis in chapter 3. The Effort Shape graphic notation method by Rudolf von Laban (1879- 1958) widely used in dance is applied to the musical gestures in Wolpe’s score. Wolpe’s overall title for the series of studies, Music for Any Instrument (1944-49), leaves the choice of instrument to the performer; as these studies require a polyphonic instrument, the classical ii accordion seems an appropriate choice. Laban’s principles as applied to Wolpe are compared to Macerollo’s Time and Tone analysis to implement gesture on one specific instrument. Battle Piece, a composition for piano solo which he began in 1943 is central to a change in Wolpe’s development: After finishing the first three movements of the piece, Wolpe explored new ideas in the study Displaced Spaces. The degree of coherence between the later parts of Battle Piece and Displaced Spaces is presented in chapter 4 focussing on new techniques that Wolpe was able to formulate through this “detour”. Chapter 5 as a conclusion brings together results from the set theory and the gestural analysis of this particular work in order to bridge the gap between the disciplines of music theory, performance and dance. Keywords: Classical Accordion—Displaced Spaces—The Eight Basic Efforts—Rudolf von Laban—Stefan Wolpe iii Acknowledgments First of all, I would like to thank all my supervisors Professor Cameron Walter, Professor John Brownell, Professor Mark Sallmen and Professor Joseph Macerollo for their individual support. Special thanks to the latter for his continuous guidance and mentorship over the last seven years that culminates in this document. I am indebted to him for his never ending positive encouragement, his generosity and great in-depth knowledge of music and the classical accordion. Furthermore, I would like to thank Professor Emeritus Austin Clarkson immensely for his tireless support regarding materials, conversations and first hand explanations about my main subject, namely Stefan Wolpe and his compositions. I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to absorb insights through his guidance which challenged my thinking and writing. A special thanks is due to Dr. Heidy Zimmermann, curator and to Henrike Hoffmann, librarian at the Sacher Foundation in Basel, Switzerland. I am grateful for the permission to reproduce four original handwritings as well as for the wonderful opportunity due to their scholarship assistance to spend time in the archive of the Stefan Wolpe Collection. I wish to thank Peer Classical Music in New York for granting permission to reproduce examples of Wolpe’s published score. A huge thank you is extended to Angela Blumberg, dancer, who choreographed the Study Displaced Spaces so beautifully for my lecture recital and helped me as well as Lisa Sandlos to incorporate Laban’s eight basic efforts into music performance. Big thanks also to Dr. Kevin Lau who proofread all the musical examples and helped me to come up with ideas for the Studies in connection to Battle Piece. Thanks to musicologist Nora Born for the support in finding the correct source of the discovery of Friedl Dicker’s male heads pertaining to Stefan Wolpe and for the conversations on Irma Wolpe. iv Thanks also to Ada Garrison, her family and my own family who sustained me with wonderful food, shelter and psychological insights through the writing process. Last, but not least, a heartfelt thanks to Stefan Schreiber who brought my attention to Wolpe’s compositions in the first place. Our discussions and listening sessions of rare tape recordings of Wolpe’s music broadened my understanding of contemporary music and his confidence in me gave me strength to continue this adventure. Thank you, to all. v Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... vi Preface............................................................................................................................................ xi Chapter 1 A short biography of a composer in exile .......................................................................1 1.1 Compositions and contemporary reception of Stefan Wolpe’s work ..................................3 1.1.1 Germany ......................................................................................................................5 1.1.2 Palestine (1934-38) .....................................................................................................7 1.1.3 United States (1938-72) ..............................................................................................7 1.2 Artistic influences of the Bauhaus of relevance for the Studies, Part I (1946-48)................9 1.2.1 Johannes Itten and Josef Matthias Hauer: Form, Kontrastlehre and the interval .....11 1.2.2 Oskar Schlemmer: Dance and Stage .........................................................................14 1.2.3 Gertrud Grunow: “Harmonisierungslehre” ...............................................................17 1.2.4 Friedl Dicker: “soul mate” and artistic influence .....................................................20 1.3 Pieces for Dancers in the early forties before the Studies, Part I (1946-48) .......................24 1.3.1 Zemach Suite (1939) for Benjamin Zemach .............................................................26 1.3.2 Suite for two pianos (1940/1) for Marthe Krueger ...................................................28 1.3.3 The Man from Midian for Eugène Loring and the Dance Players (1942) ................29 1.4 The exile context of the Studies, Part