\ NeoctassicisM AND Its DEFINITIONS Pieter C, vAN DEN Toorn ‘ow does neoclasscism manifest itself? Do parts or Features eadily identified as Baroque or Classical, tonal or adhering to tonallycon- | ceived forms and shapes, draw attention to themselves as such? And ifthey do, do they then defy integration? Are they then incapable of being assimilated by the individual context, incapable of acquiring a sense of moti- vation by way ofthat assimilation, a sense of integrity? (Ate ncolasial wholes never ‘wholes, in other words, never “organic”?) Or are questions ofthis kind questions of degree afterall? Can neoclassical works have it both ways (which would sem tobe _) the established view)? ‘Some of these questions do not lend themselves all that well to analysis. They ‘ouch to too great an extent on the immediacy of the experiencing subject. Theo ‘ganic character of, say, Stravinsky's neoclassical works cannot be proved one way or other. Only as impressions do fest themselvesin this way, do h ¢ organically whole or “total” (as Schoenberg might have expressed it ‘only on the Bass of what s sensed and fet, given directly in experience, cana musi- cal tain of thought appear asa whole rather than in parts, can part assume a rans- parency in the service of that whole; only on sucha basis is there a reciprocity with parts both defining and being defined by the whole. And even then, the manner in ‘which such impressions are tied to aesthetic responses of one ind or another, fav able or notadds yet another dimension tothe puzzle. Allof which isnot to question taphor itself or its usefulness in practical analysis, the metaphor of organic unity oF wholes fect! i ean 1. Arnold Schoenberg, "Gustay Mahler" (1912, 1948) in Style and Ides, e Leonard Sein, tans. Leo Black (Berkele and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1984), 49. Ac- cording to Schoenberg, a sense of the context asa whole, an “impression” ofits “cali ‘emerged gradually in the listening experience, even if t could be anticipated and lter voked ina moment’ time. Fora survey of the origin ofthe metaphor of organic life, see Ruth A. Sole, “The Living Work: Organicismn and Musical Analy” Ninctenth-Century ‘Music (1980): 147-56 Its application to Schoenberg's writings is dscused in Severine Neff, “Schoenberg and Goethe: Organicism and Analysis," in Music Theor and the Exploration of ‘he Pat, ed. Christopher Hatch and David W. Bernstein (Chicago: Univesity of Chicago Press, 193) 409-33; iis discussed with reference to Schenker’ writings in William Pale, "Music and Morphology: Goethe’ Influence on Schenkers Thought,” in Schenker Sadi, ‘ed, Hedi Siege (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990), 29-44 2See, for example, Joseph Kerman, "How We Got into Analysis, and How to Get Ou,” Critical Laguiry 7 (1980): 311-331, Kerman’s critique of organics thoughe in music analysisPa Neoetassetsw ase Irs Dernutrions nonetheless underscore the lifelike rather than mechanical quality of musial wholes, the natural and effortless ather than arbitrary of forced manner in which parts can be fleto coher. Tecan help sustain a sense ofthe experience of music. ‘But analysis can offer litle proof in these mates, itcan offer evidence. And of immediate concern isthe established view of neocassicsm, the contradiction cmbeded in tha view, the ida, on the one hand, ofan unbridgeable gap between, the old and the new and chat, on the other, of an asimilation oF transcending ‘ontextualty’ The assumption would seem to be that traditions both remote and long since spent, nolongereapable of functioning authentically oa anachronistic, are putto use on behalf of the new; neoclassical works can make a pint by way of. that use and weaslsteners can respond accordingly.’ Bu that points made bitsand pieces of the nonimmedite past are revived even a8 the individual neoclassical con- text makes a pointofits own, emitsa sense of integrity that overrides the very adh tions upon which ress the initial point of deparcure. ‘Thismay oversimplify the established view, ofcourse, by treating each side of| the contradiction independently ofthe other. Applying the idea of a tansformation ‘of the old by the new, both sides could presumably be taken into account, it been repre in Jouph Kerman, Write AU These Down (Berkely sod Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1998), 12-32. 5. These particle implications of the organi model werealwaysan important partof ts mesagesee Kevin Kerpn, "Schenker Organic Reexamine," Taga? (993) 91. Kerja {einarks tha organicim mut alse seen in elation to mechanistic and materialistic tend tsa response a everything tha threatened to reduce human being to mere mechanisms” 4: Pora recent manifestation of this aditional view of neoclassical music se Joseph N. ‘Straus, Remaking the Pu: Muical Moder andthe Influence ofthe Tonal Trion (Ca ‘ide: Hareard University Pres, 1990, 4473. Straus underscores the “nom organi” chat sete of Stravinsky’ ncolasial “recompositions” hei “dual srutres” of ld and ne, "continuous confi” and absence of larger resolution o synthesis” Atehesae tine, how- cet insies tha ranicending "ew meaning” is ealized, nein which “taditionlfor- ‘avons are] heard ina novel way.” Moreover, acoeding to Stra the neo posal in Seavnsky“eeampustons is dsinguished by motive processes involving asa pitch ‘lasts ad ther eations Here, however sch proceses ad relatos st head and us ‘derstood to rade the tonal and poxetonal words See ate 20 5. The extent ro which aspects of the nonimmediate past manifest themselves anachronsically (and in this way neocasiclly) in several contests from the mie of ‘Strainsky, Barth, aed Schoenberg isdixeued