schoenberg and pierrot lunaire

8/18/2019 Schoenberg and Pierrot Lunaire

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ABOUT " PIERROT LUNAIRE"

The Impressionsmade

on various udiencesby

Novel

Work

ON of the difficulties-attractions,

erhaps-of

a virtuoso's

ife

is

the perpetual hangeof audience. Each difference

f

hall

or

town

or latitude bliges

im

to acclimatise

imself

hysically

nd

morally.

Vocal

cords

nd

violin

trings

re

alike

affectedn a dozendifferent

waysby

a

change f climate;

nd

then gain, ust

as

the player,

t

eachtownhe cometo,musttakethe local A, so before heactual

dayhe has to get theA of the audience. If yesterday

e roused n

industrialentre o enthusiasm,is receptiono-morrow

n some own

whose business s administrationr diplomacy

may be something

quite

different.

nly

an

artist

who

has

made

a

long

tour,

n

a

countryhat

s

new to him, knows heseperpetual

ears and this

never-ceasingervous train. And, after ll,

without hem,

his

life

would e too easy andquitedull.

There s less risk,ofcourse,when he musician lays thingshe

knows uite well,and has chosenfor he express

urpose f getting

the

maximum ffect

ut of

the

minimum

f effort.

But if it falls

to his lot

to

have

to

champion

new

work,

o new as to give a rude

shock o the tastes nd

traditions

f thegreatmajority

fhis hearers,

his couragewillbe severelyested, nd he willneed

a cool head and

nerves f steel.

So

true

s

this,

hat mostartists o not take the

risk; theyplay,beyond

heprivacy f their tudy, nly uch works

as

they re perfectly

ure ofthemselvesver. Hence most f their

concerts-andhere shallcarrywithme theunfortunate embers

of

the

musical ress-are

flat nd

unprofitable.

Fate decided that I

should

be called upon

to take part,

during the last two years,

in

one of those

contemporary

works which have raised controversy, ven storms,

all

throughEurope: Arnold

Schonberg's

"

PierrotLunaire,"

the

amazing thing that was played three times ast

November

n

LondonMusic

Clubs, fter

arious erformancesy

thesame

artists

in Paris. To come n contactwiththesevarious udienceswas to

receivevery vivid impressions;

nd lately it has

been

my good

fortune

o round

ff hese

mpressionsy certain thers

btained

ur-

ing

a

tour n

Italy under

he direction f the composer.Oppor-

tuniitiesf

observinghe

audienceweregreater here, ince

we went



348 MUSIC

AND

LETTERS

all through

he country,

from Naples,

through Rome,

Florence,

Venice,

Padua

and

Milan, to

Turin.

I am able to take a detachedview of it all. I need not reel off

the list of our

successes,

for

t would be an exaggeration

o pretend

that these

eveningswere

a

series

of triumphs

n any ordinary

ense;

indeed, during

these performances

he mercury

wavered between

it

rain

"

and

"

stormy."

When

we wereapplauded

t was with

ome

diffidence,nd

when we were hissed there was

always an emphatic

opposition

amp. Press anld

public alike

could indulge the

most

diverse opinions;

the only thing

that no one thought

f

"

Pierrot

Lunaire " was that it was insignificant. But, before speaking of

what

the listeners

made

of

it,

I

should

like to say what

the inter-

preters

hought

f

it.

To make a criticalanalysis

of

this ntricatework s

not

my

object,

nor would

t lie within

my power;

besides,

it would

be waste oftime.

"

Pierrot Lunaire

"

which opened

the

floodgates

f invective,

as

between

those

who admire or dislike

Schdnberg,

has

also

caused

tor-

rentsof

nk to

flow. I

advise

the reader

who is notfamiliarwith

the

work

to

study the

pocket-scorend read

the various

daily papers and

periodicals. They fill a fat quarto. I will say quite simplywhat

effect

t

produced

n

us

at

the

first

ehearsals.

One

of the

commonplaces

hat one

always

hears at the end of

the

performance

f

a

work

of this kind is-" You can

play what notes

you please

and

it

would sound

just as well." That

is a

complete

mistake.

At

the first

rehearsals there

will

obviously

be

a

goodly crop

of

wrongnotes,

and

neither

conductor

nor

players

will

notice

them

at

first. They agreemutually okeeptothemain linesand notstopover

details.

But for

practised

musicians

two

facts

at

once emerge-

1.

Technical

problems

re

soluble

or insoluble.

2.

The

thing

sounds,

or

doesn't.

It

had been

my

business

to

collect

his

ittle

band

of

nstrumneitalists,

and

my

first

are had been to choose

only

sound

technicians.

That

is

not

the

usual

course;

what

those

who are

in

the van of

progress

ook

for

s

youth

nd

enthusiassm

nd a

passionate

ove of

adventure.

But

to my mind entlhusiasmnd devotion are here of small account as

compared

with

practised

fingers

nd

eyes,

and so the music

with

which my colleagues

were

familiar

belonged

certainly to the

day

before

yesterday

atherthan

to

the

day

after

to-morrow.

How was

it

that

from the very

firstrehearsal

they

took

the

thing

seriously?

In

the first

lace

becauise,

hoke-full

Is

it was of awkward

assages

and

techniical ifficulties,ile

\ork

conitainied

olne of those

clumsi-



ABOUT

"

PIERROT

LUNAIRE "

349

nesses

t which

he

players

hrug

heir houlders

nd which

end

the

work

back

for

revision.

And

secondly,

because from

the

very

firstreadingwe felt that the author'sconceptionndrealisatioi

of

his

thought as

clear

and

deliberate,

nd that heeffect

roduieed

was

the

effectntended. There

re,

and

there

lways

will

be,

secret

affinities

etweenhe

expert

ftheinstrument

nd

the

expert

f

the

pen; whetherhe

composer's

hought

s

commonplace

r

extravagant,

he will

always

have the

respect

f his

interpreters

f he

can

prove

o

them

hathe

uniderstandsis

business.

That

Schonberg

nderstands

usic and

has learned

t in

a

good

school here an benosort fdoubt. He has beencalled romantic,

obviously

ecause

he

has been an

ultra-romantic

n

the

way

he

has

handled

Pierrot

unaire,"

thatbitter

arody

f

theromantic

chool.

But

actually

e derives

rom he

classics

classical,

lmost

cholastic,

in

his

tastefor

contrapuntal

pisodes

and

for

the

musical

puns

which

are

sown

broadcast n

his

work,

specially

n

No.

18,

the

baffling Mondflecht."

hese

ontrapuntal

ubtleties,

rowned

n

the

apparent

haosof an

aggressive

olyphony,

ay

escape

the

hearer f

a

single

vening,

ut

hey

annot

scape

onscientious

nterpretersho

willinglyndertake series of rehearsals. The moment heysee

there

s

a

logic

behind

hese

deeds of

daring

hey

will

not

be

nig-

gardlywith

heir

fforts.

erhaps t

is

only

the

comfortable

eeling

of

having

onquered

ifficulties,

ut

at

any rate the

fact

remains

that

Schonberg

as

won

devoted

nterpreters

ho,

even f

they re

opposed

o

his

system,

re

determined

hat

his

work

hall

be a

success.

And

now

as to

its

"

sounding; I

have

won

various

mpressions.

Peoplehaveoftenaidthat his ombinationf nstrumentsasugly;

theyhave

never

aid

that t

sounded

hollow.

There

s

no

question

that

Schonberg's

hought

as

been

realised

n

performance.

he

majority

f

his

hearers

may

have

regarded

his

ittle

rchestra

f

five

as an

instrument

f

torture,

ut

they

may

be

sure

at

any

rate

that

the

instrument

s

solidly

onstructed

nd

that

there

s

in

it

nota

wheel

oo

many r too

few.

It

wouldbe

difficult

o

write

with

more

slender

means: a

flute

lternating

ith

piccolo,

clarinet

ith

bass

clarinet, violin

with

viola,

a

'cello

and

a

piano.

And

they

areseldomused all together;ometimeshere re four f

them,

hree,

two,

or

even

only

one.

With

these

restricted

esources

he

author

manages

o

give,

when

required,

he

effect

fa

whole

orchestra.

felt

that

vividly

every

time

we

reached

Les

Croix."

However

hostile

he

udience,

nthe

midst

venof

aughter

r

ively

emonstra-

tions,

he

end of

this

piece

was

always

received

with

he

respect

f



350

MUSIC

AND

LETTERS

silence:

its evident

trength

lways

quells

the

rioters.

Asceticism

likethis

has

its dangers,

with

an orchestra

omposed

f

the

bare

essentials oucannot fford istakesromissions.With ll respect

to

the

"

you-can-play-what-notes-you-please

contingent,

nyone

who

knows

he

work

an

detect

wrong

ote

or

a

missing

art

s

easily

as

in a

Haydn

quartet.

I

realised

hat

one

day

at a rehearsal

f

another

xtremist

ork.

We

were

going

hrough

orthe

first

ime

Darius

Milhaud's

ymphony

or

ten

wind nstruments.

y

one

of

those

fatalities

hich

re

for

composers

nd orchestral

eaders

the

bane

of existence

he

cor

anglaiswas

late, so

late

that

we

had

to

beginwithout im. Thiswork fMilhaud s onewhichs peppered

over

more

iberally

han

usual

with

aring

armonies

nd rough

one-

qualities,

nd

I

confess

with

humility

hat at

a first

earing

he

second

movement

ppeared

o

me to

be merecacophony-a

purview

which

subsequently

bandoned;

moreover-a

hing

which

erformers

think

more

of-the

orchestration

ounded

poor

and

hollow.

I

was

beginning

owonder

whether

e

should

ver

get anything

ut

of t,

when

our

cor

anglais

rrived,

uffing

nd

panting.

If

the

work

had

really

been

cacophonous

is

contribution

ould

dnly

have

made

the

muddleworse. But,on the contrary,t cleared hewhole hingup

wonderfully,

nd

I wasastonished

o

find

hat

t sounded

xcellently,

even

f that

was

its only

merit.

If

I

apply

the

word

"

excellently

to

"

Pierrot

Lunaire,"

no

doubt

I shall

shock

more

han

a

few

of

our

audience.

We

will

say,

then,

that

t sounds

s

it

ought

o sound,

nd

pass

on

now

to

the

reception

it

had.

Performed

or

the

first

time

in

Germany,

n 1912,

"

Pierrot

Lunaire didnotreachParis till1922. Meantimeherehad been

the

war

nd

the

ban

on

modern

erman

music,

nd,

still

worse,

here

were

he

material

ifficulties-the

xpense,

ndthe enormous

umber

of

rehearsals-which

o

one

quite

saw how

to get

over.

At

this

point,

nd

at his

own

risks,

there tepped

n

M.

Jean

Wiener,

young

musician,

clever

pianist

nd

a

bold

organiser.

He

has

a

natural

turn

for

the

daring

onceptions

nd outrageous

ancies

of

modernism,

nd s

more

t his ease

in Schonberg

nd Stravinsky

han

manyamateursre in Clementi.

Besides,

his

weakness

or

azz*

and

his

skilful

laying

f

his own

transcriptions

f theAmerican

"

Blues

"

give

him special

position

n the

musical

world.

His

well

attended

oncerts

raw

peculiar

ublic,

ather

osmopolitan,

eady

for ny

eccentricities

nd

greedy

or

new

sensations.

It was

his

own

*The influence

f

the

jazz-band

on Stravinsky

nd

his

followers

xplaint

much that

would

otherwise

e

unintelligible,



ABOUT

" PIERROT

LUNAIRE

351

quaint dea

to

combinen

a

single

programme

f

chamber-music

n

item

for

azz-band

excellent,

y

the

by),

the Sacre

du

Printemps

n

the piano-playernd Milhaud's onataforwind nstruments. he

fact

hat

this

outrageous

ssortment

ad

calledforth

o

protests

ed

one to

suppose

hat"

Pierrot unaire

would

be

received

y

the

samepublicwith

cclamation.

That

the

art of

Schonberg

as

little

appeal

to

the

disciples

f

Stravinsky

as

clear from his

first

xperiment,

hich

xcited

ively

curiosity

ut

nded n

tumult.

In a

hall

without

n

empty

eat

n

it

and

an

atmosphere

harged

with

electricity,

e

played,

under

the

directionfDariusMilhaud,hefirstart nly fthiswork. Madame

Marya

reund

ook he

vocal

part.

The

very

irst

ars of this

ung

speech

or

spoken

ong-whichever

e are

to

call

it)

took

veryone

by

surprise,

nd

the

weird

armonies id

the

rest;

and

there

we

were

n

the

middle

f a

Homeric attle.

The Parisian

publicremains

alm,

as

a

rule,

so

long

as

it is

pre-

sentedwith

nothing

bnormal; ut

the

momentt is

given

novelty

with

challenge

n

it,

the

old

combative

nstincts

f

the

race are

aroused. In

thefirst lacetheres always fractionf theaudiencewhich

egards

music,

rightly

r

wrongly-for

here

is

something,

after

ll,

to

be

said

for

the

view-as an

after-dinner

istraction,

digestive.

This

opinion

revails n

the

higher

ranks

of

society.

Then,

the

Frenchman,

chatterbox

y

nature,

islikes

keeping

is

opinions

o

himself; s

soon

as

he

is

bored

he

lets

his

neighbours

know.

I

noticed

he

other

evening,

uring

he

performance

f

a

similar

work,

gentleman

f

some

social

position

idgeting

nder

t

a

good

deal.

He

was

sitting

n

a

comfortable

hair

lose

to

the

door;

and he couldeitherhave goneto sleepat peace with ll men,or

three

teps

would

have

taken

him

to

the

restaurantn

the

passage

outside.

But

he

preferredo

punctuate

he

performance

ith

yawns

and

witty

jaculations,

nd to

prevent

is

neighbours

ppreciating

he

music

hey

ame

to

hear.

This

displeased

hem,

f

course,

nd

they

protested.

Such

electioneering

anners

ave

always

een

fashionable

in

society

atherings

t

Paris,

and

the

occupants

f

the

Jockey

lub

box,

who

put an

end

to

the

representations

f

TannhYuserat

the

Opera

under heEmpire,have eft numerousrogeny.But it isnotonly

mart

ociety

hat

does

not

get

on

with

chonberg.

In

France

we

have

as

many

chools

f

music

s

we

have

parties

in

politics,

hich

s

saying

more

han

little;

nd

the

uave

amenities

of

debate

which

revail

n

the

Chamber

f

Deputies

re

reproduced

in

musical

atherings

s

soon

as

the

concert

eaves

the

beaten

rack.

There

s the

group

f

"

La

Nationale

(d'Indystes-Franckistes),

he



352

MUSIC

AND LETTERS

S.M.I.

(Faureens-Debussystes),

he

"

Six

"

(inwhose

ute little

ift

is visible),

he

Prixde Rome,

heSatistes,

tc.,etc.

Convinced,

ot-

headed ndpugnacious,hey reall ofthemntheroom ndripefor

a fight

he

moment

pportunity

ffers.

Here

he opportunity

as

toogood

o be

missed,

ndthe

econd

hearing

complete,

his ime)

f

"PierrotLunaire

brought

ogether

neof

the-

most epresentative

audiences

hat Paris

has

seen

for longtime.

I

hope

Messieurs

Ravel

and

Florent-Schmitt

ill

not

mind

my

revealing

hefact

hat

they

were

mong

hewarmest

fSchonberg's

dmirers;

utthey

were

hard

put

to it to

defend

heir

pinion

withmusicians

ftheir

wn

mettle. Each number,asting romwo ofourminutes, asgreeted

with cheers

and

hisses.

When

the

hisses

had

it,Milhaud

began

again

and

finished

n a

regular

proar.

I sawone

man

n the

third

row

of the stalls

ivid

with

agewhen

n

encore

was announced:

he

stamped

iolently,

houting

ut:

"

No,no

Not

gain

Not

gainl

There

s one very

goodpoint

bout

this collaboration

f the

audi-

ence.

If

he takes

hisses,

nsulting

emarks

nd

encores

nto

con-

siderationi,

he concert-giver

an count

on

his programme

eing

prolonged

eyond

he

moment

here

t becomes

ecessary

o tack

on

another ieee. A performanceo full fincidentasilyfills whole

evening,

ndnever

has so short

programme

inished

o

late.

I will

dd that he

Press,

high nd

ow,

was

favourable

o the

work,

and

that

ritics,

venwhen

hey

did

not

ike t,

showed

o

animosity

to thecomposer.

Never

have

the divergent

haracteristics

f

the

two

friendly

nd

alliednationshone utto memore learlyhan astNovember,hen

"

Pierrot

unaire

was

given

n London.

Ourthree

erformances,

at

the

Kensington

usic

Club,

the Music Society,

nd the

Chelsea

Music

Club,

xactlyeproduced

hose

t Paris. There

were he

same

players

nd the

same conductor;

ven

the

text,

which

t would

have

been

child's

play

to

Madame

Marya

Freund

o

sing

n theoriginal,

was given

n

the

French

ranslation,

hough

ome

ofthecritics

ound

fault

with

this

arrangement.

We had, therefore,

veryright

o

expect

he same

"

incidents,"

nd

I felt little

nxious bout

our

reception.

We

began

at

Kensington.

"

Pierrot Lunaire

" at

Kensington

has

always

eemed

o me

an

amazing

aradox.

I am fond

f

Kensington

from

aving

ivedthere

ften.

Except

or he bustle

f

High

Street

at

the

shopping

our

here

s

an air

of

quiet

and

respectability

hat

reminds

me

of

Oxford.

Moreover,

eighton

ouse

s notfar

off,

nd



ABOUT

"

PIERROT LUNAIRE

"

363

the Palace

where o

many

of the

Royal

family ilved

s close

by.

And

there s a faint

ragrancef

the

Victorian

ra

about

t.

No

part

ofLondon s less morbid r morerestful.If in summer walk

through

ts

green,

deserted

ways,

nd hear

the sound

of a

piano, t

will

probably e

a

fugue

f

Bach.

My

old

friendshere ll

belong

o

theBach

Choir,

nd a

photograph

f

Joachims in

everymusic-room

in

the

parish.

That the

members

f

the

Kensington

lub

shouldhave

consented

to

hear

this diabolical

music,

s a

magnificent

roof

f their

clectic

philosophy.

But

thatthey

houldhave

istenedwith

uch patience

and fortitudes no lessmagnificentn instance f that enseoffair

play which s

one

of

the most

endearingharacteristics

f

Britons.

What n

impressive

alm

How

unexpected

his

nward

eace

after

our

tormy

eetingst Paris At

the most

aring laces

n

the

core

I

watched

he

audienceout of the

corner f

my eye.

They

never

blenched.

They sat

there, alm

as

a boxer

whotakes punishment

with

smile. I

thought f

the

bright

moonlight

ights f 1918 and

the

Zeppelins.

Whatever

he

aliens

of

Soho

and

Whitechapel

ight

think it odo,for he nhabitantsfKensingtonndBelgravia ood

taste

demandedhat,

whatever

hey

might eel,

the hand of

bridge

should e

played

uietly

o

an

end.

In

1923,

as in

1918,

my

British

friends

gave

me an

admirable

llustration f

self-control,

nd

I

wondered

whether he

"

moonstruck ierrot

was not

even

moredis-

tastefulo

them

han he

moonlightaidsof

the

German

irmen.

After etting

urselves

istened o at

Kensingtonown

Hall, we

felt

ure we

should n

that

urious

ittle

hall

in

Tufton

treet, he

ideal

setting

or

thing f

this

kind. The

dimly

ighted

rypt,made

dimmer tillby theblue spirals f cigarettemoke nd by theall-

pervading

hames

og, xactly

uits

hemorbid

ubtletiesnd

sudden

clashes

of

Sch6nberg's

core;

and

the

cultivated

udience

ying

ack

in

their

eck-chairs,f

whomwewere

nly

vaguely

ware,

eemed o

take

pleasure

f

a

kind n

our

concert.

It was the

same

with he

Chelsea

audience.

If

there

s

one

quarter f

London

rather

han

another

n

which ne

dare

risk

bold

gesture,t is

this

ant-heap f

artists nd

literary

en, lways

eady

osee the

fun-n an

interesting

novelty.On thewhole, hen,our reception as goodeverywhere.

It

may

have

been

he

presence

f

several

rofessional

usicians,

ho

put

themselves

n

our place

and,

realising

the

numberof

our

rehearsals,

lapped ur

efforts

ikegood

sportsmen.

Whattouched

me

mostwas

not so

much he

sympathyfthose

who

iked he

work

as the

courtesynd

patience fthose

who n

their

earts

wished s to

the

devil. That

was

most

mpressive,

nd

I cannot

roperlyxpress

my

admirationf t.

V&O.



354

MUSIC AND

LETTERS

I may add

that, in contrastwith what

happened on the Continent,

we had a

frightfullyad Press. Well, well; it is the duty of a critic

to saywhat he thinks,withoutmincingmatters, nd nobodyneed take

umbrage

t

it.

I

thought

had

finished

my experiences

with

"

Pierrot

Lunaire,"

when

a

proposal

came from he

distinguished

talian

composer,

Alfred

Casella, which

sent

me to school

again.

We were to

give

the

work

in

Italy under the composer's direction. Who could resist

a

tour

in

Italy and the prospect

f

giving such gloriousbattle?

I

set out

with

enthusiasm, nd my unceasingthirst ornoveltywas soon quenched,

for saw

Naples without

uIn

and

played

"

Pierrot Lunaire

"

in its

original form.

I

ought to say here that the

"

PierrotLunaire

"

which London

heard was not

exactly

as

the

authorconceived t.

In

the first lace,

the French translation

makes an

appreciabledifference

n

its

general

swing

and

go;

and

in

the

second,

Madame

Marya Freund, excellent

singer

that she

is, cannot

quite

forget hat

she

is a

singer,

and

sings

consequentlywitha reciter's nflexions,whereas Schdnberg ntended

it to

be recited with musical

inflexions.

And I should add that this

most conscientious

rtist has

submiiitteder interpretationo Sch6n-

berghimself,

nd he was

delighted

nd

surprised,

nd

greatly

dmired

her

art

in thisnew version.

In

Italy the vocal

part was assigned to the

handsome

and

intelligent

Erika

Wagner,

a

star of the

Viennese Schauspielhaus.

She is

equally

remarkable s a

dramatic rtist and as

a

concert

inger.

The

piano

was

in

the

hands

of Mr.

Steurmann,

aln

interpreter

f

Schonberg's

own

choice,

and

the strings

were

supplied by the Brussels

quartet,

Pro Arte.

Of

course

t

was

Schonberg's

own

personality

hat I most

wished

to

become

acquainted

with,

and

I

was not

disappointed. In that small,

active

man,

always

in

motion,

with

a

piercing

and

roving eye

and

mobile

ips, simple

n

dress and

in

manner,

and

without semblance

of

pose,

there is

nothing

that

suggests

the

hunter

after sensational

success

or the

upstart pining

for

advertisement. If his name has

made a stir it is certainlyn spite of himself. All that I had heard

of

him,

of

his

solitariness and inaccessibility, f his life far from

distractions nd

wrappedup in his work,was

fullyconfirmed y such

relations s

I

had

with him. One thingmay be

confidentlysserted,

and that

is his

absolute sincerity. By-what paths and in the train

of what

circumstances his

technically earnedmusician, broughtup

in

the

strict

lassical

method,reached his present point of

view,

I



ABOUT

"

PIERROT

LUNAIRE"

355

cannot

ay. Abnormal

rain-power,

erhaps,

wearying

tself

nces-

santly

o find

ombinations

f ounds

ver

tranger

nd more

omplex;

but at any rateno mere tch fornotorietyr strivingfter ffect.

Neither s he an

iconoclast.

in

the

course

f

this

talian

tour, ne

rainy

Sunday,we

made a littlemusic

together-Bach,

Mozart

nd

Haydn.

It

gave

him

the

greatest

leasure,

nd he confessed

o

us

that

quartet-playing-he

lays

the viola-is his

Sundayamusement

at

Moendling.

The

excitement e threw

nto our

visits

o

the

treasures

f

art

in

which

taly

abounds,

was evidence

f his

open

mind nd

catholic aste.

He is nogreat onductor,o virtuosofthebaton, uthis leading

is

exactand

autocratic,

e

knows

what

he

wants nd how

to

get

t.

It

is

trueto

say that

at

the last

rehearsalwe

were

conscious

f

havinggot

readyas

faithful

performance

s is

possible

with o

exacting

work,nd I

felt

weight ffmy

mind.

For

indeed

had

started

or

talyfeeling

ure

thatwe

should

never

get

throughn

evening;

nd from

what knew

f

the

rascible atin

public

was

afraidwe

should

be

pelted

with

omatoes

nd

oranges.

Perhaps

it

was in consequence f the high standardof life,

but

at

any rate we

were

pared

his

supreme

umiliation.Not

only

did

we

escape

from

he

adventure

afe

and

sound,

but

wewere

ble

to

playthe

work o

an

endevery

ime,which

was

more han

weever

hoped;

though

etween

hat

and

any

assertion

hatwe

were

gar-

landedwith

loral

ributes

here s a

certain

nfilled

lank.

Everything

ombinedo

make

his

enture

difficult

ne.

Italy sthe

land of bel

canto,

nd

the

measured

nd

inflected

iction

which

he

composerad

magined

as, n

tself,

othingn

common ith

inging.

TheGermananguage s unintelligibleoalmost ll Italians, ndthe

rough

gutturals,

eing

meaningless,

ounded

o them

funny. Our

audiences

lmost

verywhere

ontained

irlsready

to

giggle t

the

smallest

ncident r

the

mildest

rchestral

urprise;

nd n

every own

therewas a

small

body

of

young

musicians,

hiefly

tudentsn

the

full

wing

f

their

lassical

tudies,

who

were

quite

determined

ot

to

allow

note

f

this

nfernalmusic

o be

played.

Well,as I

said,

we

were

istenedo

everywhereill

the

very

nd.

At

Rome,

ctually,

a concertnder heauspices ftheCorporationeer a nuovamusica

was a

real

success.

But

elsewhere e

madeheavy

weather

with

ur

performances.

he

senseof

fun-of

course, nthe

bestpossible

pirit

-took

complete

ossession

f

thiseasily

swayed

public,

nd found

vent

n

laughter,

itticisms

nd

discussion.

Happily,

Erika

Wagner

is

very

andsome-a

matter

fno

small

mportance

nthe

and of

the

Beauitiful-and

chonberg,

n spite of

his

small

stature, as a

pre-

sence;

so

peoplehad to

listen

willy

illy.



356

MUSIC

AND

LETTERS

One

of

themost

nteresting

pisodes f our

tourwas

theneeting

of

Puccini

nd

Schonbergt

a concert

t Florence.

The illustrious

conmposerfToscaand La Boh"emead done the threehoursbyrail

from ucca

for

heexpress

urpose f

hearingmusic o

different

rom

hisown. If

anybody ad an

excuse or

going ut and

slamming

he

door behind

hinm,t

was he. But

no; he

set a goodexample

of

patience

nd self-commando

many

a hot-headed oungster.

He

listened

ight

hrough ith he

greatest

ttentionnd

interest,

nd

congratulated

he author fterwards

n

the artists' oom,

wherehe

discussed

echnical

etails

withhim.

Perhapswe shall

have-who

knows?some little ch6nbergianeminiscencen his next opera.

Nobody

would

e more uirprised

han

Sebh8nberg.

And now

wonder

nder

what skywe shall

next

play

"

Pierrot

Lunaire,"

and what

reception

new

country

ill give

us. Will

it

be

French

frenzy

r British eticence

r Italian merriment?

All

I

can wish

for s whatthe

Gallic

soldier

sked of the

Roman captain

whowas

going

o

condemn

imunheard

-" Strike,

ut

isten

L. FLEURY.

[Trans.,

A. H.

F.



Concerning "Sprechgesang"Author(s): Ralph W. WoodReviewed work(s):Source: Tempo, New Series, No. 2 (Dec., 1946), pp. 3-6Published by: Cambridge University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/943969 .

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CONCERNING SPRECHGESANG

oncerning

Sprechgesang

y

a l p h

W

W o o d

IN

PART

III of

Sch6nberg's

Gurrelieder here is

a

section,

Des

Sommerwindes

wilde

Jagd,

that

is

described

as

a

melodrama and that constitutes

the

only appearance

in

the

work

of

the character

listed

among

the

soloists as

The

Speaker.

The

words

of

this

number

are

written

under

what

would

appear

to

be a

normal

vocal

line

(though perhaps

of

rather

unusually

simple nature), except

that

crosses

are used

instead of

note-heads:

There

are no

directions

in

the

score as

to

how

the

part

is to be

rendered.

More

than

ten

years

after

the

composition,

but

barely

one after the

completion

of the scoring, of the GurreliederSch6nberg wrote his Op.

21,

Three-times seven poems

from

Albert

Giraud's

Pierrot

Lunaire

(translated

into German

by

Otto

Erich

Hartleben)

-for a

speaking-voice

[

Sprechstimme

]

piano,

flute

(also piccolo),

clarinet

(also

bass

clarinet),

violin

(also

viola)

and

'cello-(Melodramas).

Later still

he

said

in a

letter:

Here

(in

the

Gurrelieder)

the

pitch

notation

is

not

at all to be taken so

seriously

as

in the

Pierrot-Melodramas.

In

no

way

is

a

song-like

speech-melody

to be

created,

but the

rhythm

has to be

adhered

to and the

volume of

tone

regulated

with

the

accompaniment.

In several

places

in which

it

is

almost melodic

one could

speak

a little more

musically.

The

pitches

are more

to be

regarded

as dif-

ferences

of

level;

that is to

say,

the

respective

passages

(not

the

separate

notes)

are to

be

spoken

higher

or lower.

In

the

score

of Pierrot

Lunaire one does

find an

explanatory

foreword.

Here

it is:

The

melody

given

for the

speaking

voice in notes

is

(apart

from

a

few

specially

indicated

exceptions)

not

meant

to be

sung.

The

reciter

has

the

task of

trans-

forming

it,

with

a

thorough

regard

for the

prescribed

intervals,

into a

speech-

melody.

He

accomplishes

that

by (I) keeping

the

rhythm

absolutely

strict,

as

if

he were

singing;

i.e.

with no more

freedom

than

he

would

allow

himself

for

a

song

melody;

(ii) fully realizing

the difference between

singing-tone

and

speaking-tone:

the

singing-tone

holds

fast to the

pitch

from

beginning

to

end

of a

note,

whereas

the

speaking-tone

does

give

it

at

first,

but then at once

departs

from it

by

either

rising

or

falling.

The

performer

must, however,

watch care-

fully

not

to

fall into

a

'

singing'

way

of

speaking.

That is not at

all

what

is

meant.

In

no

way,

it is

true,

must

a realistic-natural

speech

be

striven for.

On the

contrary,

the

difference

between

ordinary

speech

and a

speech

that

co-operates

in

a musical

form

is

to

be

distinct.

But it

must

never

remind

one

of

singing.

Further

there

is

to be said

regarding

the

performance:

the

performer

never

has the

task

of

bringing

out the mood

and

character of the

sense

of the

words,

but

only

of the

music.

So

far

as

the

composer

considered

tone-painting

of

the

events

and

feelings given

in the

text to be

called

for,

it

will be

found

in the

3



TEMPO

music.

Where

the

performer

does not

find

it,

he must

beware

of

adding

some-

thing

that

the

composer

did

not

intend.

For that would

be

not an

addition

but

a

subtraction.

The vocal line

to which the

performer

s thus

tutored

to

address

himself

(as

a matter

of

fact,

herself)

is

an

extremely

intricate

one,

full

of the

awkward

intervals and

of

the

conflicts

with the

accompaniment

that are

typical

of

all

Sch6nberg's

mature

writing.

The

notes

are

written

in the

usual

way,

but

(except

when

actual

singing

is intended-see

the

parenthesis

at

the

beginning

of the

Foreword

)

with crosses

through

their

stems.

The

compass

is:

(with,

during

one of

the

brief

sung

passages,

a

low

E

flat thrown

in,

for

which

however

an

octave-higher

alternative

s

offered).

Some

notes

are marked

toneless,

and

one

group

is

to

be

whispered

tonelessly

and

is

notated

without note-heads

(i.e.

pitch

indications)

at all.

There

are

such

things

as

acciaccaturas

(e.g. jumping up

an

augmented

fourth)

and

glissandos

(e.g.

dropping

an

augmented

eleventh).

A certain

five

detached

notes

all have shakes

marked over

them.

It

is

worth

noting

that the

composer

uses

the

voice-part,

for

contrapuntal

purposes, just

as

if it were

an

authentic

melodic

line

(i.e.

sometimes

giving

repetitions,

imitations,

etc.,

of it

in various of

the

instrumental

parts).

PierrotLunaire has been mentioned on the heels of the Gurrelieder,ecause of

Schonberg's

comparison

in the

letter

cited;

but

in fact Die

glickliche

Hand,

which

was

begun

just

after

Erwartung,

nd

thus well

before PierrotLunaire

(though

the

latter

was

finished

first,

being

written with characteristic

speed,

whereas

Die

glckliche

Hand

was

only

composed

by

fits

and

starts

over a

long

period),

contains

among

its

many

extraordinary ngredients

a

chorus whose

lines,

delivered

through

holes

in a

velvet

back-curtain

ust large enough

to

frame their

faces

and

in

a memorable

lighting

and

colour-scheme,

are

largely

spoken.

All

the

notes

in their

parts, except

those

to

be

sung,

are

notated

as

in

Pierrot

Lunaire

nd

markedeither

whispered

or

spoken.

Those

who

have heard

this

very rarely-performed

work

say

that the

effect

of

these

passages

for

the

chorus

is

extremely

beautiful,

above

all

the

transitions

rom

speech

to

song.

That the appearanceof difficultyin the vocal line of PierrotLunaire s no layman's

illusion is

proved

by

the

references

o

it

made

by

some of its

interpreters.

Erica

Wagner-

who toured

widely

performing

the

work,

and

likewise made a

gramophone

recording

of

it,

under

the

composer's

baton-admits

being

brought

to tears

during

the rehearsal

period.

Gutheil-Schoder,

who

performed

t in

Copenhagen,

speaks

of

having

sworn

at

his

too

many,

far

too

many,

note-heads and

says

that

his

never-heard-of

ntervals

have

given

her

a

nightmare.

But

they

were,

of

course,

devoted

admirers

of the

thing

that

had

brought

them so

much travail and tribulation.

Both

Marya

Freund

(with

whose

interpretation

English

and French

listeners

are

more

familiar)

and

Gutheil-Schoder made

their

justly

vast

reputations

as

singers.

Erica

Wagner,

though

she

had

indeed

studied

music,

is

famous

as

an

actress

pure

and

simple. This brings us to a crucialambiguityof the whole Sprechgesang situation.

Sprechgesang

is

not

a term

employed by Sch6nberg

himself;

but

it

has

been

freely

used

by

many

of

his

critics,

apologists

and

biographers,

almost

as

if

it

were

synonymous

with his

own

Sprechstimme.

Percy

Scholes,

for

one,

has

done

well

to

point

out

that,

on

the

contrary,

there

is

a

difference

between

the

two

words

almost

amounting

to an

antithesis;

Sprechgesang

means

a

'

parlando

manner

of

singing,

and

indeed

is

translated

in

standard

dictionaries

as

recitative,

whereas

Sprechstimme

in

itself

simply

means

speaking

voice.

4



CONCERNING

SPRECHGESANG

Louis

Fleury,

the

flautist,

writing

of

his

experiences

as

a

performer

in

a

number

of

presentations

of Pierrot

Lunaire,

llustrates the

point

clearly

when

he

mentions

that,

for

instance,

the

London

performances

of

1923

were

not

exactly

as

the

author

conceived

it... MaryaFreund,excellentsingerthat she is, cannot quite forget that she is a singer,

and

sings

consequently

with

a

reciter's

nflexions,

whereas

Sch6nberg

intended

it

to be

recited

with

musical

inflexions

.

.

.

this

most

conscientious

artist

submitted

her

interpretation

o

Schbnberg

himself,

and he

was

delighted

and

surprised,

and

greatly

admired

her

art in this

new version. *

Pierrot

Lunaire

was,

as

a

matter

of

fact,

composed

upon

the

initial

suggestion

(as

to

both the

vocal

method

and

the

text

employed)

of

an

actress,

Albertine

Zehme,

to

whom

it is

dedicated

and

who

was

its

first

interpreter.

Of

the

Freund

performances

mentioned

by Fleury

a

London critic

wrote

that

she

was

wonderful

. . .

She

used

more of a

singing

tone

than

one

expected.

She

maintained

pitch

in

spite

of

every

imaginable provocation

...

In

Erica

Wagner's

rendering,

which

can be

studied

on

the

gramophone,

there

is

certainly

a

very

great

deal

more Sprech than Gesang. But thereis also only a very loose observanceof the

pitch

indications,

which are

once

or

twice

even

contradicted

(e.g.

n

the

phrase

prunkend

in

des

Blutes

Scharlach,

n

Die

Kreute)-contradicted,

that

is to

say,

as to

direction

of

intervals,

leave

alone their exact

dimensions

(which

seem

hardly

to

enter

even into

the

province

of

discussion).

All the

same,

both

kinds

of

interpretation

are,

on

their

own

merits,

quite

effective.

When

Hedli

Anderson

gave

her

interpretation,

n

England

in

1942,

under

Erwin

Stein's

baton,

the latter-who

is

probably

as

familiar

with

the

work

and

its

problems

as

any

man

alive,

apart

rom

the

composer

himself-found

that

she

achieved

Sch6nberg's

intentions

quite

marvellously,

more

fully

and

exactly

than

ever

had

been

done before.

Sch6nberg did not use the Sprechstimme again until, twenty odd years later,

he

composed

the

setting

for

reciter,

strings

and

piano

of

Byron's

Ode

to

Napoleon

Buonaparte.

Here

the vocal

part

is

notated in

the

score on

or

around

a

single

line

(such

as is

sometimes

found

in use

for a

percussion

instrument),

to

which

is

given

at

the

beginning

the

normal

bass-clef

sign.

On or

around

means

that

the

note-heads lie

sometimes

on

the

line

and

sometimes

at

varying

distances

above or

below it.