I, Displaced Spaces, Shocks, Negations..................32 1.4.1 Battle Piece (1943-47) ..............................................................................................37 1.4.2 Studies, Part I: Displaced Spaces, Shocks, Negations (1946-48) .............................43 Chapter 2 Analysis of Displaced Spaces, Shocks, Negations ........................................................47 2.1 A comparison between sketches and printed score .............................................................47 vi 2.2 A musical Analysis of printed score: an introduction to methodology ...............................50 2.2.1 Moderately ................................................................................................................52 2.2.2 Wild...........................................................................................................................54 2.2.3 Animated ...................................................................................................................55 2.2.4 Quick, gay .................................................................................................................57 2.2.5 Excited but firm ........................................................................................................60 2.2.6 Moving. passionately tender .....................................................................................63 2.2.7 Not too slow.stark .....................................................................................................68 2.3. Summary of analysis ..........................................................................................................73 Chapter 3 Gestural analysis of Displaced Spaces, Shocks, Negations ..........................................76 3.1 Physicality in Wolpe’s music in the 1940’s ........................................................................80 3.2 The basic effort graphic notation Laban and the process of selection of signs...................85
Recommended publications
  • Morton Feldman: a Celebration of His 80Th Birthday
    Morton Feldman : A Celebration of His 80th Birthday Curated by John Bewley June 1 – September 15, 2006 Case 1 Morton Feldman was born January 12, 1926 in New York City to Irving and Frances Feldman. He grew up in Woodside, Queens where his father established a company that manufactured children’s coats. His early musical education consisted of piano lessons at the Third Street Settlement School in Manhattan and beginning at age twelve, with Vera Maurina Press, an acquaintance of the Russian composer, Alexander Scriabin, and a student of Ferruccio Busoni, Emil von Sauer, and Ignaz Friedman. Feldman began composing at age nine but did not begin formal studies until age fifteen when he began compositional studies with Wallingford Riegger. Morton Feldman, age 13, at the Perisphere, New York World’s Fair, 1939? Unidentified photographer Rather than pursuing a college education, Feldman chose to study music privately while he continued working for his father until about 1967. After completing his studies in January 1944 at the Music and Arts High School in Manhattan, Feldman studied composition with Stefan Wolpe. It was through Wolpe that Feldman met Edgard Varèse whose music and professional life were major influences on Feldman’s career. Excerpt from “I met Heine on the Rue Furstenburg”, Morton Feldman in conversation with John Dwyer, Buffalo Evening News, Saturday April 21, 1973 Let me tell you about the factory and Lukas Foss (composer and former Buffalo Philharmonic conductor). The plant was near La Guardia airport. Lukas missed his plane one day and he knew I was around there, so he called me up and invited me to lunch.
    [Show full text]
  • Rokdim-Nirkoda” #99 Is Before You in the Customary Printed Format
    Dear Readers, “Rokdim-Nirkoda” #99 is before you in the customary printed format. We are making great strides in our efforts to transition to digital media while simultaneously working to obtain the funding מגזין לריקודי עם ומחול .to continue publishing printed issues With all due respect to the internet age – there is still a cultural and historical value to publishing a printed edition and having the presence of a printed publication in libraries and on your shelves. עמותת ארגון המדריכים Yaron Meishar We are grateful to those individuals who have donated funds to enable והיוצרים לריקודי עם financial the encourage We editions. printed recent of publication the support of our readers to help ensure the printing of future issues. This summer there will be two major dance festivals taking place Magazine No. 99 | July 2018 | 30 NIS in Israel: the Karmiel Festival and the Ashdod Festival. For both, we wish and hope for their great success, cooperation and mutual YOAV ASHRIEL: Rebellious, Innovative, enrichment. Breaks New Ground Thank you Avi Levy and the Ashdod Festival for your cooperation 44 David Ben-Asher and your use of “Rokdim-Nirkoda” as a platform to reach you – the Translation: readers. Thank you very much! Ruth Schoenberg and Shani Karni Aduculesi Ruth Goodman Israeli folk dances are danced all over the world; it is important for us to know and read about what is happening in this field in every The Light Within DanCE place and country and we are inviting you, the readers and instructors, 39 The “Hora Or” Group to submit articles about the background, past and present, of Israeli folk Eti Arieli dance as it is reflected in the city and country in which you are active.
