Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 8-31-2012 12:00 AM Narrativity in Postmodern Music: A Study of Selected Works of Alfred Schnittke Karen K. Ching The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Catherine Nolan The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Music A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Karen K. Ching 2012 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Music Theory Commons Recommended Citation Ching, Karen K., "Narrativity in Postmodern Music: A Study of Selected Works of Alfred Schnittke" (2012). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 910. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/910 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Narrativity in Postmodern Music: A Study of Selected Works of Alfred Schnittke (Spine title: Narrativity in Postmodern Music) (Thesis format: Monograph) by Karen K. Ching Graduate Program in Music A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Karen K. Ching 2012 THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION Supervisor Examiners ______________________________ ______________________________ Dr. Catherine Nolan Dr. Thomas Carmichael ______________________________ Dr. John Doerksen Supervisory Committee ______________________________ ______________________________ Dr. Peter Franck Dr. Richard Parks ______________________________ Dr. Roxane Prevost The thesis by Karen K. Ching entitled: Narrativity in Postmodern Music: A Study of Selected Works of Alfred Schnittke is accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy ______________________ _______________________________ Date Chair of the Thesis Examination Board ii ABSTRACT The validity of music narratives has engendered much debate and research. This dissertation traces the development of narratology from its pre-structuralist phase to the post-structuralist phase where the discipline went through a narrative turn and blossomed into a broad-spectrum expansion that takes the form of interdisciplinary narratological studies such as music narratology. By adopting the viewpoints of postmodern philosophers and psychologists such as Mikhail M. Bakhtin, Ihab Hassan, Jean-François Lyotard, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Carl Jung, we develop a cognitive narratological theory for postmodern music that is veracious both epistemologically and philosophically. We analyze formally and contextually four concertos by Alfred Schnittke, one of the pioneers of polystylism, and discuss individual polystylistic and postmodern characteristics evinced in the musical texts. We then provide a brief narratological reading of each concerto. We believe a theory of music narrative completes the aforementioned three-part comprehensive analysis of a musical work and is required for the full understanding and appreciation of any musical work of art. Keywords: Alfred Schnittke, musical narrative, narrativity, polystylism, postmodernism, cognitive narratology, carnivalization, indeterminacy, immanence, irony, paralogy, Byron Almén, Mikhail M. Bakhtin, Ihab Hassan, Jean-François Lyotard, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Carl Jung, Double Concerto for Oboe, Harp, and String Orchestra (1971), Concerto for Piano and Strings (1979), Concerto Grosso No.3 (1985), Concerto for Three (1994). iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am very grateful to my advisor, Dr. Catherine Nolan, for her continued encouragement, tireless support, and expert guidance over the course of this work’s long development. I would also like to extend my sincerest thanks to my second reader, Dr. Richard Parks, for his careful reading and thought-provoking insightful comments. His knowledge and commitment to the highest standard have always been a source of inspiration for me. Finally, this work is dedicated to K. Without your unwavering faith, patience, and quiet understanding, this work would not have been possible. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION……………………….…………………………ii ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………...iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………….………………………………………...iv LIST OF TABLES ……………………………………………………………………viii LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………………….xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………….1 1.1 Purpose and Procedures……………….………………………………..…….1 1.2 Life and Works…………………………………….…………………………2 1.2.1 Alfred Schnittke’s Music and Postmodernism…………………….9 1.3 Organization of Project …………………………..……...............……......….11 1.3.1 Notation and Terminology……..……………………...…..........