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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

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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
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