in lliminsting detain Martha Hyde, "Neo- ‘auicand AnahroniteImplse in Twentieth-Centary Muse" Music Ther Spey 18 (1986 20-35) The in sence of az may also be lin the harmonic and hythmic configu ration inthe frst movement of Saviasky’s Symphony in Thee Movement undoubtedly 2 product of the composer’ arial inthe United States in 1939 and of his ecqusintance st that ime with varieties of American poplar musi See, in his connection, the ile and offbeat patersof punctuation at Rehearl 7-13, a8 condensed in Example 2 sonimmediat tradition aswel ney constructed content. Viewing the later aa ttanfrmation ofthe former ok and new ould igure as patof the same oer ing recs. uh ‘Ober, however, that sch a perspective docs notcliminate the contac | ie chad fe etna eee tea | new i defined to ome extent by the ob, by an awareness of what ci that being “Tameerecd Aa ie epprc oul Werte plane segrest and aoe what forthe crc ands lated by it own accord namely the past which resis | inept. oto, application in aalyisislikely tobe partial and incomplete nota of the data covered by, say,a tonal reading of a neoclassical context is likely to overlap | -stinueae with he dca of the ew an ierpreaton eT Ree ofthe new (Here, the"data" | might nla Temannerin which phy, interval and shythmsare groupedaswell | ‘the pthe and intervals themacves. In passages tobe examined ere fom Sts vinsky’ Symphony in Three Movement, cles of pitches and intervals which gue 2s pats dtnic and eren tonal segmentation are not included in an octane) attangement—one howe, which sno lex specific and cohesive ini arculaton} ‘And thts where the diffu li, ofcourse, inthe apparent absence of nifyng design or yates one spect nough ob of we in embracing coal ing component ofthis kind. Instead, sch prs and the traditions the embody has tended to manifest il accep the high degree of ofan incr Slicer cen dese a eee GRR) Ce ee eee ee jet mate] Ad inthe reconcile dpliy of thee opostat > Peek ease ere eV aah ae smile eae arene eee Rey Seen Gone acre ceca Beagi enter Tease ia Pele eee oa caries wtaiaee eaten at ete relate cree ere ee Cie eer ee Tiled rehire ebony Tai bed adhe gw or end are ade w cea raat he eee eee arte eee thurbcome gtltdnessasuchbn athe kind and ders. tion te jgate fron (Gren auc degree aes ron inti Seek arene eh ae ce eee eed 1H Neoctastenae snp Irs Deriterions the past and present, what, indeed may sem to define the character of tava’ fees waite beet ied tsripge tein econ pela tothe analy of his particular muon that ts effects con vem untaell severe and problematic ‘Thax theois of tala ophinicstedas Schenker’ are apc o make fora tneay fit. Many of Schenker terms work best tan oxide fol infact, way of setting neoclasal process in elie seched beyond tha poi, the lowe much | the explanatory power they wield forthe repertory for which they were intended, Tao by py of Schecter nicotine ames a in likely cocoa to the fre by sch means plc sch atthe Spl i Thad Movement can elt only rather poorly (or elvan) to sch exemplar ofthe tonal pra the omphonis of Haya, Becthoven, and Brana But here agai, to dismis the onal radon atogether st dit pine no dee crucial to neoclasicinn the tonal tration requires acknowledgment, even i -ahe evidence in suppor ofthe Schenkerian model to incomplete tallow fora Convincing application. Wht tends to emerge from such appieaton in fact, residue, one manifesting itself discontinuously in bits and pieces, here and there, ta he er Gig coeect steed Ge ene ee sence Rtas Elsa peel Reravaleciten tates stave cee of merges recs nlogetez) And tic nl fear is Cngeeiaryeupa tal ‘Stavinay(colascal) ures ofthe pst can indeed ce a From daciplind, even vwthin single, indviual pices; varied inthe indvidal effect, they are catered and too contextualized ffom one pice tothe neat eo be jdged the product of a trcthdialy applied technique or sytem abaraced from the lai, The com: parr himself might have argued diferent tobe sure, and by insisting repeatedly tn the craflike nature of hart the ced for received rules, dicpine and wo forth ‘And herein queion but that, beeen the two word wary Stave thetic aswel as pola views grew increasingly conservative and even reactionary, Settee eae eerie teal eee tu Dealced onde, Record Tari a docimnetedn umber of sre id institutional implicaons that woud seem to berths out? Yet the musi speaks Leys rei eerie err ecnie geae Ree aceite ime im both che borrowing andthe wes o which that borrowing is ptt speaks ofa 6. See for example, Igor Stravinsky, Paci of Music; tans. Arthur Kodel and lagolf Dahl (Cambridge: Harvard University Pres, 1987, 65. “My feedom wil beso much the greater and more meaningful the more narowly [limit my field of action and the more I rround mye with obstacles. The more constraint one impose, the more one frees fone self ofthe chains that shackle the spit” 7. See Richard Tarvin, “Back to Whomn? Neoclawicim ss Ideology” Nineteenth- Century Mute 16 (1983) 287-95. Taruskin documents some ofthe conservative aesthetic and seciopltial current with which Stravinsky seems to have identified himself during the carly years of i eaclasiciam in France Posres 94% Toon bs rea vai of references whote sources are numerous varied and conflicting even ‘within individ pices and movements ‘On the other han analyte metods having to do with motives and ptch- ‘lasses are capable of more extended treatment Inthe ease of motives and their evlopment, this hast do with the highly contextualized nature of the motivic oces: Defined by its hythms and secession, the melodic ifeofa particular work an stile very much its own. And this Becaie, although relatively nondesc Sd of themseles, motives can reflect al the various