Brahms’s Song Collections: Rethinking a Genre by Daniel Brian Stevens A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Music Theory) in The University of Michigan 2008 Doctoral Committee: Professor Kevin E. Korsyn, Chair Professor Walter T. Everett Associate Professor Johanna H. Prins Associate Professor Ramon Satyendra © Daniel Brian Stevens 2008 To Elizabeth and Olivia ii Acknowledgements This dissertation would not have been possible were it not for the generous support of many individuals. First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor, Kevin Korsyn, whose keen insights and sensitive guidance fueled this project from its conception to its completion. I am grateful for the imaginative ideas that he freely shared with me throughout this process, ideas that were deeply formative both of this dissertation and of its author. It has been an inspiration to study with this consummate music scholar throughout my years at the University of Michigan. I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the other members of my committee, each of whom responded to this project with enthusiasm and support. Five years ago, Walter Everett first drew me to the interpretive challenges and delights of studying song, and his valuable research in the area of text-music relations made an important contribution to my thinking. His close reading of and detailed responses to many of the ideas in this dissertation have yielded many suggestions for future research that will keep me busy for at least another five years. I have also benefited greatly from Ramon Satyendra’s refined musical and philosophical mind; his encouragement of my work and the unique perspective he brought to it enriched this project in innumerable ways. Although technically the “outside” member of my committee, Yopie Prins also contributed significantly to this dissertation, both through her seminar on lyric theory that I took iii while writing it and by the perceptive critique and thoughtful suggestions she gave my work as it developed. Her vibrant commitment to interdisciplinary scholarship will remain a model for my own work for many years to come. I would also like to thank Marion Guck, Gavin Chuck, and Patrick McCreless, all of whom made contributions to this project in its early stages. Special thanks go to Wayne Petty, who has been a source of constant support and guidance and a model theorist, scholar, and teacher. Other professors who have contributed to my growth and with whom I have been grateful to study include Karl Braunschweig, Karen Fournier, Alan Gosman, Julia Hell, Nadine Hubbs, Marilyn Mason, Fred Maus, Andrew Mead, Stefano Mengozzi, Edward Parmentier, Andreas Schönle, and Stephen Whiting. Throughout this project, I have been energized by many colleagues and friends, both near and far, who have provided the support and intellectual stimulation that got me through the long haul. To them I give my sincere thanks: Nate Adam, Dan Blim, Rebecca Fulop, Anne Hawkins, David Heetderks, Blair Johnston, John Levey, Francis Peterson, Colin Roust, Timothy Sullivan, Michael Wiseman, Alyssa Woods, and Shinobu Yoshida. I am especially thankful for my friendship with Steve Reale, René Daley, and Phil Duker, with whom I have shared the joys, traumas, successes, and failures of graduate-school life. I owe a profound debt of gratitude to my dear friends Bill Wheeler and Phil Duker, each of whom proofread, edited, and provided valuable suggestions for the entire dissertation. Further yet, Bill offered tireless support through countless difficulties while “Uncle” Phil offered his services as a baby-sitter so that I could have extra time to write. For the financial support that sustained my graduate career, I would like to thank the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies and Associate Dean Whiting. I am iv particularly grateful for the Rackham pre-doctoral fellowship that provided an extra year’s funding so that I could complete this dissertation. Rackham also provided me with two travel grants so that I could present the research developed here at national and international conferences. I would also like to thank the American Brahms Society for selecting me to receive the Karl Geiringer Award and scholarship, which also helped me complete this dissertation in a timely manner. I would not be where I am without the support of my family. In particular, I would like to thank my parents, who twelve years ago let me pass up a lucrative career as a chemical engineer to follow my dream. Mom and Dad, I could not have done it without your unfailing love and trust. I am also blessed to have a mother- and father-in-law who have selflessly given their time and 110% of their energy watching our daughter this year so that my wife and I could finish our degrees. Without their sacrifice, our dissertations would have been impossible to complete. Hands down, my brother, Brian, is the best one could hope for. Thanks, Brian, Tiana, and Lizzie for your encouragement throughout this process. Many thanks as well go to my grandmother, whose perspective on life helps remind me of what it’s all about. To my daughter Olivia, thank you for your smiles and looks of confident trust, which helped me complete this project four days before my goal—your first birthday. And most importantly, to Elizabeth, thank you for giving me the love, support, and time that I needed to research and write. I know of no one else who can raise a child, complete a doctorate, run a business, and teach a full music studio as you have done this year. You are an inspiration beyond words, and I look forward to the next chapter of our life together. v Table of Contents Dedication........................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iii List of Figures.................................................................................................................. viii List of Appendices ............................................................................................................. xi Abstract............................................................................................................................. xii Chapter 1 Scheiden und Meiden: The Problem of Brahms’s Song Collections...........1 Illustrating the Problem: Brahms’s Op. 19 Song Collection ........................................3 Genre and the Problem of Language ..........................................................................13 Brahms’s Bouquets as Scheiden und Meiden .............................................................17 Chapter 2 Is There a Genre in this Class? Toward a Theory of Genre in Brahms’s Song Collections........................................................................................................24 Genre, Textuality, and Authoriality............................................................................28 The Role of the Reader...............................................................................................45 Genre and Unity..........................................................................................................56 The Song Bouquet as Utterance .................................................................................66 Chapter 3 From Theory to Practice: Perspectives on Genre, Authoriality, and the Relation of Text and Music in Brahms’s Song Collections...................................77 Brahms’s Bouquets: Wholes or Parts? .......................................................................78 The Finalization of the Song Bouquet: Achieving Closure through Cadences..........89 Songs with Words: Genre and the Relation of Text and Music ...............................104 Chapter 4 The Op. 57 Daumer Settings and Authorial Intention............................119 Reading the Daumer Cycle as a Whole ....................................................................122 The B-Major/Bb-Major Complex as Interpretive Cipher..........................................137 The Daumer Collection as a Fragmented or Ironic Cycle ........................................153 Interpreting the Daumer Songs as a Fragmented “Lover’s Discourse”....................163 Chapter 5 The Rondos of Thought: Music, Text, and the Heine Songs of Op. 85..171 Formal Features of “Sommerabend” and “Mondenschein” .....................................178 “Sommerabend” and “Mondenschein” as a Combined Song Form .........................190 Relating Music and Poetry........................................................................................203 Forming an Implied Reader and Author...................................................................213 The Op. 85 “Rondo” in the Context of the Whole ...................................................219 vi Chapter 6 The Vier Gesänge, Op. 70, as Critique of Romantic Ideology ................233 Musical Structure of Op. 70......................................................................................234 Textual Structure of Op. 70 ......................................................................................246 Interpretive Framework #1—“The Intentional Structure of the Romantic Image”..254 Interpretive Framework #2—“The Critique of Romantic Ideology” .......................264 Chapter 7 Drawing a Blank: Concluding Thoughts on Brahms’s Bouquets ..........272 Appendices.....................................................................................................................