The

notes

have

accidentals

sprinkled

among

them,

just

as

if

they

were

forming

a

melody

on

a

stave

of which

only

the

one line

is

actually

visible. The

effect in

performance

s

a

declamation

similar

to that in

Pierrot

Lunaire,

or

all that

the

vast

intervals

often

prescribed

n the latter are absent

here

. .

.

But meanwhile

Sch6nberg's disciple,

Alban

Berg,

had

incorporated

speaking-voice

effectson a considerablescalein his operas, Wozeeck ndLulu. He uses there ordinary

speech,

ordinary

speech

harnessed

into

rhythm

with the

accompanying

music,

what

he

describes

as

rhythmic

declamation

(notated

just

as the

vocal

line

of

Pierrot

Lunaire

s,

and

for which

he

gives

prefatory

instructions that are

a

practically

verbatim

re-issue

of

Schonberg's, though

with

one or

two

significant

added

refinements of

definition),

half

singing

(sometimes

called half

speaking,

according

to

the

con-

text),

and

parlando

singing.

He

employs

for

this

elaborate

range

of

values

a

correspondingly

elaborate

range

of

notations.

Apart

from

the

inescapable

dubieties

of

the

passages

of

declamation

a

la

Pierrot

Lunaire,

i.e.

the

bordering-on-fictitious

character

of

the

wide-compassed

and

infinitely

chromatic

vocal

line

written

out

for

such

passages,

Berg's

use of the

non-singing

voice

is

extremely

effective.

Thereis not much doubt aboutwhy he hadrecourse o suchdevices. He obviously

had

qualms,

as it

may

well

come

to

any

sensitive artist to

have,

about

one of

the

funda-

mentals

of

the

operatic

medium,

the

singing

f

dramatic

dialogue,

etc.

Not

the

only,

but

certainly

the

foremost,

problem

raised in that

connection

is the

matter

of

tempo

;

and

it

is

interesting

to note

the

fairly

realistic

speed

of

delivery

of

the

words

even in

Berg's

Sprechstimme passages

(more

so

still,

of

course,

in the

absolutely

spoken

ones).

His

achievement

is

seen

clearly

if

one

compares

the

extraordinarily

aithful

mixture

of

*Transl.

A.

H.

Fox

Strangways.

5



TEMPO

tenderness

and

sadness

in the

music

to

which Marie

sings

the

snatches of her

half

nonsense-words

ullaby

with the

equally

extraordinary,

eart-breaking oignancy

of her

rhythmic

declamation

of

the

quotations

she reads

out from her Bible

(

Es war

einmalein armesKind und hatt' keinenVater und keine Mutter, andthe restof them),

and with

her

sung

wailings

of

anguish

that

interrupt

the

latter.

It

may

be observed

that

Berg's

vocal

lines,

of whatever

category,

are

difficult,

but

considerably

ess so than those

of

Sch6nberg (and

than

those

that

Webern, too,

gives

singers).

He

offers

more

aid,

too,

in the

accompaniment.

And

he'll even be

found

showing

an

enharmonic

change

on

a

note

so as to

help

the

vocalist

to

cope

with

an

interval.

...

Finally

we

must come

to

Benjamin

Britten's The

Rape

of

Lucretia.

Can

anyone

who

has

once

heard t ever

forget

the

remarkable

ntensity

created

by

the

Male Chorus's

spoken

commentary

during

the minute

or

so

before the

commission

of the

actual

rape

?

The

printed

notes to which

his

words

are

set

are

given

exact

rhythm

and

pitch

values

(even including

?

glissando indicationat one point) but have crosses instead of heads.

So

far

from

its

being

like

a

normal,

sung

melody, only

five notes are

used:

C) *4

and

clearly

no

more than the

rough

idea of various levels of the voice is

intended to

be

conveyed

by

this

pitch-notation.

In

performance

(on

the

stage

and

as

privately

recorded

for

gramophone)

the intonation seems

very

loose,

in relation to

the

printed

stave. There

is

a

tendency

to

sing

some of the

highest

notes;

and,

on

the

other

hand,

most of the other notes are ratherwhisperedthanspoken. Apart,incidentally, rom the

word

(spoken)

at

the

beginning

of the

section,

the

score contains no

explanation

of

how

it

is

to

be rendered. The

accompaniment

a

further

strong

contrast to

the

Sch6n-

berg-Berg

specimens)

is

for

indefinite-pitched

percussion only

-

bass

drum,

tenor

drum,

side

drum,

cymbal-nothing

else.

These two

simple-looking

pages

constitute

something

like a stroke

of

genius.

6



Society for Music Theory

Interacting Pulse Streams in Schoenberg's Atonal PolyphonyAuthor(s): John RoederReviewed work(s):Source: Music Theory Spectrum, Vol. 16, No. 2 (Autumn, 1994), pp. 231-249Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Society for Music TheoryStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/746035 .

Accessed: 22/09/2012 04:31





.

University of California Press and Society for Music Theory are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve

and extend access to Music Theory Spectrum.


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Schoenberg,

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lunaire,

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21

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236 Music

Theory

Spectrum

Example

2.

Schoenberg,

Pierrot

lunaire,

Op.

21

No.

1,

"Mondestrunken,"

mm.

1-11

236 Music

Theory

Spectrum

Example

2.

Schoenberg,

Pierrot

lunaire,

Op.

21

No.

1,

"Mondestrunken,"

mm.

1-11

236 Music

Theory

Spectrum

Example

2.

Schoenberg,

Pierrot

lunaire,

Op.

21

No.

1,

"Mondestrunken,"

mm.

1-11

236 Music

Theory

Spectrum

Example

2.

Schoenberg,

Pierrot

lunaire,

Op.

21

No.

1,

"Mondestrunken,"

mm.

1-11

236 Music

Theory

Spectrum

Example

2.

Schoenberg,

Pierrot

lunaire,

Op.

21

No.

1,

"Mondestrunken,"

mm.

1-11

236 Music

Theory

Spectrum

Example

2.

Schoenberg,

Pierrot

lunaire,

Op.

21

No.

1,

"Mondestrunken,"

mm.

1-11

236 Music

Theory

Spectrum

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Pierrot

lunaire,

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21

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nteracting

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248 Music

Theory Spectrum

Example

5.

Schoenberg,

Op.

19 No.

1,

mm. 1-4:

rythmic

form

248 Music

Theory Spectrum

Example

5.

Schoenberg,

Op.

19 No.

1,

mm. 1-4:

rythmic

form

248 Music

Theory Spectrum

Example

5.

Schoenberg,

Op.

19 No.

1,

mm. 1-4:

rythmic

form

248 Music

Theory Spectrum

Example

5.

Schoenberg,

Op.

19 No.

1,

mm. 1-4:

rythmic

form

248 Music

Theory Spectrum

Example

5.

Schoenberg,

Op.

19 No.

1,

mm. 1-4:

rythmic

form

248 Music

Theory Spectrum

Example

5.

Schoenberg,

Op.

19 No.

1,

mm. 1-4:

rythmic

form

248 Music

Theory Spectrum

Example

5.

Schoenberg,

Op.

19 No.

1,

mm. 1-4:

rythmic

form

248 Music

Theory Spectrum

Example

5.

Schoenberg,

Op.

19 No.

1,

mm. 1-4:

rythmic

form

A

J.

Pulses:

A

J.

Pulses:

A

J.

Pulses:

A

J.

Pulses:

A

J.

Pulses:

A

J.

Pulses:

A

J.

Pulses:

A

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Pulses:

P

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Commentary:

0

ommentary:

0

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0

ommentary:

0

ommentary:

0

ommentary:

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Key:

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P

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accents, high

and low

p

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P

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accents, high

and low

p

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i

P

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accents, high

and low

p

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accents, high

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p

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accents, high

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p

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accents, high

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p

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accents, high

and low

p

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accents, high

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p

D

r

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accent

D

r

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accent

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r

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accent

D

r

Dynamic

accent

D

r

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accent

D

r

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accent

D

r

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accent

D

r

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accent

A

<y

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accent

A

<y

"Agogic"

accent

A

<y

"Agogic"

accent

A

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"Agogic"

accent

A

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"Agogic"

accent

A

<y

"Agogic"

accent

A

<y

"Agogic"

accent

A

<y

"Agogic"

accent

of

Schoenberg's rhythmic style.

These works

begin similarly,

by

using

accents in different

polyphonic

voices both to create

and

to

synchronize

with two or more

pulses, although

"Col-

umbine"

presents

a

more

complex

ensemble than

does

"Mondestrunken." Each

point

at which

pulse

streams

coin-

cide articulates

a

syntactial

division in the

text,

or

highlights

of


These works

begin similarly,

by

using


polyphonic


and

to

synchronize

with two or more

pulses, although

"Col-

umbine"

presents

a

more

complex

ensemble than

does


point

at which

pulse

streams

coin-

cide articulates

a

syntactial

division in the

text,

or

highlights

of


These works

begin similarly,

by

using


polyphonic


and

to

synchronize

with two or more

pulses, although

"Col-

umbine"

presents

a

more

complex

ensemble than

does


point

at which

pulse

streams

coin-

cide articulates

a

syntactial

division in the

text,

or

highlights

of


These works

begin similarly,

by

using


polyphonic


and

to

synchronize

with two or more

pulses, although

"Col-

umbine"

presents

a

more

complex

ensemble than

does


point

at which

pulse

streams

coin-

cide articulates

a

syntactial

division in the

text,

or

highlights

of


These works

begin similarly,

by

using


polyphonic


and

to

synchronize

with two or more

pulses, although

"Col-

umbine"

presents

a

more

complex

ensemble than

does


point

at which

pulse

streams

coin-

cide articulates

a

syntactial

division in the

text,

or

highlights

of


These works

begin similarly,

by

using


polyphonic


and

to

synchronize

with two or more

pulses, although

"Col-

umbine"

presents

a

more

complex

ensemble than

does


point

at which

pulse

streams

coin-

cide articulates

a

syntactial

division in the

text,

or

highlights

of


These works

begin similarly,

by

using


polyphonic


and

to

synchronize

with two or more

pulses, although

"Col-

umbine"

presents

a

more

complex

ensemble than

does


point

at which

pulse

streams

coin-

cide articulates

a

syntactial

division in the

text,

or

highlights

of


These works

begin similarly,

by

using


polyphonic


and

to

synchronize

with two or more

pulses, although

"Col-

umbine"

presents

a

more

complex

ensemble than

does


point

at which

pulse

streams

coin-

cide articulates

a

syntactial

division in the

text,

or

highlights

an

important

word.24 In

both

pieces,

the

alignment

of

rhyth-

mic

patterns

with the

pulse

streams is

significant.

Both

pieces

241n

"Der

Dandy,"

Op.

21

No.

3,

a whole-note

pulse

and

a

five-eighth-note

pulse

that are not

synchronized

at the start of

the

piece

coincide

at

the attack

of the first

noun,

"Lichtstrahl."

an

important

word.24 In

both

pieces,

the

alignment

of

rhyth-

mic

patterns

with the

pulse

streams is

significant.

Both

pieces

241n

"Der

Dandy,"

Op.

21

No.

3,

a whole-note

pulse

and

a

five-eighth-note

pulse

that are not

synchronized

at the start of

the

piece

coincide

at

the attack

of the first

noun,

"Lichtstrahl."

an

important

word.24 In

both

pieces,

the

alignment

of

rhyth-

mic

patterns

with the

pulse

streams is

significant.

Both

pieces

241n

"Der

Dandy,"

Op.

21

No.

3,

a whole-note

pulse

and

a

five-eighth-note

pulse

that are not

synchronized

at the start of

the

piece

coincide

at

the attack

of the first

noun,

"Lichtstrahl."

an

important

word.24 In

both

pieces,

the

alignment

of

rhyth-

mic

patterns

with the

pulse

streams is

significant.

Both

pieces

241n

"Der

Dandy,"

Op.

21

No.

3,

a whole-note

pulse

and

a

five-eighth-note

pulse

that are not

synchronized

at the start of

the

piece

coincide

at

the attack

of the first

noun,

"Lichtstrahl."

an

important

word.24 In

both

pieces,

the

alignment

of

rhyth-

mic

patterns

with the

pulse

streams is

significant.

Both

pieces

241n

"Der

Dandy,"

Op.

21

No.

3,

a whole-note

pulse

and

a

five-eighth-note

pulse

that are not

synchronized

at the start of

the

piece

coincide

at

the attack

of the first

noun,

"Lichtstrahl."

an

important

word.24 In

both

pieces,

the

alignment

of

rhyth-

mic

patterns

with the

pulse

streams is

significant.

Both

pieces

241n

"Der

Dandy,"

Op.

21

No.

3,

a whole-note

pulse

and

a

five-eighth-note

pulse

that are not

synchronized

at the start of

the

piece

coincide

at

the attack

of the first

noun,

"Lichtstrahl."

an

important

word.24 In

both

pieces,

the

alignment

of

rhyth-

mic

patterns

with the

pulse

streams is

significant.

Both

pieces

241n

"Der

Dandy,"

Op.

21

No.

3,

a whole-note

pulse

and

a

five-eighth-note

pulse

that are not

synchronized

at the start of

the

piece

coincide

at

the attack

of the first

noun,

"Lichtstrahl."

an

important

word.24 In

both

pieces,

the

alignment

of

rhyth-

mic

patterns

with the

pulse

streams is

significant.

Both

pieces

241n

"Der

Dandy,"

Op.

21

No.

3,

a whole-note

pulse

and

a

five-eighth-note

pulse

that are not

synchronized

at the start of

the

piece

coincide

at

the attack

of the first

noun,

"Lichtstrahl."

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NO |

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r N

NO |

(d-)

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A

r_r7

'7

r N

NO |

(d-)

?7

A

r_r7

'7

r N

NO |

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A

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r N

NO |

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I

I



'Pierrot lunaire' and the Resistance to TheoryAuthor(s): Jonathan DunsbyReviewed work(s):Source: The Musical Times, Vol. 130, No. 1762 (Dec., 1989), pp. 732-736Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/966750 .

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the

Pandora'sBox he was

opening

n

1908 and

the next

decade

or

so,

well

ware

f

he

restraintse had

to

mpose

upon

himself

n

Pierrot

y ccepting

he

refrain

orm

f

he

poems,

y dopting

he

plot

f

non-recurrence

f

nsemble

timbre,

nd so on.All of his s

evident

n

what

e himself

wrote

bout he

work,

nd muchmore

n the

same ines

can be

inferred

rom

he score.To return

o,

nd

answer,

my

first

uestion,

he

preoccupation

ith

ontrapuntal

forms fcontinuitynPierrot as been a diversion hich

conveniently

efers

ther

ssues;

tsbest

xcuse s

contem-

plative

onder t the

vident

manipulative

kill f few f

the

melodramas;

tsworst xcuses re

thedutiful usico-

logical

earch or

genetic

rigin

f

welve-noteusic nd

the

equally

dutiful

ttempt

o

note

reassuringly

hat

Schoenberg

was

extremely

lever

n

traditional

usical

ways.

Why,

econdly,

n

perceptions

f

he

music,

re there o

many

ogged

nvestigations

f

itch-structure,

f,

s

Charles

Rosenwas

bold

enough

o

write,

pitch

an no

longer

e

given

he

entral

osition

here]

n

he

hierarchy

f

musical

elements'3

as

Schoenberg

new

ery

wellwhen

he

ago-

nised

n

hisBerlin

iary

verhowhe had

managed

o con-

duct Pierrot ehearsalwithout

oticing

hat

he clarinet

was at thewrong itch? nyone ill e excused or eading

Pierrots

a

pitch

tructure.

travinsky

as not een

lone

n

wanting

o

value t as a

'brilliantnstrumental

asterpiece'.

Nor can t

escape

the

ttention

f

ny inger

hat

many

f

the

pitches,

hich

choenberg

sked o

be

clarifiedefore

the

glissando

fthe

speaking

oice

cuts

n,

re in

a

clear

musical

elationship

o the

nstrumental

aterial and his

preface

o the core eems o

take his or

ranted,

ith

ts

comment hat in

singing

he

pitches

re

maintained;

n

speech-songhey

re of

ourse

resented,

ut

mmediately

abandoned ia a riseor fall

in

pitch]'.

he

problem

s,

one

may uspect,

he

ime-honouredistinction

etween

heory

and

perception.

n

theory,

here re

any

number

f

fascinat-

ingpitch elationshipsobe studiednPierrot hich, er-

ceptually,

ne

only

wishes

ouldbe

seizedfrom

he

act of

listening,

ut

many

imply

annot

e,

even

f

we

assume

somekind f

nscrutablyomplex

material

eterminationf

perception.

f hese orlorn

onflictsre n

play

ven

t the

touchstone

evel f

pitch,

o wonder

heorising

bout

ther

aspects

f ierrotnd he

epertory

f

whicht s

a

consum-

mation as

been

esistedo

thoroughly.

Third,

nd

briefly:

rom

he

compositional

oint

f

view,

what as

the

light,

atirical

one' f

Pierrot,

s

emphasised

by

Schoenberg

imself,

o

do with he

heavy,

ommitted

readings

f ext

ndmusic obe

found

hroughout

he

iter-

ature?Here

again

t s worth

istening

o

Stravinsky,

ho

deprecated

n Pierrot

he

dated estheticismf

Beardsley.

One

mustwonder ow

many

modern

musicians ave

much

ideawhat travinskystalkingbout,et lone ppreciating

what

he,

who

had lived

hrough personal,

omposer's

reaction

o

passing

ultural

aves,

ctually

idn'tike

bout

Pierrot

n

ts

aestheticism'.t s

n

henature f

heory,

ow-

ever

broadly onceived,

o

be

serious,

nd t

must e in

ts

nature ot

o be able

to

assimilate hatever

urns tsface

against

he

erious

hrough

atire.

These are

examples

f

what understand

y

resistance

to

theory'.

am

nothere

ssentially

oncerned ith

musi-

cal rhetoric'

ut am

indeed

oncerned

with he

subtext

and

probable

eadline f

hat

matter,

he

nterdisciplinary

afterglow

f

he

deconstructive

pproach.

nd do

notmind

leaning

little

n

Paul de

Man's

observation,

hich

rec-

ommendothose

American usic

esearchers

ho re

dis-

playing

belated

astefor

Barthesian

emiology:

n

de

Man'smemorablehrase,Uptill ery ecently,renchrit-

ics never

othered

o read at all

...

all

of

them

reat an-

guage,

n

tsfunction

s carrier f

ubjectivexperience,

s

if

t

were

transparent'.4

hile

cannot ee the

study

f

'rhetoric's a

paradigm

or

musical

hought

owadays,

he

hermeneutical

mpulse

ehind

his

uzz-words

welcome s

an antidoteo

the elativism

hich

t

can

nform,

ndto

the

positivism

hich

oth an

hope

o

transcend.

I

noted arlier hat twould e

important

o ook or

ome

historical

epth

n

these

deliberations,

or

raditional

vi-

dence

hat

eople

ave,

o to

peak,

ot

bothered

oread t

all'. The evidence

o

be

presented

s

necessarily

ean,

but

selected

ecause t s

both cute nd

representative.

have

also

chosen o avoid

he

mainstreamf

Schoenberg

om-

mentary

for

nstance,

eller,

r

Maegaard,

r Lessem

which xudescontemporaryesonances hat, orme at

least,

nhibit he

particular

indof

commentary

eeded

here. First s a

quotation

rom ouis

Fleury's

rticle f

October

924 ntitledAbout

Pierrotunaire"':

3

Charles

osen,

rnold

choenberg

New

ork,

975),

8

Dear

Sir

advertisement

I

think thisadvert

breaks

some

rules

Advertisements

re

xpected

o

onform

o

rules

and

standardsaiddown

by

the

Advertising

Standards

Authority.

ost do.

The

few

that

don't

we'd like

you

towrite n

about.

Andf ou'dike copy f hese ules or ress,

poster

nd cinema

dvertisements,

lease

send

for

urbooklet.

t's

ree.

The

Advertising

tandards

Authority.

We're here to

put

t

right.V

ASA

Ltd.,

ept.

Y,

Brook

House,

orrington

lace,

ondon

WC E

7H

N.

This-space

s

donated

n

he nterests

f

high

tandards

f

dvertising

4

Paul

de

Man,

heResistanceo

Theory

Manchester,

986),

3

733



Of ourset

was

Schtinberg's

wn

ersonality

hatmost ished

tobecome

cquainted

ith,

nd wasnot

isappointed.

n

that

small,

ctive

an,

lways

n

motion,

ith

piercing

nd

oving

eye

ndmobile

ips,imple

ndress

nd

n

manner,

ndwithout

semblancef

pose,

here

s

nothing

hat

uggests

hehunter

afterensationaluccess r he

pstartining

or

dvertisement.

If

hisname asmade

stir

t

s

certainly

n

pite

f imself.ll

that

hadheard

f

im,

f is olitarinessnd

naccessibility,

f

his ife ar rom istractionsnd

wrappedp

nhis

work,

as

fully

onfirmed

y

uch elations

s

I

had

with im. ne

hingmayeconfidentlysserted,nd hatshis bsoluteincerity.5

The

mythicmagery

ere deserves

ittle omment:he

eye

s not ull nd

disinterested,

ut

piercing

nd

roving'

s

onewould

xpect

f

superman;

choenberg

s

solitary

nd

inaccessible,

ike

president;

e s

wrappedp

nhis

work',

just

ike

hat

nsanitary

dealist

eethoven;

nd above

ll,

placed

s an

epiphany,choenberg

s

endowedwithabso-

lute

incerity'presumably

ot

isibly.

hatmerits

reater

comment

s

the xtent o which ll of his

s

figural,

ather

than redible.

What,

fter

ll,

s

necessarily rong

with

being

'hunter fter ensationaluccess'?Even

f

t

were

wrong

n some

anthropologically

eterminable

way,

Schoenberg

ook bvious

leasure,

ot

nly

n the

rtistic

achievementf ierrot,ut lso nthe imple act f ts uc-

cess atwhat

leury

ould oubtlessall

hemost

nworthy

level;

he

omposer

ven entured

o

pologise

or hefact.6

Andhowwas

Schoenberg

wrapped p

in his

work',

his

model-buildernd

bookbinder,

lanner

f

ubway ystems,

addicted

o

tennis,

nduringly

ransatlanticn his

itigious

approach

o

daily

ife?As

for

incerity,

doubt hat

he

satirist,

s

Schoenberg

vowedly

as n

Pierrot,

hould

ver

be accused f uch

lofty

entiment:

erhaps luery

ould

have

voided

he

piphany

ad

he been

writing

few

ears

later nd

known

f

choenberg's

ubious

ttempt

o

pillory

Stravinsky

n the

op.28

no.2

Satire'.Musical

hagiography

may lways eveal uchcontradictions.he question s

whether uch

contraditions

re ofthe

essence

of

musical

hagiography,

earing

n mind lso

thatmusic

nalysis

s a

species

f

extual

agiography

edicated

o

revealing,

s

I

have ommented

lsewhere,

ow

music

works

ndnot ow

itfails owork.

Here

is

a different

xample

rom he halo of

comment

which as encircled

ierrot,

gain

rom he

arly

ays.

aul

Bekkerwrote

newspaper

olumn

n

1921whichwas a

recantation,

early

decade

on,

of

his initial enial of

Pierrot's

alue.He now

egards

hework s

excellent,

ot-

ing

hat,

ven

f

pacepermitted,erbally

e

could otmake

the actual

ualities

fthismusic menable

o the

under-

standing:

Schoenbergs not nly ew, olshevistndnihilist,e snotonlympotent,ut ndeedhemedicsavenvestigatedimnd

5

Frangois

esure,

ossiere

presse

e

Pierrot

unaire

Geneva, 985),

84-5

6

Arnold

choenberg,

tein,

d.,

Style

nd dea

(London, 975),

51. His

somewhat

nnerving

dmissions

of

trying

o ct n

his]

wn

ehalf

s an

historian'.

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provedcientifically

hat e suffersromnfantilism.hat's ll

well nd

good,

ut

t

hasno further

onsequences.

he

force

which ocksll

hese

hings

ies

n he

rue

ork

f

rt.7

There

follows

n ecstatic

escription

f

he

ulturally

so-

lated

world f

Pierrot,

hich

an

be

heard

nly

with

open

ears',

erceived nly

n

a

'free

lay'

f he enses.

And

how

doesthis ome bout?

Today,nlyne hingstobe desired: hereverheresspiritual

life,

et erious

eople apable

f

eeling

ome

ogether

ithout

preconceptions.8

For all that his

ppears

o be

commendablyrogressive,

it

uses a textural

evice

owhich ekker

as

fallen

is

own

victim;

or hedeath f he uthor as

already

een

guaran-

teed

n the

ssertion

hat

hework

f rtmust

e

accepted

purely

n

ts

own

erms,

o

that

he

mbarrassingly

ewish,

bolshevist,ihilist,

nfantile

omposer,learly

ot erious

n

himself

r

capable

of

feeling,

as

already

een excluded

from he charmed ircleofthose

worthy

o imbibe his

remarkableewmusic.

In both he

foregoing

ases

we

have

been

dealing,

ot

with

eportage,

ut

with arrative

esign

hat,

heoretically,

thewriters ould urelyenys literal.his s ust urmise;but t s hard o believe hat ither

leury

r Bekkerwould

stick o theirevidence' nder

ross-examination,

nd

their

plea

of

narrativeicence could

hardly

e disallowed n

precedent

r n

the

ight

f

ubsequent

iscourse.

erhaps

none

of

thiswouldmatter

much,

f t were restrictedo

hagiography

nd

vilification,

nd

hus f

ittle

nteresto

the

music heorist. et uch

explicit

arrative

anipulation

n

biography

nd criticism inds ts

mplicit ounterpart

n

what

might

e

called,

omewhat

ronicallyerhaps,

echni-

cal

commentary

n themusic.

hus

Ernst

ychnovsky

rit-

ing

n 1913 nDie Musik:

This

musical

mele

of ll the

nstruments,

hedissolutionf

tonality,

he

tifling

f

hythmic

eeling,

he nnaturalnessf he

reciting

oice,

hichs childish

hen

t eeks o

be

childlike,

this snothingut defamationf he onceptfmusic nd

would

ike o earn romhe

rave

hetherhe

evelopment

f

music

will

eally

ave

gone

he

way

n which

choenberg

embarkedn hePierrotunaire'

ongs.9

There

s

much f nterest ere. he musical

m

lee

of ll

the nstruments'id

become,

fter

ll,

technical

yword

n

accounts

f

Pierrot

s

one

generation

fternotherdmired

the onic esources

choenberg

rew rom ive

layers

nd

eight

nstruments,

ever nce

used n the same combina-

tion

hrough

wenty-one

elodramas.

he

stifling

f

rhyth-

mic

feeling'

erhaps

efers o the

variety

f rticulation

n

Pierrot,

o the istener's

ifficulty

n most fthemusic f

determining

ts

metre: nother

ommentator

oted

he

'rhythms

hat re so

persistently

aried as to become

monotonous'.'0 ver the unnaturalness'fthereciting

voice

Rychnovsky

arns littleess credence ut lso a lit-

tlemore: n the ne

hand,

e

betrays

is ackof

familiarity

with

ontemporaneous

ashion,

ithViennese

heatrical

declamation,

ith

har,

Humperdinck

nd

Gerlach,

ith

the Berlin

abaret,

withKarl

Kraus's

recitations;

n the

other

hand,

the

nterpretation

f

Schoenberg's

prech-

stimme as to

become

permanent

bstacle

o the ssimi-

lation f

Pierrot,

nd

Rychnovsky

ouldhavehad the

grim

satisfaction

f

knowing

hat his

spect

f he

composition

never

id

ome

o

be

seen s natural'

Sprechstimme

ay

have

been

a

stimuluso the

development

f xtended ocal

technique,

ut

t

didnot tself

ecome universalechnical

precedentecause t snot particularlyuccessful ay f

writing

or

he oice.

As for he defamationf he

concept

f

music',

his s a

classic

selected ecause t s

archetypal

of he

esistance

to

theory.

f

heory

s

a consensus n the

principles

f

how

to

proceed,

hen

n

this

very

iberal ense of the term

Pierrotwas a

concept

of

music

already

written efore

Schoenberg

atdown o doit n 1912.His

contemporaries

might

ave been

forgiven

f

hey

ad

pointed

ut ome of

the

following

nevitabilities:hat t

was

high

ime

hemae-

stro

id commedia'

ork,

ince

veryone

lse ofnotehad

either

one

so

or was

about

o;

that

Wagner,

s

Humper-

dinck nd

many

thers

elieved,

ad for he

momentirtu-

ally

xhaustedhe

possibilities

f he

onventionallyitched

humanoice ndother eightenedinds f ocal xpressiv-

ity

were obe

tried;

hat restricted edium

as,

s

many

composers

ere

howing,

n

antidote,

ong

before he

prac-

tical

xigencies

f heGreat

Warwere ven

hought

f,

o

the

upermedium

f

he

ymphony

f

thousand,

specially

when ndividual

layers

were

becoming

o

proficient

nd

instrumentso

reliable

s a

result fthe

ndustry,

oth

technological

nd

human,

f

the nineteenth

entury;

hat

theconventionsf

onality

ere

o

very bviously

n

1912

not o

be

expected

f

Europe's

est

omposers,

elf-evident-

ly

f

choenberg,

hohadbeen

ploughing

new urrowor

four

ears,

ut ven f

Stravinsky,

hose etrushkaf1911

gave

ome

ndicationndwhoseRite

f

pring

onfirmedn

grand

tyle;

hat

what

has

recently

ome to

be calledthe

'multi-piece'

as

therefore

highly-valued

orm

fwhich

Pierrot,nterms f tsmotivic ecurrencesndstructural

paraphrases,

s an

unexceptional

xample.

Most

ontemporaries

idn't,

s

it

were,

ead hehistorical

text. n our current

erms,

hey erhaps

didn't ave the

means o

read he

ext.

ychnowsky's

concept'

fmusic

s

enshrinedn his

german

word

Begriff',omething

hat

s

'seized',

ndno wonder e feels hat t s

being

efamed

y

Pierrot,

incehe doubtlessookmuch

roubleo bsorb

he

musical

eritage

hich

ad become

his value

ystem,

nd

since

he

regarded

t

as

a

'language'.

uman

eings

end o

be

merciless

n

defending

heir ctual

anguage,

hat

rinci-

pal

agent

n

maintaining

heir

dentity.

nd

they

end o

interpret

ther ctivitiess if

hey

unctionedn the

way

n

which

anguage

unctions.

his

tendency

s nowheremore

apparent

han n

Schoenberg's

wn iew fmusic s a disci-

pline,which erfectlyatcheshe inguistic odel fthe

trivium:

grammar'

s

pursued

throughout

he Harmo-

nielehrend n the ater

edagogical

orks;

rhetoric's the

basic

paradigm

or

choenberg's

dea of

Darstellung',

f

understanding

usic s a

system

f

presentation';

logic',

and

the nature f a

strictly

musical'

ogic,preoccupied

7

Lesure,

p.

it.,

3

8

ibid.,

4

9

bid.,

1

10

James

uneker

n

Lesure,

p.cit,

1

735



.

,,,

E

URE ONDROITDR

Patron:

HER

MAJESTY

THE

QUEEN

President:

HER

MAJESTY

UEEN

ELIZABETH

HE

QUEEN

MOTHER

OFTH

ROAL

SCHOS

OMSI

Introducing

he

Preparatory

est

The

Associated

Board s

introducing

he

Preparatory

est

for ll instruments

here

Grade

1 examination

s

already

offered. ests

for

piano,

violin and cellowill

begin

n

1990;

other

instruments

ill

follow n

1991.

Purpose

The

purpose

of this est

s

to

provide

an assessment

or

pupils

after

pproximately

ix

to nine

months

uition,

nd to

encourage

the

laying

of

good

technical

nd

musical foundations

before

upils

enter

or

raded

examinations.

Music :

The

testwill nclude basic

exercises,

set

piece,

a

piece

of the

candidate's

own choice and

some simpleaural tests.

Assessment

A written

eport

will be

given

by

the

examiner,

roviding

positive

omments

under the

following

eadings:

Note

accuracy,

Rhythm,

one,

Posture,

Aural

response,

nd

General

mpression.

No marks

will be awarded.

Certificate

A

certificate

ill be

given

to each

candidate

by

the examiner

t the

end of

the

assessment,

which

will nclude

the examiner's

report.

Entry

A

special

entry

orm

must

be

used,

copies

are available

from edford

quare.

The

entry

ee

for he

Preparatory

estwill be ?9.50

per

candidate.Assessments

will be

held

outside

the

normal xamination

eriod,

he

closing

dates

for

1990

being:

Session

1

30th

March 1990

for

assessment n 1st, ndand 3rdMay.Session2

28th

eptember

990 for ssessment

n

29th,

0th

and 31st

October.

Teachers

will be notified f

the

date and

time

of the assessments

s

soon as

possible

after he

closing

date.

Preparatory

est

assessments

may

also be

takenon the same

day

as

Special

Visitswhich re

outside the

normal

examination

eriods.

Closing

Date for

A'

period

The

next

losing

datefor

ntry

o the

graded

examinations

s:

Friday

19th

January

990

for

March-April

Enquiries

nd

requests

for urthernformation

hould

be addressed

to:

RonaldSmith

Chief

Executive

nd Director f Examinations

The Associated Board

of the

Royal

Schools

of Music

14 Bedford

quare

London

WC1B

3JG

Telephone

01-636

400/4478

Fax 01-436

520

Schoenberg

n

the

now-famous

Gedanke'

manuscripts.

nd

no

wonder

herewas

no

finality

n

all

this

ndeavour.

s

de

Man

puts

t

n

his

notorious

ssay,

he

elements

f

gram-

mar,

hetoricnd

ogic

mount

o a set of

unresolveden-

sions

powerful

nough

o have

generated

n

infinitely

ro-

longed

iscourse

f

ndless

rustration'.11

I referred t the

beginning

f this

essay

to whatwas

called

the

underlying

ssue'

n this

kind

f

enquiry.

he

enquiryver, offeromeclosing emarks n thatssue,

which

s,

s

noted

lready,

n

epistemological

atter.

The

human

ciences,

hich mbrace

o much hat

hey

must

lways

e

suspected

f

revealing

hecontradictions

and

mponderables

f

n

underlyinghilosophical

readmill,

breed lienation

n

the nterested

ayperson.

field f

earn-

ing

s

comprehensive

s music

imilarly

reeds lienation

among

hose

iewing

ts

ubdisciplines.

etover

nd

above

this

ndless

mbedding

f

misunderstanding,

hich

s in

musicology

ften wilfulnd

hereforet east rivial isun-

derstanding,

e must

ling

o

the

possibility

f

hinking

n

credible ew

ways.

f,

s some

iterary

ritics

ay,

not

nly

do

we

seem o dislike

heorising,

ut

art

f he

ery

ower

of

heory

s

that

t

ntails

ts wn

bnegation,

can't hink

f

a

good

reasonnot o isten nd earn rom

hem,

ince his

mechanism eems so characteristicfdiscourse bout

music.

Evenmore

ncouragingly,hy

hould t not

lso

be that

musical

iscourse as itsown

mode

f

development

hich

is

relatively

ndependent?

his

s

highlyikely,

fwe know o

however

imited

n extent

what

we're

doing,

iven

hat

music tselfs thenearest

xperience

e

have o an alterna-

tive

ative

language'.

mberto co

pointed

ut hat

in

my

exaggerated

words musical discourse

was centuries

aheadofmodern

iteraryheory.

erhaps

his

meant,

more

explicitly,

nd

assuming

co knew

whathe was

talking

about,

hat tructuralismas

always

n

the

foreground

f

musical

iscourse,

ut urfaced

verywhere

lse as a cul-

tural

reoccupationnly

n hemid-twentieth

entury.

f

hat

is

so,

t

needs obe driven

ome n

non-language

isciplines

likeours hateverywherelse' structuralismas nowdrift-

ed

by.

f we as musicianshave resisted new theories

because

we

were

already

sed

to the

conflict

nherent

n

theory,

hat

s no

excuse

or

ailing

o ask nowwhetherhe

eras of

unacknowledgedeading

re

gone,

whether

he

momentf

meeting

idnot

ass

a

decade

or

two

go

when

'structure'

ecame

fashionable,

ndwhether

n the

future,

as

in the

past,

we

should

ot

gain xpect

o become solat-

ed,

perhaps

n a

new

ge

when,

o be

specific,

here re no

independent

heories

f

music,

ut

only

heories f

how o

compose

t.

This rticlewas

first

iven

s

a

paper

t

the

989 Annual

Meeting

f

he

oyal

Musical

ssociation,

hich asdedicat-

ed to

opics

n

Music

ndRhetoric.

Jonathan unsby

s

Professor

f

Music t the

University

f

Reading

11

e

Man,

op.

cit.,

3

736



Pierrot LunaireAuthor(s): R. A. WheelerReviewed work(s):Source: Music & Letters, Vol. 33, No. 4 (Oct., 1952), p. 376Published by: Oxford University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/729783 .

Accessed: 22/09/2012 04:23





.

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Letters.


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MUSIC

AND LETTERS

USIC

AND LETTERS

TOVEY AND

THE

GRAMOPHONE

Sir,

In the interests of absolute

accuracy

it

may

be

as well to

correct

the

statement

made

in Dr. Grierson's book

on

Tovey

and

repeated

in Dr.

Dickson's

review of

it in

Music &

LETTERS,

hat

no

gramophone

record

of

Tovey's piano playing

exists. There is

on the last

side

of

the ten records

of

the

Roth

Quartet's

performance

of' The

Art

of

Fugue'

a

recording

of

Tovey's playing

of

his

conjectural ending

of

that work

(Columbia

Record Ref. No.

ROX

145).

It is

true

that

this record is

in rather

a

special

category,

but

I think it

gives

a

fair

impression

of

Tovey's

Bach

playing generally,

and

it at least

deserves to be

regarded

as

an historical

document

of some

interest.

I

confess

I

have listened to it oftener

than

I

have to

the rest

of the set to

which it

belongs.