aspects a context, including itemeloy, harmony, rhythm, and instrumentation. Motives an result from an in- teraction of those aspect and can reflect nt only the sum bu the transcending contest itsell:Andit ithe inal nondeacripeness that allows for such reflection, Towa moves both o mol and tobe molded in uch compchensive fashion, and to becomes ently bohinstr uments and reflections ofthe inividual context Tewas Schonberg who sought to defines repertory alog such nes (hisown repertryof course, twelve-toneaswellattoally “extended”, ideniping his music twith the Classial and Romantic traditions ofthe eighteenth nd nineteenth centi- Fies"homophonic” musics he described tat one point music which adhered to “the syle of developing variation." And he identified his music accordingly, con- necting it with various tonal radon by way ofthe motivand its developmen, at the expense of ether repertoris,ncuding Stravinsky's nodassia. In its rations withthe past, neolasscam was deemed fraud indeed, "fashionable foolishness.” Treontas, Schoenberg stwelvetone works escape the necascal label for much af the century, notwithtanding the obvious and elaborate wansfer they often en- tailed notony of Baroque and Classical formsbutof various typesof phrases, themes Sand accompanimenal gration which were no les tonal in origin. Even today, ‘vith much oftheir poems sbided lf persistin the demonstration ofthe organic characte of that transfer, the extent to which the inherited forms,in ‘Schoenberg’s music can be heard and undertod as forming integral part of the cw res indeed avavingbsen motivated by tho ” ‘Butoter ets Rave continued oss onthe sigaifiance ofthat restoration, and onthe extent to which Schoenberg'stweve-on idiom was made intligible by Td Schocnberg, Fundamenal: of Musical Compostin, ed. Gerald Stang and Leonard Stsin Londen: Faber and Faber, 1970), 8 "Homophonic musi can be alle the syle of developing variation This ean hati the secesion of motive forms produced through variation the bse motive there something which an be compared develop- ‘mento growth” 9. Scheenbers "Igo Stravinsky: Der Renata” (1926) in Sle and Men, 482. In an- ner ale, Schoenberg refered special toOedpu Rex silly ths work s noth lng he avered. (Stravinsky edu” [1828 in Syl and da 483) to. Se, for example, Andrew Mead, “Tonal Forms ia Atvald Schoenberg's Twelve- “Tone Music” Manic Theory Speram 9 (987 67-52; nd Martha Hyde, "Dodecaphony: Schoenberg” in Modes of Macc Anayi Early Twentieth Censey Music, e Jonathan Danby (Oxford: Oxford Universiy Pres 1993), 36-80- Neoevasicn ano 1s D it! The presumption motivating tht view has heen hat, nce nade aware ofthe given forms and types, tenrs can apply some ofthe logic that accompanied their ‘onal unfolding: in however incidental o gulf afshion, listener can impose a borrowed sense of loeation ad direction tthe same time, the need fr constraints ‘on the part of both composer an tence cn al be said to have ben stig that, fom any number f perspective theald forms and their employment become linked inextricably to their tonal gins. And it has bee in opposition to this nae cat other enthusiast including Milton Babbit have chosen to sidestep the idea of transformation akogether!f Schoraber’stwelve-one music was pre~ vail then ¢ would hae odo on its ono at wat imagined in neoclassical musi thraygha logiethstay outside of tone which ould not be made organi aallya partotill, aaa 7 1 ‘hndso the familiar complaint abou the non-organic character of Stravinsky's rncoclasial works, about the inability of such works to blend old and new in the interests of a whole, was so Schoenberg's complain. Parts or features were per- ceived as resisting assimilation, refusing an intrinsic role. Ether the new was judged incapable of absorbing the old oi eters, the old was judged incapable of absorb- ing the “impurities” or "wrong nots” ofthe new Either way, ncocasical works ‘were lle more than hybrids neither tonal ot atonal but “half-measures” compro- mises destined tfllshorsthey followed meck and nostalgic path "midale oad,” to follow Schoenberg’ count, one which could never be expected to reach a suit able destination.” (Here ae elsethere in his criti, Schoenberg ignored the e- stored forms in his own twelvexone music the extent to which those forms were susceptible tothe same kins of arguments abou assiniltion and the demands of theindividua context) And analyse wae made tofallshoras well, Relying on tonal ‘or atonal models tcould proceed only witha god deal of qulifcationseither analyse was judged incapable of ding justice to neoclassical works, o its inadequacy was judged the eefleetion ofan inadequate muse ‘See Leonard Meyer, “A Pie of Preis or, Dlgh in Divers” Mase Theory Syecrtams 13 (951: 27. “Commporary compmars hart employed ‘bored! forms and Procedures not solely (or even ria cae they contseed themselves tobe bets to ‘he grestraitin of Evopean ar msi butbecnie they had virally no alternative, They ‘could ne do withou sme wy of ding ow the motv arian they invented shouldbe cenbined with or secede snoher™ 12. See Milton Babbin "Same AspetsofTweve-Tone Composition," The Sco 12 (1958 ‘58. Babi nist on“ completely stnomous conception othe twelvetoe stem in ‘which all componens, inal dimension, would be determined by the relation and opera tions ofthe system” He gees, therfore the "rapslereneto twelve tone competion’ of the forms ron, pg, sna, and he ike) belonging eerie sie 13. Arnold Schoenberg, Foreword to Di Siven, op28 The Foreword ix produced nd ransated in fallin Seo Mesing, Neca in Masi fom he Genesis of the Concept ‘through he Shorey Palm (Ann. Arbo, Mich: UMI Revere Pes 198), 14, Puares C. van vex