Redefining Moments: Interpreting Flexible Moment Form in the Late Solo Works of Franco Donatoni Ashley William Smith B.Mus (Hons.)W.Aust, M.Mus Yale This thesis is presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Doctor of Musical Arts University of Western Australia Conservatorium of Music 2020 i Thesis Declaration I, Ashley William Smith, certify that: This thesis has been substantially accomplished during enrolment in this degree. This thesis does not contain material which has been submitted for the award of any other degree or diploma in my name, in any university or other tertiary institution. In the future, no part of this thesis will be used in a submission in my name, for any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution without the prior approval of The University of Western Australia and where applicable, any partner institution responsible for the joint-award of this degree. This thesis does not contain any material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference has been made in the text. This thesis does not violate or infringe any copyright, trademark, patent, or other rights whatsoever of any person. Third party editorial assistance was provided in preparation for this thesis by Laura Biemmi. This thesis does not contain work that I have published, nor work under review for publication. 3 March, 2020 ii Portfolio Components Required Material i) A dissertation of 37,000 words ii) Two recitals: Donatoni in Context, presented on 22 May 2016 at the University of Western Australia (DVD1) The Walk of Shame, presented on 16 June 2019 at the University of Western Australia (DVD2) iii) A lecture recital: Redefining Moments: An Introduction to Moment Form Theory, presented on 25 February 2020 at the University of Western Australia (DVD3) Supplementary Material iv) Recital Program (DVD1). Appendix 2 v) Recital Program (DVD2). Appendix 3 vi) Lachlan Skipworth NV6241 premiere recordings of works for clarinet and ensemble by Lachlan Skipworth, including Clarinet Quintet, Intercurrent, and The Night Sky Fall. Appendix 4 iii Abstract The diverse and substantial output of Italian composer Franco Donatoni (1927-2000) continues to attract the attention of performers intent on tackling its virtuosity, and scholars who endeavour to understand its theoretical mechanisms. While the influences of aleatorism and Darmstadt serialism of Donatoni’s early career remain evident in the techniques of his late style, the processes that were once a means of suppressing subjective influence are employed as a way of realising artistic freedom. Exemplifying Donatoni’s late style are twenty-nine solo instrumental works composed between 1976 and 2000. Exciting for the listener and demanding for the performer, the coexistence of both continuous and discontinuous elements, as well as formalist and non-formalist elements in Donatoni’s late solo works make them challenging for the analyst. The purpose of this dissertation is to show how these works can be rendered analytically accessible by engagement with the concept of moment form, a compositional theory promulgated by Karlheinz Stockhausen in the early 1960s constituting discontinuous music composed in independent units. Crucial to recognise in the application of moment form theory to analysis is the varying degrees to which unifying and continuous elements are recognised and embraced by the strategy. Encompassing various modifications made to the strategy by composers and analysts across its sixty-year history, this dissertation codifies a flexible moment form theory and supplies an accompanying analytical methodology. By embracing an approach applied to block form theory by analyst Michael Ridderbusch, a composition’s continuous and discontinuous elements are viewed as complementary reciprocals operative on a continuum. Utilising this perspective, the flexible moment form strategy provides a solution to the analytical challenges presented by Donatoni’s late solo works. The first part of this dissertation outlines and tests the methodology while the second part concretises the methodology and proves its potential. Formal interpretations are made of the first movement of Donatoni’s Clair (1980) for solo clarinet, the first movement of Ombra (1984) for contrabass clarinet (or bass clarinet), and the second movement of Soft (1989) for bass clarinet. iv Two accompanying recitals explore the musical context of both Donatoni’s late solo works and the moment form concept. These recitals include new works by Chris Tonkin and Lachlan Skipworth as representations of flexible moment form compositions. An accompanying lecture recital explores the development and application of the flexible moment form strategy in Donatoni’s solo clarinet work, Clair. The lecture recital also applies the concept to architectural theory, demonstrating the broader application of flexible moment form as an aesthetic theory. v Table of Contents Portfolio Components…………………………………………………………………………………………….