    [Show full text]
  • Berger ENG Einseitig Künstlerisch
    „One-sidedly Artistic“ Georg Kolbe in the Nazi Era By Ursel Berger 0 One of the most discussed topics concerning Georg Kolbe involves his work and his stance during the Nazi era. These questions have also been at the core of all my research on Kolbe and I have frequently dealt with them in a variety of publications 1 and lectures. Kolbe’s early work and his artistic output from the nineteen twenties are admired and respected. Today, however, a widely held position asserts that his later works lack their innovative power. This view, which I also ascribe to, was not held by most of Kolbe’s contemporaries. In order to comprehend the position of this sculptor as well as his overall historical legacy, it is necessary, indeed crucial, to examine his œuvre from the Nazi era. It is an issue that also extends over and beyond the scope of a single artistic existence and poses the overriding question concerning the role of the artist in a dictatorship. Georg Kolbe was born in 1877 and died in 1947. He lived through 70 years of German history, a time characterized by the gravest of political developments, catastrophes and turning points. He grew up in the German Empire, celebrating his first artistic successes around 1910. While still quite young, he was active (with an artistic mission) in World War I. He enjoyed his greatest successes in the Weimar Republic, especially in the latter half of the nineteen twenties—between hyperinflation and the Great Depression. He was 56 years old when the Nazis came to power in 1933 and 68 years old when World War II ended in 1945.
    [Show full text]
  • A Heretic in the Schoenberg Circle: Roberto Gerhard's First Engagement with Twelve-Tone Procedures in Andantino
    Twentieth-Century Music 16/3, 557–588 © Cambridge University Press 2019. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. doi: 10.1017/S1478572219000306 A Heretic in the Schoenberg Circle: Roberto Gerhard’s First Engagement with Twelve-Tone Procedures in Andantino DIEGO ALONSO TOMÁS Abstract Shortly before finishing his studies with Arnold Schoenberg, Roberto Gerhard composed Andantino,a short piece in which he used for the first time a compositional technique for the systematic circu- lation of all pitch classes in both the melodic and the harmonic dimensions of the music. He mod- elled this technique on the tri-tetrachordal procedure in Schoenberg’s Prelude from the Suite for Piano, Op. 25 but, unlike his teacher, Gerhard treated the tetrachords as internally unordered pitch-class collections. This decision was possibly encouraged by his exposure from the mid- 1920s onwards to Josef Matthias Hauer’s writings on ‘trope theory’. Although rarely discussed by scholars, Andantino occupies a special place in Gerhard’s creative output for being his first attempt at ‘twelve-tone composition’ and foreshadowing the permutation techniques that would become a distinctive feature of his later serial compositions. This article analyses Andantino within the context of the early history of twelve-tone music and theory. How well I do remember our Berlin days, what a couple we made, you and I; you (at that time) the anti-Schoenberguian [sic], or the very reluctant Schoenberguian, and I, the non-conformist, or the Schoenberguian malgré moi.