Toon 1 In this way, t0, the underlying sues of acolasscism can be seen to lead back to immediate experience. For they involve our experience ofthe nonimmedite past aswell asof the new and the individual context; even more crucially, they involve the txtentto which wearc obliged to recogaize that aonimmediat past for what it might futhentcally have Been (Even withthe evidence discontinuous and in bitsand pieces ‘whole images ofthe past may be invoked nthe mind of the listener) How substan- tially are we compelled to look back in this music, to recall the old forthe sake ofthe new? How extensive is this dependence on a familiarity with style, idioms, and repetories long since past? And if indeed extensive (as hasbeen implied), does it inhibi the individual context (as has also been implied)? I this what neoclassicism 's in fact, inhibition with a distancing and alienating effect ofthis kind? Does the idea ofa split between the tonal and atonal words, the pillalike existence which ‘those works have assumed in much eiicl discourse, encourage such an interpreta- tion of ncoclasicism? Has the suggestion been to pronounced, above alin the «al reception surrounding Schoenberg’ music and that of Schoenbergs immediate and nonimmediate schools that it sony the flly commited sides ofthat spit that ate capable of genuine musical expression, nt the half-hearted spaces inbetween? ‘Such questions can bring society nd politics iato play: Whats more concretely apparent, however, is tha, ypc the borrowing of tonal or sylisic Features involves ‘the nonimmediate pat, traditions presumed dead eather than living; that the degree of relatedness and intersection of unit sensed ot demonstrated superficially, is far less than in the music ofthe various nonimmediat pastsjand thatthe resultant heightened seve of conflict isin no way eased by the idea ofa transformation or that of the indi- vidual context, bythe contradictory claim ofan overriding sense of purpose. A more tangible consideration ofthese issues wll be pursued in the analysis which follows. Morwes “The opening section of the Symphony in Tree Movements, Rehearsal Nos.0-3, is without question a “developing variation," consistent withthe many atempesto pin down this elusive if suggestive concept of Schoenberg. Iustrated in Example Ithe incipal theme appears in wo parts the second 2s continuation” ofthe first. The st par labeled Motive A, consists ofa lower pitch G standing in opposition to its itone-clated tei (DF-P-AB), crucial isthe uppetlower disposition ofthe two component, a fixed segistal spacing that is transposed and repeated variously throughout the first movement and from which a quality of superimposition and tulimately of opposition emerges. Additional segments include the separate group- ing of G with Ab arising from the G-Ab “minor ninth” span that opens the move- ‘ment. G is grouped with Fat well, forming the “minor seventh” G-F. And if we assume "octave displacement,” the ater thre pitches may be joined asa descending “minor-third” motion AP-G-F,a part not only of Motive A but ofits “continuation” in the form of Motive B a wel.Example 1. Stravinsky: Symphony i Thre Movements ‘The preceding segments are motivic of course, and as such hinge on repeti- tion, on what follows in the way ofa continuing development. In the ease of Motive {A subsequent tansposiions and transformations project the idea ofa Grundgetalt, ‘or "basic shape,” along the lines indicated by Patricia Carpenter and Severine Neff in their recent studs ofthis elusive yet suggestive Schoenbergian concept! Re~ ‘duced tothe common theead of ptch-intrvalsucession, Motive Aas "basic shape” ‘may be defined by a lower pitch standing in tritone-elated oppotiton to an upper triad, most often major, sometimes minor. Traced in Example 2, the transition at Nos. 5-7 leads to a further transposition at Nos. 7-13: the A of an A-C-A basso ‘ostinato stands in opposition toan upper (H-G-Eh) trad. The configuration at No. 13 ‘sles clear-cut inthis regord although it too invalves a whole-tp transposition, this timeto Band (F-A~Ab-(C)} lacking is fifth the triad has become incomplete. The conclusion of this section at No. 4is marked bya similar configuration, only trans posed to Cland (G-B-Bb-(D)) Tritone-related tothe inital themati statement, this Final transposition allows for a reversal ofthe initial opposition; C¥ (DX) now stands 1. Pasa Carpenter, "Grandgesia as Tonal Function,” Mac Theory Spcrum 51983) 15.38, Nef, "Schoenberg and Goethe” Example 2 and 2.(ctetoa Cotetiont Example Example 2Pa Neoctastciae ano Ins Derseerions opposed tis incomplete witone-cated wid (GB-BK-(D). So, 00 the sucensive tcanspsitions of Motive Aye alarger pattern of axening whole steps asshown jn Example3, only the transposon back tG (OJ-F-A)at No.2? upset pattern ‘Observe to thatthe sens ofan opposition between titonetlted compo- ents fa les evident at No 4 than in cai pasages the lowe ofthe wo com- ponents, CH (Ds) inthe bass scarcely mot than an inflection at this points V-of-V heomaticendency tone fr chromatic neighbor) tothe Di ase uel with fr less independence. And while the CHB “minor seventh" at No.3» 3isunmisal- ably motive referring bck the G-F “minor seventh” of Motive Ain the opening reasues, the opposition itl defined not so much by the titone relationship as boy that most pervasive ofall cols “cashes,” the major-minor third conceived herein ems of therwo incomplete major and minor tas rotedonG. complete with roots doubled and fits mising, the wo tid magaily the efecto a clash, refctng atthe same time an even more pervasive mexivie Function than that de- fined by Motive Aand its segments. Motive B fllows a