But

that,

I

tell

myself,

has nothing to do with Bach, although it may have something to do with

the fact that

Tovey always

maintained

that 'The Art of

Fugue'

was

keyboard

music. It

certainly

is

not

string quartet

music.

STEWART

DEAS.

University

of Sheffield.

PIERROT

LUNAIRE

Sir,

In

your

review

of 'Bel Canto

in the Golden

Age'

you

state

that

with

the

exception

of such

eccentric

productions

as

Schonberg's

'Pierrot', all vocal music requires beautiful

rather

than

ugly singing

.

I should

like to

point

out

that

'

Pierrot'

is a work for

reciter,

not

singer,

and that

your

two

references

to it are

therefore

not

relevant.

R. A. WHEELER.

West

Wickham.

REVIEWERS

B. W. G. R. . . . Bernard Rose

E.

J.

.

.

Evan

John

P. A.

T.

. .

.

.

Peter

Tranchell

R.

C.

.

.

. .

Editor

T.

D .

. .

.

Thurston

Dart

TOVEY AND

THE

GRAMOPHONE

Sir,

In the interests of absolute

accuracy

it

may

be

as well to

correct

the

statement

made

in Dr. Grierson's book

on

Tovey

and

repeated

in Dr.

Dickson's

review of

it in

Music &

LETTERS,

hat

no

gramophone

record

of

Tovey's piano playing

exists. There is

on the last

side

of

the ten records

of

the

Roth

Quartet's

performance

of' The

Art

of

Fugue'

a

recording

of

Tovey's playing

of

his

conjectural ending

of

that work

(Columbia

Record Ref. No.

ROX

145).

It is

true

that

this record is

in rather

a

special

category,

but

I think it

gives

a

fair

impression

of

Tovey's

Bach

playing generally,

and

it at least

deserves to be

regarded

as

an historical

document

of some

interest.

I

confess

I

have listened to it oftener

than

I

have to

the rest

of the set to

which it

belongs.

But

that,

I

tell

myself,

has nothing to do with Bach, although it may have something to do with

the fact that

Tovey always

maintained

that 'The Art of

Fugue'

was

keyboard

music. It

certainly

is

not

string quartet

music.

STEWART

DEAS.

University

of Sheffield.

PIERROT

LUNAIRE

Sir,

In

your

review

of 'Bel Canto

in the Golden

Age'

you

state

that

with

the

exception

of such

eccentric

productions

as

Schonberg's

'Pierrot', all vocal music requires beautiful

rather

than

ugly singing

.

I should

like to

point

out

that

'

Pierrot'

is a work for

reciter,

not

singer,

and that

your

two

references

to it are

therefore

not

relevant.

R. A. WHEELER.

West

Wickham.

REVIEWERS

B. W. G. R. . . . Bernard Rose

E.

J.

.

.

Evan

John

P. A.

T.

. .

.

.

Peter

Tranchell

R.

C.

.

.

. .

Editor

T.

D .

. .

.

Thurston

Dart

37676



Pythagoras and Pierrot: An Approach to Schoenberg's Use of Numerology in the Constructionof 'Pierrot lunaire'Author(s): Colin C. SterneReviewed work(s):Source: Perspectives of New Music, Vol. 21, No. 1/2 (Autumn, 1982 - Summer, 1983), pp. 506-534Published by: Perspectives of New Music

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/832890 .Accessed: 22/09/2012 04:28





.

Perspectives of New Music is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Perspectives

of New Music.


http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=pnm





http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=pnm



PYTHAGORAS AND

PIERROT

an

approach

to

Schoenberg's

use of

numerology

in

the

construction f

Pierrot

unaire'

Colin

C.

Sterne

"It

s not

uperstition,

t

s

belief."'

hus did Arnold

choenberg

defend

he

mportance

e

attached

othe

power

f

numerology

nd to ts

influencen his ife.

isfear

f

he

number

hirteenscommon

nowledge.

So, too,

s the

way

n

which hat umber

arked

isbirth

September

3,

1874)

anddeath

Friday,

uly

3, 1951,

t

ge

76).

Schoenberg

s

said o

have bservedhe

lagging

f

his reative

nergyuring

he

ompositional

process

t

measures

whose

numbers

ere

thirteenr

its

multiples,

circumstancehat eportedlyedto hisnumberingfmeasuresnhis

manuscripts

s

12, 12a,

14. We

are

told

hat

ven he

hoice f

name

forhis

son,

Lawrence

dam,

was made

only

fter

oland,

he

name

originally

ntended

orhim

and

an

anagram

f

hisfather'sirst

ame),

wasfoundobe

numerologically

nfavorable.

choenberg's

lmost

atho-

logical

ear

fthenumber hirteen

roduced

orebodings

f his

death,

and,

ne

suspects,

ay

venhave

ontributed

o

bringing

t

bout.

Nor has the number

ymbolism

f

Schoenberg's

ierrot

unaire

beencompletelyverlooked.thas beennoted hat orhisOpus 21

Schoenberg

hose

21 ofAlbert

iraud's

ifty

oems

s texts

translated

from renchnto

German

y

Otto

rich

Hartleben),iving

he

work

he

complete

itle

reimal ieben

Gedichteus ALBERT

GIRAUDs

ierrot

lunaire,

nd

beginning

o

compose

it in the

thirdmonth f

a

year

containing

he

ymbolic

igits

1 in

reverse

rder,

912.

In

spite

f ll

this,

urprisingly

ittlettentionas been

focused

n the

part

hat he



507

numbers

and

7

play

s structural

eterminantsithin he

work-

something

choenberg's

itle

bviouslyuggests.2

Pierrotunaire

s indeed

governed

y

numbers,

ot

by

the

crisp,

bright

umbers

f

mathematics,

ut

by

the

more

shadowy,

moonlit

numbers

f

numerology.

ome

knowledge

f basic

numerological

procedure

s

essential,

hen,

efore

pproaching

he

music.3

The

numerologist

s convinced

hat umbers

nd

number elation-

ships overnhe niversendthat hewell-beingf n individualepends

upon

his

being

n

ccord

with

osmic

ibrations.e traces isbelief

ack

to

ntiquity-to

he

gyptians,

ebrews,haldeans, hoenicians,hinese,

and

Hindus--but

t

s

Pythagoras

owhom e

gives

redit or

stablishing

the

system

n theWest.As to the

power

f numbers

n

individuals,

person's

name nd birthdatere

the

two

reas

where he

nfluence

f

numbers

s

most

trongly

elt. o determinehe everal

umber

ibrations

in

person's

ame,

he

etters

f

he

lphabet

re

numbered

onsecutively

from

through

6. In all

aspects

f

numerology,

owever,

ouble-digit

numbersrereduced osingle-digitumbersy dding hedigits. he

tenthetter

f he

lphabet,

,

or

xample,

s not

numbered

0,

but . The

following

hart

ill

emonstratehe

procedure.

1

2

3

4 5 6

7

8 9

A B

C

D E F

G H

I

J

(K)

L

M N

O

P

Q

R

S T U (V) W X Y Z

Note hat wo

etters,

and

V,

are

parenthesized.

hey

re

the11th

and

22nd

letters

f he

lphabet

espectively,

nd

they

etain

hose

alues.

Exceptions

othe

eneral

ule,

1

and

22

are

never

educedn

raditional

numerology

nd

are

referred

oas

master

umbers.

The

application

f

the

chart

may

be

demonstrated

y

using

Schoenberg's

ame:

ARNOLD

SCHOENBERG

195634

1386552597

(=28

=

10=)1 +(=

51=)6

=

7



508

The

process

s that f

ssigning

ach letternthe

name tsnumber

value,

rriving

t

two

ums,

ne

for

he

first ame

nd one for he

ast,

reducing

hose

ums

by

dding

igits,

nd

arriving

t the

inal

um,

-

the

basicnumber

alue

or

choenberg's

ame.

Expression

umber"s

the

numerological

erm.

ut

here re

additional

umberso be

derived

from

person's

name.

Here

is

a

list

of

those

pertaining

o

Arnold

Schoenberg:4

First

ame LastName Total

Basic

number

expression)

1

+

6

=

7

Consonants

quiescent

elf)

3

+

8

=

11

Vowels

soul

urge)

7

+

7

=

5

Firstnitial

cornerstone)

1

=

1

Total

numberf

etters

name ycle)

6

+

1

=

7

The

procedure

or

rriving

t thebirth atenumbers not

ertinent

to thematter

mmediately

t

hand.

Nor re thenumbers

ssociated

ith

the

planets,

ith

olors,

with

ems,

tc.Butnumbersre also associated

with

he

notes

f he

cale.

The

traditional

rocedure,

ne

geared

o the

diatonic

cale,

was

obviously

f ittlese to

Schoenberg.

is

modification,

to

be

substantiated

resently

romts

pplication

n

Pierrot,

esultsn

the

following

etof

number

alues

or

he

hromaticcale:

C

C#

D

D#

E F

F#

G

G#

A A

B

1 2 3

7

5

6

7

8

9

1 11

3

Itwillbe seen that

choenberg's

rocedure

f

assigning

umber

values o caledegreesssimilarothat sedfor he lphabet. ,the enth

note

n the

hromatic

cale,

s

reduced

o

become

1,

and

B,

the

welfth

note,

ecomes

.

A#.

s

expected,

s not

educed,

ut etainstsmaster

number,

1.

Totally

nexpected,

owever,

s the

ssigning

f7 to

D4,

the ourth



509

note.

choenberg's

erivation

f7 for hat ote

s not ifficulto

discover:

D#

s not

only

he

fourth

ote n a chromaticcale

built n

C,

but

he

sixteenths well.And

16=6+1=

7.

But

hat

an

Schoenberg's

eason

be?

The most

ogical

xplanation

as

to

do withhatateful

umber,

3.

In

reduction,

3=4.

And

Schoenberg

eems

determined

o

avoid

13,

even

in

ts eduction.

n

additionalactor

ay

e that

#

s

E

b

has

particular

significance

or he

omposer:

s Es

in

German

t

s his

ignature

ote,

representing

he

nitialf his astname.

To

give

his

mportant

ote 4

valuewouldbe unthinkable.

There

willbe occasion o returnoD*-Eb

and

Schoenberg's

usical

ignatureater.)

wo dditionalonuses

esult

from

he

banishmentf

4 from hecanon:

1)

the

scale is

thusmade

consistent

ith he

lphabet,

oth

having

total umber

alue f

9,

and

(2)

the

calecontains

double

ortion

f

choenberg's

avorite

umbers,

1,

3,

and 7.

In

the

title

f

Pierrot

choenberg

ndicateshe

mportance

n

the

work f

wo

numbers,

and

7.

The

importance

f heir

roduct,

1,

is

also implied,ndalthough1 does indeed ssume ome mportancen

Pierrot,

t

must e

rememberedhat

umerologically

1

=3.

It

has been

pointed

ut,

or

xample,

hat he

pus

number f

Pierrot,

1,

is

reversed

in

he ast

wo

igits

f he

year

f

ts

omposition,

912. But his

s

not

he

point.

heterm

retrograde"

s not

part

f he

numerologist's

ocabulary.

Ratherre 12

and 21

related ecause

both re

3 values.

On the

other

hand,

he

umof

and

7

is

important

n

Pierrot.

he

additionf

numbers

is,

fter

ll,

n

essential

art

f

numerology:

+3= 10=

1.

Numerologists

often oint ut, hough,hat numberrrived t byreduction ever

completely

oses its

original

mprint.

1

arrived t

through

0,

for

example,

till

etainshe

vibrationsf

10. This factwill

igure

o

some

extentn

the

nalysis

f

Pierrot.

There

re,

hen,

hree

umbershat

ssume

primary

mportance

n

Pierrot:

, 7,

and

1.

Numbers

1

and 10

lurk

n

he

background,

aking

their

resence

elt,

utnot

eing

ut

o use

except

s 3

and 1.

Two

other umbers

igure

n

Pierrot

hat re

not

ingled

ut

n

the

title

f the

work:

he

master

umbers,

1

and 22.

There re

several

reasonsfor heir ppearance. he firstfthesehas to do with heir

numerological

ignificance.

t

must e

kept

n

mind hat

, 7,

and

1

are

not

merely

umberso

numerologists.

hey

re

not

ven

lucky"

umbers.

Rather

re

they owerful

orces or

ood

or

evil,

xerting

heir

nfluence

on the niverse

nd

profoundly

ffecting

he ives

f

ndividuals.r

at east



510

they

ere hat

or

Arnold

choenberg.

ere re

meanings

or

,

7,

and

1

that

re

generallygreed

pon

bynumerologists:

3

-

artist,

he ealm

f

rtistic

xpression

7 -

priest,

he ealm f

pirituality

1

-

creator,

nnovator,

ioneer,

he

ealm

f

invention,

f nnovation

The

three umbers

ay

e seen as

appropriate

o Arnold choen-

berg.

But more

mportant,hey

re

particularlyppropriate

o

Pierrot

lunaire,

here

he rt-artist

elationship

nd the

piritualspect

ofthat

relationship

s

a

primary

heme.

11

and

22 have hese

meanings:

11

-

idealist,

isionary,

reamer,

he ealm

f

rtistic

inspiration

22

-

practical

dealist,

ne

whouses his

power

o benefit

mankind

Again,

he

ppropriateness

f

hese

umbers

o

the

ubject

matterf

Pierrotsapparent.hestronglavorf11 and22 throughouthefinal

section

f

Mondestrunken,"

hefirst

ong

n

Pierrot,

uggests

choen-

berg's

iew f

he

Poet-Pierrot-Schoenberg

igure

escribed

here.5

Number

1

is

also

important

ecause

t

figuresmong

Schoen-

berg's

wn

namenumbers.

nd

inally,

t

s of ome

nterestonote

hatt

is associated

with omeone

else who

figures

n

Schoenberg's

work:

Pierrot

imself,

hose

otal

amenumber

s

11,

whose

nitial

umber

s

7,

andwhose

name

ontains

letters.

The 3X7 poemsofAlbert iraudwhich hoenbergelected or

Pierrot

re each

thirteen

ines

ong.

However,

he

poetic

orm,

hat

f

he

rondeau,

aves

he

omposer

rom

ver

having

o come

to

grips

with

3,

since ines

ne and

two

of

each

poem

are

repeated

s

lines

even nd

eight,

nd

ine ne s

repeatedgain

s

line

hirteen.heresult

s

only

0

(= 1)

different

ines

n

each

poem.

choenberg's

omposition,

is

Opus

21

(=3),

was

composed

n

1912

=3),

when

he

omposer

as

37

years

old

=

10=

1).

He commenced

ork n

the

omposition

n

Tuesdayday

3

of he

week),

March

month

)

12

(=3),

and

he had

completed

0 of

the 1 songsbyMay 0. Hedelayedompletinghework, owever,ntil

he

could

omplete

he

emaining

ong

n

Tuesdayday

),

Julymonth

)

9--the

numbers

f

he wo

ates,

2 and

9,

adding

p

to

21

(=3).6

In

his

otherwise

erman

itle,

choenberg

etains

he rench

Pierrot

unaire"--

with letters

neach

word.

ive

nstrumentalists

nd

a reciter

re called



511

for o

perform

he

work,

nd

they,

lus

conductor,

orm

group

f7.

With he hree

pecified

lternate

nstruments

piccolo,

ass

clarinet,

nd

viola),

his umber

ecomes

7+3=-10=1.

A

most

mpressiveisplay

f

Pierrot

umberss

presented

n

the

1914

edition's

itle

age,

theformatfwhichmust

ertainly

avebeen

overseen

y

he

omposer.

he numberf ettersnd ofwords n ach of

its ines

s

used

to

produce

he

ignificant

umbersf he

omposition:

words

letters

per

ine

per

ine

3

DER

ERSTEN

NTERPRETIN 20=2

3

FRAU

LBERTINE

EHME 18=9

3

INHERZLICHERREUNDSCHAFT

24=6

17=8-

=22

3 DREIMALIEBEN EDICHTE 21=3

3

AUSALBERT

IRAUDS

16=7

2

PIERROT

UNAIRE 14=5

5

(DEUTSCH

ON

OTTO ERICH

ARTLEBEN)

28=1 =16=

7

16=7

-

31

FOr

ine

prechstimme

19=1

7

=

16=

Klavier,

l6te

auch

Piccolo),

larinette

auch

Bass- 41

=5

6

7

Klarinette),eige auchBratsche)

nd

Violoncell

40=4

10=1

-

=11

1

(MELODRAMEN)

10=1

1

=

4von

3

2

ARNOLD

CHONBERG

15=6

10=1

Op.

21



512

Even he

ndividual

oems

f

Pierrot

hare,

or

hemost

art,

n

this

number

lay

withwords

nd

letters,

nd one factorn the

composer's

choices from

Hartleben's

ifty

ranslations

ould seem to have been

whetherr

not heir

umbersittedisown

cheme. he text f Monde-

strunken,"

he irst

f

he

ongs,

its

xtremely

ell:

words

letters

per ine per ine

7

Den

Wein,

en

manmit

ugen

rinkt,

27=9

7

GiesstNachts er

Mond

n

Wogen

nieder,

32=5

4]7

Und ineSpringflutberschwemmt 29=11

3J

Den stillen orizont. 18=9

16=

34=7

7

4] Geloste,chauerlichnd Oss, 25=7

5 Durchschwimmen

hne

Zahl

die Fluten

31= 4

7 Den

Wein,

en

man

mit

ugen

rinkt,

27=9

7 GiesstNachts erMond n

Wogen

nieder.

32=5

25= 7

61

Der

Dichter,

endie Andacht

reibt,

29=1

1

6

257

Berauscht

ich n dem

heilgen

ranke,

31=

4

5 Gen Himmel endetrverzCckt 25=7

8

Das

Haupt

nd aumelnd

augt

nd

schlorft

r

37=

1

7 Den

Wein,

en

manmit

ugen

rinkt.

27=9

32=5

19=10=1

"Mondestrunken"ill lso serve o demonstratehemusical

ro-

cedure of

Arnold

choenberg.

he three tanzasof Giraud's

poem

impose

n

the

piece

ts verall

esign

f

hree

musical

ections,

he lose

of

ach section

eing

marked

y

ritard.

ection

is

14

(=5)

measures

in

ength.

ection

Ialso consists f14

(=5)

measures,

nd Section

II

s



513

11

(=11)

measures

n

length.

he total

ength

f the

piece

is 39

(=12=3)

measures,

ut ts

numerological

ength

s

5+5+11 =21=3.

The

nfluence

f

he

ive

umbers,,3,

7,

11,

and

22,

is

felt,

owever,

ot

only

n he otal

ength

f

he

piece

nd

n he

engths

f ts

hree

ections,

but

nthe

ength

f

very

ne

of

ts

omponent

hrases

s

well.

he

time

span

of ach

phrase

and

each

rest)

s

measured

n

units

f

ighth

otes,

sixteenth

otes,

r,

ess

frequently,

uarter

otes.

choenberg's

hoice f

the

unit

f

measure

eems o

depend

n the

predominantctivity

ithin

phrase.

At times he

activity

f

the ines

oncurrent

ith

phrase

will

determinets

unit

f

measure.

Within

ach

phrase

ach

note

will

have

pitch

umber

alue,

nd

the

um

f

hese

alues,

n

ppropriate

eduction,

ill e the

itch

umber

value

f

he

phrase

s

opposed

o

ts

ime

pan

value.

Two additional

etsof

number alues re

generated

y

he

music.

The firstf

hese erives

rom

he

measurement

fdistances etweenhe

individual

itches

f

phrase. pplied

o

chords,

he

measurement

s

that

of he istanceetweenachof hepitch omponentsf he hord. hese

intervallic

alues re

normally

easured

n emitones.he

second

et s

a

simplequantitativeumbering

f the

pitches

hat

go

to

make

up

a

particular

egment

f line.

To sum

up,

there

re

four lements

n the

closed

number-system

used

by

choenberg

n

Pierrot:

1. Pitch

values,

derived rom he

numbers

s

assigned

by

Schoenberg

o

the

welve

otes f he

hromaticcale

2. Time panvalues, erived rommeasuringhe engthf

musical

tatement

or

rest)

n

eighth

otes,

ixteenth

otes,

or

quarter

otes

3. Intervallic

alues,

derived

rom

measuring

he

distances

between

itches,

n

either

melodic ine

or

a chord

formation,

he unitof

measurement

ormally

eing

the

semitone

4.

Quantitative

itch

alues,

erived rom

ounting

he

number

of

pitches

hat

o

tomake

p

a

particular

usical tatement

The

process

will e clarified

y ctuallypplying

t o

Schoenberg's

music. score f

Mondestrunken,"

ontaining

numerologicalnalysis,

formsn

integral

art

f he

present

rticle.n

pursuit

f

larity,

nly

lurs

and

phrase

markings

ave een

retained ith he

notes f ach

part,

uch

markings

s those

f

dynamics

nd

tempo

having

een

eliminated.

he



514

part

or he

reciter as been

beamed n

order o make

phrases

more

apparent,

nd

Schoenberg's

ote

tem

ancellations

n

that

art

have

been

removed.

Number

alues or

he ime

pan

of

each

phrase

ave

been

placed

below

he

staff,

hosefor

pitches

ave

been

placed

above,

with

otals

circled or

mphasis.

n xtended

hrases,

articularly

hose f

he

eciter,

subtotals

f maller

nits

ave een

alculated

here

hey

re

ppropriate.

Each

ubtotal

s

marked

ith

semicircle.

inal otals ave een omputed

fromhem

nd circled.7

"Mondestrunken"

egins

ith

quasi-ostinato

igurelayed y

iolin

and

piano.

he violin

igure

s one of

3

notes.

ach of he wo

pitches

n

the

figure,

#

nd

D#,

has

a

pitch

alue

f

7,

and

3X7=21 =3.

The

3

eighth

otes f he

igure,

ith heir

nitial

ighth

est

= 1),

are

repeated

four

imes,

hereby

ccupying

time

pan

of

16=7

eighth

otes. he

range

f he

igureD#-F#)

s

3 semitones.

Meanwhile,

he

piano

s

playing

figure

f7

notes

preceded

y

singleixteenthest 1).Thepitchalue f hese otes s 9+5+1 +3+

1

1+2+8=39= 12=3. The four

epetitions

f he

igureccupy

time

span

of

16=7

eighth

otes. he

range

f

he

igure,

"#-g"'#,

measured

in

emitones,

s

19=

10=

1.

Alternatively,

he

nterval

#-G#

f

onsidered

withinn

octave,

epresents

distance f

7

semitones.

he

unreduced

sum of

the

pitches

s

39-the

same

figure

s

the

total

number

f

measures

n

"Mondestrunken."

nd

its ntervallic

alue,

measured

n

semitones,

s4+4+2+4+9+6=29= 11. But

n

his

articular

nstance,

an interestinglternativeeasurementanbemadewith heunit f he

whole one:

Go

to E=2 whole

ones,

to C=2 whole

ones,

to

D= 1

whole

one,

nd

D

to

Bb=2

whole ones.

With he

umthus ar

t

7,

a

switch

s then

made o

the

econd f he

wo

vailable

hole one

cales,

and

the final

C#

to

G=3 wholetones.

The

result s 7+3=10=1.

Accepting

his ivision

f

he

notes nto +2 leads

o nother

evelation.

The

pitch

alue f he

irstive otes s 9+5+1+3+11

=29=

11,

and

that f

he

inal wo

notes

s

2+8=

10.

11

+10=21.

Before

he

iolinnd

piano igures

re

concluded,

he lute

akes

n

entry

ollowing

restwith time

pan

of 10

(=1)

eighths.

is line

occupies

time

pan

of

10

(=1) eighths,

nd the

pitch

alue fhisfive

notes s 1+11+1+7+1=21=3.

The intervallicalue of his

phrase

(measured

n

emitones)

s

14=5,

a subtotal

hich,

hen dded othe

value fhis econd

phrase,

esults

n 12= 3.



515

The reciter

elays

or time

pan

of7

eighths

efore

ntering

ith

phrase

whose ime

pan

s 21

(=3)

eighths.

ts

itch

alue s

11 +4= 15

=6,

but

hat f

he

following

hrase

s

22+6=28=10=1,

the

otal

f

the

wo

hrases

eing

+1

-7.

The intervallicalue

f

he

irst

hrase

s

34=7,

while

hat

f the

econd

phrase

s

49=13=4.

7+4=

11.

The

second

phrase,

ncidentally,

ince

it

begins

with

hree

ixteenth

otes

following

sixteenth

est,

must ave ts ime

pan

measurement

ade

n

sixteenths.

hat alue s

39 12= 3.

The

quantitative

itch

alues

n

Section of

Mondestrunken"re

as

follows;

Flute

5+(13=)4+(14=)5+(16=)7=21

=3

Violin

(12=)3+(28=)1

+

1

+

11

=

16=7

Reciter

(31=)4

Piano

(28=)1 +(19=)1

+9+(34=)7+(12=)3+(14=)5=26=8

The

part

or he

recitern

Section

contains 1

pitches,

figure

which t first

eems

disappointing.

n

measure

,

however,

choenberg

takes

n

unusual ction: e

insertsn

eighth

estbetween

he

yllables

"Spring"

nd

"flut." his

aesura

not

nly

roduces

n

unexpecteditch

value

f

22 at that

oint,

ut

lso divides he

ine

nto 1

pitches

lus

10

pitches. and1 arethus he wo uantitativealues.

The

total

uantitative

alue

or

he

ections 22. The

total or

ection

II

s

also

22,

andthat

or

ection

II

s 11.

22+22+11

=55=10=

1.

Both he

flute nd

the

reciter

egin

nd

end their

hrases

t the

beginning

f

Mondestrunken"

n

the

noteA

(=

1)

and

pivot

round

hat

pitch.

f

more nterest

s the

very

irst

oteof the

piece-the

piano's

opening

#

That

note

marks he

beginning

f

ach of he

hree

ections

of he

ong.

tsnumber

alue s

9,

and t

functions

hus.

G#

s,

however,

not nlyheninthhromaticote, utnote 1 as well-a fittingeynote,

then,

o

the

ong

nd to

the

ntire

omposition.

The

procedure

o be

observedn

"Mondestrunken",

s it

ontinues

to

unfold,

s the

procedure

or

hewhole

of

Arnold

choenberg's

Pierrot

lunaire.

, 3,

7, 11,

and

22

retain heir

ontrol

hroughout

he

omposition.

What s

fascinating,

owever,

s

therich

variety

f

pproaches

to

those

key



516

numbers.

art

I,

hat

ourney

nto

he

ark

ight

f he

oul,

ummons

p,

as

might

e

expected,

requentppearances

f 13. The malevolence

f

that umber

s

felt

nly

riefly,

owever,

efore

t

s

swiftly

ransformed

into

omething

ess inister.

xamples

rethe

pening

iano

notes fNo.

8

(5+8),

the

first

wo

notes

f

the

recitern

No. 9

(8+5),

thefirst

wo

string

hords

f

No.

10

(8 +5),

the

irst

wo

notes f he ecitern

No. 12

(5+8),

andthe irst

wo

notes

f he eciter

n

No.

13

(6+ 7).

As befitshe oetry,here remore elicitousppearancesfnumber

5

(freedom,

hange,

ccording

o

numerology)

n

Part

ll.

Two of

them

(5+5=10=1)

in the

pianopart

re

the

ast nstrumental

ounds

f he

piece.

They

re

preceded y

ne of

Schoenberg's

usical

ignatures,

n

this nstance

multi-layered

ne

A,

S,

AS,

and

A.

SCHoenBErG)

layed

by

he

piano

nd

occurring

n

measure 8

(=

10=

1)

of

he

inal

ong.

But

ertainlyy

now

he

point

as

been

made:number

ymbolism

plays

crucial

ole

n he

rganization

f

his

xtraordinary

omposition,

role

hat

choenberg

as carefulo

point

ut

n

the

itle,

nd one that

cannot e ignoredn ny horoughtudyf hework's tructure.

Finally,

n

pite

f he act hat

he

itle f

Pierrot

unaires

the

ingle

instancef ts

omposerndicating

isuse

of

numerology

n

he

tructuring

of

work,

he

procedure

s not

t

all

peculiar

o that

omposition.

sed

systematically

t leastas

early

s

the

Chamber

ymphony,

pus

9,

numerology

ontinued

o be used

by

choenberg

s a structuralevice

n

hismusic ntil

he

ery

ndof

his ife.

hroughout

he

eriod choenberg

remained

oyal

o

thenumbers sed

n

Pierrot

unaire:

, 3, 7,

11,

and

22. Butwithstonishingersatilityhismeagerroupessumes nnumer-

able roles

in

constantly

aried

ettings

nd

with

n

ever

changing

supporting

ast.

That

heir

ontribution

o

Schoenberg's

usichas

gone

unnoticed

s

most

nfortunate.

verlooking

he

revailing

umber

uphony

in a

work

uchas

Erwartung,

or

xample,

as led

to frustrationn

the

part

f hose ritics hose

iligent

earch asbeen or

more onventional

system

f

rder.

Perhaps

most

stonishing

f

all,

even

Schoenberg's

welve-tone

musicretains his

ndispensable

econd

ayer

f

numerological

rder.

The row

may ropose

he

equence

nwhich

itches

re to be used na

particular

omposition,

ut

rhythms,hrase

engths,

adence

points,

section

engths,

ote

epetitions,

hord

ormations,

ndrow

ranspositions

are

all

regulated,

ot

y

he

ow,

ut

y

he

numberalues

f

numerology.

Indeed,

n examination

f

choenberg's

ows hemselves

ill

eveal

hem



517

to

be,

not

rbitraryrrangements

f

welve

otes,

ut he areful

ntegration

ofthe

number

alues

of

those notes.

t

follows, hen,

hat o

emphasize

he

numbers

f the

row

n

this ater

music,

s has been

done,

and to

ignore

the

mystical

igures

f

numerology

s

to

project seriously

istorted

mage

of

the

composer

and

his

work.

NOTES

(1)

Quoted

by

Walter

ubsamen

n

"Schoenberg

n

America,"

he Musical

Quarterly,ol.XXXVII,o.4, October, 951.

(2)

George

Perle,

or

nstance,

in

his rticlePierrot

unaire,"

ublished

n

The

Commonwealth

f

Music,edited

y

Gustave eese

and

Rose

Brandel,

he

Free

Press,

New

York,

965)

makes

he

tatement

hat

Schoenberg's

se

of

magic

numbers

as,

f

ourse,

o musical

ignificance.

ince ach of

he

poems

onsists f

hirteen

ines,

n

unlucky

umber,

erhaps

e

thought

t

well

to

organize

he whole

according

o two

ucky

umbers,

hree

nd

seven."

(3)

Much

ofthe

nformation

n

numerology

s

supplied

rom

our

Days

Are

Numbered

y

Florence

vylinn

ampbell,

M.A.,

The

Gateway,

erndale,

Pennsylvania,

931.

There

are

many

more

modern,

more

systematic

handbooks n

the

ubject,

ut his ather

uaint ublication,

classic

n ts

field,

eflects

umerology

s it

was

practiced

uring

hefirst

uarter

f he

century,

he

eriod

hen

choenberg

must

ave irst

ecome nterestedn t.

(4)

The

composer

sed

the

riginal

pelling

f

his

name,

Schonberg,"

uring

theperiod f he ompositionfPierrot.hechange o"Schoenberg" as

evidently

ade oon after is rrivaln he

Unites tates

n

1933.

The

name

numbers or

he

original pelling

re

presented

elow

for

omparison.

n

computing

he

xpression

umber,

aw

valueshavebeen

used ratherhan

reduced nes

in

order

ot o conceal he

mportant

otal,

1.

Arnold ranz

Walter

chonberg,

is

rarely

sedfull

ame,

as a

consonant

umber alue

of

13.



518

ARNOLD SCHONBERG

195634 138652597

First

ame

Last

Name Total

Expression

28

(= 10)

+

46

(= 10)

=

74= 11

Quiescent

elf

3

+

8

=

11

Soul

urge

7

+

11

=

18=9

Cornerstone

=1

Name

ycle

6

+

9

=

15=6

(5)

That

choenberg

dentifiesith he

poet

s

stronglyuggested

y

he

music.

First

f

ll,

he

ello,

having

emainedmute

uring

he

first

wo

ections

f

"Mondestrunken,"

nters

ith n

impassioned

ong

at

the

first

ention

f

the

poet. olidly

rounded

y

3-note

pedal

10= 1),

and with heviolin

soaring irily

bove

t,

his

ine

s saturated

ith

1's

until

t

inally

omes

to

rest

with ive

izzicato

hords.

he four-notehord f

hefinal

ar,

played

twice,

onsists f

the

notes

C,

B

(H

in

German),

'

(read

as

Eb,

S in

German), -forming

he

ignature

.

SCH.

Recalling

hat educed umbers

still etainome of heir

riginal

lavor,

he

emptation

s

strong

o

assign

A

the

valueof

10

here,

herebyeading

he hord s

1+3+7+10=21--a

summation,

s it

were,

f

he

numbers

hat

ave

ontrolled

he

piece.

n he

analytical

core,

hat

emptation

as

been

yielded

o

on

the

final

hord,

chord

hat hen

as,

not

nly

pitch

alue

of

21,

but n intervallicalue

of

21 as well.

(6)

The dates

re from

Joseph

Rufer,

he

Works

f

Arnold

choenberg:

Catalogue fHisCompositions, ritings,ndPaintings,. Newlin,r., t.

Martin's

ress,

New

York,

962.

(7)

Neither

he ntervallicor

he

uantitative

umber alues

havebeen

ntered

in

the

nalytical

core.

To

havedone so

would

havebeen to

produce

n

indecipherableumble

fnumbers.

hen

too,

he

procedures

or

ounting

notes nd

measuring

ntervals

re,

fter

ll,

imple

nough

o

as to

hardly

call for

guidance.

This action

s not to

be

interpreted

s

an

attempt

o

minimizehe mportancef itherntervallicrquantitativealues.On the

contrary.

here re instances

n

Pierrot,

or

xample,

here he

ntervallic

value

would

eemto take

precedence

ver

he

pitch

alue. uch

a

situation

exists

n

he

passacaglia

heme fNo.

8,

where hehead

motivef

he

heme,

E-G-Eb,

has

a

pitch

alue

of 5+8+7=20=2.

Two

is not

significant

number

n

Pierrot.

he

intervallicalue of

the

same

motive,

owever,

s

3+4=7.



Mondestrunken

a

numerological

analysis

SEcroM

ff

1

7

FLUTE

I

,,

=

(

,

>0

=0

7

7

7

-

-4

=

12t

VIOLIN

tI

in6

=

,

CELLO

1

5

11

9

1

1

5

9=

1

t

=

1

DEN

WEIN,

DEN

MAN

MIT

AIU.EN

TRINKT,

GIESST

RECITER

2

4

J

1

0

L

l2

I

12

--

--

x0=

9=

:

=

I

Uptb=

"==



9 1

3

8

7'=

=

10

f11

7 2

6

3

1

2

11

9

7

7

7

7 2

3 391 i

S3

11

7=

3

2 1

7

3

Cz

UND

EINE

SPRING-

FLUT

USER-

SCHWEMMT

DEN

.7

l

w

I

6

31=110=

9

2 3

3

9

1 i1

8

2 6 5'8=

f

=

13

=

(

98

2339 82

666663



3

7513112

159

7

=3

11

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8

74

,

fl=

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1=

172= 5

1

2

11

1

7

~

3

7

7=

FLAG-.

5 5 9 1 3 I

SIlL

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LEN Hoi

-

ZONT

12

{-+-+

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=3 9

fog 0=

1

3

1

8

5

3=

1=3



S=

=

)

1

Z

3

7

10.4

=

9

9

7

7 7

3

1

.19

-&

-

I

8

7

3 2

6

2

1 1

=

31 =

NACHTS

DER

MOND

IN

W0

-

CN

NIE-

DER,

5 7

5

7 = 27 =

,9

- - - --=10=

=

9)

=

=@

L0



3

2

5 7

7

3

2

5

=

92

SIecT

I =

14,

ArS

5

TIME

PAN=4J

=

10=1



Sect~oN

1

,i z

8

or

3

7l

1

G

'

7

7 7=

f

f

3

r1

z

7

79

39

=

FLvrE

~~

~F

If

>

lof,

A

(

,

,

@,

,L

5

5

1

&

(

tf

Cf

IOUN

RCITER

I

7 6 9

1

f

7

7

7

I

1

(o

7

"?u:.

f"

'=

. . . .

..OE,

-

.,

f

7

7

7= 9

,

-

9-.

2 3

,,

7

4

tow

I L

W.-

I

A

I,



f1

f

I2

2

1

f

=

7

9f

7

0=

1

f

577

3 7

7-

9

5

0o=

=

4 , =

iZ

=

(5

9

-

7

5

l

1

if

I

7 1

9

10

0

/

1

11=

3

9

7

1

5

2

1

1

15=-

LU

STE, SCAU ER IC

UND

SUs, DURC

43774.4.

.

.....5

32

I1

,"

".

-.,

?

1

&

7

3

4 7

1=

t

19t

1



67=

7

7

8

93235

o

9=j197

I SfI 9=

S

?t

I-

=

o;

4

=

=

-

=

6

7

11

1=

9 7

2

(

5

7=

7

7

9

S=

@

7

1O

=

3?

9

7

3

o

3

,

=

5

1

9

8

i

3CHwlMMEN

HNE

AHL

DIE

FLU

TEN DEN

EIN,rJ

AN

iT

ruaN

if

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ft=lo

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f

t if-

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9

1

f

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39

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s

ii

9)

-------

b,

6

-

---

5

7

7

7

5

3

3=

f

3

9

f

= 1 9 6 9 I 8

-

W

9==

=

32

57

TAINKT,

GIESST

NACHTS

DER

MOND IN

OOEN

oiE-

DER.

