Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Date of Degree
2013
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Program
Music
Advisor
Joseph N. Straus
Committee Members
Shaugn O’Donnell
Philip Lambert
Julian Hook
Subject Categories
Music
Abstract
This dissertation proposes a theory and methodology for creating musical spaces, or maps, to model form in Webern's twelve-tone compositions. These spaces are intended to function as "musical grammars," in the sense proposed by Robert Morris. And therefore, significant time is spent discussing the primary syntactic component of Webern's music, the transformation chain, and its interaction with a variety of associational features, including segmental invariance and pitch(-class) symmetry. Throughout the dissertation, these spaces function as an analytical tools in an exploration of this music's deep engagement with classical formal concepts and designs. This study includes analytical discussions of the Piano Variations, Op. 27 and the String Quartet, Op. 28, and extended analytical explorations of the second movement of the Quartet, Op. 22, and two movements from the Cantata I, Op. 29.
Recommended Citation
Moseley, Brian Christopher, "Twelve-Tone Cartography: Space, Chains, and Intimations of "Tonal" Form in Anton Webern’s Twelve-Tone Music" (2013). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1963