a “continuation” of Motive A: shown in Example 1, includes the ene thematic stetch beginning with the upbeat om. and ending with the upbeat m.9. Ukimately mor ignicant, however, ate the actaves cn tained within thi sclesike stctch of materi, octaves which ae splitom either side bya third, mostoien minor butocaionaly major Labeled motive xin Examples | nd 2, octaves spliin this way fom the incomplete rind, a suggested already) permeate this music as “balding blocks” ot “base motives" to use Schoenberg's term, lementary unis of vocabulary of smallest common multiples In the wan sition at Nos. 5-7, motive x appears linearly in the hoens and trumpets in terms of (G-B, Gand By-G-Bhitidentifies harmonically with the diminished seventh chord, (CHE-G-B). Subsequently, at Nos. 7-13, itstransposed to A-C-A, appearing as basso ostinato; the configurations at Nos. 7, 13, and 34 all make reference to the incomplete triad. In its final appearance at No, 38 iis tansformed a the principal theme of s new section Inschematic form, then, such are the motivie paths ofthis musi, othe extent that such paths lend themeelvesto systematic analysis. Briefly read, they canbe shown to differ litle rom the more Familiar pate raced by Schoenberg and others the ‘music of Becthoven, Brabms, and Schoenberg himself. And che manner of theit developing variation can likewise be shown to differ litle. Indeed, only very weakly can distinction be draw along thee lines, can the concept of developing ¥ bbe used to distinguish the music of the earlier and more familar sources from this present Symphony and other excluded reprtores such asthe neoclassical; only very ‘weakly can the claim ofa distinct cial tradition be made, in other words confined a thishas been ta the “homophonic” music of Schoenberg's particular choice." 15. Schoenberg, Fundementas, 8. “Since [the bse motive] includes eleents at eat of ‘very subsequent musical igure, one ould consider tthe salle common mulple” 16. refer specially Walter Fritch, Br: end the Principle of Developing Veriton Example “This woud ot be dis te many ter ditions which have been teoughttthe ein this connection Scheer the "spe of developing ana haco he mode adits een gin the unvatied repstion hat (eared tthe mus of La, Wagner and the New Geman School of © Career h on Teatoyky and Rinhy Korakow He judged te eractor ey eRe vepetion nts ner reetri sallow and x or cmon “eVect gr ws the Brat eho which ght vel aginst he aaa trike New German Schoo Thi aude was based onthe opposite “SUES at ena eepetin chap Ande eth sue a gain Serr da fll mpc ar wel: be ned Borrowed alk tera aes eiey connatn unable eman incomplete 0 osuggesventil weep hog fk material unable e questions tha equtedanwer parr headed further boron (he folksong waded com vines and ft) Yer the mesic races esamined rf moreperaive ‘Feeae als Pape Uae fair a1 ate sot dceion Sern met development oS Rating sh Pu 2-7 rae ara rte Eon one (340in and 1. i Spee (0 a Spleen 1rm ‘acide And TY DuPini Poa than he allowed, more intel 4 part ofa great many spe, idioms, and reperto- ries. Inthe case of Stravinsky's music for example the oxtinato-ike repetition cha acteristic ofthe melodic invention is unvarying only from the standpoint of pitch- imerval succession. rom that of aceent nd metrical placement, iti neither un ing nor devoid ofa sense of development!” ‘By way ofillustration:as abasic motive, the idea of motive x ofan actave split ‘on one side or the other by minor or major thd (the idea ofan incomplete triad, ‘more traditionally) ino less active inthe fst movement of Stravinsky's Symphony than 4, in the frst movement of Brahme' Third Symphony (see Ex.4).Itisnoless the subject ofa developing variation in the former than inthe later, What separates ‘the wo sides isnot motive process but tonal organizatia, the absence (or near ab- sence of tonal constraints inthe pos-tonl Stravinsky, their presence inthe tonal Brahms. Indeed, constraints in Stravinsky's music are more readily octatonie or ‘ctatonic-latonicin the principal theme ofthe opening measures (Ex. 1), both Motive Aasthe GrundgesaltG (Dy-F-AN) and the “continuation” of Motive Bate confined ‘oa single transposition ofthe octatoncset the sucesions of motive xin thissteetch, ‘octaves enclosing major or minor thirds, are constrained accordingly. Alternatively, inthe Brahms symphony the motive’ minor third is chromatic in relation to the F- major tonality circumstance whose cansequences are immediately at hand inthe Aat-side modal mixture ofthe opening messutes, the common-tone diminished seventh chord of m. 2, and the chord ofthe lowered submediant in m. 8. Bur neither, on an even broader ale, can motivic processes, Schoenbergian or ‘other, be used to distinguish the post-tonal from the tonal. Defined by means of pitch, shape interval, or ehythm, motives and their variant are no more pervasive in, say, Schoenberg’ atonal or twelve-tone music (indeed, inthe frst movement of ‘Stravinsky’s Symphony) than in Bachs chorale preludes, Beethoven's symphonies, ‘or Brahms'schamber musi, And when reduced tounordered ptch-class ses etsof| interval clases, forthe most par), they donot Figure as part a pos-tonal “common practice” which could distinguish che post-tonal fom the tonal.” Rather, sets tend to 19, Sethe dacusiton of acento placement as itetetstwo types cf thythnie-metric ourructon in Petr. van den Tooen, Te Mui of lor Sroninly (ew Haven and on on: Yale University Pees, 1983), 214-51 and van den Torn, Sviny and "The Ri of Spring” (Berkeley and Loe Angele: University f Califia Prey 1987), 97-14. Mote pe- cifically the subject concerns reiterated motives or fagmens ia Stravinsky's musi and their patzens