Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2017 A Study of Franz Schubert's Arpeggione Sonata and Claude Debussy's Premiére Rhapsodie: A Performer's Perspective Jeffrey Michael Brooks Follow this and additional works at the DigiNole: FSU's Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MUSIC A STUDY OF FRANZ SCHUBERT’S ARPEGGIONE SONATA AND CLAUDE DEBUSSY’S PREMIÉRE RHAPSODIE: A PERFORMER’S PERSPECTIVE By JEFFREY MICHAEL BROOKS A Treatise submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Music 2017 Jeffrey Michael Brooks defended this treatise on April 10, 2017. The members of the supervisory committee were: Deborah Bish Professor Directing Treatise Richard Clary University Representative Eric Ohlsson Committee Member Jeffrey Keesecker Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the treatise has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii For Mom and Dad iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are many people to whom I owe thanks and gratitude over the past several years. First of all, thank you to my advisor and mentor Dr. Deborah Bish. Your patience, confidence, and persistence have helped me through many challenging times. Thank you for gently encouraging me to keep going and for leading me through this academic process. Thank you to my committee members, Dr. Eric Ohlsson, Jeffrey Keesecker, and Richard Clary, all of whom have guided me both professionally and scholastically. Thank you to emeritus professor, Dr. Frank Kowalsky, who taught me so much about music and the pursuit of intentional living. You helped me to believe in myself. To my friends, your constant support, laughs, and food keep me going. Mom and Dad, thank you for bringing me into this world. Josh, thank you for your generous support. Dr. Dennis Nygren, thank you for your scholarly work on Debussy. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Musical Examples…………………………………………………………………………vi Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………..vii 1. INTRODUCTION…..…………………………………………………………………………..1 2. FRANZ SCHUBERT’S ARPEGGIONE SONATA: A PERFORMER’S PERSPECTIVE……...2 3. DEBUSSY’S PREMIÉRE RHAPSODIE: A PERFORMER’S PERSPECTIVE………….…...25 4. CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................35 Bibliography .........................................................................…………………………………….37 Biographical Sketch ......................................................................................................………….40 v LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES Ex 2.1 Letter A in Adagio from Schubert’s Sonata in A minor, D. 821.............................................8 Ex 2.2 Rehearsal B in Adagio...........................................................................................................9 Ex 2.3 Allegro Moderato at rehearsal S. ………………………………………………………………..……10 Ex 2.4 Nine measures at rehearsal 5 in the third movement, Allegretto…........……………..……11 Ex 2.5 Rehearsal 10-11 in the Allegretto........................................................................................12 Ex 2.6 Measures 8-11 in Adagio.....................................................................................................13 Ex 2.7 7 and 6 measures before letter A in Adagio..........................................................................14 th Ex 2.8 13 measure of rehearsal 1 in Allegretto..............................................................................14 Ex 2.9 Measures 44-48 of the Allegro moderato……………………………………………….....17 Ex 2.10 Measures 66-69…………..………………………………………………………….......17 Ex 2.11 Measures 74-79 in Allegro moderato……………..………………………………….….18 Ex 2.12 Measures 128-147 from Allegretto…………………………………………..……….….19 Ex 2.13 Measures 114-119 from Allegro moderato……………..………………………………..21 Ex 3.1 Measure 2 in Debussy Première Rhapsodie ……………......…………………………..…29 Ex 3.2 Measure 69 in Debussy Première Rhapsodie…………….……….....…………………....31 Ex 3.3 Measure 168 in Debussy Première Rhapsodie……………...………………………….…31 Ex 3.4 Measures 185-188 in Debussy Première Rhapsodie ………...…………………...…….....32 Ex 3.5 Measure 201 in Debussy Première Rhapsodie ….……………………..…………….....