26

-

io-

]

-k

i

S

=

9

2

8

f

9

11

7

1

7=

1 9

19=lo

J9=

=

3

41

f

I

I

w

~oP

%



1

9

7

5

=

9q=

1

9

=

9

i

1=

34,

(

l

=(

1s=(. 5s=(9

#

ift=&

f-=ie

-=.ie

S 1

=

7

7

7= 3

3 3

7

1

3

b

so=(lo

52)

=

o=

O

27

28

71

3

5

11

S

1

7 1

7

7

5

&

33

t12

S

54

C7 1T=

95

SCTiN

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='14=

OAKS

TiM

PAN

70

=

7



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m

9

5

1

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5=

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7

1

3 9= 117

3 5

2

7

1=

=

=

C,,

29

=

LA)

-

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1 I

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ft

lop

1

=

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s

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1

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9 I

CEUO

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TANKE,

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HIMMEL

WENDET

ER VEA- ZOCKT

DAS

HAUPT

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=

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-

i

9

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9

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=

9

21

29

yI



13 1t1If

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7 7

t6

k,

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=

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UND

TAUrIELNO

SAV.T

UND

SCAILRFT

cR

DEN

WElN,

NDN MAN MiT

AUAN

7

3

o

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h

2

19

0

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9

1

3if

.

9

=

1,

=

(

9?4



Z=

9

5

1

3

11

2

S=

70=

?

9

t=

6

101

ci

7

7 7

7

7

a

r

5 9

11 3=

7=

A

53

39

A

=

9

11

5

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r

=

SICTNO

=

11

ARS

Tnt

SPAN

=

6

=

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>

")O>



533

NOTES

ON

THE

ANALYTICAL CORE

Bar Beat

7

1 7

(flute)gainst (violin)

7

1,2

Throughout

he

core,

hord

ormationseceive heir

itch

alues

fromhe

umof

heir

omponents.

he

piano

hord

n

the

econd

beat

f his

ar,

10=

1

chord

with

n intervallic

alue f

11

(and

thus

he

mplication

f

21),

will

ater

erve s

the

22-

pedal

n

Section II.

10

1

"stillen"

eceives

pecial

mphasis

y

being

he

ingle

word

ung

in

Mondestrunken."ts

itch

alue s

5+8=

13, implying,erhaps,that hehorizon s not

only

till,

ut,

acking

he

aving

race

of

moonlight,

terile

nd

lifeless s

well.Such

an

interpretation

s

supported

y

the

phrase

n

the

right

and

of the

piano

part

beginning

n the

ast

ixteenth

ote

f

measure .

Its

itch

alue

s

13

(=4). Dovetailing

ith

he

13 of

"stillen,"

he

piano

13

is

transformed

nto

7,

after

dramatic

reak,

y

the

mysterious

3X

22

chords f

measure

0.

10

2

As

noted

n

he

core,

he

piano

hord

ere

hasa

pitch

alue f

2.

Its intervallicalue is also 22. Andwith henumbers

f its

component

itches,

t

becomes

veritable

ompendium

f

Pierrot

number

alues:

1+3+7+11=

22. In

addition,

his

eries

draws

attention

o the

process

by

which

he

original

wo

numbers f

he

title,

and

7,

generate

he

thersn

the

et:

3+7=

1;

3+7+1

=

11;

3+7+1+11=22.



534

10

2 The solationf

he

iolin

and

the

act

hatt

s

the

nly

armonic

called for

n

the

ong

both

give

he

note

pecialprominence.

ts

function,oo,

s

significant:

s 8

it

transforms

he

phrase

which

precedes

t

from

pitch

alueof 11 to one of 10. "Power" s the

numerological

eaning

or .

Meanings

or 1 and 10

(1)

have

been

uggested

nthe

body

f

he ext.

As must e

apparent

rom

he everal ommentsmade on

the

activity

n

hismeasure

appropriately,

easure 0 of he

piece),

ts

significance

ould

best

be

explained

yreferring

o

the

numero-

logical

meanings

f

numbers nd to

Schoenberg's

personal

interpretation

nd

use

of

them.

A

thorough

xaminationf

this

subject

would

be

extraordinarily

evealing,

ot

only

for

Pierrot

lunaire,

ut

for

heentire

orpus

of

Schoenberg's ork.

uch a

project

s,

of

ourse,

uite

beyond

he

cope

of

he

present

tudy.

26

2

The

5

value as

the

total

or he

reciter's

itches

n

Section

I

is

equivocal.

Adding

tto

the7

total

f Section

results

n

12=3,

whereas

ombining

t

with he

otal f

ection

II

produces

6=7.

29

1 The number

fnotes

nthe

irst

hrase

f

he

ello ine s

11,

and

that f

he

econd

phrase

s

10.

11

+

10=

21

=3.

With

he

emitone

as theunit

f

measure,

he

ntervallic

aluefor he

first

hrase

s

34= 7. That or he econd

phrase

s 22. 7+22=29=

11.

29

1 The time

pan

for

he

ight

and

f

he

piano

part

romhe

econd

half

f

his

eatuntil he nd

of

bar

34

is

29

=

11.

37 3 11

(flute)

gainst

(piano)



Rhythmic Structure in Schoenberg's Atonal CompositionsAuthor(s): Philip FriedheimReviewed work(s):Source: Journal of the American Musicological Society, Vol. 19, No. 1 (Spring, 1966), pp. 59-72Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the American Musicological SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/830871 .

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Rhythmic

Structure

in

Schoenberg's

Atonal

Compositions

BY

PHILIP FRIEDHEIM

PRIOR

TOHIS

FIRST

tonal

ventures,

Schoenberg

had been

actively

com-

posing

for

over ten

years.

Up

to the

time of

the

song

cycle

Op.

15,

begun

in

1908,

his

music

maintained

onalities and structures

based on

i9th-century

models.

After the

Lieder

Op.

22,

completed

in

1916,

he

evolvedthe twelve-tonetechniqueas a method of organizingmusic.Only

the

relatively

few

works

completed

within

this

eight-year

period,

there-

fore,

are

strictly

atonal

in

that

they

were written without

any

previously

articulated

methodsof

procedure.

A

number

of

different

stages

can be

noted within this short

period.

The

first

stage

contains

those

compositions

till

preserving

races

of

tonal

structures:

the

songs Op.

15

(1908-9),

the first

two

of

the

piano

pieces

Op.

i i

(i

909),

and

the

first

four of

the

orchestral

pieces Op.

16

(i 9o9).

Vestiges

of

tonality

reveal

themselves

in:

(i)

octave

doublings

in

the

bass, which strengthenthe overtones; (2) voice leading in half-steps,

which

gives

the

illusion

of

harmonic

movement;

and

(3)

the

recapitula-

tion

of

opening

material

at

the

original

pitch,

which

clearly

delineates

principal

and

subsidiary

areas. The

song cycle

even

contains

scattered

tonal

progressions,

nd a

few

major

triads.

The

second

stage

of

atonality

begins

with

the

'elimination

of

all

thematic

repetition,

the

so-called

athematic

compositions,

where

virtually

no

material

ever

returns.The

first works

written in

this manner

are the

final

movements

of

both

Op.

ix

and

Op.

16

(1909),

and

Erwartung

Op.

17

(i909).

Erwartung is

Schoenberg's

only

lengthy

work in an athematic

style,

incidentally

a

venture

he

never

attempted

again.

The

third

stage

is

represented

by

the

radically

reduced

form,

which

offers

a

temporary

solution to

the

problem

presented

by

the

nonstruc-

tural

elements of

athematic

composition.

These works

are

the unfinished

orchestral

pieces

(19

io),1

the

piano

pieces

Op.

19

(1911

),

Herzgew?ichse

Op.

20

(1911),

and

Pierrot

Lunaire

Op.

21

(I912).

Pierrot

Lunaire

con-

tains

21

separate

numbers,

he

longest

45

bars.

Some

of

these are

athematic,

while

others

return to

recognizable

themes

which

are

developed

and

varied n a traditionalmanner.

This

brings

us

to the

fourth

and

final

stage

of

atonality,

which con-

tains

a

synthesis

between

structured

and

nonstructured

elements,

as ex-

emplified

n

Pierrot

Lunaire

and Die

gliickliche

Hand

Op.

18

(1910-1913)

.

1

See

Josef Rufer,

Das

Werk

Arnold

Schoenbergs (Kassel,

p959),

p.

85.



6o

JOURNAL

OF

THE AMERICAN

MUSICOLOGICAL

SOCIETY

In both

these

works,

an

over-all

balance

s maintained

through

a

juxtaposi-

tion

of sections

coherently

organized

against

others

which

are

nonrepeti-

tive.

Althoughthe first atonalcompositionscontainedmanytonalelements

in one

form

or

another,

he

rhythm

was

quite

different rom

even

Schoen-

berg's

immediately preceding

works. Not

only

did

the

meter

change

frequently,

but the

tempo

often

varied

from

bar

to

bar.

The

third

piano

piece

in

Op.

i

i,

for

example,

contained26 directions

for

tempo

change

within

35

bars.

One

found

a

lack of forwardmotion

in

both the

harmonies

as

well as

the

melodic lines.

Phrasesseemed

to start

and

stop

at

will,

and

were often

separated

rom

each

other

by

rests.

The

time

signature

at

the

beginning

of

a

composition

was not

always

affirmed n

the music.

Of

the

23

bars in the first song of the Op. 15 cycle, for example,only five

begin

with

any

sound in the

piano

that

could

conceivably

be

interpreted

as a

downbeat.

Instead

of the

characteristically

ong,

drawn-outmelodies

of

Schoenberg's

onal

works,

this music

consisted of

fleeting, arabesque-

like

figures

that

had

no

specific

contour

or

shape.

The listener

was

thus

exposed

to what

appeared

o

be an

incomprehensible

tate of

rhythmic

flux.

Schoenberg's

rhythmic

freedom is

in

a

sense more radical

than

Stravinsky's

polyrhythm,

and

totally

unrelated to

it

structurally.

In Le

Sacre du printemps,the

rhythmic

figures

constitute thematic material,

and

can be

treated

analytically

as

if

they

were motives. One is thus able

to

trace

their

variationsand

extensions.The

rhythmic designs

of

Pierrot

Lunaire,

on

the

other

hand,

are

not

necessarily

motivic,

and their

develop-

ment

cannot

be

traced

throughout

a

composition

as

if

they

were

themes.

A

different

approach

eemsto

be

necessary.

One of

the

earliest of

these

compositions

s the

piano

piece

Op.

I

no.

2.

The

entire

first

section

consists

of

a

fifteen-bar unit

comprising

almost

a

quarter

of

the

composition.

It is neither

thematically

nor for-

mally

obscure,

consisting

as it does of a

large

ABA

pattern,

with the

repetition

of

the A

section at

the

original

pitch.

Rhythmically,

however,

the

music

does

not

support

the

18

time

signature.

The

oscillatingpattern

in

the

bass

suggests

a

duple

rather than

a

triple

meter,

and

keeps

starting

and

stopping

at

unpredictable

moments.

The

melody

placed

over

this

pulse

s

so

syncopated

as to be

virtually

nonrhythmic.

Putting

aside

for

a

moment

the

specific

182

notation,

let us

consider

only

what

is

actually

heard.In

order

to

facilitate

his,

the

passage

has

been

recopied below, eliminatingthe bar-linesand syncopations,writing the

notes

only

in

terms

of

their

actual

duration.

In

this

version,

an

overall

rhythmic

direction

is

visually

clarified.The

music

begins

in

a

rhythmically

amorphous

state,

which

gradually

becomes

more

and

more stable

as it

proceeds.

The middle

section

moves

toward a

duple

meter,

which is

most

clearly

affirmed

by

the

pattern

at

(D),

after



RHYTHMIC

STRUCTURE

IN

SCHOENBERG'S

ATONAL COMPOSITIONS

61

Ex. r

Sehr

Langsam

(A)

4i

ii

(B(C))

ntt..

OIE

A k 7

(c)

v

I WIT

gracious

permission

of Mrs. Getrud

Schoenberg.

(E) (F)

4

1

gracious permission o? Mrs. Gertrud Schoenberg.



62

JOURNAL

OF

THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL

SOCIETY

which it returns

to the unclear

state in which

it

opened.

If one

views

the

passage

as

a

single

curve,

moving

first toward

rhythmic

clarification,

and

then

away

from

it,

the entire fifteen-bar unit becomes

directed.

If

one

views the same passage in terms of the development of a rhythmic motive,

since

there

is

a

rhythmic

motive

here,

then

only

seven

bars,

the

middle

section,

can

be

understood

in

this

way.

A

more

detailed

analysis

will show

how

carefully

this

passage

has

been

planned.

The

opening

ostinato

introduces

only

a

beat

or

a

pulse.

At

that,

it

is

somewhat

unsteady,

since it

continually

slows down

and

stops.

With

the

very

free

melody

placed

over

it

at

(A),

it

established

an

almost

arhythmic

state. The next

section

then

begins

at

(B)

with

the

first

clearly

defined

rhythmic

motive

:

7j.

Even

without

the bar

line,

one

can

hear

the two

eighth

notes as an

upbeat,

and the

widely

spaced

half-note chord

as

a

downbeat.

The

subsequent

repetition

of the

7

J

unit

helps

stabi-

lize

the

passage.

When

the

ostinato

returns,

it is

more

secure

rhythmically,

due

to

the

regular

repetitions

of the

low

F,

and

the

addition

of

the notes

Gb

and

Ab,

which

confirm the

accent at

these

places.

The

ostinato also

proceeds

for a

longer

time

without

stopping.

Over

this

figure,

the

melody

becomes

more

and

more

rhythmically

coherent. The

original

three-note

?*

figure

now

expands

to

f"

J

J

J

at

(C),

which

is first

re-

peated, and finally developed into an even more extended :

J

7

J

7

J

j

at

(D),

the

longest,

most coherent

phrase

in the

entire

section.

This

reaches

up

to

Ab,

the

highest

note

sounded to this

moment,

and

on a

downbeat.

The

bracket

placed

over the

figure

indicates

the

posi-

tion

of

the

eighth

bar

of

the

composition

in

the

original

notation,

the

exact

center

of

the

fifteen

bars

comprising

the entire

passage.

From

this

point

on,

rhythmic

disintegration begins.

The

ostinato

slows

down and

stops,

the

:

:

motive

appears rhythmically

augmented

at

(E),

followed

by

a

series

of half-note

chords

at

(F), constituting

a

point

of minimal

rhythmic

interest.

After

the

fermata,

the

opening

mate-

rial

returns.

The

original

melody

begins

without the

accompaniment

at

(G),

and

at

the

point

where

the

ostinato first

dropped

out,

it

reappears,

only

to

start

a

long

ritard

almost

immediately.

There

is

very

little in

the

music

here which

specifically

supports

a

12s

time

signature. Nevertheless,

a

rhythmic

curve

can be

traced,

by

ex-

amining

not

the motives

themselves

but the

relative

degree

to which

they

clarify

or

negate

metrical

patterns.

In

order to

apply

this

principle

in

general, one must distinguish between three types of rhythmic passages:

one

which

is

completely

inconsistent,

avoiding

all

repetition

units;

a

second

which

establishes an even

pulse

or

beat,

but without

grouping

this

into

a

meter;

and

finally

one in

which a

regular

meter

is

created

through

recurrent

accents

and

repetitions

of

specific

rhythmic

figures.

If one

groups

the

given

elements within

a

composition

into

these

headings,

the

degree

to which

they

determine the

structure will

make itself

apparent.



RHYTHMIC

STRUCTURE IN

SCHOENBERG'S

ATONAL

COMPOSITIONS

63

Sometimes the

progression

is

exactly

the

opposite

of

the

one

just

noted,

i.e.,

it

may

move

from

a

rhythmically

coherent

beginning

toward

a

gradual

dissolution.

Other

procedural

variants will be

noted

below.

Admittedly,

the

passage

just

examined is

particularly

convincing

in

support

of

this

approach.

To

some

extent,

this

is

because

the texture

re-

mains

comparatively

uncluttered.

As

Schoenberg

continues

to

write

in

an

atonal

medium,

however,

all

compositional

elements

become

more

complex.

The orchestral

pieces

Op.

16 contain

many

more

passages

that

are

rhythmically

chaotic,

although

these

are

invariably

pitted

against

more

stable

rhythmic

units.

For

example,

the first

piece

begins

in

a

fragmentary

and

disjointed

manner.

Ex. z

MoltoAllegro

----------

S

II

-S

-$

••

-

m,

I.

VM

--

"•'•#

..

r."

-.

-

.-

-----------•.

.J,?

I

_

•.

The

first

phrase opens

with a

triple

beat

in

the

bass

against

a

duplebeat in the

treble,

and

lasts

only

three bars. All

the

phrases

are discon-

nected,

and

are

separated

by

rests.

This

makes

it

difficult for the listener

to

gain

his

bearings,

and to

retain in his

mind

the

melodic contour

of

the

various

motives.

This

opening

passage

is

actually

an

extended

introduction.

The

principal

section

begins

at

bar 26

as

a

fugato

in even

eighth

notes.

Although

grouped

into

asymmetrical

two-,

three-,

and

four-beat

units,

the

reiterated

eighth

notes

maintain an

even

pulse

in

direct

contrast with the

fluctuating

rhythms

of

the

opening.

Ex.

3

Exx.

2

and

3

reprinted

with

permission

of C. F. PETERS

CORPORATION,

373

Park

Avenue

South,

New

York,

N.

Y. 10016

During

the

course of the

fugato,

which

remains in

the

strings,

fre-



64

JOURNAL

OF

THE AMERICAN

MUSICOLOGICAL

SOCIETY

quently phrases

from the

introduction

appear

n the

winds,

thus

pitting

short,

fleeting

figures

directly

against

the

even movement

in

the

strings.

At

the

climax,

the

percussion

and

brass

join

in the

fugato

with

even

quarternotes,forcibly establishing very clear beat.

While

the

rhythmic

structure

of this work

is different

from that

of

the

piano

piece

previously

examined,

they

both

exploit

the tension

be-

tween metric

clarity

and

obscurity.

In

the

orchestral

composition,

the

tension

is

considerably

ncreased

by

the simultaneous

se

of

both

types

of

movement.

The

final

orchestral

piece

in this

group

is

the

"Obligatory

Recitative,"

Schoenberg's

irst

totally

athematic

composition.

The

lack of

repetition,

of

course,

produces

a

particularly

lusive

structure.

Upon

examination,

he

movementturnsout to be a singleextendedmelody

I35

barslong. Despite

the

nonstructural

lements

n

the

composition,

he

rhythm,

as

if in direct

contrast,

is

comparatively

simple.

It

remains n

3

time

throughout,

and

there are

no

tempo changes

at all.

Even the

dynamic

climax

s

approached

"without

accelerating."

This

remark

was added

in the

1949

revision of

the

score.)

All

the

melodic lines

consistently

avoid

eccentric

rhythmic

configurations.

The result s at

least in

one

areaa

degree

of

stability

which

must

have been

calculated to

act as

a

counter-balance o

the athematic

structure.

The pianopiece Op. i i no. 3, on the otherhand,while alsoathematic,

is

rhythmically

quite

complex.

Although

the

8

meter

remainsconstant

almost

to the

end,

the

movement

within

the

individual

bars varies to a

considerable

degree.

The

tempo

changes

continually.

A

superficialglance

at

the

score

vividly

confirms

the

generally

unclear

rhythmic

direction.

Even

here,

however,

contrasts n

degree

of coherence

can

be

noted,

and

an

over-all

movement

away

from

rhythmic clarity,

toward

rhythmic

dissolution,

an

be

traced.

The

opening

four bars

are the

only

ones

in the entire

composition

ree

of tempo changes.They begin with even sixteenth-notemotion, which

then

increases

to

thirty-second

notes,

culminating

in the

sharp

chords

which

close

the section.

Ex.

4

Bewegt

Q=132)

-

Conmoto

m

.

W t

m1.

4 1 1 L

at v

t

f ow •

,•

' IDI TIr

I m



RHYTHMIC

STRUCTURE

IN SCHOENBERG'S ATONAL COMPOSITIONS

65

-1

14 ?

-1

itl~t~`;\_

V ?--It ri'

'C"W1u

t

f f f

The individual ines

develop

their own

rhythmic

motives,

the

bass

moving

?

?.

,

•

6.

F

"7

77,,

andhe

alto

moving

,J

T J1

SJ

•

,

.

Thus,

the first

section,

the end of which

is

clearly

marked,

s

not

unstable

rhythmically.

The

central

section of the

movement

hen alter-

nates

as if

in conflict

between

more and less

coherent

passages,

he

loss

of

coherencebecoming ncreasinglypronouncedasthe compositionproceeds.

Bars

5,

6,

and

7

keep

starting

and

stopping

in an

uncertain

way,

although

within each

phrase

he

rhythmic

movement s

consistent.

The

motive noted

previously

appears

here as

jj

.

Bars

8-9

represent

a

stable

fragment

n a traditional

g

rhythmic

figure

J p J i J

-

J.

Ex.

s

This

igure

hen eturns

moment

ater

s

J.

1

J.

I

IJ J

but

with

a much less

stable

accompaniment.

Again

a few

disjointed

bars,

i4-19,

this

time

longer

than

before

and even

more

incoherent,

herald

an

extremely

varied

recapitulation.



66

JOURNAL

OF THE

AMERICAN

MUSICOLOGICAL

SOCIETY

Ex.

6

rascher

8va-

it..

L

,

.II..Am

U"

-,L-III

116ilf- NKW-

mo

The

J

J

rhythm

of

the

opening

returns,

followed

by

the

thirty-

second-note

run

and

the

sharp

chord,

but

nothing

is as

rhythmically

secure

or as logical in sequence as it was originally. In a sense, this passage acts

more

as

a

reference back to

the

beginning

than as an actual

recapitulation.

From here

on,

rhythmic discontinuity prevails.

Following

the

propul-

sive

climax,

an

ostinato

figure

seems about to re-establish a

meter,

but

there

is not

enough

energy

left to sustain the effort. After the

third

repetition,

it slows

down and vanishes.

Ex.7

E

Moderato

Miissig

L

in

tempo

- P

~

una orda

61

top

1

The

motivation

for

the

change

to

3

for the

penultimate

bar

is unclear

to

this

writer.

Perhaps

its

function

is

to

place

the

entrance

of the last

note,

the

B1,

on the

downbeat. If

so,

it

is

almost

impossible

to

project

this

in

performance.

On the

other

hand,

if

the

notation

remained

in

6

to the

end,

then

the

final

staccato

cut-off

would

occur

on

the

downbeat,

and

it is

perhaps

this

that

Schoenberg

wanted

to

avoid. In

either

case,

these last

notes

convey

no

feeling

of

rhythmic

stability.



RHYTHMIC

STRUCTURE

IN

SCHOENBERG'S

ATONAL

COMPOSITIONS

67

In

summarizing

the

rhythmic

aspects

of

this

movement,

one notes

even

within

an

almost

completely

unstable

environment a

comparative

contrast

between

relatively

stable

elements.

These still

survive in sufficient

strength

to enable one to trace a

general

direction,

beginning

with a

strong

rhythmic

drive,

culminating

in

a

more

fragmented

texture. To

the

extent

that

they

are

present,

one

also

traces variations of

rhythmic

motives,

par-

ticularly

those which

confirm the

g

meter.

Again,

however,

it

must

be

noted

that an

approach

dealing

exclusively

with

rhythmic

motives

would

lead

to

incomplete

results,

for one

could

only

note a

correspondence

between,

let

us

say,

bar

I

and bar

20o,

or

between bar

8

and

bar

12.

Indi-

vidual

points

of

reference

do not reveal

a

total

architectural

structure,

which

this

broader

approach

does.

At

the

same

time,

one

cannot

pretendfor a

moment that

the

rhythmic

direction

of the

piano

piece,

as

outlined

above,

constitutes a

thorough

analysis

of

this most

radical

composition.

There is

no

secret

key

that

one

brings

to

Schoenberg's

music

which

automatically

unlocks all

mysteries.

As

difficult

as

are

the

rhythmic

problems

of

this

work,

they

pale

in

comparison

to

those

of the

monodrama

Erwartung.

This,

Schoenberg's

longest

athematic

composition,

contains

426

bars

literally

without thematic

repetition.

Since it

is

vocal,

it

tends to be

more

lyrical

than

the

piano

piece,

but

remains

asymmetrical throughout.

The first

scene,

over

30 bars

in

length,

contains

nine

changes

of

meter

and

sixteen

changes

of

tempo.

Thus,

any

attempt

to

analyze

the

general

rhythmic

structure

as

suspended

over

400

bars

is

admittedly

quite

difficult.

The

use

of

a

text

alleviates

at least to

some

extent the

necessity

for

an

absolute

musical

form.

Nevertheless,

since

Schoenberg

did

not con-

tinue

in

this

direction,

but in his

succeeding

works

returned

to

the

use

of

themes

and

repetitions

of

passages,

Erwartung

remains

his most

am-

bitious

gesture

in

the

direction of

nonstructured

music.

Thus,

the

problem

of referential areas, or of musical subdivisions, becomes extremely im-

portant.

In

addition to

the

contrast

obtainable

through

relative

degrees

of

rhythmic

stability,

Schoenberg

also

exploits

the

ostinato

figure

as

a

point

of

identification.

The

ostinato,

already

noted in

the

piano

piece

Op.

ii

no.

2,

plays

a

predominant

part

in

atonal

music

in

general.

It

is

in

a

sense

an ideal

referential

unit.

Because

of its

repetitions,

it

is

easily

recognized

and

isolated

from

its

surroundings.

Since

it

repeats

without

change,

how-

ever,

it

does not

progress

in a

tonal

sense,

but

merely

reiterates.

In

other

words, it does not move through time, as harmonic music does, but re-

mains

suspended

in

space

as a

nontonal

demarcation.

The

rhythmic

struc-

ture of

Erwartung

is

considerably

clarified

through

the

use

of

ostinato

figures.

The

entire

work

consists

of

four

scenes,

the first

three

of

which

are

short

and

introductory

in

character.

They

contain

35,

55,

and

35

bars of



68

JOURNAL

OF THE

AMERICAN

MUSICOLOGICAL

SOCIETY

music

respectively.

A

short

orchestral nterlude

separates

hese

from

the

long

fourth scene

of

300

bars,

where the

entire

"plot"

akes

place.

In

viewing

these

three

introductory

scenes

as

a

single

unit,

one

im-

mediatelynotes a parallelbetweenthe firstandthirdscenes,each 35 bars

long.

The

middle

scene

of

55

bars contains

n

its

central

section

the most

rhythmically

stable

passage

in

this

entire

unit.

Wandering,

lost in the

forest,

the woman

stops

to

recall the

past

times she has

spent

with

her

lover.

This

reminiscencetakes

shape

as a

leisurely

25-bar

episode

in

4

time

throughout,

which

contrasts with the

faster

tempos

and

frequent

metrical

changes

of

the music

surrounding

t.

Thus,

a

large

three-scene

unit

opens

with

45

bars

of

comparative

hythmic instability,

ollowed

by

25

bars

of a more

stable

passage

n

3

time,

returning

then

to

another

45

unstable

bars.

This

brings

us to the end of the

third

scene,

and

the

be-

ginning

of the orchestral

nterludewhich

separates

t from the main

body

of

the

drama.

Let

us now examine

the

two

rhythmically

unstable

passages,

.e.,

the

first and

third scenes.

Throughout

these two

sections,

one

can trace a

gradual

ncrease

n

the

length

of the

ostinato

figures.

In the first

scene,

a

simple

trill

by

the flute

in

bar

5

is

elaborated nto a sixteenth-note

ostinato

figure

in

the bass

register

in

bar

9,

and becomes extended in

bars

i6-18,

where two differentostinatiplayed by the celeste follow each other in

succession.

The

third

scene is

constructed

in a

similar,

but

even

more

extended

manner. It

opens

with a

five-bar

figure

in

bars

91-95,

and

is followed

by

a

six-bar

figure

in bars

Io6-I

I;

finally,

the

eleven-bar

orchestral nter-

lude at

the end

appears

as the

longest

ostinato

in

the

score

up

to

this

time. The

rhythmically

defined character

of this interlude

marks a

clear

division between

the

introductory

scenes

and

the

long

scene

following.

In the final

moments of

the

opera,

the

woman's last

lament

over the

body of herlover,Schoenbergconstructsa long sectionthrougha gradual

clarification

of

rhythmic

movement. The entire

passage

can be

divided

into

separate

sections,

each

with its own

different

rhythmic

character.

The

first,

beginning

with the

words "Mein

Lieber,

mein

einzigerLiebling"

(bar

373),

is

rhythmically

unstable,

written

in

a

declamatory

vocal

style

resembling

a

recitative.

The second

part,

"Liebster,

Liebster,

der

Morgen

kommt"

(bar

389),

has more

continuity

and

lyricism.

Although

the meter

alternates rom

3

to

4

,

individual

phrases

remain

comparatively imple,

moving primarily

n

eighth

and

quarter

notes,

establishing

a

more

even-

flowing pulse. The third section, beginning "Tausend Menschenziehn

voriiber"

(bar

411),

is an

extended

lyric

passage

completely

stabilized

rhythmically.

Beginning

with a

long

line

in

even

eighth

notes,

it

quickly

moves into a

clearly

audible

triple

meter. The vocal

part

becomes

quite

intense,

marking

the

rhythmic

and

melodic culminationof

this

section.

Following

the climax

on the

words

"Wo

bist

du,"

the

rhythm

again

dis-



RHYTHMIC

STRUCTURE

IN

SCHOENBERG'S

ATONAL

COMPOSITIONS

69

integrates

nto

a

free recitative-like

style.

Thus,

a

large

43-bar

unit

can

be understood n

terms of a

single

rhythmic

direction.

Traditionally,

his

type

of

rhythmic

subdivision

n

an

opera

marks

he

distinctionbetween recitativeand aria.In this sense,of course,the con-

trast

here is

not

new. Even

Wagner's "unending"

melodies

can be divided

into

sections

which resemble

recitatives

and

those

which are closer

in

structure

o

arias.

Schoenberg's

next

stage,

containing

he

extremely

abbreviated

composi-

tions,

begins

with the

three short

orchestral

pieces composed

in

19Io.

There is

no need

to examine

any

of

these in

detail,

other

than

to note

that

the

same

rhythmic

balancecan be found. In a numberof

cases,

ike

the

first

of the

piano

pieces Op.

19,

the

rhythmic

contrast

supplies

a

rounded

orm

despite

the absenceof

repeated

motives.The

song

Herzgewdchse

Op.

20,

is

rhythmically

divisible nto two

separate

ections,

he first

free,

the

second

quite

stable.

Thus,

like

the

passage

from

Erwartung

just

examined,

he

vocal

part

resembles

a recitative

and

aria.

Ex.

8

Mei-nermii-denSehn- suchtblau-esGlas decktdenal - ten un-

-lit

-

-

be-stimm-

ten

Kum

-

mer,

des

-

sen

ich

ge

-

nas,

rich-tet

ich

em

por

ui-

ber all

dem

Blatt

ge

-

word'-nen

Leid,

During the time that Schoenbergwrote his piano pieces Op. 19, he

was

already

at

work on Die

gliickliche

Hand,

and

involved

with

the

struc-

tural

problems

of

a

longer

composition.

There

is

evidence

that

this

latter

work

presented

him with

considerable

difficulties,

ince

it

is

the

only

one

among

the entire

group

of atonal

compositions

in

which

the

creative

process

was

spread

out

over a

long

period;

all

the

other

works were

written

rather

quickly,

Erwartung,

or

example,

within the

space

of two

weeks.

Die

gliickliche

Hand, however,

begun

September

1910o,

was

not

completed

until

November

1913.

Here,

Schoenberg

first

attempted

to

synthesizefree, athematicsections with coherent,thematicallyorganized

passages.

Consisting

of

three

scenes

which are

separated

by

interludes,

he

entire

work

is

framed

by

an

opening

and

closing

chorus.The

first

chorussounds

over an

oscillating

figure

in

the

bass,

which

remains

constant

throughout

26

bars,

supplying

a

strong

element

of

rhythmic

stability.

The

same ma-



70

JOURNAL

OF THE AMERICAN

MUSICOLOGICAL

SOCIETY

terial

returns at

the end

of

the

work

in the

closing

chorus

as a

definite

recapitulation.

The three

scenesof the

opera

proper,

on the

other

hand,

are

rhythmically

and

thematically

free,

the music

changing

at will

to

ac-

companythe action.The two interludesseparatinghese athematic cenes

are both

thematically

and

rhythmically ntegrated,

he

second

in

particular

basedon

a

three-note

J

motive.

Thus,

in an

overview

of

the entire

com-

position,

the

athematic

passages

are

contained

within a

generally

clear

structure

in

much the

same

manner

as,

in

a classical

opera,

a

secco

recitative,

tonally,

thematically,

and

rhythmically

free,

alternated

with

formally

closed

ariasand

ensembles.

All

of

Schoenberg'scompositional

techniques

culminated

n

Pierrot

Lunaire,

his

most

important

work

to this time. In

combining

21

separatenumbers nto a

single

opus,

Schoenberg

utilized the short form to con-

struct

a

large

composition.

The

specific

division

of

21

into three

groups

of

seven

sections each

affords

an

opportunity

to

juxtapose

passages

hat

are

comparatively

table with

those

that are more

diffused.

Pierrot

Lunaire

s

an

extremely

complex

work,

portions

of

which are

particularly

difficult

to

analyze.

The

over-all

rhythmic

movement

begins

clearly,

gradually disintegrates,

and

then

at

the

end

becomes

clear

once

again.

The

presence

or absence

of thematic

repetition

follows the same

general

outline.

The

analysis

of the

rhythmic

curve sometimes

helpsclarifythe structureof

certain

sectionswhich

are not

thematically

organized.

The

first

group

of

songs,

comprising

the

seven

opening

numbers,

outlines

a

structural

and

rhythmic

breakdown,

which can

be

revealed

through

either

a

thematic or a

rhythmic

analysis.

The

first

number,

Mondestrunken,

s

almost

completely

constructed

from

a

motive

in

even

sixteenth

notes.

While the

meter

changes

continually,

the

steady

move-

ment of the

theme

sustains he

pulse.

The next few

songs

become

less

and

less clear

structurally.

The

sixth in

order,

Madonna,

begins

coherently,

but

breaks down in

the

middle. Since this number is athematic,the

rhythmic

direction

helps

clarify

the

major

formal

divisions.

Miissig

angsam

p i z z

Throughout

the

first

part,

a

profusion

of

eighth

notes

supplies

an

even

movement.

There

are

no

metrical

changes,

and

only

one

tempo

change.

The

opening

bars

are

stabilized

through

scale

passages

n

the



72

JOURNAL

OF THE

AMERICAN

MUSICOLOGICAL

SOCIETY

berg's

style

alters

considerably.

Radical

tempo

changes

and

amorphous

fluctuating igures

tend

to

disappear.

To

be

sure,

the

rhythm

still

remains

complex,

but the time

signatures

unction

more

clearly,

and

tempo changes

appearprimarilyas ritardsat the ends of sections.The titles of some of

the

movementsof

these

early

twelve-tone

compositions

ndicate

a

return

to

rhythmic

periodicity

and

symmetry.

One

may

note,

for

example,

he

waltz from

Op.

23,

the

march and

minuet

from

Op.

24,

and the

gavotte,

musette,

minuet,

and

gigue

from

Op.

25,

all

completed

by

1923.

Melodic

sequences

can be

found

here,

as

well as stabilized

rhythmic

motives.These

can

be

isolated,

and

their

development

raced

throughout

a

composition.

A

surprising,

ut

by

no means

unique,example

of

parallel

phrase

tructure

appears

as

the

principal

heme of the last

movement of

the

string

quartet

Op.

30 (1927).

]Ex.

Ii

.,,a-

f:.~

•

"f

V

V

--.

V

Off '-W

,

..i

IV.....oprfz.PI..

V

,'

-OL *h

It would seemapparenthat,whateverrhythmicproblems o appear

in

these

works,

hey

remain

uite

different

rom

hoseof

the

earlier

tonal

compositions,

nd

n

one

sense

ess

radical.

State

University

f

New York

t

Binghamton



Structural Imagery: 'Pierrot Lunaire' RevisitedAuthor(s): Kathryn PuffettReviewed work(s):Source: Tempo, Vol. 60, No. 237 (Jul., 2006), pp. 2-22Published by: Cambridge University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3878705 .

Accessed: 22/09/2012 04:27





.

Cambridge University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Tempo.










Tempo

0

(237)

2-22

?

2006

Cambridge University

ress

DOI: 10.1017/S0040298206000180 Printed n

the

United

Kingdom

rA

A

0

u i

0\

-C?

STRUCTURAL IMAGERY:

'PIERROT

LUNAIRE'

REVISITED

Kathryn

uffett

In

1977 wrote n article

ntitled

Formal

rganisation

nd

Structural

Imagery

n

Schoenberg's

ierrot

unaire',

hichwas

published

n

vol.

2

of the

fledgling

tudiesnMusic

rom

he

University

f

Western

ntario.

More than quarter f a centuryater, fter 6years f teaching

Schoenberg,

nd

particularly

ierrot

unaire,

o British

tudents,

hree

things

avebecome lear o me.

First,

have ome to realize hat

o

one

outside anada ver eads

MUWO

which

s

a

great

hame),

nd,

second,

have

gained ufficiently

n

self-confidence

ver he

years

o

wish

hat

had tated

my

asewithmore

ssurance.

inally,

ontinued

acquaintance

ith

Pierrot as revealed ven more

subtletieshan

recognized

n

1977.

It s

a

commonplace

or

performer

o re-recordate

n

hisor her

career

works hatwererecorded

arly

n,

and the

public

welcomes

these ater eflections

nd

the

opportunityhey

ive

o

compare

he

youthful

ith he moremature

nterpretations.

he

situation

s of

course ifferentnmy ase:here heresno uggestionhat ragging y

old

piece

ut

or

omparison

ould e an xercisef

ny

alue,

hough

haveno reason o

discourage

t.A few

years go

I

shouldhavebeen

embarrassed

y

the'idea f such

elf-indulgence.

ut

oday

we live

n

very

elf-indulgent

imes,

nd

my

esire owrite bout favourite

ork

a

second ime trikes e

as

no more

utrageous

r

nsupportable

han

most

f the

narrative',

r

socio-,

sycho-,

olitico-

nd

gender-based

New

Agewriting

hat

asses

efore

my yes

hese

ays laiming

o

hed

light

n

the

workings

f music.

n

any

ase heres

some

precedent

or

what am about o do

n

David

Lewin's

evisiting

f the econdmove-

ment f

Webern's

p.

