THE FIRST MOVEMENTS OF BRUCKNER’S THIRD, SIXTH AND SEVENTH SYMPHONIES: A MOMENT-BY-MOMENT APPROACH TO FORM by NICHOLAS ROBERT STEINWAND A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Music) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) August 2015 © Nicholas Robert Steinwand, 2015 Abstract To date, there has been mixed success in explaining Bruckner’s idiosyncratic style, and new methods are needed to explore his compositional techniques. This dissertation proposes an alternative way of studying the music, by examining the small, moment-to- moment gestures and changes in three first movements from his symphonies. The primary focus is on Bruckner’s manipulation of individual motivic, rhythmic, textural, and harmonic elements that create continuous shifts of tensions at the small-scale level, which sustain the expressive impact of the music. Instead of the teleology of traditional sonata form, these individual moments combine to create an overall dynamic flow in a larger, coherent structure described by Ernst Kurth’s theory of symphonic waves. Additionally, the phrase numbers Bruckner inserted in the autograph scores provide evidence of his organizational intentions. Of the works examined, the first movement of the Third Symphony (chapter 2) comes closest to a standard sonata form, but still displays Bruckner’s unique voice. The movement does not follow Hegelian conceptions common to symphonies by composers like Beethoven, but rather unfolds according to its own devices; the rhetoric is instead one of ebb and flow. The Seventh Symphony (chapter 3) moves further away from sonata form, with the tonal shifts in the first movement not creating drama as typically expected. Dynamic development is impelled by motivic processes rather than by the kind of tonal design that typically supports sonata form. Finally, the Sixth Symphony (chapter 4), long thought of by many as Bruckner’s most conventional use of sonata form, is instead one of the least standard, displaying freer unpredictable variational sections. Continual shifts from one motive or topic to another, ambiguous harmonies, and the wave structure all demonstrate that conceiving of the movement’s structure in terms of sonata form is insufficient. Bruckner managed to ii develop a highly distinctive style that, when properly understood, reveals his innovation and creativity. iii Preface ! ! This dissertation is an original, unpublished, independent work by the author, Nicholas Robert Steinwand. iv Table of Contents Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... ii! Preface ...................................................................................................................................... iv! Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................... v! List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... vi! List of Musical Examples ....................................................................................................... vii! Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. ix! Dedication ................................................................................................................................ xi! Chapter 1 – Bruckner Scholarship and the Problem of Analysis .............................................. 1! Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1! Bruckner: A Historical Background ..................................................................................... 2! Bruckner: Analytical Methods .............................................................................................. 9! The Moment ........................................................................................................................ 24! Bruckner’s Measure Numbers ............................................................................................ 32! Kurth’s Symphonic Waves ................................................................................................. 37! Topics .................................................................................................................................. 43! Sonata Form ........................................................................................................................ 47! Bruckner: An Alternative Approach ................................................................................... 54! Chapter 2 – Symphony No. 3 in D minor, WAB 103, I:Gemäßigt, mehr bewegt, misterioso . 57! Background & Introduction ................................................................................................ 57! The Exposition .................................................................................................................... 69! The Development & Recapitulation ................................................................................. 103! Chapter 3 – Symphony No. 7 in E major, WAB 107, I: Allegro moderato ............................ 128! The Manuscripts & Editions ............................................................................................. 128! Questions of Form ............................................................................................................ 130! The Exposition .................................................................................................................. 139! The Development & Recapitulation ................................................................................. 157! Chapter 4 – Symphony No. 6 in A Major, WAB 106, I: Maestoso ........................................ 184! Background & Introduction .............................................................................................. 184! Part I (mm. 1–144, “Exposition”) ..................................................................................... 193! Part II (mm. 145–369, “Development & Recapitulation”) ............................................... 233! Chapter 5 – Conclusions: Reassessing Bruckner .................................................................. 254! Bruckner’s Originality and the Moment ........................................................................... 254! The Relevance of the Moment .......................................................................................... 268! Bibliography ......................................................................................................................... 276! v List of Figures Figure 1.1: Sonata Form in Dormer’s revision of Koch’s Musikalisches Lexicon (1865) ..... 50 ! Figure 2.1: Sonata Form Analysis of Bruckner Symphony No. 3/1 (1877) ........................... 66 Figure 2.2: Bruckner's Manuscript Numbers in Symphony No. 3/1 (1877) ........................... 92 Figure 2.3: Bruckner Third Symphony (I/1877): Waves Overview ....................................... 98 Figure 3.1: Sonata Form Analysis for Bruckner Symphony No. 7/1 .................................... 133 Figure 3.2: Bruckner's Manuscript Numbers in Symphony No. 7/1 .................................... 153 Figure 3.3: Bruckner, Seventh Symphony (I): Waves Overview .......................................... 175 Figure 4.1: Sonata Form Analysis of Bruckner Symphony No. 6/1 ..................................... 192 Figure 4.2: Motives and Measure Numbers, mm. 1–48 ....................................................... 205 Figure 4.3: Motives and Measure Numbers, mm. 49–100 ................................................... 215 Figure 4.4: Motive and Measure Numbers, mm. 101–144 ................................................... 221 Figure 4.5: Bruckner's Manuscript Numbers in Symphony No. 6/1 .................................... 223 Figure 4.6: Bruckner, Sixth Symphony (I): Waves Overview ............................................... 228 Figure 4.7: Motives and Measure Numbers, mm. 145–208 ................................................. 238 Figure 4.8: Motives and Measure Numbers, mm. 209–244 ................................................. 242 Figure 4.9: Motives and Measure Numbers, mm. 245–284 ................................................. 243 Figure 4.10: Motives and Measure Numbers, mm. 285–308 ............................................... 244 Figure 4.11: Motives and Measure Numbers, mm. 309–415 ............................................... 245 vi List of Musical Examples Example 1.1: Sixth Symphony, Finale, mm. 11–13 ............................................................... 14 Example 1.2: Sixth Symphony, Finale, mm. 14–19 ............................................................... 14 Example 2.1: Symphony No. 3/1 (1877), introduction, mm. 1–4 .......................................... 70 Example 2.2: Symphony No. 3/1 (1877), main trumpet theme, mm. 5–13 ............................ 72 Example 2.3: Symphony No. 3/1 (1877), "consequent phrase," mm. 13–17 ......................... 74 Example 2.4: Symphony No. 3/1 (1877), motives X, Y, and Z .............................................. 76 Example 2.5a: Symphony No. 3/1 (1877), trumpet theme, mm. 9–12 ..................................