The last Strauss: Studies of the "Letzte Lieder". (Volumes I and II).
Item
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Title
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The last Strauss: Studies of the "Letzte Lieder". (Volumes I and II).
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Identifier
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AAI9111461
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identifier
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9111461
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Creator
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Jackson, Timothy.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Carl Schachter
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Date
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1988
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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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The dissertation presents evidence that Richard Strauss developed his last orchestral songs, the so-called "Vier letzte Lieder" (1948), from a musical-poetic idea first expressed in his early song Ruhe, meine Seele! (1894). The hypothesis that the four orchestral songs completed in 1948 plus the 1948 orchestration of Ruhe, meine Seele! form a unified set is supported by biographical evidence, analysis of all extant sources, and reconstruction of the compositional process. The discovery has important ramifications for performance: performances of "Vier" letzte Lieder over the past twenty-seven years have not been incorrect; however, an important dimension revealed by the inclusion of Ruhe, meine Seele! may now be restored.;The musical-poetic connection is created through reuse of a musical motive which sets the work Not at the climax of Ruhe, meine Seele!--designated the Notmotiv--in the newly composed Letzte Lieder. The irresolution of the Notmotiv in Ruhe, meine Seele! becomes a musical emblem for suffering. Only in the Im Abendrot does the orchestral postlude provide the Notmotiv's final resolution. By performing Ruhe, meine Seele! immediately before Im Abendrot, the "suspension" of the Notmotiv, prepared in Ruhe, meine Seele! becomes audible. The close connection between Ruhe, meine Seele! and Im Abendrot sheds new light on (1) why Strauss orchestrated Ruhe, meine Seele! immediately after completing Im Abendrot (before finishing the remaining Letzte Lieder) and (2) why Im Abendrot, in performance, provides the most satisfying conclusion to the complete set of orchestral songs.;This study of the interrelationships between the Letzte Lieder--including Ruhe, meine Seele!--reveals a private side of the last Strauss that deserves our attention. Moved by suffering, not just his own, but by the larger Not of Europe at the time, Strauss responded as a composer with great compassion and sincerity.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy Restricted.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.