27

n

1993.1

mboldened

y

his,

offer

y

ater

reflectionsn three

ieces

hat ave

ontinuedo

engagemy

nterestn

the earlyhirtyearsince first rote bout hem.

Forme Pierrotunaireemains

mong

hemost

mpressive

nd

original

works f

Schoenberg.

t

comes

nearly

t the ndof

indeed,

t

seems

to be a sort f

anthology

f and

grand

inale o

-

a

period

n

which

Schoenberg

ad

purposefully

nd

nergetically

reed ismusic rom

variety

f constraints

not

only

tonality,

ut classical

tructures,

thematicism,

otivic

evelopment,epetition

f

any

kind);

nd

yet

n

this

et,

houlder-to-shoulder

ith nd

nearly

idden

mongst

ome f

his most

carefullyhrough-composed

ovements,

re three f the

most ightly-structuredieceshe everwrote:Nacht'no.8), Parodie'

(no. 17)

nd

Der

Mondfleck'

no.

18).

The ntense ocus n structure

n

1

'A

metrical

problem

in

Webern's

Op.

27',

Music

Analysis

12/3

(1993), pp.

343-54. Lewin's

ear-

lier

article,

with

the

same

title,

ppeared

inJournal f

Music

Theory

/1

(1962),

pp.

124-32.



STRUCTURAL IMAGERY: 'PIERROT LUNAIRE' REVISITED 3

these

three

ongs

offers vividcontrast

with other

movements f

the

cycle

that

represent

n

aggressive

reedom

from

ust

the structural

canon

upon

which hese

hree

movements

epend.

ndeed,

forme

one

of

the

most

nteresting

spects

of the

cycle

s the

way

n

which

t

brings

together nd uses sidebyside the mostdisparate tyles ndtechniques

of

organization,

anging

fromthe strict

ontrapuntal

echniques

of

'Der

Mondfleck'

nd the

densely

saturated

organic

thematicism

f

'Nacht'

to the extreme

reedom

f

pieces

such

as 'Der kranke

Mond',

in

which all these

things

re

abnegated.

But

t s not

simply

he seem-

ingly

nomalous

appearance

of these

three

ightly

tructured

ieces

n

this

generally

ree

ycle

hat nterests

me;

what

find

specially

asci-

nating

s that

these

particular

tructures

nd

techniques

were chosen

and

manipulated

s

they

were

n

direct

esponse

o

the

texts,

s

means

of

expression.

he

'passacaglia',

fugue

nd

canons

of nos.

8,

17 and

18

go

far

eyond

he

types

f surface

ctivity

hat re

customarily

ssoci-

ated

with

word-painting',

o

imagery

t a

much

deeper

evel: what

I

havecalled structuralmagery'.

At

an

even

deeper

evel the structures

f

these three

ongs

express

the

central dea of the

cycle

tself.

ierrotunaire

s

parody:

the music

parodies

forms,

tyles

nd

techniques

'Valse

de

Chopin',

Passacaglia',

'Serenade',

Barcarole',

ugue)

ust

as the

text

arodies

rituals

'Prayer',

'Rote

Messe',

Galgenlied'),

haracters

'Madonna',

Der

Dandy',

Eine

blasse

Wascherin')

nd

deals

'Die

Kreuze',

Raub',

Gemeinheit').

he

poems

themselves re

in a form hat nvites

mbiguity:

rondeau

of

three

non-rhyming

uatrains

n

which

the

first wo

lines

of the

first

return

midway hrough

he

econd,

nd

thefirst

ine

reappears gain

as

an

added

line at

the

end of the third.

The

poems

as

written

learly

suggest

ternary

orm,

ut the

return

of

the

first wo

lines

halfway

throughmarks binary ivision s well.And the dded final inemakes

the

threeverses

unequal

while at the

same time

giving

certain

yclic

symmetry

o thewhole.

n

his

ettings

choenberg

makesuse of all the

possibilities

mplicit

n

this fertile tructure.

he three

pieces

to be

consideredhere

all

respond

differently

o the structure

f the

text,

he

three

trophes

f

Nacht'

reinforcing

he

ternary

ivision,

he

amazing

palindrome

f 'Der Mondfleck'

mphasizing

he

binary

mplications,

and

the

aptly

named 'Parodie'

quite

appropriately easing

the ambi-

guity.

Is

it

binary?

s

it

ternary?

es.)

'Nacht'

I can't think f a piece ofmusicfrom nyperiod nwhichthe texthas

wielded a

greater

nfluence

han t

does

in

Nacht',

the

first

ong

of the

second

group

of the

cycle.

This

is

surely

choenberg's

most

striking

example

of the

synthesis

hat

he valued

so

much:

n

this ase

not

only

the

horizontal nd the vertical

spects

of the

piece

but

the

temporal

and

structural imensions

s

well

are

directly

elatable to

a

single

source.

n

the

poem

swarms

f monstrous lackbutterflies

re used as

a

metaphor

or he

falling

f darkness.

he creatures escendthreat-

eningly

rom

heaven,

sinking

with

heavy

wings

upon

the

hearts of

men'

and

killing

he

ight

f the sun'.

Every

spect

and

every

etailof

the

music s directed owards he

expression

f this

metaphor; very-

thing

n

t derives rom

single

butterfly

There areonlytwo motivesn thesong,and one ofthese s already

inherent

n

the other: the second

is the

inescapable

outcome of

multiple

tatements f

the

first.Not

only

do these two

motives hus

replicate

he

cause-effect

elationship

escribed

n

the

text,

n

which

one of the motifs

the

falling

f

darkness)

s the result f the

prolifera-



4

TEMPO

Example1:

Butterfly

nd

nightfall

otives

tion

of

the other

the

swarm

of

black

butterflies);

ut the motives

re

themselves,

ndividually,

icturesque.

The word

used

in

the

poem

for

the

giant

reatures

Riesenfalter

translates

s

monstrous

utterflies

r

moths

I

have

also seen

it translated

s

bats),

but

the

essential

harac-

teristic fthis reatures ts creased'or folded' hape falten:o

fold r

pleat).

The

first,

nd

seminal,

motive

of the

song

-

hereafter

he

'butterfly

otive'

is a musical

manifestation

f

the

shape

which

has

been

used

by

artists

nd children

like

over he

ages

to

represent

lying

birds

or insects

(see

Example

la).

Schoenberg's

butterfly

s not

symmetrical,

owever;

ts second

wing

hangs

slightly

ower

than

ts

first,

nd it thus contains

within

tself

he seed

of chromatic

escent.

When

one of

these butterflies

s

followed

by

another

whole

tone

lower

this

descent

becomes

a

significant

lement,

a

second

motive

resulting

romthe

proliferation

f

the

first

hereafter

he

'nightfall

motive');

ee the stemmed

notes

n

Example

b.

The entire

material f

the

piece

is

presented

n

a

tightly

omposed

introduction. considerablemountof nformationsgivenushere n

a

very

hort

ime,

hough

n a

register

nd with

density

hat

make

ts

comprehension

nlikely.

he

butterfly

otive

s

presented

n such

a

way

as to make

clear,

f we are

attuned

to

it,

that there s

a

tonic

analogue

n this

piece.

This

piece

is not

n

a

key,

ut t

quite

definitely

returns o

the same

-

tonic

level

at

structurallyignificant

oments.

A

symmetrical

ircle

f

butterfly

otives

n

bars

1-3

begins

and

ends

with tatements

t the tonic

evel,

E-G-Eb.

Five

motives onstitute

his

circle,

ach

taking

he second

note

of the

previous

one as its

starting

point;

thus uccessive

utterflies

rogress

pwards hrough

series

of

minor

hirds

see

Example

Ic).

This

is

exactly nalogous

to the

tradi-

tional

gambit

round

he circle f

fifths,

ut s

accomplished

n a

much

shorter ime and withmanyfewer tatements,incetheminor hirds

one of

the ntervals

hat ubdivides

he octave

ymmetrically.

a)

Tk

buftfly

otiva

b) rlit

of o

motie

duc

llrtiv

b)

Proliferationf

bocbrfly

otives

rducesnigtfal

motive

c)

Tonal

ircle

f

uerfly

otives

NB

Everything

ounds n

octave

ower

than

rittenere

There

is an extra

butterfly

n

these

three

bars,

a sixth

Lepidoptera

which does

not observe

the

same

swarming

nstinct

s the rest.

This

one

begins

on

the third ote

rather

han

he

econd)

of the third

tate-

ment B-DV-A) and thusreads A-C-A (see againExample Ic). Thus

not

only

s the

nightfall

otive

ntroduced,

ut

the

relationship

f

the

two motives

s made

clear:

as a

profusion

f

downward-swooping

butterflies

auses darkness

o

fall,

o

a

descending

eries of

butterfly

motives

nevitably roduces

hromatic

escent.



STRUCTURAL

IMAGERY:

'PIERROT LUNAIRE REVISITED

5

Nothing

ill ccur

n the

ong

hat

asnotbeen

directlyuggested

in thefirst

hree

ars.

he two

motives irst

resented

ere

revaried

and

ombined

n a

large

umber

f

ngenious ays,

nd

llthe

hords

in the

ong

are verticalizations

f

the

butterfly

otive

minor

hird

plusmajor hird)r nexpandedersionf t major hirdlusperfect

fourth,

erfect

ourth

lus

tritone,

ritone

lus

perfect

ifth;

here s

nothing

lse).2

But the

expression

f

the text

oes not

stop

with

he

choiceof

motives.

nce thebutterflies

ave

een

set

n motion

heir

ctivity

s

carefullyegulated

o

produce,

uring

he ourse

f

the

ong,

steady

decrease

n

definition

hat

s

equivalent

o

the

ncreasing

bscurity

hat

takes

lace

t

dusk.

n

the

first

lace,

f

course,

he

ong

s setfor he

two bass

nstrumentsf

the

group

bass

clarinet

nd

cello)

and the

piano,

laying

n an

extremely

ow

range

t

the

beginning

nd at the

end.

Thusthe

ound

s ndistinct

y

ts

very

ature;

his

murkiness

making

he

pitches

ifficult

o

distinguish

is

ncreased

n

the econd

strophey hemannerfperformance:he elloplays remolot the

bridge,

hebassclarinet

s

flutter-tongued

nd

he

piano

being

poor

country

ousinwhen

tcomes

o exotic

imbres)

s

played

taccato.

Between ntroduction

nd coda

(which

s not

strictly

peaking

coda,

ince hevoice

inishes

nly

alfway

hrough

t)

he

ong

ivides

clearly

nto

hree

trophes,

ollowing

he tanzas

f

the

poem.

These

strophes,

rticulated

y

hanges

f

tempo

toetwas

ascher

ndback

o

the

riginal

empo gain,

n

bars

11 nd

17

respectively

are

even,

ix

and even ars

n

ength

though,

s

we

shall

ee,

the

econd f

these

divisionss not

clearcut),

nd

becauseof

the

change

f

tempo

he

differenceetween

he outer

ections

nd

the horter

iddle

ne is

even

reater

han twould

ppear

obe.

Canon s usedthroughout.he firsttropheonsistsf a single

canon

which

akes ix

bars o unfold.

he

subject

f

this

anon s well

defined

rhythmically

istinctive

nd

melodically

emorable

and

the mitationan be

clearly

istinguished.

t s

a canon

n four

arts,

with ll the nstruments

aking

art,

he

right

nd eft

ands

f the

piano operatingndependently.

he second

trophe

onsists

lso of

one

ong

anon,

ut his ime

n

only

hree

arts,

ndon

a

subject

hat

is

anything

ut

clearly

efined:

ll themotion

s

in

quavers,

nd the

material

s a

sequence

which

ould

begin

and

end

anywhere.

he

uncertainty

ver

he

shape

of

this

ubject

s

complemented

y

the

playing

echniques

sed

by

llvoices

seeabove),

which

minimize

itch

recognition.

furtheroice

drops

way

at

the end

of

the

second

strophe,fter hicheveralrief anons ccurnquickuccession,he

first

oving

n

quavers

nd

the

ubsequent

nes

n

tripletuavers,

ll

sequential,

ith

hecomes

ncreasingly

rowding

he

dux.

These ast

canons re

fragments,

limpses

aught leetingly

utnot

recognized,

impossible

o

perceive,mbiguous

nd bscure.

sthe nd

fthe

hird

strophe pproaches,

he

descendingequence

f

the

final anon s

extended nd the two

canonic oices

thatwere

abandoned arlier

return,

ne at

time,

n

onger

ote alues.

he second

fthese

rings

back he

ubject

rom

hefirst

trophe

n

anticipation

fthe eturnf

the

irstine f text

though

t

s not

uite

s slow

s twas

originally

theminims f bar4 are crotchets

ere or as

clear,

incet s

played

with he remolohat haracterized

he econd

trophe.)

2

This

brings

o mind

comparison

hat

may

eem

unlikely

ut

s, think,

ogent.

hat

s,

he

Liszt

Sonata,

n which ll the basic thematic

materials run

through ery uickly

n the

introduction

nd then

roceeds

o

spin

tself

ut,

hough

n this ase

for

early

alf n hour

-

a Goliath eside

Schoenberg's

avid,

butnonethe ess

n this

espect ery

imilar.



6

TEMPO

Example

:

Canon

subject,

irst

trophe

Figure

At

the

end,

the

circle of

butterfly

otives

from he introduction

returns,

nd even

this,

whichwas

unclear

the first ime because

of

its

register

nd the dense

overlapping

f

motives,

s less clear

upon

its

return

ecause it s

accompaniedby

a new and

even ower

part

n

the

piano left and andbythevoice,whichhas notyetreachedthe endof

the

text.

And,

as

in

the

return

of the

first-strophe

ubject,

the

momentumbuilt

up

in

the middle

of

the

piece

carries n so

that he

final

ycle

f butterfliesnfurls

t double

the

speed

of the nitial ne.

In

the first

trophe

he two

motives

hat

were introduced

n

inter-

locking

fashion

n

bars 1-3

are

picked

apart

and

presented

n succes-

sion,

with

two-note

scending

motive

dded

at the

end. The

subject

that

results s

by

far he clearest

nd

most

memorable

of the

song

see

Example

2).

The two

motives se

notes of

relativelyong

duration

nd

are

rhythmically

istinct:

he

butterfly

s

in

minims,

he

nightfall

n

crotchets.

4

ci.

-

"-ii

,

- -

-

This

subject

s

nteresting

n another

espect

which

s

quite

unrelated

to

either

nsects

r darkness.

t contains

complete choenberg

ipher,

though

with the notes

in the

wrong

order

see

Figure

1).

There

are

only

wo extra

pitches,

b

and

Gb.

EG S D

[D]

CH

BA

[G]

=AR

N OLD

SCHONBERG

This

canon

subject

has been described

s

the

generative

material f

the

piece.

Charles Rosen

says 'Night"

..

develops ntirely

rom ten-

note

motif:

verything

an be traced

back

easily

o that

kernel.'3

While

it is

certainly

rue that

everything

an

be

traced

back to this

ubject,

what

Rosen seems

not to

recognize

s that

here

s

one

very

mportant

further

tep

on

this

path,

which eads

directly

ack to the

three-note

motive lone.

Alan

Lessem

calls

this

ubject

the

passacaglia

theme',4

which

lso seems

to me to be

in

error,

ince

t occurs

only

once

more,

in a

varied

form,

n

anticipation

f

the return

f

the firstine of

text

t

the end

of the

ong,

nd

n

fact

he

piece

s

not a

passacaglia

t all

n the

normal

understanding

f the

term.

t

is

clearly

strophic

form

n

which

all

three

trophes

re built

from

he

same two short

motives,

combined

n a

wide

variety

f

ways,

ver

changing,

ften

verlapping

and

nesting,

nd

proceeding

t

many

different

peeds

(running

he

gamut

from

emibreves

o

triplet uavers).

The

subject

s first tated

at the

tonic evel

by

the bass clarinet

n

bass-clef

ange

and

imitated

y

cello,

piano

lefthand and

piano right

hand,

n

that

rder,

ll

one

or two

octaves

elow.

Each

entry

ollows

he

previous

one

by

one

fullbar

(three

minims).

The fourth

ntry oes

overthebarline ntobar

9,

where

the

ascending

ailmotive

s

replaced

by

continued hromatic

escent

o the

downbeat

of bar 10.

The first

trophe

nds

with

the two

motives

occurring

imultane-

ously

nbar

10,

over ow notes held

in the

piano.

The cello

plays

the

nightfall

otive

t the

bridge,

ntroducing

hemannerof

playing

hat

3

Charles

Rosen,

choenberg

London:

Marion

Boyars,

976),

.

60.

4

Alan

Philip

Lessem,

Music nd Text n

theWorks

f

Arnold

choenberg

Ann

Arbor:UMI

Research

ress,

1979),

p.

147.

n

spite

of his

slightly

isleading

dentificationf the

ong

first-strophe

anon

subject

s a

'passacaglia

heme',

however,

essem

does

recognise

his

theme as

growing

ut of the

three-note

generative

ell'

that have called the

butterfly

motive,

nd

this as been theview

taken f the

piece

generally.



STRUCTURAL

IMAGERY:

'PIERROT LUNAIRE

REVISITED 7

it

will

use

in

the second

strophe

nd

much

of

thethird.

he voice

sings

'Verschwiegen'

n

the notes

of

the

tonic

butterfly

otive,

n the

bass

clef. This is

an

important

moment:

not

only

are

the two motives

isolated

n

separate

voices

and

sounded

together

with

no

other

ctivity

to detract rom hem, utthesearetheonlythreenotes that resung

in

the entire

piece,

all the

restof

the

voice

part

being

performed

s

Sprechstimme.

his sudden

clarity

s

surprising

ere.

Verschwiegen

rans-

lates as

'secretly'

r

'silently'

r

'discreetly'

nd

is

the

last

word

in a

phrase comparing

he

horizon

to

a closed

book

of

charms,

n

unfath-

omable book of

secrets.

n a

strange

rony,

his

utterance

eems to

be

attempting

o revealrather

han

to

hide

the secret

f

the

two

motives

and of the

piece.

In

bar

11

the

bass clarinet

lays

nesting igure

n which series

of

butterflies,

moving

in

quavers,

outlines

the

nightfall

n

crotchets

starting

n the afterbeat.

he idea

of

nesting

irst

ppeared

s a

sort

of

countersubject

n bars 8

and

9,

when

both

the

bass clarinet

nd the

piano lefthand,havingfinishedwiththe canon subject,playedthree

butterflies

n

quavers

which

together

utlined

monster

utterfly

n

minims

see

Example

3a).

In bar

11

the

figure

has

changed

signifi-

cantly:

nstead

of

producing

larger

utterfly

he

three

mall

butter-

fliesnow descend to

produce

the

nightfall

see

Example

3b),

and

this

nesting igure

erves s

a transition

o

the

subject

of

the next

canon,

where

t s extended nd

further

mbellished.

Example

:

Nesting utterfly

otives,

s

8,

11

I

JI I

------.-----

I

..

b)

.

CL.

nightftal

roive

In

bars 11-13

a

preliminary

ar

built on

the two-note

scending

motive

hat nded the

first anon

subject

ets

the

pattern

f imitation

to be used

in

the

second-strophe

anon

(only

three

voices now:

cello,

bass

clarinet,

iano right

hand,

each

entering

fter full

bar).

The

canon subjectproperrunsdirectlyn from hisbar,beginningn the

cello

n

bar 12. After

ts

elongated

nitial

tonic)

note,

this

onsists

f

a

regular

descending

hromatic

equence

in

quavers,

whose

apparent

simplicity

omewhat

disguises

he

fact hat

t s

an even more

complex

nestingfigure

using

the

two

basic

motives

of

the

piece.

The back-

ground, long

chromatic

ightfall,

s

accomplished hrough

string

f

butterfliest the

middleground,

hese

being

n

filled

n

chromatically

(i.e.

the

nightfall

otive

n

both

ts

normal

nd

ts nverted

orm)

t the

foreground

see

Example

4).

Though

this

ubject,

ike hat f

the

first

trophe,

ses

both

butterfly

and

nightfall

motives,

his s a

combination

f

a

quite

different

ort:

instead of one

following

he other

as

happened

in

the

first

trophe,

here the two are inextricablyntermingled,ndtheresult s not,as it

was

there,

clear and distinctive

ubject,

but

a

sequence

thatmoves

along

in

notes of

equal

value

and

is

potentially

ndless.

That the

ending

point

s

arbitrary

s shown

by

the fact

hat

both the

answering

voices end short of

the material

n the

cello's

dux. In fact

all three



8

TEMPO

Example

:

Canon

subject,

econd

trophe

voices

are

interrupted

y

the final

ar of the

strophe,

ar

16,

at what-

ever

point

they

have reached

by

that time. The two dotted

ines in

Example

4

indicate,

respectively,

he

points

at

which the

piano

(the

third

oice)

and the

bass clarinet

the second)

break

off;

he

bass clar-

inetfinishes hree utterfliesomparedwith he cello'sfour; hepiano

only

two. Both

cello

and bass clarinet

nd with

the first alf of a

further

motive,

flutterurrounded

y

rests nd neverfinished.

he

piano

has no

rests;

t s

simply

ut off

halfway hrough

tsthirdmotive.

12

....,.i.'o:

F

]]

[

I1"ji4

.

I

I

-

...

nightfall.:

A(j

80V)

in

r

l.

tthis

oint)

The

second

strophe

s the most dense

of the

three.The

featureless

character

f the canon

subject

hinders ts

perception

s a

canon,

and

the

manner n

which the

nstruments

re

played

makes

pitchrecogni-

tion

difficult.his

difficulty

s exacerbated

y

a

variety

f distractions

in

the

piano.

These

begin

immediately,

n bar

11,

thus

obscuring

he

beginning

f

the

canon.

In bars 11-12

the

right

and

plays

a series

of

three-note

hords

utlining

he

butterfly

otive

moving

n

semibreves

-

a

hemiola

combining

hetwo 3

/2

bars nto a

single

ar of 3 /

1. These

chords re not allexactlyhe ame- thethird s nverted but the outer

notes of

each are eleven

semitones

part.

The

topmost

notes outline

the

motive

beginning

n

Bk,

nd

the lowest

notes outline the

same

motive

nding

n

Bb.

B?

can

be seen

as an

analogue

to the

dominant

n

this

piece,

where tatements

eginning

n

E

are used

as a tonic nd the

'circle

of fifths'

rogresses

hrough

series

of minor hirds:

circle f

this

ort s

bisected

quallyby

the tritone

as

is,

ndeed,

he

truecircle

of

fifths).5

he chords hemselves

the first hords

n

the

piece

not to

have

been the resultof

linear

polyphony

represent

verticalized

expansion

of the

butterfly

otive

n

which five

and six

semitones

replace

the three nd four

emitones

f the

original.6

Beneath this

elongated

dominant'

tatement

he lefthand

plays

a

tonicbutterflyn minimsn bar 11 which srepeatednbar 12,where t

is

embellished

n

the

manner

ntroduced

y

the

bass clarinet

n bar 8.

This bar

sets off chromatic

escent

which continues

o the second

beat of bar

16,

where

t

finally

omes

to rest n

a tremolo hord

bove

the D a

ninth elow thenote on

which

hedescent

tarted.7

wo voices

added n

bars 14 and 15 ncrease

he

motivic

omplications

y

geomet-

rical

proportions

see

Example

5,

where the

motives

n bars 14 and

15

are

separated

nd

written n

three

taves).

5

The latter

act

may

be seen

as

arguing gainst

his

nterpretation,

s,

perhaps,

lso

does the

use of

notes tritone

part

s

interchangeable

onics

n themusic f

Skryabin

nd Bart6k.

Nevertheless ere and elsewhere

n the music

of

Schoenberg,

erg

nd Webern

his ela-

tionships used n a waythat eems tome to imitate he traditionalonic-dominantela-

tionship.

6

If

the

hords reread

s

ntervals

f five nd

six emitones he

first

wo

motives re

nverted

and the hirds

not,

f as six nd seven he

ast hord

epresents

he nversion.

7

What,

wonder,

would

a

Schenkerian

ake

of thefact

hat hefirst

trophe

escends

o and

comes

to rest n ow

C#

and A under he

voice's

E,

and

the econd

trophe

nds

n a similar

way

on

ow D and A?



STRUCTURAL IMAGERY:

'PIERROT LUNAIRE' REVISITED 9

Example

:

Piano eft

and,

trophe

12

nightfall ~

~~~~

L

.....J

-

-----

--------------

..............--2.-.-------z-

--f---- .......------.

-

,b

?rf- ----------_

bufft

l

-T------

--T-----

-------

- ---

all~

;-----------

,buaterflyi..$ .

bummftp

.m

humanypmu_

n

.,xuFI%

tTTt]_jILd'

btfto.ypmwc

.

As

the second

strophe

s

ending,

n the downbeat

of bar

16,

with

a

ff

tonic

butterfly

n

the

owest

range

of

the

piano,

the other wo

instru-

ments

begin

another

anon.

Now

the

bass clarinet

ollows he cello

after

nly

one

minim.That this

s

a

canon

is

completely

bscured

by

thefact hat hetwo voicesbeginatthe same time, laying hromatic

rising

igures

n

parallel

hirds,

hich

give

no

hint f

mitation.

n

the

second beat of the bar the clarinet

egins

to imitate

he

cello,

and

the

third ote of the

mitated

material

s the first

ote of

a

butterfly.

he

butterfly

s

chromatically

illed

n,

as

it was

in the second

strophe,

nd

is

played by

the cello

in

the

manner that

it used

throughout

hat

strophe,

ut the

manner f

playing epresents

transition,

s

the clar-

inet

givesup flutter-tonguing

nd

plays

normally gain,

as it will

n

the

strophe

o

follow.

or

thefirst ime he

tonicdux

s answered

t

what

n

this

piece passes

for he dominant.

This canon is in

two

segments,

with

the comes

eaping

down after

this nitial

motive o imitate

t

the unison for

he

remaining

ar. The

material fthe econd

segment

sstrikinglyifferent.eginning n the

downbeat

of bar

17

the

familiarmotives

re

given

a

completely

ew

twist.

Here,

n

a

highly

eceptive

motion,

series

f

butterfly

otives

(a

motivewhich

n

theory

escribes

chromatic escent

nd has thus

far

always

had

this

aspect exaggerated)

scends

quickly

over

a

wide

rangeby

virtue f the third ote of each

figure

aving

been

displaced

upwards

by

an

octave

(see

Example

6a).

This

is the

only ascending

passage

n

the entire

ong,

nd

seems to be

either

n

preparation

or he

text Und vom Himmel' at the

beginning

f

the third

trophe

though

this

ext

s

associatedwith

description

f downward

motion),

r

a

late

reaction o

the

textof

bars 11-13

('Aus

dem

Qualm

verlorner

iefen

steigt

in

Duft'),

perhaps uggesting

hat n

the face

of the

nevitable

descent fdarkness

ny

referenceo

upward

motion s

only

n llusion.

This

series of

motives

s

sequential,

ike the

subject

in

the second

strophe,

nd,

also like

that

ubject,

nds

arbitrarily,

iththe comes ne

figure

hort f what occurred

n

the

dux,

both voices

continuing

n

to

complete

bar

18,

each

in

ts own

way.

The cello

s

played

on

the

finger-



10

TEMPO

Example

:

Third

trophe

board.

Throughout

his canon

the

piano

left

hand holds

a

chord

an

expanded

nd verticalized

nversion

f the

butterfly

otive,

with

nter-

vals

of four

and five

semitones),

beginning

with

a tremolo

on the

second beat of bar 16.

The

right

and

ascends

n

sympathy

ith

the

canon in the othertwo instruments,laying seriesof threedyads

three

imes,

ach

time n octave

higher.

he

upper

voice

of each

group

is a tonic

butterfly,

hile

the ower

voice

s

the

first f the two

permu-

tations f this

motive ntroduced

n bars

14

and 15

see

Example

6b;

cf.

the owervoice and

the ast

system

n

Example

5).

a)

Third-itrophe

anon,

.

17f.

.17

I1

Tempo

...

I-9110i

i i

O

..I...

b)

Butterfly

nd

utterfly

ermutation,

. 17f.

Mi

'_

Bars

16-18 act

as a transition

rom

he second

strophe

o

the

third,

inthewaybars 10-11 oined thefirst nd secondstrophes. he transi-

tion s

given

more

time

on this

ccasion,

s

the

voice

s silent or

nearly

two bars between

second

and third

erses

there

was

no

pause

beyond

afermata

ver

hebarline

etween

first nd

second).

The

tempo change

at bar

17would

mply

hat he

third

trophe

egins

t

this

oint,

ut the

chord

n

the

piano

left and

-

the

goal

towards

which

hebass

part

has

been

moving

nexorably

hroughout

he second

strophe

finishes

nly

at

the end of that

bar,

nd

the motion

n the

upper

parts

n

16

and 17

s

in

quavers,

he

rhythm

hatcharacterizes

he

second

strophe,

ot the

third. n

the first

anon

in these

two

bars the cello

retains

he

manner

of

playing

hat haracterized

ts econd

strophe,

while

this s where

he

clarinet eturns

o the normal

playing

hat

t

will

use

in the third.

he

voice begins tsthird extended)quatrain n bar 18, and, in an exact

parallel

o bar

11,

where

hevoice

began

ts econd

quatrain,

his

s

the

bar

n

which he nstruments

et the

rules' for

he canons

to follow

n

the third

trophe.

In

bar

18,

the

piano right

and

plays

three

hords

n the

shape

of

a

butterfly,8

hile

the efthand

fills he

bar

exactly

with a

meandering

chromatic

melody

whose overall

motion

s

governed

y

permutations

of the

butterfly

otive;

hese

re outlined

y

the

extreme

otes

of

this

melody,

fter ach

of which

t

changes

direction

see

Example

7a).

This

is an

important igure,

s it ntroduces

ot

only

the note-value

hat s

used in

the canons

of the

third

trophe

quaver

triplets,

he ast

step

n

a

progressive

cceleration

f

motion

that

began

with

minims

n the

introduction,ncreased o crotchetsn the firsttrophe ndquavers n

the

second),

but

also the forms

he

butterfly

ill

take

(original

nd

8

Theouter

hords

reverticalized

nversions

f

the

motive;

he

econd s

an

expanded

nver-

sion:

major

hird

nd a

perfect

ourth.



STRUCTURAL

IMAGERY:

'PIERROT LUNAIRE' REVISITED

11

retrograde

nversion)

nd the

sort

of

convoluted

verlapping

f there

that

s

going

to be used

for

he

rest

f this

trophe

s well.

The

steady

increase

n motion

throughout

he

song

s of course

picturesque,

s

is

the

ncreasing

se of butterflies

hat

have

ost

their

orrect

rientation:

the rate at whichnightfalls eems to acceleratetowards he end of

dusk,

nd confusion

omes

with

darkness.

The

first anon to

use the

new

note

values

s

played

by

the

piano

in

bars 19-21

(see

Example

7b).

From

the

beginning

of

the

piece

the

canons have

been

getting

teadily

more difficult

o

distinguish;

t s

in

bar 19

that his

progression

owards

bscurity

eaches

ts climax.

Here

only

the chromatic

escent

will

be discerned:

he darkness

as

finally

made the

outline f

thebutterflies

hat ause

it nvisible.

o

start

with,

the fact

hatboth voices

are

played

by

the

piano

and

n

the

same

range

greatly

hampers

one's

ability

to

distinguish

he

two voices

or

to

perceive

heir inear

relationship

o

each

other.

The

hands

begin

at the

same

time,

both

playing

chromatically

escending

eries

of broken

thirds,lternately ising ndfalling,lternatelymajorandminor: hus

in

each voice

a dense

series

of

butterflies

verlaps

with

their nverted

retrogrades.

ach hand

s the

mitation

f

the other

t

the distance

f

one

triplet uaver.

The

phrasing

einforces

hisdouble-vision

iew

of

things:

oth voices

are

phrased

n three-note

roups

beginning

with

the

first

ote,

as

if the

parts

were

synchronized.

he left

hand has

a

slight

dge,

perhaps,

s it

begins

with

an

upright

nd

forward-moving

motive t the tonic

evel;

this

s

imitated

irectly

y

the

right

and

at

the dominant.

The canon

lasts for

one

bar

and

one

crotchet,

he hands

ending

together,

s

they

egan,

after

he

first hree

notes

n bar

20,

and for

he

rest f this

bar

the

piano

is treated

ery

much

as

the other

wo

instru-

mentswere towards he endofthe econd-stropheanon nbar 15:the

motion ubsides

pasmodically

s

small

groups

of

notes

alternate

with

rests.

This

fragmentation

erves

wo

purposes.

Most

immediately

t

s

thebreakdown

nd

tailing-off

f

the canon

n

bar

19,

but

n

separating

out thetwo constituents

f that

anon

-

the

butterfly

nd

ts

retrograde

inversion and

stating

hem

one

after

he

other

with

no

overlapping,

t

also ntroduces

he

material f

the

next

anon,

which

s

again

played

y

the

piano

in

two voices

and

is a version

of what

was

heard

n bar 19

without

he

overlapping

f

motives

Example

7c).

The hands

do

not

start

ogether

his ime

the

nterval

etween

entries

s extended

o

a

crotchet and

thedux

begins

once

again

at the

onic evel.

The climax

f

confusion nd

obscurity

as

reached

n bar

19;

now

Schoenberg

egins

to put on the brakes.Nighthas fallen; t remainsonlyforthe sun's

meniscus o slide

silently

rom

he

horizon.

The

material

f

this

final

canon,

ike ll those

ince

he

first

trophe,

s

sequential,

nd

tcarries n

until he end

of bar

23,

where

both

hands

stop

at

the same

time,

ach

having

allen

ome two

and one

half

ctaves.

These two voices

have

been

pushed

into the

background

ong

before

they

come to

their

arbitrary

nd,

however,

by

two

more

dramatic vents.

The

first f

these s

thebass

clarinet's

tatement

n

augmentation

f the

six notes

of this

subject,acting

as

a further

braking

motion.This

statement,

n

crotchets,

egins,

on the

tonic,

t

the

sametime s the

piano right

and's

comes,

nd

t s

striking

ecause

of both

the contrast

n timbre

ndthe

ong

note

values,

durations

hat

havenotbeen heardsincethefirst trophe.An evenmoreimportant

activity

ccurs in the

cello,

which

begins

a

long

process

of

slowing

down

halfway

hrough

bar 20

by

playing

chromatically

escending

figures,

irst

n

triplet

uavers,

then

in

quavers,

reaching

crotchets

halfway hrough

ar

22,

where

t at first

ppears

to be

answering

he



12

TEMPO

Example

:

Third

trophe

bass

clarinet's

ugmented

ubject

n thebar before.

However,

fter

he

first

hreenotes

-

a tonic

butterfly

the

cello

continues,

ot withthe

retrograde

nversion s

in

the

bass

clarinet,

ut with the

nightfall

motive,

n

a final

tatement

f the

first-strophe

anon

subject

minus

the tailmotive, ndplayedtremolo s in the secondstrophe, hough

not at

the

bridge).

This

prepares

he

way

for he

return f the

poem's

opening

ine.

The bass

clarinet,

aving

pened

the

way

for his

e-entry,

does

not

continue

n

sequence,

as the

piano

is

doing,

but

plays

nstead

two

additional

utterflies,

n

crotchets.

ll this

ctivity

nds at bar

24,

when

thecoda is

heard,

eproducing

he

events

f the ntroduction ut

in

notes

only

half as

long.

Although

he coda

balances the introduc-

tion,

he

two sections

being

of

equal length,

ecause

of

the

rhythmic

discrepancy

he musicof the

ntroduction

ills

nly

he first alfof the

coda.

The remainder

s

given

over

to

a

single

onic

butterfly

n

which

the

second

note

s

displaced

downwards

y

two

octaves.

L inyn retrogradeem inrtatio2

vwrtedetgradeutterfly

b)

p ,,

buter-fly

i

erteyretrogrpad

utterfy

permutati

butterly

inverted

inrd

rc

tr

de

A

-

--------

un BMW

4k

T)-O

..

... .

.. .... ..

m

..

y

inverted.. ....r..et..o....................

A

r: l -i

,

'

I

,

i "

I

I

l J :1

-

_.

i I t

...... ..... . ... .... .. ..

.

The

Sprechstimme

art

of 'Nacht'

is

permeated

with

the same two

motives that

preoccupy

he instruments

hroughout

he

song,

most

often

presenting

utterflieshat

are filled

n

chromatically

r semi-

chromatically.

his

part

never nters

nto

ny

anonic

relationships

nd

in

actual

fact s of

course,

n

spite

of its motivic

origin,

imply eye

music'

whose musical

relationship

ith heother

arts,

with he

excep-

tion of

the

sung

bar

10,

exists n

the

page only.

t

does

have one

impor-

tant

function,

which

if

it is

performed

houghtfully

hould

come

across: t stheonlypart o remember nd mark hebinary ivision f

the

poem.

The inevitable

dentity

f the ast two lines

of the second

strophe

with

the

first

wo

lines of

the

first

'Finstre,

schwarze

Riesenfalter

t6teten

der

Sonne

Glanz')

is remembered

n

the close

similarity

f

the

notated

voice

part

n these wo

places.



STRUCTURAL

IMAGERY:

'PIERROT

LUNAIRE'

REVISITED

13

As

the

entire

motivic

ontent

f the

song

s

presented

n laconic form

in

the

first

hree

bars,

the

dramatic

form

of

the

whole

is

succinctly

hinted t n bar10, hat niquebar attheendofthefirsttrophewhich

is

sung

rather

han

spoken.

n this

bar

the

two

so-important

motives

are

played

t the

same

time;

these

same

two

shapes

unfold

imultane-

ouslythroughout

he

song.

have

argued

bove

that

handling

f

most

aspects

f

thecanons

the

teady

ecrease

n the

number

f

voices

and

the time between

entries,

he

hastening,

hortening,

onfusing

nd

hiding

are

aimed

at

a

steadily

ncreasing

bscurity,

he

aural

equiva-

lent

of

nightfall.

t the

same

time,

n other

respects,

he dramatic

progress

utlines

butterfly,

contour

hat

erves

s

a sort

of Ursatz

t

all

evels

of

the

piece.

The dramatic

hape

of

the

song

s

ABA,

with

ll

the

climaxes

n the

central ection:

he

dynamic

limax

s

in bar

16,

the

registral

limax

n

bar 18,thegreatestdensitys in bars 14-15, and thecontent s most

obscure

n bar 19.

These

heights

re

ike

the

apex

of

the

butterly

hape

drawn

n

Example

la and

portrayed

n the

butterfly

otive;

fter

his

things

ubside

until

the

end

is like

the

beginning,

hough

n several

ways,

all

of which

have

been

mentioned

bove,

the

end

falls little

short f

being

exactly

ike

the

beginning

note

values

are not

quite

as

long

(though

onger

than

n the

middle

section),

he

cello

plays

n

a

more

agitated

manner

than

t

did

at

the

beginning

but

not

quite

as

strangely

s

it

did

n the

middle

ection).

Thus

the

shape

of the whole

is

the

reverse

f

the

slightly

opsided

nsect

that

s

replicated

n the

motive:

he

structure

f

the

song

s

the

butterfly

n

retrograde.

The

rhythmic

ctivity

nd the

structure

f

the

canons

work

together

o createthis double picture.For themomentdisregarding

the

introduction

nd

coda,

the

notes

themselves

get progressively

shorter or

he whole

of

the

piece,

while

the canonic

partsplayed

n

these

rhythms

rop

from

four

to

three

to

two

and

their ntries

get

progressively

loser

together

n time

up

to

the climax

n bar

19,

after

which the

lost voices

return

ne

at

a

time,

and

the

entries

become

further

part

and

more

eisurely

gain.

n this

way

the

two

shapes

are

interlocked,

s of course

they

have

been

at various

other

evels

-

all

other evels

for

he whole

of the

song.

Why

did

Schoenberg

ubtitle

his

ngenious

iece

Passacaglia'?

The

passacaglia

s one of

the

oldest

of

the

traditional

orms

till

n

use,

and

one

of the

simplest;

he

expectations

aised

by

this

subtitle

re

thus

quite

definitend not

open

to much nterpretation,nd mostarenot

fulfilled

n

Nacht'.

There

should

be

a

ground,

robably

ppearing

irst

in

the

bass and

possibly

moving

round

to

various

other

voices

during

the

progress

of

the

movement,

nd

this

ground

should

be

repeated

continuously,

erhaps

with

diverse

igural

ariations

ut without

ny

alteration

f

ts

ength,

ts

ntervals

r

ts

key.

Historically

he

ground

s

usually

n

a

triple

metre

nd descends

hromatically,

n

ong

and essen-

tially egular

ote

values.

How

many

of

these

things

re

true

of

Schoenberg's

passacaglia?

The

piece

is

in a

triple

metre,

nd

the

first

nd

most

mportant

anon

subject

Lessem's

passacaglia

theme')

descends

chromatically

n

long

and

regular

note values.

It also

recurs

hroughout

he

piece,

n

varia-

tions

usingfiguration,

nd

always

at

the tonic evel. But it does not

recur

continuously.

What

does

recur

continuously

incessantly,

ven

obsessively

is the

three-note

utterfly

otive,

utthese

recurrences

are dense

and varied

at different

evels,

using

a

variety

f

durations,

at alltonal

evels,

ccupying

very

onceivable

position

n the

bar,

nd



14

TEMPO

Example

:

Sketch

or

Nacht'

very

ften

verlapping

and re

ubject

o

permutation.

his

s not he

sortof

repetition

hat

occurs

n

a

passacaglia.

hesitate

o use

a

Schoenbergian

erm hat

asbeen

verusedothe

oint

f

nausea,

ut

this

s

developing

ariation.

n

many

ways

his

assacaglia

s a

parody,

subvertinghetechniquesf thetraditionalorm nddenyinghe

expectations

aised

y

he

itle.

Yet thinkhat

his s not

he

whole

tory.

hile

enying

he ule

f

the

form,

his

passacaglia ives

ts all

in

conforming

o

its

spirit.

Because

of

its

repetitiveness,

hich

ules ut

both

modulation

nd

metric

rregularity,

he

passacaglia

s

surely

hemost

ppressive

orm

of

Westernraditional

usic.

here s no

escape

fromts

constantly

reiterated

round

rfrom

he

key

nd hemetric

hythm

stablishedt

the

outset,

ust

as in

Giraud/Hartleben's

Nacht'

here

s no

escape

from

he

warm

f

black utterflies

r thefall f

night.

Nacht' s a

supremelyppressive

oem,

nd

Schoenberg

as

provided

t with

supremelyppressive

etting.

here s not moment romts tart o

itsfinish henwe arenotbesiegedythebutterfliesndtheir onse-

quence

n

a

variety

f

ingenious

ombinations,

nd

usually

n all

voices.For

such a

claustrophobic

iece

whatmore

fitting

llusion

couldbe

magined

han

passacaglia'?

For llof

Pierrot

unaire

am

aware

f

only

ne extant

ketch,

or

he

beginning

f

Nacht'.9

t

s

nteresting

nd

puzzling,

s t eems obear

no

relationship

hatevero the

ong

hat

ventually

merged.

offer

transcription

f t s

Example

.

t

?

Ir

IbIL

M

&r&n m

.I

il

,

,

,j.

t,.

.

I?

-

-W

I-

I

A

Il~r

I

......

ox.

'Der

Mondfleck'

'Der

Mondfleck'

no. 18),

the

song

which

amously

urns ound n

itself

halfway hrough

at

the exact moment Pierrot

notices

a white

fleck f

moonlight

n the

backof

his

coat),

ets he ext s a

binary

form.his tructuresas directresponseothemage fthis oem s

the

picturesque

motives

and their

machinations,

nd

the subtitle

passacaglia',

were to Nacht'.

9

This

ketchs held

n

theArnold

ch6nberg

enter,

ienna.



STRUCTURAL

MAGERY:

PIERROT

LUNAIRE'

REVISITED

15

Example

:

Opening igure

f Der

Mondfleck'

There

are four

ayers

f

activity

n

Der

Mondfleck',

ach

making

ts

own

distinctive

ontribution

o

the

eccentric

ehaviour

f

the

protago-

nist.

The

piano

plays

fugue

hroughout,

nd

the

Sprechstimme

oes

its

own

rather

ngular

way,

remaining

more

aloof

from

he

rest of

the

ensemblethanwas the case in 'Nacht'.

A

pair

of

woodwind

instru-

ments

clarinet

nd

piccolo)

play

in

canon,10

s

do

a

pair

of

strings

(violin

nd

cello);

both

of

these

canons

turn

ound

t the

centre

f

bar

10 and

play

n

retrograde

ntil

they

have

reached

the

point

at which

they

tarted.

But,

ust

as

Pierrot

s

presumably

ot

actually

walking

backwards

or

he second

halfof

the

song,

but

walking

orwards

hile

looking

back

over

his

shoulder,

he

piano

and

singer

arry

n

moving

in the

original

direction

while

the

other

four

nstruments

ook

back,

producing

structure

hich,

ike

he

character

imself,

n ts onfusion

progresses

n both directions

t once.

One

of

the

first

hings

ne

notices

s that

this

song

has

the

same

tonic

as 'Nacht'.

(This

'tonic'

is

not

a feature

hat

runs

through

he

whole cycle.)The motive hatbeginseach new sectionof the wood-

wind canon

and functions

s

the

ubject

f

the

piano's

fugue

begins

on

E and ends

on

E?

see

Example

9a);

it

appears

also

as an

answer,

egin-

ning

on

B

(the

conventional

dominant,

s

opposed

to

the

tritone,

which

played

hat

ole

n

Nacht').

It

s

tempting

o see

the

falling

emi-

tone of

thismotive

nd

the

one

in Nacht'

as

the

nversion/perversion

of

the

eading-note/tonic

elationship

f

tonal

music,

hough

n Der

Mondfleck'

he

two

tritones

f

the

subject

re

n

fact

esolved

n

quite

a

satisfactory

onal

manner

see

Example

9b).

b)

The

piano

plays

fugue

which

s

essentially

n three

voices,

hough

it

expands

to four

on

occasion.

It

is also

in three

ections,

ars

1-8,

8-15

and

15-19,

but,

hough

his

uggests

he

possibility

hat

he

piano

part

follows

he three-verse

tructure

f

the

poem,

this

s not

the case.

The secondstanzaofthe text egins nbar7,thethirdate n bar 12.

This

fugue

opens

in a rather

aring

way,

with

the

subject

tated

n

parallel

ugmented

riads,

ut

calms

down

quickly,

o

that

by

the

third

entry

he

only

remnant

f

this

nitial

udacity

s

the

first

ote,

which

s

doubled,

but now

at

the tritone.

Nevertheless,

ntil

ate

in the

fugue

the

first nd

astnotes

of

the

ubject

re

most

often

xpressed

s chords

or

dyads.

The

fugue

s

given

s

Example

10,

with

he

parts

disentangled

and written

n

separate

taves.

150

am

going

to call

the imitation

between

clarinet

and piccolo

a

canon,

for the sake

of con-

venience,

in

spite

of the fact that the

relationship

of the two instrumentsis very fluid. It

behaves

like

a

canon,

but

a canon

with

considerable

freedom.

On

his own

copy

of the

piece

Schoenberg

wrote

'fugue'

next

to

these

two

parts,

but I find

this

designation

-

a

not

uncom-

mon

situation

with

respect

to

Schoenberg's

remarks

about

his own

music

-

slightly

mislead-

ing.

It occurs

to me

to wonder

whether

this was

meant

to indicate

the

source

of these

two

parts,

which

duplicate

exactly,

t

twice

the

speed,

the first

wo

voices

of the

piano's

fugue.



16

TEMPO

Example

0:

No.18,

Der

Mondfleck',

iano

ugue

EXPOSITION

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STRUCTURAL IMAGERY: PIERROT LUNAIRE

REVISITED 17

FINAL

DEVELOPMENT

(S

s

,

(S)

,

,

)

...

~

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I

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.........

illill

i~"

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A

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#

cuo

The

exposition

s

fairly

nremarkable,

xcept

or

ne

thing:

here

are

wonotes nbar

that

reempt

he

ntry

fthe

ubject

n

he hird

voice.

This s a

curious

xception

o what s

otherwise

ather

trict

fugal ractice.

he

adherenceo

fugal

echniquesoes

far

eyond

he

replication

f the

subject:

here re two

countersubjects,

oth

of

which reheard n allthree oices,nd nadditionheres nthefirst

voice

a

further

egment

in

bars

4-5)

which

s

played gain

by

the

leading

oice

n

the econd

ection

f the

ugue,

n

bars11-12.As

this

is

not

layed

tthe ame

ime s the

ubject,

have

alled his contin-

uation'

ather

han

nother

ountersubject.



18

TEMPO

The

second

section

begins

as

if t were

going

to

be

another

xposi-

tionbut

slips

n

to

development

with

he stretto

ntry

f

the

subject

n

the third

oice.

The

first

wo

voices

play

the same

music

as

before,

including

he

continuation

rom

ars

4-5,

but

the

third

oice

dispenses

withthecountersubjectsndbegins nstead stringf three ubjects,

all of which

re

elided.

The

second

of

these

s inverted

s well.

In

this

ectionof

the

fugue

the

subject

has

acquired

a second

rest,

between

ts ast

two

notes,

o

balance

that etween

ts

first wo."

In

the

following

ection

both

rests

have

been removed

and

the

first

note

greatly

hortened,

iving

he

subject

n

agitation

hat

t acked

before.

This section

pens

n bar

15 with

stretto

n

four

oices,

wo

of which

-

the

first

nd

third continue

with

the two

countersubjects.

he

fourth

ntry

s embellished

nd

lengthened,

s

is

a fifth

ntry

which

s

heard

n stretto

with

t

played

by

the voice

that

ntered

econd).

One

can see

these

digressions

in

bar

16)

as a

form f

distraction.

he

fugue

ends with

a

flurry

f

rapid

statements

f the

subject

n its new

fretful

form,n whichthe three entralnoteshavenowbecome triplets,hus

matching

hose

played

by

the

woodwind

parts

t

the

beginning

f

the

song.

Thus

the

fugue

becomes

increasingly

gitated

s

it

progresses,

moving

from

Exposition

o

Development,

ach

section

shorter

han

the one

before.

The normal

progress

s

first

uickened

by

stretto

nd

elision,

nd

then

by rhythmic

iminutions,

s

Pierrot

ecomes

more

distracted

nd

his

progress

ess

predictable.

The erratic

ature

f

Pierrot's

rogress

hrough

he

night

s

perhaps

seen most

clearly

n the woodwind

canon,

which

consists

f

the

first

two voices

of

the

piano

fugue

n

diminution,12

hough

he

correspon-

dence to

Pierrot's

agitation

is somewhat

anticipatory,

ince

the

growing

rritation f

clarinet

nd

piccolo

occurs

before

the

halfway

pointofthesong, husprecedinghemoment fPierrot's iscoveryf

the fleck

n

his coat.

Like

the

piano fugue

inevitably

this

ather

ree anon

starts

ver'

three imes:

on

four ccasions

both

voices

state

the

five-note

ubject,

the first hree

imes

at

the tonic

evel

answered

t

the

dominant,

he

fourth ime

with

both

voices

on

the tonic.

These

fresh

tarts

orre-

spond

to

bars

1,

8,

15 and

18

of

the

piano's

fugue:

s

in the

piano,

the

sections

become

progressively

horter

nd,

after

he

second

pair

of

entries,

he

entries

hemselves

et

closer

together

though

n this

ase

all

theseevents

ccur

n the

first

alfof

the

song

and are

subsequently

reversed).

he

fluid

tateof

the

mitation

n these

parts

an be

seen

in

Example

11,

where

mitated

material

s

bracketed,

with

arrows

ndi-

cating he orderof the voices. This irregularity,hichquickensand

becomes

exaggerated

s the

piece

approaches

the

centre,

eems,

in

spite

of

preceding

he

fact,

o

reflect

erfectly

ierrot's

tumbling

ait

as he walks

n

one

direction

while

facing

n the other.

At

the

same

time

the

strings

re

playing

strict

anon

built

from

quite

different

aterial,

n which

the

mitation

s so

exact

that ven

at

the axis

n bar

10,

where

t turns

ound

on

itself,

oth

horizontal

nd

vertical

symmetries

re

maintained

without

a break:

the leader

becomes

the

follower

without

ripple

n

either

he canonic

mitation

or the

palindrome

this

s

not the

case

in the

woodwind;

there

the

piccolo

hasthree

xtra

notes

while

the clarinet

omesnds

the

first

alf

and

carries

on

as the

dux

in the

second

half);

see

Example

12.

The

11

Only

ne

entry,

he econd,

nbars

9-10,

doesnot

ake his

ew

form.

12

This statement

erhaps

ives

confusing

icture

f

the

relationship

etween

he

parts:

t

would

seem obvious

that he woodwind

canon,

which

repeats

n

retrograde,

ust

have

come

first,

nd

the

piano

fugue,

n

augmentation

f

theforward

ortion

f

t,

ater.



STRUCTURAL

MAGERY:

PIERROT LUNAIRE REVISITED 19

Example

1:

'Der

Mondfleck',

oodwind

anon

strings erfectlyepresent

ierrot's

rritation:

is

enragedrubbing

nd

scrubbing

'Wischt

und wischt

.. er

giftgeschwollen

eiter,

eibtund

reibt')

at the

spot

that

refuses

o

disappear

see

Example

13).

His

continual

gitation

s

portrayed

y

the constant

nervous

repetitions,

butalsobytherhythmf this anon,whichgrates gainst he written

metre.

Since the material s

clearly

n

2/4,

neither

art

fitswithin he

written ars of

three; nd,

since the

mitation

ccurs fter hree

eats,

the

maginary

arlines f the two voices

disagree

with each other

s

well.

Metrically

his

s an unsettled

and

unsettling

canon,

reflecting

the state

of Pierrot's

mind

s he

progresses

hrough

he

night

ubbing

at

the

spot

that

refuses o be eradicated.

0

~3

CSud

~ei

S)

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m

.

or.

..

..

.

.....

-

_

Nt

61 f 1 3

vg-~_.6

P

t..',

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20

TEMPO

There are

several

discrepancies

n the canons

of

Der

Mondfleck',

n

both

pitch

nd

rhythm,

ostly

n the

retrograde

alf of

the

piece.

As

no

sketch

or he

piece

survives

t

s

impossible

o

check

Schoenberg's

intentions.

owever,

n

1977,

when

the

Schoenberg

Archive

was

still

n

Los Angeles, Leonard Stein wrote to me describing choenberg's

conducting

core,

on which

most

of

the

discrepant

otes

had

been

corrected

n

pencil.

This

score

s not

n thecollection

t the

Schoenberg

Center

n

Vienna.

'Parodie'

Number 17

perhaps

comes

closer

than

any

of

the other

songs

to

expressing

he

very

essence

of

the

cycle.

n

it

two distinct

ypes

of

parody

re used:

canonic

mitation

nd

structural

mbiguity.

he

whole

of Pierrot unaire

s

parody,

and

musically

t

parodies

forms

the

passacaglia

nd

fugue

hatwe

have

ust

examined),

tyles

the

Valse

de

Chopin',the Serenade', hebarcarole) ndtechniques. ut n this ong

the dea

of

mockery

s at

the

surface

nd is

admitted:

ere

the

ntent

implicit

n

the

whole

cycle

becomes

the

avowed

subject

of one

of its

parts,

he

strategy

f one

of

its characters.

he

duenna

of

the

text

s

cruelly

mocked

by

the

moon:

she

s

duped

nto

thinking

hat

he

hears

Pierrot,

ithwhom

she

s

painfully

n

ove,

when

n fact

he

whisper

he

hears s

only

puff

f

wind,

s the

moon

plays

games

with

he

knitting

needles

tuck

ntoher

hair,

making

hem

winkle

ike

moonbeams.

This

mockery,

nd her

onfusion,

etermine

he

tructure

f

the

music.

The

piece

is

a series

of canons.

As

there

s

no

musical

form

more

oppressive

han

the

passacaglia,

o

there

s no

clearer

orm f

musical

mimicry

han anon.

But

the

moon's

mockery

f

the old woman

s

not

simple; t s cruelandtwisted,ndso isthemusical mitation.nall the

canons one

voice

is

moving

t odds

with

the

other(s)

in inversion

and

surely

hemost

brilliant

arody

f all

s that

he

Sprechstimme

akes

part

n

all the canons.

That

this

voice,

whose

pitches

re fixed

nly

on

the

page

but not

n

practice

nd

vary

wildly

rom

ne

performance

o

another,

hould

partake

of

canon,

a

technique

n

which

pitch

s

all-

important,

eems

to me

the

perfect

rony.

As

for he

structure,

his

s articulated

y

changes

n the

canon,

and

these

changes

are

carefully

manipulated

o

express

both the

ternary

and

the

binary

ivision.

t s

perhaps

most

succinct

o

give

the canonic

structure

f the

piece

in

table

form.

bars1-10 bars11-15 bars16-21 bars22-6 bars26-9

lines1-4 lines

-6

lines7-8

lines

-11

lines

12-13

vla,clar., oice;

voice,

vla,clar.;

vla

and

clar.;

vla

and

flute;

vla

and

clar.;

clar. nverted

clar.

nverted

clar.

nverted

flute

nverted

clar.

nverted

voice

and

picc.

voice

and

clar.

pno

rh,

icc.

nd

voice

Itwill e noticed

mmediately

hat

he

ast

ivision

snot

xactly

here

it

hould

e;

t

comes

ne

ine

oo

soon.

So

perhaps

ven

he

arefully

worked-out

arody

f

the

inary/ternary

orms

s tself

arodied.

nd

the

iano

or

hemost

art gnores

he

ounterpoint

ltogether,

learly

markinghe inaryivisionyplayinghe amematerialtthe egin-

ning,

entre

nd nd

ofthe

piece

The other

nstruments

nd he

oice

have canon

nthree oices

or

the

first alf f

the

iece

nd

double

anon

ntwo

pairs

fvoices

or

the econd

alf.

hus

he ame

ype

fcanon

s maintained

hroughout



STRUCTURAL IMAGERY:

'PIERROT

LUNAIRE REVISITED 21

each half

of the

piece,

but for

he ast two ines of

the first

alf

at

the

beginning

of the second

strophe,

t

bar

11)

the order

of entries s

changed

the

nstruments

re listed

n

the table

above

in the order

n

which

hey

nter),

nd after

hefirst wo inesof the

econdhalf

at

the

endof the secondstrophe,t bar22) the nstrumentsrepaireddiffer-

ently.

Also

at

this

point

the

piccolo

player

akes

up

the

flute

nd

plays

the

nverted oice for he

first nd

only

ime.)

The

three-part

anon

at the end

of

the

piece

(piano right

hand,

piccolo

and

Sprechstimme,

ars

27-9)

is

on

the same

material s the

three-part

anon at the

beginning.

In

'O

alter

Duft',

the

ast

song

in the

cycle,

he

poet

thinks

ondly

f

pleasures

oo

long neglected.

[...]

Ahappy ish or leasureshatlong ave corned,

O

ancient

cent romhe ime

f

fairies,

intoxicating

nce

gainmy

enses

[...]

Perhaps,

ven

n

1912,

nly

hree

years

fter

irst

reathing

he

air

of

other

planets,

this sentiment

truck

chord

with

Schoenberg.

The

unlikely resence

n his

opus

21

of

the

strict

ontrapuntal

tructures f

'Parodie' and Der

Mondfleck'

nd

the

extraordinary

otivic

evelop-

ment

f Nacht'

would

seem to ndicate

hathe was still

much

attached

to

some of

those

pleasures

he had been

recently

o

carefully

nd so

publicly

voiding.

He

was about to embarkon

a

long

silence which was

only partly

attributableo thedisruptionsf war. And althoughhe would never

return

one

might ay

thiswith

ome

regret)

o

writing

n

the

way

we

see in

these

pieces,

t s

very

lear thathe was

unable to

go

on without

some sort

of strict

rganization.

His

eventual

answer

to this

need

would be such a divisive nfluence hatmusic

would not recover rom

the

damage

for

many

decades,

f t

everhas.

In

the

full

knowledge

hat

it is

an

unfashionable nd

unthinkable

uggestion,

nd one that will

horrify

ll

my

friends,

wonder what

masterpieces

choenberg

might

have

given

us

had he foundthe answerto

his

personal

dilemma

n a

stricter se of the

traditional

isciplines

n

which

he had

already roven

himself o

capable

rather

han

devoting

his efforts

o his brand new

and

rather

any

proposition.

Postscript

Schoenberg's

Pierrot unaire was written

n

only

a few

months,

commissioned

n

March

1912 and finished

n

July.

short imebefore

receiving

he commissionhe had set down

his

thoughts

n the rela-

tionship

f

words and

music for

ublication

n

Der blauReiter.

A

few

ears

go

was

deeply

shamed hen discovered

n

severalchubert

songs,

ell-knowno

me,

hat had

bsolutely

o deawhatwas

going

n

n

he

poems

n

which

hey

ere ased. utwhen

hadread he

poems

tbecame

clear o me that

had

gained bsolutelyothing

or he

nderstanding

f the

songs

hereby,

ince

he

oems

id

not

make t

necessary

orme o

changemy

conception

f

the musical

nterpretation

n

the

slightestegree.

On the

contrary,

t

appeared

hat,without

nowing

he

poem,

had

grasped

he

content,

he

eal

ontent,

erhaps

venmore

rofoundly

han

f

had

lung

o

the

urface

f

themere

houghts

xpressed

nwords. or

me,

ven

more eci-

sive han his

xperience

as thefact

hat,

nspiredy

the ound

f the

first

words f the

ext,

had

omposed

any

f

my ongs traighthrough

o the



22

TEMPO

end without

roublingmyself

n the

slightest

bout

the continuation

f the

poetic

vents,

ithout

ven

grasping

hem

n the

cstasy

f

composing,

nd

that

only

days

ater

thought

f

looking

back

to

see

ust

whatwas

the real

poetic

content f

my

ong.

t then urned

ut,

o

mygreatest

stonishment,

hat had

neverdone

greater

ustice

to

the

poet

than

when,

guided

by

my

first irect

contactwith hesoundof thebeginning, divined verythinghatobviously

had to follow his

irstound

with

nevitability.

3

Did

Schoenberg

ave

n

epiphany

nthe

few

months

etween

riting

this

urious

pologia

nd

composing

is3

x

7

melodramas,

r did

he

really

elieve hat

nculcating

nd

ustaining

he

dea of

hismessianic

statuswas more

mportant

han

dmitting

o

quite

brilliant

usical

interpretations

f

someone

lse's

oetic

exts

'the

urface

fthe

mere

thoughts

xpressed

n

words')?

cannot

elieve

hat he

obviously

picturesque

n

Nacht'

nd

Der

Mondfleck'

epresents

miraculous

coincidencehat ccurred

uring

choenberg's

ecstasy

f

composing'

on

Giraud's

nreadwords.

erhaps

pon

reflection

ven

choenberg

found ispronouncementnwords ndmusicnDerblaue eiter

ratherxtreme

nddecided

o read

more

losely

nthe uture.

Music

Examples

-7 and

9-11

?

Copyright

niversal

dition,

Wien

1914 enewed

1941

y

Arnold

choenberg.

eproduced

y

permission

f Universal

dition

(London)

Ltd.

Music

xample

reproduced

y

ind

ermission

f he

rnold

Sch6nberg

entre,

Vienna

nd Belmont

Music

Publishers,

os

Angeles.

13

Der

blaue ester

Munich

912),

p.

27

f.Written

etween

16 November

911 nd

20

January

1912.Authorised

nglish

ranslation

nd

revised

ersion

irst

ublished

s The

Relationship

to

the

Text',

n

Style

nd

dea,

ed.

Dika

Newlin

New

York:

Philosophical

ibrary,

950),

.

1-6.

Enlarged

dn

of

Style

nd

Idea,

ed. Leonard

Stein

with

translations

y

Leo

Black

(London:

Faber &

Faber,

1975),

pp.

141-5

(here

144).

Manuscript

esides

n

Arnold

Sch6nberg

enter,

ienna

T

14.17).



The New York Reception of "Pierrot lunaire": The 1923 Premiere and Its AftermathAuthor(s): David MetzerReviewed work(s):Source: The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 78, No. 4 (Winter, 1994), pp. 669-699Published by: Oxford University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/742506 .

