The Tradition of Autobiography in Music

Author

Antoni Piza, The Graduate Center, City University of New YorkFollow

Date of Degree

1994

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Program

Music

Advisor

Leo Treitler

Committee Members

José Muñoz-Millanes

Barbara R. Hanning

Barry S. Brook

Rufus Hallmark

Subject Categories

Music

Keywords

Music

Abstract

A survey of autobiographical writings by composers from the fourteenth century to the present focusing on the question of how composers create a self. Although, the Autobiography of Thomas Whythorne (1528-96) can be considered the earliest autobiography by a composer, the genre also stems from lexicographical practices in eighteenth-century Germany (scholars such as Walther and Mattheson requested autobiographies from composers with the intention to include them in biographical dictionaries of music). In the nineteenth century, Wagner's autobiographies show the composer's concern with providing a solid image of himself through writing. Stravinsky's Autobiography demonstrates the composer's preoccupation for giving an exegesis of his musical compositions. John Cage's diverse autobiographical are examined in the light of Derrida's "metaphysics of presence." Cage privileges noise and silence over organized sound because he considers the former as closer to human interiority than the latter. The possibility of autobiographical music is examined by exploring examples of autobiographical music by Virgil Thomson and Smetana. Schoenberg's painted self-portraits are introduced as a case of a composer creating a self through the visual arts. In conclusion, the study shows that composers use autobiography to control the reception and meaning of their musical works.

Comments

Digital reproduction from the UMI microform.

Recommended Citation

Piza, Antoni, "The Tradition of Autobiography in Music" (1994). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/6070