    [Show full text]
  • 2014 Latent Tradition in Modern Dancing
    IV LISBON SUMMER SCHOOL FOR THE STUDY OF CULTURE Latencies: Europe 1914 - 2014 Latent tradition in modern dancing: The body politics of “The Green Table” (Cristina Graça) Abstract In the turmoil of the Weimar Republic German choreographer Kurt Jooss created The Green Table (1932), a farsighted ballet that critically looked back at the atrocities and suffering inflicted by of World War I and anticipated the events of World War II. Although Jooss´s piece drew directly from the ongoing political climate, the narrative was placed in an untraceable location and time, thus rendering it a timeless, universal protest against war that made The Green Table artistically and aesthetically resilient. In this paper we will analyze how Jooss expressed political opinions and conveyed social commentary, claiming his share of the sensible in Rincière´s words, through both experimental and traditional movement (modern dance and ballet), and how dance as a non-verbal art form used its instrument, the human body, to convey images of tradition, repression and cultural symbolisms of race and gender. Key words: gendered body; tradition; political commentary; representational power. 1 Quite often dance tends to be thought of as apolitical. Yet it goes with no contention that dancing bodies and the movement they perform are in their own way political, enabling the artist to intervene in the public sphere. Even when it apparently becomes abstract and self-referential, as in some Balanchine ballets, or in Merce Cunningham´s choreographies, dance still conveys political
    [Show full text]
  • Pitch-Class Set Theory: an Overture
    Chapter One Pitch-Class Set Theory: An Overture A Tale of Two Continents In the late afternoon of October 24, 1999, about one hundred people were gathered in a large rehearsal room of the Rotterdam Conservatory. They were listening to a discussion between representatives of nine European countries about the teaching of music theory and music analysis. It was the third day of the Fourth European Music Analysis Conference.1 Most participants in the conference (which included a number of music theorists from Canada and the United States) had been looking forward to this session: meetings about the various analytical traditions and pedagogical practices in Europe were rare, and a broad survey of teaching methods was lacking. Most felt a need for information from beyond their country’s borders. This need was reinforced by the mobility of music students and the resulting hodgepodge of nationalities at renowned conservatories and music schools. Moreover, the European systems of higher education were on the threshold of a harmoni- zation operation. Earlier that year, on June 19, the governments of 29 coun- tries had ratifi ed the “Bologna Declaration,” a document that envisaged a unifi ed European area for higher education. Its enforcement added to the urgency of the meeting in Rotterdam. However, this meeting would not be remembered for the unusually broad rep- resentation of nationalities or for its political timeliness. What would be remem- bered was an incident which took place shortly after the audience had been invited to join in the discussion. Somebody had raised a question about classroom analysis of twentieth-century music, a recurring topic among music theory teach- ers: whereas the music of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries lent itself to general analytical methodologies, the extremely diverse repertoire of the twen- tieth century seemed only to invite ad hoc approaches; how could the analysis of 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Shadows in the Field Second Edition This Page Intentionally Left Blank Shadows in the Field
    Shadows in the Field Second Edition This page intentionally left blank Shadows in the Field New Perspectives for Fieldwork in Ethnomusicology Second Edition Edited by Gregory Barz & Timothy J. Cooley 1 2008 1 Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Copyright # 2008 by Oxford University Press Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Shadows in the field : new perspectives for fieldwork in ethnomusicology / edited by Gregory Barz & Timothy J. Cooley. — 2nd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-19-532495-2; 978-0-19-532496-9 (pbk.) 1. Ethnomusicology—Fieldwork. I. Barz, Gregory F., 1960– II. Cooley, Timothy J., 1962– ML3799.S5 2008 780.89—dc22 2008023530 135798642 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper bruno nettl Foreword Fieldworker’s Progress Shadows in the Field, in its first edition a varied collection of interesting, insightful essays about fieldwork, has now been significantly expanded and revised, becoming the first comprehensive book about fieldwork in ethnomusicology.
    [Show full text]
  • The Seventh Season Being Mendelssohn CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL and INSTITUTE July 17–August 8, 2009 David Finckel and Wu Han, Artistic Directors
    The Seventh Season Being Mendelssohn CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL AND INSTITUTE July 17–August 8, 2009 David Finckel and Wu Han, Artistic Directors Music@Menlo Being Mendelssohn the seventh season july 17–august 8, 2009 david finckel and wu han, artistic directors Contents 3 A Message from the Artistic Directors 5 Welcome from the Executive Director 7 Being Mendelssohn: Program Information 8 Essay: “Mendelssohn and Us” by R. Larry Todd 10 Encounters I–IV 12 Concert Programs I–V 29 Mendelssohn String Quartet Cycle I–III 35 Carte Blanche Concerts I–III 46 Chamber Music Institute 48 Prelude Performances 54 Koret Young Performers Concerts 57 Open House 58 Café Conversations 59 Master Classes 60 Visual Arts and the Festival 61 Artist and Faculty Biographies 74 Glossary 76 Join Music@Menlo 80 Acknowledgments 81 Ticket and Performance Information 83 Music@Menlo LIVE 84 Festival Calendar Cover artwork: untitled, 2009, oil on card stock, 40 x 40 cm by Theo Noll. Inside (p. 60): paintings by Theo Noll. Images on pp. 1, 7, 9 (Mendelssohn portrait), 10 (Mendelssohn portrait), 12, 16, 19, 23, and 26 courtesy of Bildarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz/Art Resource, NY. Images on pp. 10–11 (landscape) courtesy of Lebrecht Music and Arts; (insects, Mendelssohn on deathbed) courtesy of the Bridgeman Art Library. Photographs on pp. 30–31, Pacifica Quartet, courtesy of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Theo Noll (p. 60): Simone Geissler. Bruce Adolphe (p. 61), Orli Shaham (p. 66), Da-Hong Seetoo (p. 83): Christian Steiner. William Bennett (p. 62): Ralph Granich. Hasse Borup (p. 62): Mary Noble Ours.