Accessed: 22/09/2012 04:31





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Oxford University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Musical

Quarterly.










The

New

York

eception

f

Pierrot

unaire:

he

1923

Premierend tsAftermath

David

Metzer

During

he

1920s,

New

York

City

witnessed

significant

ncrease

n

the

performance

f

modernist

usic.

One of the most ontroversial

works f

this

period

was Arnold

choenberg's

ierrot

unaire,

hich

received

ts

American

remiere

n

4

February

923.

According

o

the

critic awrence

Gilman,

he

performance

disrupted

amilies,

evered

life-longriendships,

ncited ritics o

unbrotherly

emarks

bout

one

another,

nd filledwhole

pages

n

the

Sunday

music

ections f

the

newspapers. 1

o critics

nd

concertgoers,

ierrot

pitomized

odem-

istcomposition,nd itthereforeerved s a lightningodfor he

growing

nd

vehement

ispute

urrounding

ew music.As a

receptor

in that

debate,

Pierrot as

galvanized y

a

variety

fmusical nd

social

currents.

his

study

f the

1923

and

1925 New

York

perfor-

mances

xamines

ot

only

how critical eactions o

the

work

xposed

contemporarynderstandings

f

music ut

also

how Pierrot

bsorbed

the

anxiety

ver

the

far-reaching

hanges nderway

n

American

society.

UnlikeEdgardVarase'sHyperprismndGeorgeAntheil's allet

mecanique,

wo

works hat lso scandalized ew York udiences ur-

ing

the

1920s,

Pierrot as

received umerous

ubsequent erformances

in the

city, ncluding

ne two

years

ftertsAmerican

remiere.

ur-

prisingly

or work hathas

achieved uch

vitality

n

twentieth-

century

usical

ife,

everal

spects

f t

have

been

neglected,

particularly

ts

reception istory.2

hereas he

reception

f

gor

Stravinsky's

he Rite

fSpring,

ne of the

few

modernist

ompositions

thatrivals ierrotncanoniccentralityndregular erformances,

has been

sketched,

hat f

Schoenberg's

elodramaas

barely

een

traced,

specially

he

response

o the work

n

the United

States.3

The

American eaction ffers

unique

case,

as

Pierrot,

n

landing

n for-

eign

oil,

dramatically

ntered

musical

world

haken

y

the sudden

669



670

TheMusical

uarterly

increase

n the

performance

fnew

music. he

regular

resentations

of heworkrovideherare pportunityo track hereceptionf n

important

arly

modernist

omposition

ot

nly

n

theunstable usi-

cal world

f1920sNewYork ut lso

through

he

rapidlyhanging

musicalnvironmentf he ast even ecades. chart f hat

mean-

dering ath

hows oth he

riginal

xplosive

ffects

roduced

y

Pierrotndthevariousndoften

ontradictory

eanings

hatwork

has

accruedince tsNewYork

remiere.

New

York udiences

irstncounteredierrot

n

theAmerican

presseviewsf he1912Berlinremiere,hich isseminatedhe

revolutionary

eputation

hat

he

work ad

gained

n

Europe.4 ames

Huneker'seviewntroduced

any

ewYorkerso the

omposition

and

ignificantly

nfluenced

he

ubsequent

iscussionsf

Schoenberg

in

American

usical

ritings.5

e

expressed

ismay

ver he om-

poser's

eparture

romonal

onventions,

abeling

is

music lexicon

of

narchy.

lthough

onfounded

y

he

conoclasmf

he

work,

Huneker

raised

choenberg's

bility

o

express

diversity

fmoods

and

tmospheres:

What

ind fmusics

this,

ithout

elody,

n

he

rdinary

ense;

without

hemes,

et very

cornof a

phrase ontrapuntally

eveloped

by

an

adept,

without

harmony

hatdoes not

smite he

ears, acerate,

figuratively

peaking,

he

ardrums;

eys

orcednto ateful

arriage

that re

miles

sunder,

r

else too

closely

elated or ural

matrimony;

no

form,

hat

s

in

the scholastic ormal

ense,

nd

rhythms

hat re so

persistently

aried s to become

monotonous-what

indof music s

this

repeat

hat an

paint

crystaligh,

he blackness f

prehistoric

night, heabyss f a morbidoul,theman nthemoon, he faint weet

odors f

an

impossible

airyland,

nd the strut

f the

dandy

rom er-

gamo?

heresnomelodic

rharmonic

ine,

nly

seriesf

oints,

dots,

dashes,

r

phrases

hat ob

and

scream,

espair,

xplode,

xalt,

blaspheme.

Despite

uch

raise

f

Schoenberg's

ividmood

ainting,

u-

neker's

oncluding

ssessment

f

Pierrot

as

negative.

e

closed

is

review

ydoubting

is

bility

o

appreciate

hework:

If

uch

music

makings to becomecceptedhen long or eath heReleaser.

More

hocking

tillwould

e the

uspicion

hat

n time

might

e

persuaded

o

ike his

music,

o

embrace

t,

fter

bhorring

t. While

death

did,

in

fact,

release Huneker

before he

New York

performance,

his discussions f

Schoenberg's

music after he

1913 reviewof

Pierrot

show an

increased

appreciation,

lthough

of earlier

and,

by

that

time,

less iconoclastic

works.

Exposure

to such

compositions

s

the First nd



NewYork

eceptionf

Pierrotunaire

671

Second

tring

uartets,

erklarte

acht,

ndGurrelieder

onvinced

him fthe omposer'significances a reactiongainstormalnd

romantic

eauty.

e even

predicted

hat

choenberg,

ike

trauss

and

Debussy,

ould oonbecome

conventional. 6

Huneker'seviewndother ccountsf

Europeanerformances

of

Schoenberg's

usic

ropagated

he

omposer'seputation

s

a

radical

venbefore is

compositions

ere nown

n

the

ity.

or

instance,

1913Current

pinion

rticle

abeled

im

the irstuturist

in music. 7 he

nitial

erformances

f

Schoenberg's

orks

n

the

ity

confirmed

his

iew,

s criticsften

ecried

is

ttacks

n

established

musical

ractices.

ewYork

oncertgoers'

irstirect

xperience

ith

the

omposer's

usic

as

performance

f

three

arly ongs y

he

Americanaritone

einaldWerrenrathn 23

October 913

op.

1,

no.

1,

and

op.

3,

nos.

1

and

3).

During

he

ubsequent

wo

years,

series f ocal

premieres-the

irst

tring

uartet,

erklarte

acht,

he

First

hamber

ymphony,

elleas nd

Melisande,

hree

iano

ieces

(op.

11),

andSixLittle

iano ieces

op.

19)-scandalized

udiences

andfueled

he

ncipient

ebate

vermodernist

tyles.

ThefollowingewYork remiereftheFiveOrchestralieces,

op.

16,

cemented

choenberg's

eputation.

he

work,

erformed

y

Leopold

tokowskindthe

Philadelphia

rchestrat

Carnegie

all

on

29

November

921,

rovoked

critical

esponse

hat

ot

only

anticipated

ut lmost

ivaledhe

utrage

ver ierrot.

he

conserva-

tive ritic

enry

rehbiel as o

stunnedhat

e

resortedo

quoting

theBible

n

hisdefense

gainst

he

omposition.8

he

equally

eac-

tionary

ichard ldrich

laimed hat

hework

ouldnot

be

regarded

as musicndthat tprovedo be more ereticalhan hemusicf

other

ontemporary

omposers:

But

here ere

oubtless

ew,

f

ny,

n

ast

night's

udienceo

whom

the

pieces

bore

ny

relation o music

t all.

. .

there

s

not

the

slight-

estreason o

believe hat

the

nstruments']

queaks, roans,

nd

ater-

wauling

epresent

n

ny

way

he

musicaldioms

f

oday

r

omorrow

or

any

other uture

ime.Hard

words

ave been

said about

the most

recent

utput

f

Messrs.

asella,

Stravinsky,

rokofieff

nd

others f

the same

kind;but most f what heyhavedone is innocent,ucid, nd

reasonable

ompared

o

Sch6nberg's

chievements.

ossibly

ome ort

of

apology

s due to them.9

NewYork

oncertgoers

aited leven

years

fter he

Berlin

re-

miere

or he first

merican

erformance

f

Pierrot,

delay

aused

partly y

the war nd

the

resultant

ublic

ntipathy

oward

erman

music.1'0

nother

mpediment

as the

difficulty

n

finding

ommitted



672

The

Musical

uarterly

musicians.he

nternational

omposers'

uild

ICG),

established

y

Varese ndCarlos alzedon1921, cceptedhe hallengefperform-

ing

he

omplex

ork.11

ouis

Gruenberg,

guild

member

ho

had

attendedoth ehearsalsnd

oncertsfPierroted

by choenberg

n

Berlin,

as electeds the

onductor,

long

with

he

oprano

reta

Torpadie

s

the

eciter,

third

hoice

fter va Gauthier

ndMimine

Salzedo addeclined.

Varesewrote o

Schoenberg,nforming

im

f he

oncertnd

asking

im

o

oin

the

guild.

n

hiscurt

esponse,

choenbergues-

tioned hegroup'sbilityoperformheworkndturnedown he

invitation.

2

The

composer's

esentmentas

argely

ueled

y

he

guild's isruption

fhis

plans

o

present

oth

ierrot

ndGurrelieder

during

1923Americanour.He

asked NewYork

eporter

o

warn

audiences ot o

regard

he

performance

s

definitive,

ince

a

stranger

ould

not

xpress

is rtistic

deas.13

he

guild

managed

o

secure

ermission

o

program

he

omposition

nly

rom

he

publisher

and

not

from

choenberg.

4

Despite

choenberg's

bjections,

he

CG

continued

o

prepare

thework. laireReis, he ndefatigablehairpersonf heguild's

executive

ommittee,

versawhe

rrangements

nd

publicity

or he

concert.

n

an efforto nform

oncertgoers,

he

group

eleased

press

statementhat iscussed

choenberg's

areernd

billed

ierrots his

most

ignificant

chievement.15

he

CG

also cheduled lecture

on

Pierrot

y

Carl

Engel,

guild

memberndhead f hemusic ivi-

sion

t

the

Library

f

Congress

7

January

923).

Admitting

hat he

work as

difficulto

grasp,

e nonethelessold he udiencehat t

was heirduty o findthe ightarswithwhicho isteno t. 16

The

musicians,owever,

ere

truggling

o

find

he

rightechnique

withwhich o

play

ierrotnd nsistedn more

ime

o

prepare,

which

orced

eis

o

postpone

he

oncert,

riginally

cheduledor 1

January,

ntil

woweeks

ater.

Gruenberg's

emandsor dditional

rehearsals

gain

hreatenedo

postpone

he

premiere,

utReis on-

vinced

im

o

agree

o

the

newly

cheduled

ate.17

The

guild refaced

he

premiere

ith

n

open

fternoon

rehearsaln

the

day

fthe

performance.

hat

vening'srogram

t

theKlawTheatrelsocontainedorksyCharles oechlinSonata

for wo

Flutes),

rik

atie

Sports

t

divertissements)

nd

DariusMil-

haud

excerpts

romaudadeso

Brasil).

hanks

argely

o Reis's

efforts,

he

concert

was

sold

out, and,

according

o

her,

bout wo

hundred

eople

were urned

way

t thedoor.

8

The success f the

event

helpedbring

he

strugglingroup's

ndeavors o the attention f

the

public

nd

critics.



New

York

eceptionf

Pierrotunaire

673

The work

met dividedritical

eception,

argely

plitting

reviewerslong enerationalines.19hestrongestttackgainstier-

rot

wasunleashed

y

he Old Guard

ritics,

venerated

uartet

including

illiam

.

Henderson,

ichard

ldrich,

enry

.

Finck,

and

Henry

.

Krehbiel.

ctive s far ack s the ast ecades f he

nineteenth

entury,

heir

pproaches

nd tandardsere nfluenced

y

the esthetics

f

German omanticism

nd,

for hemost

art, roved

inflexible

n

comprehending

ew rends.20

ldrich,

ink,

ndKreh-

biel,

he

nly

membersf

heOld

Guard

o

review

he

premiere,

focused

heir riticismn

Schoenberg'sisregard

or he stablished

traditionsf

past

music,

mentioning

he

trong

issonances,

heuseof

Sprechstimme,

nd

perceived

ack

f

ontrapuntal

nity

etweenhe

instrumental

arts.

hismusic o affrontedinck hat e left

fterhe

firsteven

ongs

nd

referred

o

Pierrot

nd

the

ther

rogrammed

works

s

dreary

usicalomfooleries. 21

In

contrast

o Fink's

evulsion,

everal

ounger

ritics,

ncluding

Paul

Rosenfeld,

itts

andborn,

ndKatherine

paeth,

raised

he

work,

lbeit o different

egrees.

osenfeldndthe

unsigned

ritic or

the unfoundchoenberg'susicintense nd sensuous, espec-

tively.

paeth

laimed hat

ierrot

as

musics an

interesting

dea ;

however,

hedislikedhemelodic

riting

nd

heard

he nteraction

between

he

reciternd

the

ccompaniment

s

producing

a rather

irritating

ffect.

lthough

enerally

omplimentary

f he

work,

Sandborn

as

onfounded

y

hemusical

anguage,tating

hat e

would

equire

dditional

earings

n

order o

form

definite

pinion.

Nevertheless,

e

concludedhat

he

premiere

epresented

a

painstak-

ingperformancefone of hemostypicalnd ignificantomposi-

tions

f

one of hemost

mportantiving

omposers.

In

contrast

o the

ritical

esponse,

udience eactions

difficult

to assess.

eviews

f he

performance

escribe diverse

udience

consisting

f

urious

oncertgoers,

the

younger

nd

youngestenera-

tions fthe ocalmusical

ntelligentsia,

nd the

ristocratsf

music. 22lso

present

ere he

distinguished

usicians

ho re

striving

o

bring

n themillenniumn

which

acophony

hall

eign,

a

vanguardncluding

ilhaud, tokowski,

lfredo

asella,

Georges

Enesco,ndWillemMengelberg.n a derisivessaynspiredy he

concert,

rehbielescribedhe

various

esponses

f

oncertgoers.

Although

is

negative

iewof the work

learly

rejudiced

is

report,

he offeredhe most xtended ccount f

audience eaction:

I saw

perhaps

score f

persons

who

werebrave

nough

o leave

the

room t the first

pportunity

hich

presented

tself hen

hey

oulddo



674

TheMusical

uarterly

so

without

eing

ude nd more han nother corewho had the hardi-

hood to smile arcasticallyramusedly henever heperformance

struck hem s

absurd,

nd

yet

at t

out

to the bitter nd. But

no one

indulged

n

catcalls,

r even hisses.That was an

example

f the

good

manners hat

habitually

ule n American oncert-rooms.

I also saw and heard

hundred r more

ersons

tand

up

and

applaud

he

performance

efore

utting

n their

wraps

nd

coats.

scanned heir aces

o see whether r not

they

weremusicians r mem-

bers

f he lass obefound

n

oncert-roomshere

ood,

ound usic

dissociated

romad nd actitious

lap-trap

sheard.

y

earch

as n

vain-musiciansulledmy leeve nd itheroked r wore-generally

the ormer.

Krehbiel,

1

Feb.

923)

Whereas

many oncertgoers

ay

avebeen

dismayed,

hework

proved

o be a

popular

uccess. o recount

riefly

celebratedvent

in American

usical

istory,

his

riumph

onvincedome

uild

mem-

bers,

ncluding

eis,

o offer second

erformance

f he

piece.

That

desire,

owever,

ontradicted

bylaw

n

the

rganization's

harter,

drawn

p

by

Varese,

which tated hat he

CG

only

ffered

irst

er-

formancesnddidnotrepeat orks. heargumenthat nsued ver

this

olicy

ventually

ed

to

a schism. rustrated

y

Varese'sutocratic

leadership,

eis nd everal ther

memberseceded ndformed

heir

own

music

ociety,

he

League

f

Composers.23

n

22

February

925,

the

new

group

ealized

ts ntentions

yfeaturing

ierrot

n

a concert

at the

Times

quare

heatre ith oward arlow

s the onductor

and

Torpadie

gain

s thereciter.

he

program

ypified

he

eague's

ambitiousness

nd,

n

additiono

Pierrot,

ncludedazare

aminsky's

one-actperaGagliardaf MerrylaguendGruenberg'sheDaniel

Jazz.

he concert

as

success,

nd

s the ritic

scar

Thompson

noted,

All the

high

riests

fmusical

modernity

owdomiciled

n

New

York

were elebrantst

Sunday ight's

eremonialt

Times

Square

heatre,

ither

s

composers,nterpreters,

r avid

isteners.

One

of he

high riests

as

George

ershwin.

This

performance

lso

tirredritical

ebate,

lthough

he

dis-

pute

was

not s

heated s

that

rovoked

y

he arlieroncert.

he

controversy

urrounding

oth

erformances

nterwoventricate

trands

ofmusicalnd ocial iews. n one evel, eactionsothepiece

exposed

he

general

usical

xpectations

f

he

period,

hat

s,

the

perceptions

f

music ormulated

rom

onventions

nd isteners'

ast

experiences.24

n

attacking

r

praising

Pierrot,

ritics

relied on con-

temporary

deals of

the nature

and role of

music,

and

throughout

heir

reviews hese

ideals

were educed.

In

particular,

he

work,

as wouldbe

expected,

challenged

traditional

iews

of

tonality

nd

genre;

however,



New

York

eceptionf

Pierrot

unaire

675

it

also

touched

pon

oth

onceptions

egarding

he imitsf

xpres-

sion ndthe xpectationhatmusic ebeautifulndmoral.

The

response

o

Pierrot

as

lso

haped

y

arger

ultural

res-

sures.

s the

historiananiel

ingal

as

described,

he

arly

ecades

of

the wentieth

entury

n theUnited tateswere

period

f

ultural

instability

reated

y

he hiftromhe

waning

ictoriano the

nascent

modernist

ulture.25

ingal's

iew

f

modernisms a cultural

phenomenon,

ne

permeating

ll

areas fAmerican

ife,

eparts

rom

the

raditional

iew

f he

movements

an

autonomous

esthetic

development.

n

this

econceptualization,

e

has

drawn

pon

he

workfPeter

ay,

who

regards

odernism

implicitly,

n hisdiscus-

sions,

ts

European

anifestations)

s a distinctistorical

ulture,

ike

the

Enlightenment

nd.Victorianism.

ccording

o

Gay,

modernism

was

a

pervasive

ultural

evolution,

second enaissance hat

transformed

ulture

n

all itsbranches. 26

To

map

horoughly

culturalhifthe

magnitude

f hat

described

y

ingal

nd

Gay

s

beyond

he

reach f

this

ssay,

hich

can

provide

nly

hemost

eneral

utline.

uch

sketchhould

egin

with henotion fAmericanictorianism,phrasehatmay trike

some eaderss

an

oxymoron;

owever,

s

discussed

n

American

studies,

ictorianismuled n both ides

fthe

Atlantic,

rising

n

theUnited tates

argely

s a resultfAmerica'sultural

ependency

on

Britain.27

he Victorianutlook asbased

n

the

perceived

er-

tainty

fmoral nd

piritual

ruths. s

Walter

.

Houghton

rote,

Politics,

orals,

istory,

conomics,

rt,

ducation-allwere

ov-

erned,

t was

hought,

y

universalaws

r

principles

rue or ll times

andplaces. 28 moral ichotomyetweenhe human ndthe

animal

lso

haped

ictorianeliefs. he former

mbracedhose

elements

hat

istinguished

an rom

east,

uch s

religion,

duca-

tion,

ndthe

rts,

while

he atterontainedorces

hat hreatened

propriety,

otablyexuality.

ictorians

troveo

shield hemselves

from

estructivebestial orcesnd

ttempted

o cultivate

world

f

innocencend

perfection.

he Victorianocial

iew ontained

ther

dichotomies-for

xample,

he

distinctionetween

uperior

nd nfe-

rior lasses s well s between hite

ndnonwhiteaces.

Modernismhallengedictorianismotwith uniformultural

stance ut

with

vast nd

often

ontradictoryrray

f

beliefs,

er-

spectives,

nd aesthetics. s

Singal

points

ut,

one of the

dominant

impulses

f the culturewasto assault he

Victorian

onception

f

inviolable ruths.

n

lieu of such

tenets,

modernismccepted

moral

uncertainty

nd

irrationality

nd

openly

xamined ll

aspects

f

human

behavior,

ncluding

he sexual.Partof this

xploration

as



676

TheMusical

uarterly

the

fascinationith

sychic

omplexity

nd

rrationality

hat

ueled

manyf he esthetic ovementsf heperiods well sthe xpand-

ing

ield

f

psychoanalysis.

oreover,

ingal

iscussesow

modernism

integrated

he

various

ocial

ivisions

pheld

y

Victorianism,

articu-

larly

hose

overning

he

reas

f

lass, ace,

nd

gender.

In

his

tudy

f

arly-twentieth-century

merican

ulture,

tanley

Coben lso

focusesn

the

dissolutionf

he

Victorian

ustification

f

hierarchiesn

those

reas.

Without

mploying

he

ultural

ubricf

modernism,

oben

views

hat

isintegration

s

a

part

f

sweeping

rebelliongainst

ictorianism. 29

his

revolt,ccordingohim,wasled

by

growing

ntelligentsia,

actionsfwhich

hallenged

he imits

of

knowledge

ndtruth

rescribedy

Victorian

ulture.n

addition,

the

hierarchies

amed bove

were

ssaultedot

nly

y

hose

ntellec-

tuals ut

lso

by

various

olitical

nd ocial

orces,

ncluding

he

activities

f eftist

olitical

nd

abor

roups

nd uch

opulation

hifts

as the

migration

f

African

mericanso

northern

ities

ndthe

increased

resence

fwomenn

the

workplace.lthough

he ttack

launched

y

minority

roups

nd

ntellectuals

elped

obVictorianism

of tshegemony,hat ulture,s Cobenpointsut,hasprovedesil-

ient. or

nstance,

he

present-day

eligious

ight

as

renovatedic-

torian

onceptions

f

home,

amily,

nd

morality

n

ts

ampaign

or

traditional

amily

alues.

Other

estabilizing

orcesnd

developments

hat re ither

ver-

looked r

underemphasized

y

Coben

nd

Singal et

merit

entioning

include,

n

no

particular

rder,

rbanization,

ncreased

echanization,

scientific

hallenges

o

Victorian

erities,

nd

the

disillusionment

broughtbout yWorldWar . What lsodeserveso benotedsthat

modernismasnot

olely socially

dvancedmovement

ut on-

tained

eactionary

mpulses,

s is

evidento thosewho

have on-

fronted

he

litist,acist,

nd

misogynistic

iews hat

nderscoreuch

modernist

rt.

Moreover,

odernismadan

ambivalent

elationship

with

heforcesf

technology

ith

whicht

inked

tself

rwas

on-

nected

y

thers,

contradiction

vident

n

the

ontemporaneity

f

both

rtworks

rawingnergy

rom achines

ndurbanife

ndthose

celebratingprimitivism

ndthe

mysterious

otivesf he

ubcon-

scious.

These ensions

estify

ot o much

o the bundant

nconsisten-

cies

ofmodernism

ut o the

general

ultural

lux

f he

period,

s

conflictsccurred oth

between nd within

ictorianismnd

modernm-

ism.

t is

against

hisbroad

nd

chaotic

backdrop

f culturalonflict

that

Pierrot

merged. iewing

choenberg's

ork s more han

prod-

uct of radical

esthetic

orces,

ritics onnected

t,

most ften

ega-



NewYork

eceptionf

Pierrotunaire

677

tively,

ith

he xtensive

hanges

nderway

n American

ociety.

n

particular,heyssociatedhework ith declinenmorality,ental

illness,

he nfluential

heoriesf

Sigmund

reud,mechanization,

radical

olitical

movements,

nd,

hrough

hese

pecific

ssociations,

a

general

ultural

ecay.

Before

xamining

hereactiono

Pierrot,

t s

necessary

o sum-

marizehe

modernist

tyleslready

eard

n

NewYork.At the ime

ofthe1923

recital,

odern

usic as till

utting

nitial

nroadsnto

the

ity's

music orld.

he

composer

nd

pianist

eo

Omstein

made

thefirstignificantttempto ntroduceoncertgoerso new dioms.His 1915recitalsf modemndfuturistusic eaturedot

nly

is

own

hockingompositions

ut lso ocal

premieres

fworks

y

uch

European

odernists

s

Schoenberg,

criabin,

ndRavel.

Throughout

the

rest f he

1910s

nd

the

arly

920s,

rnstein

iligently

ro-

moted

ew

tyles.30

hree

ewly

ormed odemmusic ocieties-the

ICG,

Pro-Musica

New

York

hapter,

920-30),

nd

the

American

MusicGuild

1921-24)

intensified

rnstein's

fforts,

ncreasing

he

variety

fnewmusic eard

n

the

ity.

he most

requentlyerformed

modernistomposerseforehepremierefPierrotere choenberg,

Stravinsky,ebussy,

avel,

Bart6k,

nd

Omstein.

Despite

his

amiliarity

ithmodem

music,

most riticstill

rigidlypheld

he raditions

f

he

common-practice

ra s inviola-

ble. These onventionsssumed

herole f

valuative

tandards,nd,

guided y

hem,

eviewers

trongly

ttacked

choenberg's

hallenge

o

tradition.

s was o be

expected,

he

Old

Guard riticseiterated

their ensurehat uchmusic asvoid

f

proper

onal,melodic,

nd

formalractices.ldrich,orxample,tated:Of ny elationo

harmony, elody,

r

musical

xpression

s heretofore

nderstood,

theres

nothing.

ven he

younger

rankWarren

1923)

claimed

that he trick f

he

omposition

as

sawing

n

two

Mr.

Old

Tonality

ight

n

thefaces f he

udience. ritics'

ismay

ver

Schoenberg's

nnovative usical

anguage

ftenedthem o dismiss

thework s noise.Archie oatesheard

ierrot

s a

rendering

n

musical otationf he

ounds,

ay

f ce

n

a

thin

umbler,

nives

and

forks

n

a brass

ray,

agpipes,

rusty

ump

andle.

Those riticsreoccupiedith onventionere lsocompelled

to

assign

ierrot

o an established

enre.

he

general

usical

xpecta-

tions

provide

riteria

or

istenerso

place

a workwithin

specific

genre;

or

nstance,

elping

hem

udge

n instrumental

omposition

as a

sonata,

r a

symphony,

r

a

concerto.As

is

typical

f

many

mod-

ernist

works,

ierrot

ranscendedraditional

ategories.

he

unique

conception

f

the

work,

prechstimme

ith

tring,

ind,

nd

piano



678

TheMusical

uarterly

accompaniment,

onfusedewYork ritics

n

their ffortso

compre-

hendtsgenre. hey requentlyddressedhisssue,ndtheir iscus-

sions eveal

ow

hey

urned

gain

o

convention

n

confronting

Pierrot.

Some

ritics

autiously

cceptedchoenberg'sesignation

f

melodrama.

heir hief

bjection

as

o

theuseof

prechstimme.

his

technique,

owever,

asnot

ompletely

nfamiliar

o

NewYork

udi-

ences.

n

1910,

ngelbertumperdinck's

pera

Kinigskinder

eceived

itsworld

remiere

t the

Metropolitanpera.

n

that

work,

umper-

dinck,ike choenberg,ried o createnequilibriumetweenpeechand

ong

y pecifying

he

pproximateitch,

nflection,

ccentua-

tion,

nd

rhythm

fthe

reciting

art.

However,

hereas

umper-

dinck imed or aturalismnd

clarity,

choenberg

sed

prechstimme

to

convey

he

deliriumf

madness.31

he meritsf

Humperdinck's

technique

ere

ebated

y

heNew

York

ritics,

nd

many

f hem

later ited

Kdnigskinder

n

their eviews

f

Pierrot.rehbiel

entioned

the

pera

nd

past xamples

f

melodrama,

ven

going

s far ack s

the

monodists

f he

arly

eventeenth

entury,

uthe saw choen-

berg'sreatmentf heforms grotesquely,orridlyew. andborn

(1923)

cited

xamples

f he

genre

rom

idelio

ndStrauss'snoch

Arden

nd

claimed

hat

ierrotent

a

step

urther

y

using

Sprechstimme.

Several ritics

pproached

ierrots

a

song

ycle.

Vocalrecitals

filled

heNewYork

musical

alendar,

nd

concertgoers

ere amiliar

with he

German

ied

radition,

specially

he

ong ycles

fSchubert

andSchumann.

ierrothareseveralharacteristics

ith

uch

works,

particularlyheuseof voice nd ccompanimentexture,he elec-

tion f

group

f

poems

nited

y

heme rnarrative

tructure,

nd

the

ntegration

f

he ndividual

ieces

hrough

otivicrthematic

connections.32uch

general

onnections

ith he

ong yclemay

have ed

Ernest

ewman,

visiting

ritish

ritic

or

he

Evening

ost,

to view

ierrots a new

wisto an old

commonplace :

heLied.

n

fact,

e

regarded

he

oncluding

iece,

O

alter

uft,

s

nothing

but

platitudinous

erman ied

wrenchedlittle ut

of

hape.

Hendersonlso

claimed hat his

umberame lose o

resembling

a song fmarvelouseautyndeloquence ;owever,eaccused

Schoenberg

f

purposely

iverting

uch n outcome.

or

thers,

he

use of

Sprechstimme,

he

unique

nstrumental

ccompaniment,

ndthe

macabre hemes f

thetextdissociatedhe

composition

rom

he

Lied

tradition.he critic or

he

Sun,

for

nstance,

laimed hat

he

Sprechstimme

ade

t

impossible

oconsider he

work

s

a

collection

of

songs.



NewYork

eceptionf

Pierrotunaire

679

Besides

hallenging

raditional

enre

ndtonal

onceptions,

Pierrotrustratedhedominantxpectationhatmusicmust e beauti-

ful. his

ssumption

orms

key

omponent

f he ulturalutlook

that

George

antayana emorably

alled the

genteel

radition,

which,

ithin

he

ulturalcheme

mployed

ere,

an

be

seen s

a

cornerstonef

American

ictorianism.33

hile

voiding

concise

definitionf

he

phrase,

e described

split

n theAmerican ind

between

he

practical

ndthe ntellectualnd

rtistic.34

usic,

ike

the ther

rts,

was

eparated

rom

aily

ife nd

relegated

o an ideal-

istic ealm

n

which twas

regardedrimarily

s a manifestationf

beauty,

obility,

nd

morality

atherhan s an intrinsic

xpression

f

human

xperience.35

his

dichotomy

nfluencedothmusical

roduc-

tion

nd

consumption

s,

from

he

ymphony

allto the rade

eriod-

icals,

musicwas

promoted

s the ssence f

beauty.

he conductor

Walter amrosch

ermonizedn the arefied

eauty

f

music:

Music s an art

n

which

he

onception

f hebeautifuls

n

no sense

based

pon

he

physical

orld hich urrounds

s. ts

power

o evoke

an inner reamfbeautysgreaterndmoremmediatehan hat f

any

f

ts

isters,

nd

n

minds

nd

heartshat avebeen ducated

properly

o

ppreciate

ts

wonders,

usic ill

ive

appiness

eyond

he

possibilities

f

ny

ther

gency

or hat

urpose.36

On

the ther

and,

tude

magazine,

hich

lso

printed

amrosch's

remarks,

ffered

his rude ommercialnticement

n

an advertise-

ment lurb:

Every

iece

f

music

ou

uy

s an

unending

ell

pring

of

beauty

rom hich

ou

nd

your

riends

ay

rink ntil

our

ouls

havebeenrefreshed. 37

To

many

eviewers,

ierrot

logged

hat

spring

ndfailed

o

deliver

he

happiness

hat amrosch

romised.

his

ransgression

f

the

Victorian

enet fmusical

eauty

metwith

riticalensure.uc-

cinctlyxpressing

everal f

his

peers' bjections,

arren

1923)

reproached

he

work or

ivingnothing

f hat ense

f

beauty

e

look or

n

music.

ccording

o those

n

inewith

im,

hemusic

andthe hemesf

he ext

mphasized

gliness.

rehbiel

onsidered

Pierrot

n affronto the

principles

f

beauty

hat he

ages

have

provedo befundamental,ndheregardedhework ssymptomatic

of he rendthat

eauty

may

e

expressed

n

termsf

ugliness,

nd

that

ugliness

f

subject

s fit

bject

for

xpression

11

Feb.

1923).

Chiseling

way

t the

pedestal

f

civilization

pon

which

music

rested,

uch

views,

nhis

opinion,

marked return

o

savagery.

Apparently,

owever,

eauty

s in the ear

of the istener. he Sun

critic

1923),

for

nstance,

laimed hat everalmovements

n

Pierrot



680 TheMusical

uarterly

rose

to

the

beautiful.

n

general,hough,

upporters

f he

work

eschewedhe onventionalriterionfbeauty,ocusingheirraise

on other

lements,

otably

xpressiveness.

Much f he

debate

urrounding

hework

enteredn

the ssue

of

xpression.

uided

y

he

mphasis

n

beauty,

obility,

nd

moral-

ity

n

the

genteel

radition,

he

general

usical

xpectations

re-

scribedhat ertain

ubjects,ncluding

he

grotesqueries

n

Giraud's

poems,

ere nsuitableormusical

etting.

his

beliefed to accusa-

tions hat

choenberg

ad

transgressed

he

propriety

f

elf-expression

inregardoboth opic ndfervency.rehbiel,ornstance,argely

built

is

ttack n

the

work round

his

ssue.As

noted

bove,

e

decried

choenberg's

resentation

f

ugliness

n

Pierrot,

hich

incited

im

o ask

rhetorically,

Doesnot he

right

f

practitioner

in

art o

express

imself

epend

pon

what s

n

him

hat

s

worthy

f

expression?

11

Feb.

1923).

Krehbiel

ndtheMusical ourier

reviewer

1923)

chargedchoenberg

ith

eing

oo

ntense

n

captur-

ing

he

moods

f he ext. he

atter elieved

hat uch

high-pitched

expression

as

he

unfortunate

egacy

f

Wagner:

When

Wagner

rote

expressive

usic

in

mitation

f

frogs

nd

dragons,

or

nstance)

e

opened

he

door or

alentless,

onscienceless,

musicians

ike

choenberg,

ho

do

not

where

o draw he ine.

...

When

Wagner

acrificedbsolute usic

o

the

xpression

fdramatic

ideas

he

gave

he

mpetus

o such

s

Schoenberg,

ho

acrificell

music o the ame

od

f

xpressiveness.

Despite

he

narrowiews

oncerning

xpression

ustained

n

thegeneral usicalxpectations,anyeviewerserempressedy

Schoenberg's

ramatic

nd

pictorial

deptness,

ven hose

who

dis-

liked he

music. he

Eveningelegram

ritic

1923),

for

nstance,

admitted

hat

Schoenberg

as nventednewmeans

f

xpression

that

s

picturesque

nd

effective.

udged

s

music

t s

hideous. ut

the

poems

re

only

series

f

grotesques

ndthemusic ollowshe

line

f

hought

f

he

poet.

n

particular,

ome

ritics

egarded

he

Sprechstimme

s

dramatically

otent.

rving

Weil

consideredhe ech-

nique

s

part

f the nevitable

xpression,

he nevitable

usical

medium orGiraud's

oems.

orhis

part,

ngel,

nhis

guild-

sponsored

ecture,

efended

ierrot

argely

n the ines f

xpression:

What

may

eem rude nd

ugly

s

evidently

hemost

enuine,

he

most

itting,xpression

hat

Schdnberg

as found o

far orwhat

s in

his mind nd heart.

Moreover,

e

praised

the

dynamicntensity

f

Schoenberg's

usic nd claimed hat

twas

fraught

ith

meaning

and the sincere

esire o

convey

omething

eeply

elt. '3



NewYork

eceptionf

Pierrotunaire

681

Perhaps

he

most rdentdmirerf hework asRosenfeld.

That

he should ave

occupied

uch

singularosition

n

the

recep-tion fPierrots not

urprising;

osenfeld

igorously

hampioned

ot

only

ewmusic ut lsomodernist

tyles

n

the

ther

rts,

articu-

larly

ainting

nd iterature.39

oreover,

ar rom

eing

detached

admirer,

e

developed

n

imagistic,ragmented

rose

tyle,

fwhich

the

Pierrot

eviews

representative,

hat ccords ith he

riginality

and esthetic

pirit

f he

new

diomshat

e

supported.

Schoenberg's

ivid

etting

f a score f

orturedndbizarre

moods

specially

ntranced

osenfeld.e heard

within

his

music

smotheredesire reakingoose ndregardedhepainfulxpression

of

hat

esire s

representing

umanity's

nguished

ries

n

a

world

increasingly

ontrolled

y

machines.o

Rosenfeld,

he ntense

mo-

tionality

f hemusic

ainfullyxpressed

he

dehumanizing

ffectsf

the ncreased

echanization

n

contemporary

ociety.

ere,

he made

a

unique

xtramusical

ssociation,s,

withinhe

broader

eception

f

modern

usic,

ewworks ere

ften iewed s

symptomatic

f

rather

than reaction

gainst

mechanization.

apturing

he mbivalent

relationshipetween odernistrts nd modernizingechnological

developments,

osenfeldimself

ade heformer

onnection,

on-

tending

n

this

eview

ndelsewherehat hemusic

f

Stravinsky

captured

he

pulse

f

bothmachinesndurban

nvironments.40

or

their

art,

etractors

fmodernist

tyles

rew

pon

hese ame

ssocia-

tions o dismiss

uch

music s mechanistic

nd

cerebral.41

osenfeld,

though,

onsidered

ierrot

primal,hysical

ork,

alling

choen-

berg's

music

thehuman orso f

his]

ime. As he

described,

hat

body

writhednder he

weight

f

machines:

Schoenberg

s the man

without machine.

He is the

creature f a

time

of

dislocation. he

machinery

f

ifeno

longer

ooperates

ith

he

human oul. It moves o

a

rhythm

f ts

own;

and the

mechanical

things augh

down he

poor

human.

.

The

human orso f

this ime

is

in

the music f

Schoenberg.

e is

the

thing

without

rms,

without

legs,

ithout

rgans

f

ommunication,

ithout

phallus.

e sthe

helpless,

uivering

ulp;

lindly

tirring,

roping,

tretching.

n

lmost

immovable

eight

eemso ie

upon

is

oice.

ndwhent

peaks,

t

seems o tear tselfhroughhrouds;ocome outas agony, s hysteria

even.

In

addition to

conveying

tortured

hysicality,

osenfeld's

mag-

inative

interpretation

ocuses

on the

psychic,

tightening

he

linkages

made between

Pierrot

nd mental

illness,

an

association

evoked

by

both

the

extreme

nguish

he

depicts

and his

heated,

impressionistic



682 TheMusical

uarterly

prose tyle.

ierrot

eceived

ore

sychological

ttentionhan

ny

other ork erformednNewYork uringhe1920s. riticsften

described

t

n

termsf

derangement

nd

nsanity.

n

fact,

ome

reviewers

uestioned

utright

oth

choenberg's

ndGiraud's

anity.

Gilman

laimed

hat

he

omposer

sed he

macabrehemes

n

the

text s a

pretext

or he

release

f

various

sychoses

fhis

own,

nd

Weil

calledGiraud's

oetry

the

half-mad

roduct

f

sickly

rain.

The

Evening

ournal

eviewerontended

hat

ny

istener

ympathetic

to

the

work ould

ave o

be

mentally

nbalanced:

[T]he

mpression

thatPierrot]ade n this isteneras hat e was carcelyufficiently

deranged

o

penetrate

ore han tsmore

uperficial

ysteries.

na

1921 rticle

n

Schoenberg's

usic,

rank

attersonidnot

focus

n

the

anity

f

pecific

ndividualsut atherhe ntire

world.

ierrot,

along

with ther f he

omposer's

orksnd

modernistrts

n

gen-

eral,

ed

him

o

pose

ome nanswerable

uestions:

Is

the

world

going

mad?Has ournormalmental

evelopment

eased,

nd rewe

destinedo become universef diots nd

mbeciles,

eurotics,

nd

hysterics? 42

While resent-dayriticsolongerismisschoenberg,iraud,

or

theworld

s

insane,

he

onnectionetween ierrotndmental

instability

as

become

commonplace

n

current

nderstandings

f

the

work,

s it s situated

n

turn-of-the

entury

ienna,

ome

f

Freud nd

Expressionist

rtists.he association

ith

reud

ppears

n

an indirect

orm

n

the1920s

New

York

eception.

he

evocation

f

Freud

n

these eviewseveals

he

widespreadurrency

hat is deas

had chieved

n

NewYork

uring

he

1920s.43

his

nfluence

argely

dates ack oFreud's 909 ripo theUnited tates, uringhich e

lectured

t Clark

University.

fterhat

isit,

is deas

uickly

ene-

trated merican

ociety,waying

ot

only

hemedical

ommunity

ut

also ntellectual

ircles

nd

popular

ulture.

he

Greenwich

illage

radicals,

group

f

ntellectuals,rtists,

nd

political

evolutionaries

loosely

anded

ogetheruring

he

years

efore orldWar

,

were

among

hefirsto

embracereud.

hey

nlisted is

heories,

articu-

larly

hat

f

repression,

o battle

puritanism,

hat

s,

the utdated

morality

ndconventions

dvocated

y

Victorian

ulture.

n

the

1920s, reud'siews,r,moreccurately,atered-downersionsf

his

deas,

ermeated

merican

opular

ulture.

o

extensive as

he

fascination

ith

sychoanalysis

hat he

ears,

Roebuck

atalogue

offered

uchFreudian-influencedooks

s Ten Thousand reamsnter-

preted

nd

Sex

Problems

olved.

As

the historian

William

Leuchtenburg

has

aptly

oted,

[L]ike

he

automobile,

reudwas

brought

ithin

reachof

everyone. 44

hat the

public

reached orwas new moral



NewYork

eceptionf

Pierrot

unaire

683

directions,

pecifically

enetso

replace

r

augment

hose

fthe

wan-

ing

Christian

hurch.

ften,

owever,

his

earch

merely

nvolved

distorting

reudianheoryo sanctionexual

ermissiveness

ndother

indiscretions.45

One of hemost isible

igns

fFreud'snfluencen

American

society

as he

prinkling

f

psychoanalytic

argon

n

popular

is-

course.

his

erminology

lsodusts hereviewsf

Pierrot,

n

which

such eferenceso

psychoanalysis

nd

mental

nstability

s

subcon-

scious,

paranoiac,

deranged,

neurotic,

psychoses,

insane,

hysteric,