of accentual displacement ia ration toa eady meter, atated or concealed 20, Such a cases made in Straus, Remaking the Past, 2-27, 57-64, Seraveargucs that the manipulation of motives, reduced in turn to sbstract pitch das st, Became 4 “comanon practice” in pst-tonal music one that can disnguish the pst tonal period general rom {the tonal. In my eimation, homever, motives bused on the cecutrence of unordered es of ‘varying degrees of deteminay ze 0 lest prevalent in tonal msc than they ae in pot ‘onal muse which includes the msi of Back and Suavinsky swell that ofthe Second ‘Viennese Seen! the distinction ress with negative in ober words, with the absence, in ‘varying depres, of tonalyfunetonl elton, ot with ny increased motive saturation, Posten C. vax 240 Toons us Beomple 4 rahe: Symphony No3 change while the motvie processes themselves remain intact; the latter proceses overlap the pst-tonal and tonal words, uniting ather than separating those worlds, “This isthe whole pont ofthe tis Schoenberg sought to projec in his own music of course, the point of a tradition of motives and of motive development preserved Tn Stravinsky's Symphony, the octaves of Motives A,B, and x do not allow for Jem "ihe othe lke The ie i diced at rater length in Pieter C. van den “Torn, Music Poites and the Academy (Berkey and Los Angeles University of California. ren, 1996) 157-68 Se also Richard Tauski, review of Suaus, Reming he Pas Journal ofthe American Musicological Soir 461993), 129-3,3 Neoctasscian ave [rs Davinirions ‘tensive reduction, Consisting ofan upper-lowertritone opposition, Motive A is registeal idea. And the specific ofits articulation, of two componcats standing in 3 tritone-dfined opposition or polaiy, are deeply cflective not only of this preset ‘Symphony bu of Stavinskys musi at a whole. Relations of ignificancecan thus be defined fairly determinately, For our purposes, that more determinate definition has scemed preferable tothe further abstraction ofthe unordered pitch-lasset—which inthe cate of Motive A would have involved reducing G (Dy-F-AN) or A (B-G-Bh) 1 [0137], set class 4-229, to follow Forte's nomenclature. Pouyctioxos; C-Majox Toxauiries; Octarontc Sets “The shove analysis can point not only toa good deal of consistency in Stravinsky's ‘se of motives, but also, From the same standpoint, toa good deal of motivation on the part ofthe individual context. For ifas has bee indicated, motives canbe non- descript and a pat of proceses which are hugely general, they can also, in th ulimate realizations, reflect considerable detail and hence individualityas part of 3 continuing development, they can reflec all arpecs of peific context. Ths isthe nature of the process, of developing variation, properly speaking, not sate or iso- lated identification but a process of dynamic framing, one of motives being joined to form larger configurations from which new motives are made oevolve. Thereisan clement of growth, 3s Schoenberg insisted ‘Alternatively, however, motives carry no inherent sense of succession, no gov- crning rationale ato why one variant would necessarily precede or follow another Beyond general processes of liquidation, there is no syntax of motvie succession, however much Schoenberg might often have imagined that there was, testing mo- tives as if they were units of vocabulary within larger phrase, sentences, and para- ‘graphs. Tonal functions provide for such a sense, of course, one of “directed mo- tion,” as has often been indicated. And! this may be posible even when such fune- tions ace severely qualified. ‘Tonality, then, stands somewhat apart fom strcly "motvie” considerations, ‘becomes cleat from an enatination of Fein Sleer' Schenkerian interpretation ‘of Stravinsky's fist movement Two of Salzer’ graphsare reproduced in Examples 5 and 6: Example 5 refers tothe theme itself and its accompaniment in the bass; 2 dissonant “polychord” (Salzer’s term) is prolonged, consisting in the main of the tritone-related major triads rooted on G and Dh. Of these triads, Gis judged primary, Db secondary. Yet Salzer treats the polychord as a stable sonority; band, F inthe theme are “chord tones” while Gand E ate subsidiary. In the second graph of Ex. 6, “gigantic prolongation of G” is inferred at Nos.1-27. Enclosed are 2, Fai Sila, Sractual Hearing (New York Dove, 1982), 248,296 (Ex $17,472) 2 Slee, Sacral Hearing, 218. 2 bid Par van oa Toor “7 Example smaller prolongations, including a neighbor motion involving A (in the bass) at Nos. 7-13. “To some extent, of cours, the idea of polychord prolonged corresponds to that ofa basi shape transformed. Motive A in terms of G and is tritonerelated triad (Dy-P-AN) maybe compared o Salzer’ polychord, successive transpositions of “Motive Ato various stages of Salzer’ prolongation. At Nos. 7-13, for example, Mo- tive Ais transposed upa whole stepto A(E>-G-Bp) Ain the bas (ee Ex. 2) stands in ‘opposition toa reiteration of (E4-G-B) in the strings. In Salzer'account, this trans- peston is interpreted asa large-scale motion surrounding G and involving A asa eighbor nota return to Gand the (G-B-D) (Dy F-AV)polychordis noted at No, 2. In the large, then, motives and basic shapes are transformed iat polychords, transpositions into prolongation. In tra, the latter prolongation may be reinter- preted at well For the areas marked off For interpretation by Motive A coincide ‘with ranspositons ofthe oetatonc set. Indeed, as mentioned already, the principal theme is otatonic accountable to a single transposition ofthat set. Ploted in Example 1, Motive A followed by Motive B and its subsequent successions of motive xin the teble part ae all confined to Calletion