….12 CHAPTER 2: A THEORY OF MUISCAL NARRATIVE FOR POSTMODERN MUSIC………………………………...…………………………....……14 2.1 Introduction to Musical Narrative ……………………………….…………..14 2.1.1 A Short Narrative of Narratology………..………………………...14 2.1.1.1 The Three-Stage Schema: The Pre-Structuralist Phase….16 2.1.1.1.1 Anglo-American Critics….…………………….17 2.1.1.1.2 Russian Formalists………………….………….20 2.1.1.1.3 Czech Structuralists……………………………22 2.1.1.2 The Three-Stage Schema: The Structuralist Phase…...….23 2.1.1.3 The Three-Stage Schema: The Post-Structuralist Phase....24 2.1.2 Narratology in Music……………….…….………….…………….24 2.1.2.1 Almén’s Theory of Musical Narrative .………………….29 2.1.3 Three Considerations Regarding the Development of a Theory of Musical Narrative…………………………………………………..31 2.1.3.1 Veracity and Applicability………………………...……. 31 2.1.3.2 Philosophical Aspects of Postmodern Music………...….40 2.1.3.3 Epistemology of Music Semiotics and Narratives…...….48 2.2 A Proposal……………………………………………………………………51 2.2.1 Cognitive Narratology…………….……………………….………53 2.3 Summary Observations………………………………………………………58 CHAPTER 3: IMMANENCE AND PHENOMENOLOGICAL ASPECTS IN SCHNITTKE’S DOUBLE CONCERTO FOR OBOE, HARP AND STRING ORCHESTRA ………………………………………….….… 60 3.1 Introduction to Immanence and Phenomenological Aspects……………….. 60 3.2 Double Concerto for Oboe, Harp, and String Orchestra (1971)………….… 61 3.2.1 Analysis…………….…………………………………………..…. 65 v 3.2.1.1 The Eratosthenes Section……………..…….………..…. 66 3.2.1.2 Cadenza I…………………………….…….…………… 73 3.2.1.3 The Sighing Section….……….…...…………………..... 74 3.2.1.4 The Whole-Tone Section………...…..……………….… 76 3.2.1.5 The Diminished Section.......……….…….………….….. 77 3.2.1.6 The Recapitulation…..……….……………..………...… 78 3.2.1.7 Cadenza II………..……………….….……………….… 83 3.2.1.8 The Interval-6/7 Section…………………………………84 3.3 Summary Observations……….…………………………………………..….85 CHAPTER 4: INDETERMINACY IN SCHNITTKE’S CONCERTO FOR PIANO AND STRINGS …………………………….....…………….… 91 4.1 Introduction to Indeterminacy……….…………………………………… 91 4.2 Concerto for Piano and Strings (1979)…………………………………… 94 4.2.1 Formal Analysis………………………………………………… 94 4.2.2 Textual Analysis………………………..……..…………………108 4.2.2.1 Introduction……………………………..………………108 4.2.2.2 Exposition……………………...……………………….113 4.2.2.3 Development…………………………………………....115 4.2.2.4 Recapitulation…………………………………………. 122 4.2.2.5 Coda……………………………..…………………….. 123 4.3 Summary Observations…………………………………….……………… 123 CHAPTER 5: POLYSTYLISM IN SCHNITTKE’S CONCERTO GROSSO No.3 ………….…………………......…………………………….…….125 5.1 Introduction to Polystylism…………..………………..…………...……… 125 5.2 Concerto Grosso No.3 (1985)………………………………………..……..130 5.2.1 Analysis……………………………………………………….…132 5.2.1.1 First Movement—Allegro………………………….….133 5.2.1.2 Second Movement—Risoluto……………………..……139 5.2.1.3 Third Movement—Pesante……………………..………152 5.2.1.4 Fourth Movement………………………………………163 5.2.1.5 Fifth Movement—Moderato……………………………166 5.3 Summary Observations……………..………………………………..……..168 CHAPTER 6: IRONY, PARALOGY, AND CARNIVALIZATION IN SCHNITTKE’S CONCERTO FOR THREE………………...……...…170 6.1 Introduction to Irony, Paralogy and Carnivalization……………………..170 6.2 Concerto for Three (1994)……………………………..…………………...176 6.2.1 Analysis……………………………………………..…..………..178 6.3 Summary Observations…………………………………………..…………182 CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSIONS………………………………………………………..185 SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………................……190 vi CURRICULUM VITAE……………………………………………………………….212 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2-1 The four mythoi as described in Frye’s cyclic model…………………..41 Figure 3-1 A score reduction of rehearsals 5 and 6 showing the third pair of ordered sets as related by their unordered pitch-class intervals……..69 Figure 3-2 A score reduction of rehearsals 1 - 6 showing the relationship between pitch organization and the Eratosthenes progression……...….71 Figure 3-3 First Cadenza……...……………………………………………………73 Figure 3-4 Score reduction of an excerpt from the sighing section (rehearsal 9) showing the predominant short phrases and sighing figures of the section ……………………………………………………………..….. 75 Figure 3-5 Transformations between the three 7-33 pitch-class sets ………...……76 Figure 3-6 Maximally-smooth voice-leading in recapitulation…………….………79 Figure 3-7 Last measure from rehearsal f……………………………...…………82 Figure 3-8 Excerpt from Cadenza II………………………………………….…….83 Figure 3-9 Excerpt from Cadenza II showing the harp brings back pitch material from previous sighing section while the oboe engages in semi- improvisation………………………………………………...……….…83 Figure 3-10 Excerpt from the end of the concerto where interval 7 is asserted......…85 Figure