The shadow of death in the original works of Franz Liszt.
Item
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Title
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The shadow of death in the original works of Franz Liszt.
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Identifier
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AAI9618073
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identifier
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9618073
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Creator
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Hanoch, Galia A.
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Contributor
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Adviser: L. Michael Grifflel
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Date
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1996
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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 | Biography
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Abstract
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Death as a topos engrossed Franz Liszt throughout his life. This study shows that over one quarter of Liszt's original compositions are related to death--works composed in various genres and for diverse musical media, many of which were reworked and transcribed over long stretches of time.;By exploring how the topic of death became increasingly influential on Liszt, as both a source of inspiration and a style determinant, the present study suggests a new key to an understanding of a large portion of Liszt's work and offers a novel explanation for his drastic change of style in the 1870's and 1880's. This thesis presents a catalogue of Liszt's original death-related works and provides in-depth discussion and analysis of selected compositions dating from different stages of his career, in an effort to identify a prevailing style which unifies these compositions as a genre. The analyses trace the stylistic and structural characteristics which express the theme of death, pointing out pre-existing conventions and identifying Liszt's own prototypical musical devices. It is established that outweighing the differences of styles and periods are many musical elements common to the death-related works, such as the expansion of tonality and freer use of dissonance and vague harmonies; the increased emphasis of speech-like elements--leading to an abandonment of a sense of rhythmic pulse; the employment of vague or evaporative endings; the constant transformation of themes through contrasting sections, signifying Liszt's outlook on death as a transitional process, leading from grief and despair to redemption and transcendence; and the association with musical symbols, as well as specific choices of keys and pitches to symbolize religious yearning, humanitarian love, transcendence, and lament. In the late works, these elements are intensified and brought to their limits.;The study follows Liszt's personal development in examining his objective and subjective death-related experiences, providing a context for the elegiac works within each period of his life. It establishes that, over the years, a gradual process of personalization and abstraction of the topic of death evolved, leading from a rather socio-political approach, through the realms of the symbolic and humanitarian, as well as a personal grief over the death of loved ones, to the contemplation of his own death.
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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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D.M.A.
