Organicism and music analysis: Three case studies.
Item
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Title
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Organicism and music analysis: Three case studies.
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Identifier
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AAI3103103
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identifier
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3103103
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Creator
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Duerksen, Marva.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Richard Kramer
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Date
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2003
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Music
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Abstract
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"Organicism and Music Analysis: Three Case Studies" consists of an introduction to historical and philosophical issues engendered by organicism (chapter 1); three case studies that demonstrate the centrality of those issues in music-analytic writings of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (chapters 2--4); and a conclusion that suggests directions for further research (chapter 5). Chapter 1 begins with Kerman's ideological critique of organicism. I examine the terms of Kerman's critique and suggest alternative avenues of investigation: definitions of organicism; philosophical content of organicism; and analyses by Heinrich Christoph Koch, Johann Christian Lobe, and Alexander Ulibishev.;The three case studies illuminate in greater depth the philosophical streams with which organicism intersects and the historical constraints under which it operates. The first concentrates on E. T. A. Hoffmann's review of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Topics explored include Burke's and Kant's philosophy of the sublime; concepts of unity; pantheism and the organic metaphor; shared issues in the reception of Beethoven and Shakespeare; and the concept of hohe Besonnenheit.;The second study concerns Nottebohm's work on Beethoven's sketches. Nottebohm's work greatly problematizes the notion of the organic. He claims in his introductions that Beethoven's music is organic, and that it came into being via an organic process. At the same time, however, he argues that the sketches yield no trace of this organic process. His reticence provides the springboard for a probing analysis of his assumptions about the organic---what exactly it is, and where scholars might find traces of it.;The final study centers on the writings of Heinrich Schenker. The complex relationship between strict counterpoint and free composition preoccupied Schenker throughout his entire publishing career. My discussion has two foci: first, demonstrating how Schenker employs the mechanical/organic opposition to shape his discourse about this thorny topic; and second, elucidating the ways in which counterpoint occupies both mechanical and organic realms.;Chapter 5 rehearses a central theme of the dissertation: the ongoing need to clarify terminology in order to carry on meaningful scholarly dialogue. Commensurate with this is the necessity to understand and define organicism as a more complex phenomenon than a purely ideological critique admits.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