    [Show full text]
  • Solo Percussion Is Published Ralph Shapey by Theodore Presser; All Other Soli for Solo Percussion
    Tom Kolor, percussion Acknowledgments Recorded in Slee Hall, University Charles Wuorinen at Buffalo SUNY. Engineered, Marimba Variations edited, and mastered by Christopher Jacobs. Morton Feldman The King of Denmark Ralph Shapey’s Soli for Solo Percussion is published Ralph Shapey by Theodore Presser; all other Soli for Solo Percussion works are published by CF Peters. Christian Wolff Photo of Tom Kolor: Irene Haupt Percussionist Songs Special thanks to my family, Raymond DesRoches, Gordon Gottlieb, and to my colleagues AMERICAN MASTERPIECES FOR at University of Buffalo. SOLO PERCUSSION VOLUME II WWW.ALBANYRECORDS.COM TROY1578 ALBANY RECORDS U.S. 915 BROADWAY, ALBANY, NY 12207 TEL: 518.436.8814 FAX: 518.436.0643 ALBANY RECORDS U.K. BOX 137, KENDAL, CUMBRIA LA8 0XD TEL: 01539 824008 © 2015 ALBANY RECORDS MADE IN THE USA DDD WARNING: COPYRIGHT SUBSISTS IN ALL RECORDINGS ISSUED UNDER THIS LABEL. AMERICAN MASTERPIECES FOR AMERICAN MASTERPIECES FOR Ralph Shapey TROY1578 Soli for Solo Percussion SOLO PERCUSSION 3 A [6:14] VOLUME II [6:14] 4 A + B 5 A + B + C [6:19] Tom Kolor, percussion Christian Wolf SOLO PERCUSSION Percussionist Songs Charles Wuorinen 6 Song 1 [3:12] 1 Marimba Variations [11:11] 7 Song 2 [2:58] [2:21] 8 Song 3 Tom Kolor, percussion • Morton Feldman VOLUME II 9 Song 4 [2:15] 2 The King of Denmark [6:51] 10 Song 5 [5:33] [1:38] 11 Song 6 VOLUME II • 12 Song 7 [2:01] Tom Kolor, percussion Total Time = 56:48 SOLO PERCUSSION WWW.ALBANYRECORDS.COM TROY1578 ALBANY RECORDS U.S. TROY1578 915 BROADWAY, ALBANY, NY 12207 TEL: 518.436.8814 FAX: 518.436.0643 ALBANY RECORDS U.K.
    [Show full text]
  • Thesis Submission
    Rebuilding a Culture: Studies in Italian Music after Fascism, 1943-1953 Peter Roderick PhD Music Department of Music, University of York March 2010 Abstract The devastation enacted on the Italian nation by Mussolini’s ventennio and the Second World War had cultural as well as political effects. Combined with the fading careers of the leading generazione dell’ottanta composers (Alfredo Casella, Gian Francesco Malipiero and Ildebrando Pizzetti), it led to a historical moment of perceived crisis and artistic vulnerability within Italian contemporary music. Yet by 1953, dodecaphony had swept the artistic establishment, musical theatre was beginning a renaissance, Italian composers featured prominently at the Darmstadt Ferienkurse , Milan was a pioneering frontier for electronic composition, and contemporary music journals and concerts had become major cultural loci. What happened to effect these monumental stylistic and historical transitions? In addressing this question, this thesis provides a series of studies on music and the politics of musical culture in this ten-year period. It charts Italy’s musical journey from the cultural destruction of the post-war period to its role in the early fifties within the meteoric international rise of the avant-garde artist as institutionally and governmentally-endorsed superman. Integrating stylistic and aesthetic analysis within a historicist framework, its chapters deal with topics such as the collective memory of fascism, internationalism, anti- fascist reaction, the appropriation of serialist aesthetics, the nature of Italian modernism in the ‘aftermath’, the Italian realist/formalist debates, the contradictory politics of musical ‘commitment’, and the growth of a ‘new-music’ culture. In demonstrating how the conflict of the Second World War and its diverse aftermath precipitated a pluralistic and increasingly avant-garde musical society in Italy, this study offers new insights into the transition between pre- and post-war modernist aesthetics and brings musicological focus onto an important but little-studied era.