Ione of thre eontent-dstnguishable transpositions ofthe octatonic set." 7H See the discus ofthe octatonic setin van den Too, The Music of Igor Sis, 431-98 ann van den Toor, Seni and "The Rie of Spring” 119-3, 3-48. Asa eflec- ‘ion of sayeth seme to three transposons, bepining al wit he semitone tone ondering ofthe cal. Ihave labled thete Collection I(t Of, Colleton It D) and Colleton Il aNeootaserin ano [vs Darinirions rT v «s Examples. Puan C. vat oe Toons 19. So, too, the transposition up a step from G{DK-F-AS) to A(E-G-Bs) at Nos. 7-13, (sce Exx.2 and 3) involves nt only Motive A ofa neighbor motion but the acatonic sets well Collection Is succeeded by Collection II. And the diminished-seventh ‘chord (ChE, G, I) shared by those ro collections s isolated ina passage of ransi- tion at Nos. 5-7. A smoother octatonic maneuver would be hard to imagine. Indeed, the ectatonic relations which follow are extraordinarily evident. ‘But auch an octatone reading brings us no closer tothe nonimmediatetadi- tions underlying this music than the motvie paths traced in Examples 1-3 of in Examples 5 and 6 Salzer’ idea ofa prolongation ofa dissonant polychord. The ‘octatonic interpretation refers only tothe new, in other words, not tothe old or, indeed, tthe idea fa transformation ofthe old by the new; itignores the contexts a whole as, atthe very least, an interaction of conflicting components. Prolongation isa Schenkerian term, to be sure, but Salzer’ polychord fuses and to some extent ‘negates tonal function. Indeed, tonality can bestbe acknowledged by changing Salers {quastonc From G toa C, interpreting G asthe dominant in C major. In this way, nd a illustrated in Example 7, an octatonic theme wit G at its centers placed in imeraction with the diatonic whitenote collection centered on C, the later repre- sented most conspicuously in the opening measures by the G-A~B-C ascending ‘motion i the bass. The tonal implication ofthis iteration are shown in Example {superimposed over G,a Neapolitan chords succeeded by adominant minor ninth with Ab asthe degree of the lowered submediant. And this interpretation would seem tobe confirmed by the return ofthe opening theme atthe end of the move ‘ment,a return which doesin fact eslve toa type of C-ending (See Ex.9, wherethe Continuation ofthe theme as Motive Bis in augmentation) There, the presence of tonal degrees is unmistakable, ‘Buthow convincingly docs this C-ending work aa confirmation ofthe carer suggestion of C major? To what extent dothe ater degreesconfirm the ealir ones? By virtue ofthe C-ending, in other words is the sustained G of the opening ection that much more a dominant, (Dy-F-Al) thar much more a Neapolitan, and Aba lowered submediant? Is the C-major tonality that much more authentic, the moves ‘mentasa whole that much mote integrated from atonal standpoint? Or does the C> ding fal as «teslution of confle? lei convenience at this point? In away ‘ypicalofStravinskys musi, ofthe statically sustained blocks of material and of the abrupt shifs which can often replace amor traditional ens of progression, do the Feiterations of Motives A and B followed bythe C-ending merely hearse what has teen rchearsed al along, indeed, fom the beginning of the Symphony? In concrete form, ofcourse, problems ofthis kind are typical of those arising from Stavinskys neoclasiisen. Specifically of concern here isthe C-majr tonality, the point at which tonal expectations conflict aot only with the symphony’ ‘ectatonicism but also with the motive paths traced in Examples 1-3. 75. Sec the dcnon of his in my calier estment of Stravinsky Symphony ean den “Tooun, The Maz of lor Savin, 382-6,150 Neoctasscien ano Ins D Example 8 ‘The C-endingisantcipated to someextentby the principal theme of the open- ing measures, bythe G-A-B-C motion inthe bas t mm. 3-5 and by the repeated CCsatm. 5. eis no without impurity: Bs are positioned in such a way as to give vent ‘ocarlerasserions of priority on the pat ofboth E and G (Eand E/GIE at No. 29), (The large-scale relationship of G to E, the ecatonic a8 well a diatonic C-scale im- plications ofthat relationship, can also bring to mind the first movements of the ‘Symphony of ras (1930) and the Symphony in C(1940)). And tis positioning can feadily reflect the individual context, form of assimilation, By sich means, the transformation ofthe old by the new makes itself fel inthe final measures of the ‘movement. Not to acknowledge such assimilation and transformation, to interpeet. Lan Pisr#n . vas ven Toot 51 Example Basa true impurity ist interpret solely in terms ofthe C-major tonality, an option ‘which seems to have ben fllowed not only by Schoenberg but also by early critics of similar passages in Stravinsky's necelasial works. That option rules out the pos- sibility ofa segmentation: san integral camponent, B may be grouped with (EG B)and (G-B-D) within the final simultane reflecting earlier assertions of priority land acquiring inthis way a sense of motivation. As an impurity or “wrong not,” havwever, itis detached from the C-major trad, isolated and without he reflection of Cowrisuine Coneticrs "There are obvious hazards in dredging up the Stravinsky Schoenberg wars of the 1920s and 30, Schoenberg viewed neocasicism as merely fale and clever an idiom. lacking in substance or “idea,” wholly superficial in its relations with the past; Stravinsky complained of “modernins” who worked with “formulas instead of ideas Ye, with the exception of Pierot Lunar for Stravinsky and Oedipus Rex for ‘Schoenberg, the two composer knew ile ofthe musicabout which they expressed such contempt.” Moreover, while we can point othe compelling nature of the