…33 vi ABSTRACT This treatise, comprised of the transcriptions from two lecture recitals, discusses Franz Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata as transcribed for clarinet and piano and Debussy’s Première Rhapsodie. Schubert composed his Arpeggione Sonata on the cusp of his great Beethoven Project, a project that defined his legacy. It was subsequently transcribed by four different clarinetists. Debussy composed his Première Rhapsodie during a period when he was learning to master his own musical style through musical imagery. Both pieces helped to define these composers’ musical focus and have become important pieces in the clarinet repertoire. Topics of discussion include comparisons of selected editions and arrangements, fingerings, tessitura, intonation, ensemble balance, instrumentation, and tempi. vii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION This treatise, comprised of the transcriptions from two lecture recitals, discusses Franz Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata as transcribed for clarinet and piano and Debussy’s Première Rhapsodie. Schubert composed his Arpeggione Sonata on the cusp of his great Beethoven Project, a project that defined his legacy. It was subsequently transcribed by four different clarinetists. Debussy composed his Première Rhapsodie during a period when he was learning to master his own musical style through musical imagery. Both pieces helped to define these composers’ musical focus and have become important pieces in the clarinet repertoire. Topics of discussion include comparisons of selected editions and arrangements, fingerings, tessitura, intonation, ensemble balance, instrumentation, and tempi. 1 CHAPTER TWO FRANZ SCHUBERT’S ARPEGGIONE SONATA: A PERFORMER’S PERSPECTIVE Franz Schubert completed the Arpeggione Sonata in A minor, D. 821 in November of 1824. The Sonata is significant because it marked Schubert’s compositional departure from predominantly vocal works and songs to strictly instrumental compositions; this period would later become known collectively as Schubert’s Beethoven Project.1 This chapter will explore the historical context of this piece, focusing on the impact of Schubert’s poor physical health due to his contraction of syphilis, and the sway of his circle of friends. In addition, this paper will also address the modern performance of this piece by analyzing, comparing, and contrasting four selected editions of the Sonata that have been arranged for clarinet and piano; as well as a short comparison on performing the piece with piano versus guitar. Franz Schubert died at the age of 31. The last six years of his life were riddled with symptoms of illness: both which took a toll on his body and his mind.2 Though the official cause of his death (19 November 1828) was ruled to be typhoid fever, there is evidence suggesting that Schubert had died from syphilis.3 One piece of evidence supporting this theory involves the medical use of mercury lotion, bloodletting, and fasting. It was a common practice to use bloodletting to remove impurities from the body, extreme fasting to further rid the body of toxins, and mercury lotion to topically treat the rashes associated with syphilis.4 Modern medicine does not recognize these as viable treatments for syphilis and suggests that these methods did more harm than good. The fact that Schubert developed dementia four to six years 1 John Michael Gingerich, Schubert's Beethoven Project (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014), 5. 2 Rold, “S Robert L. Rold, “Schubert and Syphilis,” Journal of Medical Biography 3 (March 1995): 232. 3 Rold, “Schubert and Syphilis,” 235. 4 Ibid. 2 after contracting the disease, and that his symptoms during the final years of his life matched those of mercury poisoning, it suggests that he was dealing with the effects of syphilis. Despite the treatments available, the disease was ultimately fatal. Schubert, in his last years, conceiving that his lifespan would be cut short due to his declining health, began to write works in the hope that he might achieve some level of financial gain and leave a legacy similar to that of Beethoven, Mozart, and Haydn.5 Schubert, however, was not a great promoter of his music and tended to lack vision as to what musical works would be profitable. As such, he relied on his circle of friends for inspiration regarding his musical compositions. Much of Schubert’s musical output during this time was written with the influence of this group in mind. This circle of friends, who would gather and privately perform his works, would later become known as the Schubertiade. Though he achieved a level of notoriety in his lifetime, his compositions were rarely performed in public. It would be many years after his demise that his musical genius would be truly recognized.6 Drawing upon Beethoven’s success, Schubert focused his composition on piano sonatas, string quartets, and symphonies. The Arpeggione Sonata was one of the works that marked his transition from writing music solely for the aristocracy to more commercialized music that would appeal to the public. Even though he intended for the piece to be comparable to Beethoven’s sonatas, the Arpeggione Sonata was not considered to be part of the fourteen