    [Show full text]
  • Segall, Prokofiev's Symphony ..., and the Theory Of
    Prokofiev’s Symphony no. 2, Yuri Kholopov, and the Theory of Twelve-Tone Chords Christopher Segall NOTE: The examples for the (text-only) PDF version of this item are available online at: http://www.mtosmt.org/issues/mto.18.24.2/mto.18.24.2.segall.php KEYWORDS: Sergei Prokofiev, twelve-tone technique, twelve-tone chord, aggregate chord, Russian music theory, Yuri Kholopov ABSTRACT: A small collection of works, including Prokofiev’s Symphony no. 2 (1924), include chords with all twelve pitch classes. Yuri Kholopov, the foremost late-Soviet theorist, considered twelve-tone chords a branch of twelve-tone technique. Taking Prokofiev and Kholopov as a starting point, and building on prior scholarship by Martina Homma, I assemble a history and theory of twelve-tone chords. The central theoretical problem is that of differentiation: as all twelve-tone chords contain the same twelve pitch classes, there is essentially only one twelve-tone chord. Yet twelve-tone chords can be categorized on the basis of their deployment in pitch space. Twelve-tone chords tend to exhibit three common features: they avoid doublings, they have a range of about 3 to 5.5 octaves, and their vertical interval structure follows some sort of pattern. This article contextualizes twelve-tone chords within the broader early-twentieth-century experimentation with aggregate-based composition. Received May 2017 Volume 24, Number 2, July 2018 Copyright © 2018 Society for Music Theory Introduction [1] This paper bases a history and theory of twelve-tone chords around an unlikely starting point: Sergei Prokofiev, whose Symphony no. 2 (1924) features a chord with all twelve pitch classes.(1) Scholars have developed sophisticated models for various aspects of twelve-tone technique—such as tone-row structure, invariance, hexachordal combinatoriality, and rotation—but with isolated exceptions have not to date examined the phenomenon of twelve-tone verticals.
    [Show full text]
  • Heteropolitics of Contemporary Dance
    Gabriele Brandstetter Heteropolitics of Contemporary Dance Xavier Le Roy’s Le Sacre du printemps Kunstwerke jedoch haben ihre Größe einzig darin, dass sie sprechen lassen, was die Ideologie verbirgt.1 Theodor W. Adorno How are we to think about the relationship between dance and poli- tics? Might it mean not only understanding dance politically, but also considering the politics of dance? The history and the discourse of dance is a history of the intricate negotiations between body, move- ment and politics: what André Lepecki calls the “choreo-political.”2 And the discourses and interpretations of Dance Studies reflect and address these questions with shifting degrees of emphasis. Yes, the political has for some time now been a search formula for an under- standing of dance, and one that has managed to direct public attention to many of its different forms. What can be said to be political is the relationship between aesthetics and power, the coincidence of political and aesthetic representation, for example in the dances at the court of Louis XIV – as Mark Franko’s reading of The King’s Two Bodies referring to Kantorowicz, has shown.3 Also political are the dances and movements portrayed by those choreographers whose pieces deal with questions of power, hierar- chies, law and justice, inclusions and exclusions. A random sampling might include: Kurt Jooss’s The Green Table, Jean Weidt’s work- ers’ choirs, Valeska Gert’s socially critical dance sketches, Martha 1 Theodor W. Adorno, “Rede über Lyrik und Gesellschaft”, Noten zur Literatur, Gesammelte Schriften Vol. 11 (Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp, 1974), pp.
    [Show full text]