mo- tive and its developing variation in Stravinsky’s Symphony, we need not question 26 Quoted a Mew, Neocon in Mari, 11 27 See Messing, Neca Mana 145, "Like tha of Stans, Schoener sates54 Neootassctst an Ts Deristrions Cotton cae Example 1 the prnipal theme ate. 1-9, the octtonic Collection I theme andits dato scale accompaniment, are kept apart registally. Atthe outet, they assume the char- acter of a superimposition which, as has been noted, is a matter of conflicting sets ‘aud uf ie cobesivenes eaiite by those sets. Ard aldnougl x exact, there are rhythmic metric definitions as wel: fined in register and instrumentation, motives ofthe kind traced in Examples [-3 may eepest according to eyeles which vary independently ofeach ochersthey can stand opposed in this respect, with a sense ‘of movement coming only by way ofthe resultant shifs in ther coincidence, (On the other hand, it as also been noted that conflicts ofthis kind are not absolute. In addition to the intersections potted in Example 7, the two forces sound together the meaning of one derives in part from the relationship it forms with the ther. The point of the oetatonie top at mm. 1-9 is defined ro some extent by is toni bottom. superimposition over Tis hee, in matters having to do with opposition and superimposition, mat ters effetng all apects of content, that Steavinsky's musi is most appropriately Preven C. van 9x8 Toon 155 Example 1 auddresed, that itean be distinguished convincingly from, say; much of Schoenberg’, a repertory which, in ts vertical or htmonie grouping, tends to invite integration to a far greater extent. (By reason ofthat integration, the issue of segmentation, of de- termining the legitimate parts of Schoenberg's musi, is fat more problematic). For the referential interaction detailed here can ely be elated to other octatonic dia- ‘onie interactions in Stravinsky's music, indeed to forms of conflict that operate at allleves of structure and a an integral pat of each ofthe three celebrated stylistic periods: Russian, neodasial, and serial. So, too it ay be best to confront the contradiction of Stravinsky's neoclassical works, features of familiar yet nonimmediate past and the problem of thei assimi- lation on the elementary basis of segments, sets, and ther union o separation, Neo-es Nootssteue avo Ins Ds classicism can thus he eelated to manifestations of conflict more generally. For the interaction between the octatonic Colleton I and the distonic C-sale in the Sym- phony figures as one of many interactions involving the octatonic and diatonic set, While Motive A together with is subsequent transformations is but one of many one polarities that emerge from such interactions. To begin with segments and sets in thie fashion, with wat may be characteristic oftheir use in Stravinsky's music asa whole, allows the analyst to move with greater certainty tothe issue of tonality and its residue inevitably, othe problem of assimilation. Thus, the tritone polarity between G and (D}-F-AB) need not be confined to the idea of a dominant and a [Neapolitan chord. Its behavior can also be dealt with in terms of basic shapes (notvicaly thas), prolongation, and tanspositions ofthe otatoneset. While the ‘impression guined of such an analysis likely tobe one of nonorganicism, there are, ashas been suggested, ew alternatives. In acknowledging acolassicism, analysis must dal with ideas which ae of- ‘en partial in themselves or which can only be aplied partially. Bu to dea dffer- cently is to ignore the issue isl, tha of neoclascsm, its character and rationale. Hence the next step is likely to consis of another confrontation with the familiar contradiction, another attempt to reconcile partiality with the demands ofthe indi- ‘ial context. The solution may remain beyond the analyst’ grasp, yet one hopes thar the process can serve as a continuing source of illumination, Mopernist AESTHETICS, Mopernist Music: Some ANALyTIcaL PERSPECTIVES Arnotp Wuirrace 1c of Adorno’ many memorable sayings is that “the true language of aris speechless.” The point could only have been made in words, and Adorno struggled fora lifetime to find the appropriate verbal form for his musical insights. As far as Iam aware, he never atempted to argue ‘hata single, model structure fr technical commentary on music might be possible, and since sich writing could hardly hope to emulate the speeclessnes of at it ‘could searcely expect to mierorit artistic qualities either Even so, a mode! ofa kind «emerges from Adorno’s consideration of "particular problem far the musical wore inthe modernist perio”: how “to constret a unity which does not conceal he frage mentary and chaotic state ofthe hnded-dowa musical material and yet which does ‘not simply mirror feagmentaion through identification with it but which sable to ‘mbealy, negate and transcend it” How beter, thea, to write about modetnst m= siethan ina way which aspires to reflect however awkwardly and partially, is par- ticulae structures and aesthetic perspectives? “The most obvious way in which ths esay embodies Fagmentation, or at say ‘ate diversity, isin dealing with two composers of different generations and nation aves: Harrison Birewistle (born Accrington England, 195) and Eliott Cate (born [New York, 1908). Yet that separateness is immediately countered by my assump- tion that something is shared by Carter and Birtwistle, an that “something” is modernism. Atthe oust, therefore, itis accssary to consider two general quss- tions: what is modernism, and why docs music analysis need it? 1, Quoted in Max Padison, Adora Aettis of Music (Cambridge: Cambridge Uni- versity Pres, 198) 114, 2. See Paso, dora Aes, 18