………ii Abstract ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….iii Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………………………….…………vii List of Figures …………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…viii Chapter 1: Introduction and Project Outline……………………………………………………………………...1 1.1: Donatoni Today………………………………………………………………………………………….…1 1.2: The Analytic Problem……………………………………………………………………………….……1 1.3: The Analytic Solution………………………………………………………………………………….…4 1.4: Fundamental Orientations and Propositions……………………………………………………..6 1.5: Trajectory……………………………………………………………………………………………………..9 Chapter 2: Toward a Flexible Moment Form Theory……………………………………………………..…11 2.1: Antecedents of Moment Form……………………………………………………………………….11 2.2: Pure Moment Form……………………………………………………………………………………..15 2.3: Moment Form Modifications………………………………………………………………………..21 2.4: Codifying Flexible Moment Form…………………………………………………………….……29 Chapter 3: Franco Donatoni: Stylistic Evolution and Current Approaches to Analysis…………...34 3.1: Stylistic Evolution………………………………………………………………………………………...34 3.2: Current Approaches to Analysis………………………………………………………………….…39 3.3: Case Study: Interpreting Flexible Moment Form in Incisi, Movement I…………..….42 Chapter 4: Extended Methodological Application 1: Clair, Movement I…………………………..….58 4.1: Identification of Materials and Moments………………………………………………….……..58 4.2: Identification of Intra-moment Characteristics and Processes………….……….………..62 vi 4.3: Identification of Inter-moment Unities/Continuities………………………………….……..71 4.4: Flexible Moment Form in Clair, Movement I……………………………………………..……82 Chapter 5: Extended Methodological Application 2: Ombra, Movement I…………………..………86 5.1: Identifications of Moments………………………………………………………………….………..86 5.2: Identification of Intra-moment Characteristics and Processes……………………..……..89 5.3: Identification of Inter-moment Unities/Continuities…………………………………….…..97 5.4: Flexible Moment Form in Ombra, Movement I………………………………………..……108 Chapter 6: Extended Methodological Application 3: Soft, Movement II……………………..……..111 6.1: Identification of Moments…………………………………………………………………………..111 6.2: Identification of Intra-moment Characteristics and Processes………………………..…115 6.3: Identification of Inter-moment Unities/Continuities………………………………….……126 6.4: Flexible Moment Form in Soft, Movement II…………………………………………..…….131 6.5: Final Thoughts……………………………………………………………………………………….….133 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………………………………………135 Appendices………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..138 Appendix 1: Enlarged Figures…………………………………………………………………….………138 Appendix 2: Recital Program 1……………………………….…………………………………….……148 Appendix 3: Recital Program 2………………………………………………………………………….150 Appendix 4: Links to Supplementary Recordings …………..……………………………………151 vii Acknowledgements I would like to thank the following people and acknowledge their contributions to this dissertation: • My collaborators and friends Chris Tonkin and Lachlan Skipworth. • All the associate-artists involved in these performances: Gladys Chua, Louise Devenish, Emily Green-Armytage and Shaun Lee-Chen. • Laura Biemmi (third-party editing), Jet Kye Chong (computer processing of figures), Jesse Stack (mastering of the DVD recordings) and Pip White (recital logistics). • Alan Lourens and Sarah Brittenden: thank you for the opportunity, time and space. • Cecilia Sun: thank you for being so generous with your time and insightful thoughts. • Emily Clements, Adam Pinto, Danielle Loiseau and my CrossFit buddies: thank you for your encouragement. This thesis is dedicated to Mum and Jan, and to the memory of Kim Stedman (1950-2019). This research was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship. viii List of Figures Note: All figures presented employing standard musical notation that do not include clefs are to be considered in treble clef. Figure 2.1 Calculated distribution of recurring content across Debussy’s Ondine Figure 3.1 Parametric behaviours across Incisi, movement I Figure 3.2 Serial transformation across moment 1 of Incisi, movement I Figure 3.3 Localised ternary structure in moment 2 of Incisi, movement I. Figure 3.4 Extracts of moment 17 and moment 18 showing nondeterminate algorithmic processing in Incisi, movement I. Figure 3.5 Extracts of moment 18 and moment 19 showing nondeterminate algorithmic processing in Incisi, movement I. Figure 3.6 Extracts of moment 8 and moment 9 showing algorithmic processing in Incisi, movement I. Figure 3.7 Graphical representation of pitch range across Incisi, movement