Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Date of Degree
10-2014
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Program
Music
Advisor
Jeff Nichols
Subject Categories
Music
Keywords
Feldman, Morton, Piano, Quartet, Rhetoric, String
Abstract
Though Morton Feldman famously expressed his aversion to conventional compositional rhetoric early in his career, an examination of his music from the late 1970s onward reveals a more complex and ambiguous relationship with musical rhetoric than has often been acknowledged. In his own writings Feldman hinted at the notion of illusory function and directionality in his music, as well as to the phenomenon of "negation." It is my contention that the extended-length works written in the last years of the composer's life, which frequently feature tantalizing suggestions of conventional musical narrative, provide rich opportunity for readings of these statements. My examination focuses upon Piano and String Quartet, one of the composer's very last works, which, I argue, exemplifies compositional approaches characteristic of much of Feldman's music from this period in its evocation and simultaneous negation of a sense of traditional narrative linearity.
Recommended Citation
Howard, Ryan Michael, "Musical Rhetoric, Narrative, Drama, and Their Negation in Morton Feldman's Piano and String Quartet" (2014). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/487