nd

hyper-eroticppear requently.

ot

surprisingly,

Rosenfeld'seview as hemosttronglyffinedith reudianheory.

During

he

prewar

ears,

he ritic

layed prominent

ole

n

radical

intellectual

nd rtistic

ircles,

otablyontributing

o the even

rts,

a

leading ublication

f

thatmilieu.With

everal f ts

key

writers,

namely

WaldoFrank

nd

Randolph

ourne,

rawing

pon

reud,

hat

journal layed

significant

ole

n

the

disseminationfhis

deas.

Of

note

reAlfred

ooth

Kuttner's

ssays

n

the

reative

rocess,

hich

discuss

he

ignificance

f he

rtist's

nconscious

nd

the

nspiration

releasedyneurosis.46osenfeld'sarticipationnthe even rts nd

his

nterest

n

new

ntellectualnd esthetic

evelopments

ndoubt-

edly

amiliarized

im

with reud's

heoriesnd

encouraged

im,

n

a

less

ystematic

ay

han

Kuttner,

o

explore

he

psychoanalytic

aspects

f

rtistic

reation.47

Such n

approach

merges

n

Rosenfeld'seview

fPierrot.

s

seen

n

the

xcerptresented

bove,

e

gesturesndirectly

oward

Freud,

voking

n

a

general ay

wo

key

sychoanalytic

oncepts:

hysteria

ndcastration.he directink

o

Freud,

hough,

s the

earlier-quotedhrasesmotheredesire, hich sRosenfeld'soetic

variantf heFreudian

atchwords

repressed

r

suppressed

desires. o

widely

sedwere hese

hrases

nd

the

governing

on-

cept

f

repression

hat he

writers

usan

Glaspell

nd

George

ram

Cook

employed

hem

n

their

ne-act

omedy

uppressed

esires

poof-

ing

heGreenwich

illage

ntellectuals.

osenfeld's

eview,

lthough

not omical

n

tone,

ould

ave

provided

aterialor hat

lay.

he

critic hematicizes

epression

n

various

ays

hroughout

he

review,

emphasizing,s Kuttneridwith he nonymousrtist,herelation-

ship

etween ierrotnd

Schoenberg's

eep

ubconscious

ool.

Rosen-

feld

hears

his

pool bubbling

p,

or

attempting

o do

so,

in

boththe

composer

nd the work. or

nstance,

choenberg,

nhis

opinion,

suffersrom he

repression

f sensual

mpulses:

The refined

urning

sensuousnessf

Wagner,

f

Debussy,

nd ofScriabine

eems

odged

n

[Schoenberg];earing

t his flesh

or

gress.

ike that

uppressed



684

TheMusical

uarterly

carnality,

muted

anguish

tirs

n

Pierrot:The

tones

refull

f

anguish;f nguishlmostuffocated;ut rummingndroaring

underneathheblanketf

ilence.

lthough

hat

nguish

ails

o

rip

through

he

ppressive

lanket, osenfeld,

roviding

briefmoment

ofrelief

rom

is

repression

otif,

laims hat

smothered

esire,

one

related

o

the

ppressiveness

f

mechanization,

anages

o break

loose

n

Pierrot.

Pierrot

as ssociatedot

only

with

reudian

sychoanalysis

nd

general

ental

nstability,

ut

lso

with

ecadence

ndthe

moral

poverty

hat erm

onnotes.

earing

ccusationsf

decadence,

he

reviewsf heworkoined hevigorousebatever alues hat

engaged

merican

ociety

uring

he1920s.

his

ulturaliscords

today

erhaps

ost

losely

dentified

ith

uch

pposing

ovements

as

the

Prohibition

ampaign

f he irelessntivice

ocietiesndthe

new

youth

ulture,

ith ts

female

dol,

he

flapper.48

he

general

conflictetweenraditionnd

change

n

which

hesemovements

participated

lso

raged

round he rts.

t

should

e noted hat he

former

osition

as

partlypheld

y

he

genteel

radition,hich,

s

mentionedbove, romotedhe rts s a moral ealmnddemanded

that hosewho

pursued

hem,

ithers

creatorsras

recipients,

ave

a virtuous

haracter.uchviewswere

widely

eld

n

American

usi-

cal

life,

s

seen

n

the

followingpinions

f wo

eople

who

ccupied

very

ifferent

ositions

n

thatworld.Mrs.

W.

A.

Harper,

n amateur

musiciannd

upporter

f

performance

rganizations,

elievedhat

music

onveyed

truth

nd

goodness,

nd

the

onductorrank am-

rosch ontended

hat thenobler he

rt,

henoblerhould

e

the

interpreter.

49

During

he

1920s,

he

relationship

etweenrt nd

morality,

among

ther

ssues,

ecame

art

f

highlyublic ispute

n

ntellec-

tual

ircles,

itting

heNew

Humanists,

group

f onservativeca-

demics

nd rtistsed

by rving

abbitt

nd

Paul

Elmer

Moore,

gainst

various

rtistsnd

criticslliedwithmodernistrends.50he

former

championed

moral

onception

f

rt,

which

n

their

iscussions

most ften

meant

iterature,

nd

tressedhe

vital ole f

he

values

upheld

y

Victorianism.51

n

addition,

hey

xcoriatedhemodernists

forbandoninguch alues. hat ensure asnotwhollyallacious,

for

hemodernists

id

reject

raditional

alues;

owever,

hey

lso

searchedor

ew nes o

replace

hem. s thewriter alcolm

owley

described,

is

young eneration

elonged

to a

period

f transition

from alues

lready

ixed o values hathad

to be created. 52Walter

Lippmann's

Preface

o Morals

1929)

marked n

importanttep

n

that

reation.He realized he need for

new moral

ystem,

ne

that,



NewYork

eception

f

Pierrot

unaire

685

unlike he

Victorian

odel,

would

e

based n

necessity,

ommon

sense, nd,mostmportantly,xperience. 53

It

is the

voices f

moral

raditionather

han

hose f

hange

that

whisperhrough

he

reception

fPierrot.n

attacking

he

work,

several

ritics

ropagated

he

inkage

f

modernism

ith

mmorality,

or,

s

they

alled

t,

decadence. he

term

decadence

efies

oncise

definitionr

specific

pplication

o a

cultural

eriod.

tretched

n

a

variety

f

directions,

t

hasbecome

polysemous

hrase,

oid f

ny

authentic

eaning.54

owever,n her

tudyf

fin-de-siacle

ulture,

Elaine

howalter

solatesne

broad

sage

f he

erm:

[I]t

was he

pejorativeabel ppliedy hebourgeoisieoeverythinghat eemed

unnatural,

rtificial,

nd

perverse,

rom rt

Nouveau o

homosexual-

ity. 55

rawing

pon

his

sage,

ritics

f

Pierrot

randished

he

word

decadence

o

disparage

he

work;

owever,

onsistent

ith

he

vagueness

f he

erm,

t s

unclear

hat

hey

pecifically

iewed s

decadent.

ather

han

ingling

ut

particular

eature,

hey

ast

broad

spersions

n

both he

moral oundness

fthe

piece

nd

Schoen-

berg's

haracter.56

he

Herald

eviewer

1923)

claimed

hat ierrot

verg[ed]ndecadence, hileWarrentated hat he ext ossessed

a decadent

entiment.

he

Evening

elegram

ritic

1923)

wasmore

condemnatory,

abeling

oth

choenberg

ndthe

moods

n

his

work

diabolical,

close

ompanionhrase

f

decadence.57

ownes

dwelled

articularly

n the ssue

f

morality.

e

called

choenberg

a

highly

ifted

ecadent

hohad

produced

mawkish

iece.

More-

over,

e

regarded

ierrot

s

fundamentally

nhealthy,

ephitic,

nd

in

deplorable

eed ffresh

ir,

ualities

hat

ontrast

ith

full-

blooded,ital ind f rt.

Downes's

iagnosis

f

ll

health

eveals

ow

losely

metaphors

f

deterioration

irculated

round ierrot.

s

described

y

many

ritics,

the

work estered

n

the

oncert

all. t

at once

conveyed

oral

lip-

page, hysicalecay,

ndthe

rosion

f

anity.

hese

disintegrations

served

s

symptoms

f

decadence,

hich,

n

turn,

as

ymptomatic

f

a

larger

ultural

ecay.

As

John

.

Reed

points

ut

n

his

tudy

f

decadence

n

nineteenth-

nd

twentieth-century

rts,

hat

ague

erm

connoted

ultural

egeneration.58

lthough

eviewers

fPierrot

id

not pecificallyelate hework o a broadulturalecay,heireneral

accusations

fdecadence

ndtheir

ndulgence

n

metaphors

f

degen-

eration eveal

how

they

aw

Schoenberg'siece

as

part

f the

deterio-

rating

world

utside f

the

concert

all,

especially

he

weakening

f

such

foundationsf

society

s

health,

mental

tability,

nd

morality.

Critics

lso

pushed

he

debate

ver

Pierrot

nto

thesocial

realm

by

connecting

he

workwith

adical

olitical

deologies,

articularly



686 The

Musical

uarterly

anarchism.

his

inkage

tems

rom

he

high

rofile

f

narchism

nd

othereftistoliticalmovementsnNewYork eforend fterhe

war.

Key

igures

nd

organizations

n

these

ctivities

ncluded

ohn

Reed,

Emma

Goldman,

he

ndustrial

orkers

f he

World

IWW),

andthe

magazine

he

Masses.59

hat

istinguishes

he

prewar

ove-

ments

romhe

hose

f he

1920s s

the

lose

ollaboration

etween

artistsnd

political

adicals,

bond

hat

roke nder

he

weight

f

the

disillusionment

roducedy

he

onflict.60

his

arlier

oopera-

tive

pirit

an be seen

n

the

wo

roups'

nvolvement

n

both

he

Armoryhow ndthePatersontrikeageanttMadisonquare

Garden

f1913.

Many

f he

ame

igures

ho

publicly

upported

modern

rt,

notably

abel

Dodge,

Reed,

nd

Lippmann,

lso

helped

to

organize

he

pageant

o benefit

triking

ill

workers

n

Paterson.61

These

ulturalebels

elievedhat

he

rts nd

radicalism

hared

liberatingpirit

nd

that ach

had

an

important

ole

n

brushingway

conventions

nd

fostering

ew

personal

reedoms.s

Margaret

nder-

son,

ditor

f heLittle

eview,

oncisely

tated,

[A]narchism

nd

rt

are

n

the

world

or he

ame

easons. 62

Anderson'squation,lthougheconfiguredrom erpersonal

radical

ision,

layed prominent

ole

n

the

reception

f

modernist

styles

n

New

York

uring

he

period

915-29,

s

both

upporters

nd

opponents

f

hose dioms

inked

conoclastic

ompositional

evelop-

ments ith

he

goals

nd

policies

f

eftist

olitical

movements.he

former

iewedmusic

nd

politics

s

surging

long

n

emancipatory

wave hat

would rush he

bulwarkf

radition,

hereashe

atter

believed

hatmodernist

nnovationsnd

radical

olitics

ropelled

he

same isruptivendthreateningorces.63his ntimodernistiew,

which

ominated

hereviews

f

Pierrot,

as

uccinctly

xpressed

y

the ritic

nd

composerenry

olden

Huss

n

a

1917

ssay

hat

attacked

ot

Schoenberg's

elodramautnew

music

n

general:

It

s

withoutoubt rue

hat he

restlessness,

he

avage,

eckless,

narchis-

tic

pirit

hich

as

manifestedtself

n

politics

nd

ulminated

n

the

presentigantic

arhas

also

mightily

ffecteduch

delicate,

ensi-

tive

rt s

Music. 64

Huss's

olitical arallelppears

t the

utset f heNew

York

reception

fPierrot.nhisreviewf 1912Berlin

erformance

f he

work,

uneker

alled

choenberg

n anarchist

ndwent

o far

s to

compare

im

o Max

Stirner,

German

hilosopher

ho

dvocated

individualism

ndthe

breaking

ree

rom hat

he viewed

o

be the

irrationalaws

of

society.

Although

he

1923 and 1925

reviewsmade

no

such

pecific

ssociations,

hey

einforced

he

political

nalogy,



New

York

eceptionf

Pierrot

unaire

687

labeling

hework

radical,

anarchistic,

nd

revolutionary.

s

seen nHuneker'sndHuss's omments,hese hargedpithetsot

only

eferredo the

disintegration

f

ompositional

onventions

ut

also

lluded

o a

larger

ocial

nrest,

turmoil

pitomized

ypolitical

movements

ike

narchism.

Although

hedebate ver he1923 nd

1925

performances

involved

he ame ssues nddrew imilarultural

onnections,

he

response

o

the atter

eveals

greater

ppreciation

f he

work,

ar-

ticularly

n

the reas fharmonic

anguage

nd

expression.

he invec-

tive

hat

haracterized

any

f he

riginal

eviews as

mostly

bsent

inthose f he econd oncert.his

hange

ntonewas

argely

ue

to the ransition

ithinhe

riticalanks

uring

he

ntervening

wo

years.Many

f he everest

pponents

fmodern

usic,

amely

he

Old Guard

ritics,

adeither ied rretired.

urprisingly,

enderson,

the

nly

ctive

member

f he

Old

Guard,

raised

he

work,

alling

it

tremendouslynteresting.

ierrot,

owever,

till

ad everaldver-

saries. eonard

iebling

alled t

a

phantasmagoria

f

blarings,

shriekings,owlings,

runtings,

ear-bombs

n

tone,

musical

miasmas

andvocal ndorchestraloison ases. ther issentersncluded

NewmanndWarren.

The

work lso eft

many

ritics

umbfoundedndunable

o

formulateclear

pinion.

oth andbornnd

Thompson,

wo

er-

plexed

ritics

n

1923,

till

ound he

work

baffling

nd

puzzling,

respectively.

he latter

egarded

ierrots a

riddle

ot

o

be solved

in

a

day, year,

r a

decade.

wo

of

he

trongest

upporters

ere

Gilman

ndthe

unsigned

usical ourier

eviewer,

ho

laimed

hat

theperfectionf his core efiesriticism.' 65

In

additiono the

passing

f he ritical

uard,

his

wo-year

period

marked

significant

ncrease

n

the

performance

fmodern

music,

trend

ue

argely

o the ctivities

f he

ompeting

ew

music ocieties.

oreover,

everal f he

prominent

erformingrga-

nizations,

ncluding

ymphonic

ndchamber

nsembles,

egan

o

program

oremodern

usic. he

exposure

o a wider

ariety

f on-

temporary

tyles

obbed ierrotf ts

eputation

s

the

pitome

f

modernity.

ownes,

or

nstance,

oncluded,

To us

this

ppears

s

musicfyesterday,elongingo a periodndpose haracteristicf

the

post-romantics

ndof

nflated,

gotistical

endencieshich re

happily alling

way.

His attitude

eflectshe

postwar

ntipathy

toward

omanticism,

n

aversion

articularly

anifestedn

the

clarity

and restraintf

neoclassical

tyles,

hichDownes

frequently

is-

cussed.66

n

fact,

his

wo-year

nterveningeriod

witnessedn

influx



688

The

Musical

uarterly

ofneoclassical

orks,

any

f

which

eceivederious

riticaltten-

tion, articularlytravinsky'symphoniesfWindnstruments,ctet,

andConcerto or iano ndWinds.

This ncreased

amiliarity

ith

modern

tyles

artly

roded

udi-

ence versiono

new

developments

n

musical

anguage.

significant

difference

etweenhe

receptions

f

he

1923 nd 1925 oncertss

the

ttention

iven

o

Schoenberg's

reak ith

onvention. hereas

many

ritics

f

he arlier

erformance

ecriedhe

omposer's

anar-

chism,

hose

f he

1925

oncertoncentratedn the ffectather

than henaturef hemusicalanguage.o manyeviewers,isso-

nancewasnot

ven n

issue,

et lone source f larm.

ilman's

comments

n

his

econd

earing

f

he

piece

estify

o this

ccep-

tance:

Yet

o

rapidly

oesmusic

ge

andmellowhat he

cerbity

which nce eemed

n essentialrait f

he

tyle

f Pierrotunaire'

wasdifficult

o detect

n

our

hearing

f

he

workast

night.

r

per-

haps

t s

merely

hat he

nfinitelydjustable

uman ar

has,

n

our

case t

least,

made

ts

peace

with hismusic.

Coupled

with

he

cceptance

f

Schoenberg's

tyle

as

growing

skepticismver he estheticotentialfhismusicalanguage.

Thompson,

enderson,

ndDownes

elievedhat

he

omposer

ad

reachedn

impasse

n

Pierrot

ith

is

rejection

f

raditionalonal

andmelodic

ractices.

enderson

laimed,

No

great

rt an be

built

upon

his ndeterminate

oundation

28

Feb.

1925).

Thompson

added

hat he

mastery

f

he

work

put

choenberg

ndhisfollow-

ers

n

a cul-de-sac

atherhan

. .

open[ing]

ny

new

dominionsor

the onal rt.

While 925 eviewersay ave uestionedheviabilityf

Schoenberg's

usic,

hey

enerally

pproved

f

he ntense

xpressive-

ness f

Pierrot.ather han

eproaching

im

or

xceeding

he

proper

bounds f

elf-expression,

s

was

done

n

1923,

many

ritics

raised

his

maginative

etting.

ven

Downes,

n admitted

etractorf

he

composer,

ound

he

work o

be

Schoenberg

t

hisbest-at

his

most

precise

nd

expressive,

dding

hat

it s

mpossible

o

magine

he

music

omposed

n

any

ther

ay.

Gilman

laimed

hat he

vividness

of

he

ompositionrovedust

s

striking

s in the

premiererfor-mance:Yet ne

mpression

emainedor sunchanged:hat f he

mordant

ower

f

his

trange

eb

f

ones,

ts

xtraordinary

xpres-

siveness,

ts wift

onformity

o

theutterancef score f

different

moods.

He also

disputed

he viewthat he

subject

matter fthe text

was not

worthy

f

musical

etting

y

pointing

ut

thatbothSchoen-

berg

nd

Shakespeare

xplored

areas

f the human

onsciousness

remote rom

he nfluencefsweetness

nd

light.



New

York

eceptionf

Pierrotunaire 689

In

addition

o

being

neof hemost candalous orksf he

1920snNewYork, ierrotasalsoproveno beone of hemost

durable,

or thasbeen

reprised

here ften.

econfirming

ts nitial

goal

o

familiarize

udiencesurtherith he

hallengingiece,

he

League

f

Composers

ffered

he hird ewYork

erformance

n

16

April

933.This

taged

ersion

y

Robert dmond

ones

eatured

Stokowskind

Mina

Hager.

even

years

ater,

choenberg

ulfilledis

desire o

present

ierrot

n

the

ity.

ponsored

y

heNewFriends

f

Music,

e ledErika

tiedry-Wagner

n

a concert

t TownHall

on

17

November

940.

Thereceptionf hesewo erformanceseveals ewpermuta-

tions

n

the

general

musical

xpectations,

s audiences

erceived

ier-

rot

uite

ifferently

han

hey

id

n 1923

nd 1925.

Rather han

incitingtrong

ebuker

praise,

s

it

did

during

he

1920s,

he

mo-

tionality

f hework

asnow

viewed s

cool

andeven

rivial. or

instance,

ownes,

n

admirer

f

he

ntensity

f

he

core

n

1925,

labeled

ierrot

tepid

nd

anemic

n

1933.67

ilman

ikewise

viewed hework

s

sterile nd artificial. 68

fter

he

1940

perfor-

mance, rancis erkinsnterpretedhe motionalontentf hework

in

a

different

ight,

rguing

hat

t

was oorefined

or

ontemporary

audiences:

The

present-dayeriod

s not

onducive

o the

ubtiliza-

tion f motion

hich

ervades

he

ext

ndthe

remarkablecore.

He

added

hat

the motional

imits

f he

music

ere rather

narrow

ompared

o those

f

the

ext.69

The

response

o the1933 nd

1940

oncertslso ncluded

dispute

ver he

modernity

f

Pierrot,

n issue

nitially

aised,

utnot

fullyxplored,n1925.Whereashe nnovative usicalanguagend

expressiveness

ere hemost

ontestedssues

uring

he

1920s,

ritics

nowfocusedn

evaluating

he

imelinessf he

work. eviewsf he

composition

re

argely

ivided etween

hose

onsidering

t a

histori-

cal

piece epresenting

he

pirit

f

past

ime nd

those

egarding

t

as a modern ork ommunicative

o

a

contemporary

udience.

For

many

eviewers,

he ura f

modernity

round ierrotad

completely

issolved.he musical

anguage

o

longer

roved

ovel,

andthework asviewed s

having

ittle

ontemporary

elevance.

Gilman,ornstance,laimed hat twas horriblyld-fashioned

andhad

aged itifully. 70

erkins

awPierrot

s music f he

past,

and recommendedhat t

be

reprisedccasionally only

s

a

period

piece. 71

ikethose wo

critics,

ownes

originally

iewed he work s

dated.

n

his

1933

review,

e

calledthe

composition

a fiftiethcho

of

nineteenth-century

erman

omanticism;owever,

choenberg's

performance

f

Pierrot,

hich

he claimed

revealed

the

work's]



690 The

Musical

uarterly

secret,

hanged

is

opinion.

ather

han

ismissing

he

melodrama

as a historicalddity,e nowpraisedts provocativeodernity.

Pierrot,

ccording

o

Downes,

ada

genuineness

nd

presentalidity

for

ontemporary

udiences.72

he

criticnd

composer

. Walter

Kramer

greed

ith

ownes's

ater

osition,laiming

hat hework

was s

modern

s at the ime f tsNew

York

remiere.73

his

gen-

eral ritical

ispute

ver he imelessness

fPierrotnd

Downes's acil-

lation eveal ow

harply

iews

f he

omposition

urnedround

perceptions

f

ts

modernity.

Thehistorical/contemporaryichotomylso argelynformshe

present-dayeception

fPierrot.he

contemporaryreoccupation

ith

historical

eriodization

nd esthetic

ategorization

as

provided

n

understanding

f hework s an

example

fmodernism

nd

Expres-

sionism. iven hese

oncerns,ierrot,

o

many oncertgoers,ymbol-

izes he

Zeitgeist

ffin-de-siecleienna.Recent

erformances

f

he

piece,

most

otably

uring

he Vienna 900 oncert

eries t the

MuseumfModern

rt

7

Sept.

1986),

have

presented

he

work

n

such context.

his

ssigned

istoricalole lso nfluencesudience

perception.or xample,istenerseutralizehe ffectf he motion-

ality

ndmacabre

hemes

y

primarily

iewing

hese

ualities

s

repre-

sentativef

Expressionist

rt nsteadf

ppreciating

heir

eparate

aesthetic

erit.

Despite

ts

historical

ssociations,

ierrottill ssertstself

n

present-dayonceptions

fmusical

modernity.

t is

regarded

s a semi-

nal

work f

he wentieth

entury,

view eiterated

n music

history)

survey

oursesnd

ustained

y

oncert

rogramming.

he 1991

Tan-

glewoodestivalfContemporaryusic ffirmedhis ole yhigh-

lighting

ierrot

n

that eason's

pening

oncert. he workmaintains

its

present-day

elevance

argely

ecause f

ts

ignificance

n

the

development

f

modernist

usical

anguagesuring

his

entury.

Schoenberg's

ejection

f

onality

ascreated

troublingegacy.

Rather han

eading

oward

new

generalyntax

r

communal

tyle,

this

reak

nd

the

general

rosion f

common-practice

ra

onven-

tions ave

produced

stylistic

luralism

oid f

ny

musicalonsen-

sus.Pierrotesonates

ithin

resent-dayeneral

usical

xpectationsbecauset

represents

oth he acrificesade ndthebenefits

ained

fromtshard-won

estheticreedoms.

In

this

espect,

mile auer's

923review

s

prophetic.

n

it he

concluded,

[P]erhaps

Pierrot]

s

decadent,

erhaps

t is

not;

but

f

one can listenwithout

he

prejudices

f the

past,

one

may

hearthe

menace f

the future

ith

ll

its

dangers

ndalso all

its

triumphs.

Besides

her

oracular

tatement, auer,

byevoking

ast

nd

future,



NewYork

eceptionf

Pierrot

unaire 691

alludes o the

hronologicalaradox

f

Pierrot,

work hat

rips

he

ever-shiftingomentfthemodernndbeyondhat ointsothe

future

romised

y

hat

modernity,

et

ver he

ourse f

decades

as

been tomized

nto he

ntoxicating

ancientcent rom

abled

imes

ofwhich ts

protagonist

reams.74

Appendix

1923

Reviews

f

Pierrotunaire

Newspapers

Aldrich,

ichard.Music. NewYork

imes,

Feb.

1923,

.

18.

-

.

Some

Judgements

n New

Music.

NewYork

imes,

1

Feb.

1923,

ec.

7,

p.

5.

Coates,

Archie. Music.

New

York

World,

Feb.

1923,

.

9.

Composers'

uild

GivesConcert

fModern

ovelties.

ewYork

Herald,

Feb.

1923,

p.

7.

Composers'

uildOffersew

Music.

NewYork

vening

elegram,

Feb.

1923,

.

13.

Finck,

enry

.

Dreary

usical

omfooleries.

ewYork

vening

Post, Feb.1923, . 7.

International

omposers

nduct

Pierrot

unaire.'

NewYork

un,

Feb.

1923,

.

10.

Krehbiel,

.

E.

Symphony

ives

Concert

Marred

y

Burlesque.

NewYork

ribune,

Feb.

1923,

.

4.

.

The Curse f

Affectationnd

Modernismn

Music.

New

York ribune,1Feb.1923, ec.5,p. 5.

'Moonstruck

ierrot,'

n

Premiere.

ewYork

vening

ournal,

Feb.

1923,

.

14.

Sandborn,

itts.

Loony

eete'

nd

Sublunary

atters

ome

to the

Klaw.

TheGlobe

nd

Commercial

dvertiser,

Feb.

1923,

.

7.



692 TheMusical

uarterly

Spaeth,

atherine.

Concertnd

Opera:

choenberg'sovelty.

ew

Yorkveningail, Feb.1923, . 10.

Tyron,

Winthorp

.

'Pierrot

unaire'nd

OtherMusic

f heNew

YorkWeek.

Christian

cience

onitor,

Feb.

1923,

.

16.

Warren,

rank

.

In

the

Realm fMusic.

NewYork

vening

orld,

5

Feb.

1923,

.

21.

Journals

Bauer,

mile

rancis.New

York

ebates

Merits

f

Pierrotu-

naire.' Musical eader

5

(8

Feb.

1923),

126.

International

omposers'

uild. Musical ourier

6

(8

Feb.

1923),

33.

Peyser,

erbert

.

Schoenberg's

Pierrot

unaire.'

The

Musical

Observer2 (Mar. 1923), 3-54.

Rosenfeld,

aul. Musical hronicle. he

Dial

74

(Apr.

1923),

26-

32.

Thompson,

scar. 'Pierrot

unaire' uzzlest First

merican

ear-

ing.

Musical merica

7

(10

Feb.

1923),

.

1925

Reviews

f

Pierrot unaire

Newspapers

Downes,

lin.

League

f

Composers.

ew

York

imes,

3

Feb.

1925,

.

25.

Gilman,

awrence.

The

League

f

Composers

ranches ut. New

York erald-Tribune,3Feb.1925, . 11.

Henderson,

.

J. Gloomy

ne

Act

Opera

Heard. NewYork

un,

23 Feb.

1925,

.

6.

-- .

Geniuss Needed orNewMusic. NewYork

un,

8

Feb.

1925,

p.

4.



NewYork

eception

f

Pierrot

unaire 693

Liebling,

eonard.

The

League

f

Composers.

ewYork

merican,

23 Feb.1925, . 12.

Newman,

rnest.

League

f

Composers'

oncert.

ewYork

vening

Post,

3

Feb.

1925,

.

15.

Sandborn,

itts. Seven

eagues

f

Composers.

ew

York

vening

Telegram,

3

Feb.

1925,

.

6.

Warren,

rank

.

Realm f

Music. NewYork

vening orld,

3

Feb.1925,

.

6.

Weil,

rving.

'Daniel

Jazz'

n Premiert

Concert. ewYork

vening

Journal,

3

Feb.

1925,

.

7.

Journals

League

f

Composers.

usical

ourier0

(5

Mar.

1925),

12.

Thompson,

scar. Modernist's

pera

nd

Daniel

Jazz'

ie

on

Pro-

gram

ith

Pierrotunaire.' Musical

merica

1

(28

Feb.

1925),

30.

Notes

For

their dviceon earlier ersions nd their

ncouragement,

would

ike to thank

Robert

Morgan,

llen

Rosand,

Janet

chmalfeldt,

udith

ick,

Craig

Wright,

nd

Leora

Zimmer.

1. Lawrence

Gilman,

The

League

of

Composers

ranches

ut,

New York

erald-

Tribune,

3

Feb.

1925,

p.

11.

2.

In his studies f

Pierrot,

onathan unsby

ncorporates

oth

press

eviews

f

and

academic

erspectives

n

the

work;

owever,

e

does not

provide

n overview

f

ts

reception:

unsby,

'Pierrot unaire' nd the

Resistance

o

Theory,

Musical imes

130

(1989):

732-36,

and

Schoenberg:

ierrot

unaire

Cambridge:

ambridge

niver-

sity

ress,

992),

2-6.

3.

The

reception

f

the

nitial

erformance

fThe

Rite

f

Spring

s

insightfully

nd

thoroughly

iscussed

n

Truman

ullard,

The First

erformancef

gor travinsky'sThe Rite

f

Spring,

Ph.D.

diss.,

Eastman chool of

Music,

1971).

4.

Arthur

M.

Abell, Berlin,

Musical ourier 5

(6

Nov.

1912): 5,

and Der Wan-

derer,

What s Arnold

choenberg?

usical

America

7

16

Nov.

1912):

21.

Both

reviews

re

reprinted

n

Dossier

e

Presse

e

Pierrot

unaire,

d.

Frangois

esure,

ol. 2

of Dossiers

e

Presse

Geneva: Minkoff,

985),

13-16.

5.

James

uneker,

Schoenberg,

usical

Anarchist,

Who

Has

Upset

Europe,

New

York

imes,

9

Jan.

1913,

sec.

5,

p.

9.

Reprinted

n a

shorter

ersion

n

Huneker,



694

TheMusical

uarterly

Ivory,

pes,

nd

Peacocks

1915;

eprint,

ewYork:

agamore

ress,

957),

0-65.

Thisversions ncludedn DossierePresse,8-21.

6.

James

uneker,

Music f

To-day

nd

To-morrow,

n

vory, pes,

nd

Peacocks,

104-20.

7.

The

First uturistn

Music,

urrent

pinion

4

Mar.1913):

08.

8.

H.

E.

Krehbiel,

Schoenberg's

Five-Pieces' Weird

ffort,

ew

York

ribune,

30

Nov.

1921,

.

18.

9.

Richard

ldrich,

The

Philadelphia

rchestra,

ew

York

imes,

0

Nov.

1921

p.

13.

10. Duringhis leven-yeareriod,ierrotasperformednseveraluropeanoun-

tries.

choenberg

mmediately

ollowedheBerlin

remiere

ith tour

hrough

er-

many,

ustria,

nd

Czechoslovakia.

is

Verein

dir

usikalische

Privatauffihrungen

offered

erformances

n

1921

nd

1922,

ncluding

tour f

Germany,

olland,

Czechoslovakia,

nd

Switzerland.

ichel alvocoressintroducedarisianudiences

to

excerpts

layed

y

Paule e

Lestang

nd

E.

Robertchmitzn

a 1912

ectureeries.

Milhaud

nd

Jean

Widner

resented

he irst

ompleteublic erformance

f hework

in France n

16

Jan.

922with

Milhaud

s

conductor

nd

Marya

reunds reciter.

For his

oncert,

he extwas etranslatednto renchromheGerman

ersion,

fter

attempts

o useGiraud's

riginaloetryroved

nsuccessful.

s a

sign

fAmerica's

growingrominencenthe nternationalusic orld, ewYork fferedierrotefore

Great

ritainnd

taly

id.The

first

nglisherformance

as

by

MilhaudndFreund

on

19

Nov.

1923.The

Corporazione

elleNuoveMusiche

ponsored

n Italian our

of

choenberg

nd

ssisting

rtistsn

1924.

Formore

n earlier

erformances

f

Pier-

rot,

ee

Dossiere

Presse,

47-56.

11.

For discussion

f he

history

nd

nfluence

f he

guild,

ee

R.

Allen

ott,

'NewMusic or ew

Ears': he nternational

omposers'

uild,

ournal

f

he

American

usicological

ociety

6

(1983):

266-86,

ndDavid

Metzer,

TheAscen-

dancy

f

MusicalModernism

n

New

York

ity,

915-29

Ph.D.

diss.,

aleUniver-

sity, 993), 72-232.

12. Edward

tein,

d.,

Arnold

choenberg:

etters,

rans. ithneWilkinsndErnst

Kaiser

London:

aber

nd

Faber,

964),

8-79.

13.

Schoenberg

oesn't

Want

His

Pierrotunaire'

layed,

ew

York

erald,

4

Jan.

923,

ec.

7,

p.

4.

14.

Pierrot

gain,

Musical ourier

6

(1

Mar.

1923):

3.

15.

Schoenberg

ndHis MoonMad

Pierrot,

usical

ourier

6

(1

Feb.

1923):

1.

16.

Engel's

ddress,

alled

Sch6nberg

unaire,

s ncluded

n

a later ollectionf

essays,iscordsingledNewYork: lfred. Knopf,931), 4-97.

17.

Claire

Reis,

Composers,

onductors,

nd

Critics

New

York: xford

niversity

Press,

955),

11-13.

18. Claire

eis,

nterview

y

Vivian

erlis,

an.

976-Jan.

977,

ale

Oral

History

Project

n American usic.

19. The

Appendix

ontains

list f

ited

eviews

or

oth he

1923

nd

1925

er-

formances.he

following

eferenceso

reviewsome rom

he

Appendix.



New

York

eception

f

Pierrot

unaire 695

20.

For

discussion

f he

areersnd esthetic

iews f he Old

Guard

ritics,

see Barbara ueser,TheCriticismfNewMusic nNewYork: 919-1929 Ph.D.

diss.,

ity

University

fNew

York,

975),

2-103;

Oscar

hompson,

An

American

School

f

Criticism:

he

Legacy

eft

y

W.

J.

Henderson,

ichard

ldrich,

nd

Their

olleagues

f

heOld

Guard,

usical

uarterly

3

(1937):

428-39;

nd

War-

ren

.

Smith,

Four

istinguished

merican

usic ritics: Centennial

ote,

Musical

merica

4,

no.

4

(1954):

6,

130,

134.

21.

Finck lso

ommented

hat

he udience

as mall nd

unappreciative.

n

a

letter

o the

Evening

ost,

eis efuted

is laims.

Finck,

What

Happened

t Futur-

istic

oncert,

ew

York

vening

ost,

7

Feb.

1923,

.

10.)

In his

response,

inck

dismissed

er

iew nd hen

dmonished

andbornor

raising

hework ven

hough

he referredothe

squeaks

ndgroans f he ccompaniment.andbornepliedhat

he

didnot

ntend

hat

escription

o

be

vieweds

negative

nd

repeated

hat

e

needed

nother

earing

o

develop

clearer

pinion

fPierrot

Finck,

Philharmonic

Plays

ew

ymphony,

ew

York

vening

ost,

3 Feb.

1923,

.

8).

22.

Aldrich

5

Feb.

1923)

nd

Spaeth

5

Feb.

1923).

23.

For

ontrasting

irst-hand

ccounts

f his

plit,

ee

Reis,

Composers,

onductors,

and

Critics,

3-15,

nd

Louise

arese,

arese,

Looking

lass

iary:

olume

,

1883-

1928

New

York:

W. W.

Norton, 972),

188-91.

24.

Hans

Robert

auss

oined he

phrase

horizonf

xpectations

o describehe

criteria

mployed

y

eaderso

udge

iterary

orks,

nd thas

been

ppropriated

n

a

very

eneral

ay

n this

tudy. auss,

Literary

istory

s

a

Challenge

o

Literary

Theory,

rans.

imothy

ahti,

n Toward

n Aesthetic

fReception,

ol. 2 of

Theory

and

Historyf

iterature

Minneapolis:

niversity

fMinnesota

ress,

982).

Origi-

nally Literaturgeschichte

ls

Provokation

er

iteraturwissenschaft,

n

Literaturge-

schichte

lsProvokation

Frankfurt

m

Main:

uhrkamp,

970).

25. Daniel

Joseph

ingal,

heWarWithin:ictoriano

Modernist

hought

n

the

South,

919-45

Chapel

Hill:

University

f

North arolina

ress,982),

nd

Towards

Definition

fAmerican

odernism,

merican

uarterly

9

(1987),

7-26.

Singal's

ssay

nd

others

n

this

ssue fAmerican

uarterly

edicated

o Ameri-

can

modernism

avebeen

eprinted

s

Modernist

ulture

n

America,

d. Daniel

Joseph

ingal

Belmont,

alif.:

Wadsworth,

991).

26. Peter

ay,

reud,

ews,

nd

Other

ermans:

astersndVictims

f

Modernist

Culture

New

York:

xford

niversity

ress, 978),

1-22. See also

Gay,

Art nd

Act:On Causes

n

History:

anet,

ropius,

ndMondrian

New

York:

arper

Rowe,

976).

27. ThisdiscussionfVictorianulturen Americas drawn rom anielWalker

Howe,

Americanictorianism

s a

Culture,

merican

uarterly

7

(1975):

507-32,

and

Singal,

Definitionf

American

odernism,

-11.

28. Walter

.

Houghton,

heVictorian

rame

f

Mind,

830-1870

New

Haven:

Yale

University

ress,

957),

145.

29.

Stanley

oben,

TheAssaultn Victorianism

n

theTwentieth

entury,

American

uarterly

7

(1975):604-25,

nd

Coben,

Rebellion

gainst

ictorianism:



696

The

Musical

uarterly

The

mpetusor

ultural

hange

n 1920s

America

New

York: xford

niversity

ress,

1991).

30. On

Omstein's

areernd

music,

eeVivian

erlis,

The

Futuristusic fLeo

Omstein,

otes

f

heMusic

ibrary

ssociation

1

(1974-75):

35-50,

nd

Metzer,

Ascendancy

fMusical

Modernism,

5-130.

31.

For discussion

f

Humperdinck's

nnovation,

eeEdward

.

Kravitt,

The

Joining

fWords nd

Music n

LateRomantic

elodrama,

usical

uarterly

2

(1976):

571-90.

The

place

f

Pierrot

n

the

melodrama

radition

s

describedn

Dunsby,

ierrot

unaire,

-6.

32.

Dunsbyrgues

hat the

upportingenericype

f

Pierrot

s

the

ong ycle;

Dunsby,

ierrotunaire,.

33.

Santayana

oined he erm

n his ddressTheGenteel radition

n

American

Philosophy,

iven

t the

University

f

California

t

Berkeley

n

25

Aug.

1911.This

original

ersion

s

presented

n

Douglas

Wilson, d.,

TheGenteelradition:ine

Essays yGeorge

antayanaCambridge:

arvard

niversity

ress,

967),

8-64.

Santayana

evisedhe

peech

n Winds

f

Doctrine:tudies

n

Contemporary

pinion

(New

York: harles cribner's

ons,

913),

186-215.

34.

For ifferent

nterpretations

f he

genteel

radition,

ee

F.

.

Carpenter,

The

Genteelradition: Reinterpretation,ew nglanduarterly5 Sept.1942):

427-43;

William an

O'Connor,

n

Age f

Criticism,

900-1950

Chicago: enry

Regnery,

952),

-18;

Howard umford

ones,

The

Genteel

radition,

n The

Age

of nergy:

arieties

f

American

xperience,

865-1915

New

York:

iking,

971),

216-58;

John

omisch,

Genteelndeavor:

mericanulturendPolitics

n

the

ilded

Age

Stanford:

tanford

niversity

ress,

971);

ndRobert

awidoff,

heGenteel

Tradition

nd acred

age:High

ulture

s.

Democracy

n

Adams,

ames,

nd

antayana

(Chapel

Hill

and

London:

niversity

fNorth arolina

ress,

991),

142-93.

35. On these

dealistic

erceptions

fmusic

n

nineteenth-century

merican usical

life,

ee

Joseph

.

Mussulman,

usicnthe ultured

eneration:Social

istoryfMusicn

America,

870-1900

Evanston,

ll.:Northwestern

niversity

ress, 971),

and

Michael

royles,

Music

f

he

ighest

lass :Elitism

nd

Populism

nAntebellum

Boston

New

Haven: ale

University

ress,

992).

36.

Walter

amrosch,

TheHuman eed

forMusic

n

Daily

ife,

tude

3

(Jan.

1915):

.

37.

Buying

eauty,

tude

3

(June

915):

09.

38.

Engel,

iscords

ingled,

7.

39. Rosenfeldisplayedis riticalreadthnPortfNewYork:ssaysnFourteen

American

oderns

New

York:

arcourt,race,

924).

40.

In thePierrot

eview,

he

inkage

f

travinsky's

usic ithmechanization

s

presented

s a

negative

uality,

hereas

n

other

iscussions

f he

omposer

t s

viewed

ositively.

ere,

Rosenfeld

rops

p

themechanistic

travinskygainst

he

tortured

orporeal

choenberg,

escribing

ow he

ormer

aptures

themechanical

rhythm

hat

houtsts

riumph

ver

he

microscopic

uman

ug.

On Rosenfeld's



NewYork

eceptionf

Pierrot

unaire

697

linkages

fboth

travinsky's

nd

Omstein's

usic ith

mechanization,

ee

Hugh

M.

Potter,

alse

awn:

aul

Rosenfeld

nd

Art n

America,

916-1946

Ann

Arbor: ni-

versity

icrofilm,980),

9.

41.

These

pinions

re

xpressed

n R. H.

Wollenstein,

Modernism

t theBar f

Public

pinion,

usical

merica

3

(26

Feb.

1927):

.

42.

Frank

atterson,

Arnold

choenberg:

mpressions

f

Modernism,

usical ou-

rier

3

(7

July

921):

.

43.

Thisdiscussion

f he

eception

fFreud

n America

uring

he1910s nd1920s

draws

pon

. H.

Matthews,

TheAmericanizationf

igmund

reud:

daptations

f

Psychoanalysis

efore

917,

ournal

f

Americantudies

(1967):

39-62;

John

Chynowethurnham,TheNewPsychology:rom arcissismo SocialControl, n

Change

nd

Continuity

nTwentieth

entury

merica:he

1920s,

d.

John

raeman,

Robert

.

Bremner,

nd

David

Brody

Columbus:

hioState

University

ress,

1968),

51-98;

Nathan

.

Hale,

Jr.,

reudnd

he mericans:he

Beginningsf

Psy-

choanalysis

nthe nited

tates,

876-1917

New

York: xford

niversity

ress,

1971);

Arthurrank

Wertheim,

heNewYork

ittle

enaissance:

conoclasm,

odemrn-

ism,

nd

Nationalism

nAmerican

ulture,

908-1917

New

York:

ewYork niver-

sity

ress,

976),

9-74;

and

Duane

Vorhees,

Freud's

merica,

ournal

f

American

Culture

2

winter

989):

3-52.

44. William. Leuchtenburg,hePerilsfProsperity,d ed. (1958; eprint,hi-

cago:

University

f

Chicago

ress,

993),

166.

45.

On the buses

fFreudian

heoryuring

he

1920s,

ee

Ralph

on

Trecsckow

Napp,

Freudnd he

Roaring

wenties:

rom heGeneral o the

pecific,

n

Danc-

ing

ools nd

Weary

lues: heGreat

scape f

he

wenties,

d.

Lawrence

.

Broer

and

John

.

Walther

Bowling

reen,

h.:

Bowling

reen

niversity

ress,

990),

172-81.

46.

Alfred ooth

uttner,

The

Artist,

even rts

(Feb. 1917):

06-12,

nd

TheArtist

A

Communication),

even rts

(Mar.

1917):

49-52.

47.

In his

tudy

f

Rosenfeld,

ugh

otter

tates hat he ritic as amiliarith

principal

deas

f

Freud,

ung,

ndGestalt. e alsomentionshe

Freudian

ver-

tones

n

some

fRosenfeld's

eviews;otter,

alse

awn,

3.

Fifteen

ears

fter is

Pierrot

eview,

osenfeld

roten articlehat

oncentratesn

the

heoriesf

Freud

and

Jung:

Psychoanalysis

nd

God,

Nation,

0

Apr.

1938,

85-86.

48.

James

imberlake,

rohibitionnd he

rogressive

ovement,

900-1920

Cam-

bridge:

arvard

niversity

ress,

963),

nd

Paula .

Fass,

he

Damnednd

Beautiful:

Americanouth

n

the 920s

New

York: xford

niversity

ress,

977).

49. Mrs.W.A. Harper,Music: nExpressionfLife ndCharacter, usician1

(Aug.

1926):

26.

Frank

amrosch,

nstitute

f

Musical

rt,

905-1926

New

York:

Juilliard

chool f

Music,

936),

178.

50.

Thisdebate

ulminated

n

two ollectionsf

ssays:

orman

oerster,d.,

HumanismndAmerica:

ssays

nthe

utlook

f

Modem

ivilization

New

York:

arrar

&

Rinehart,

930),

ndC.

Hartley

rattan,d.,

The

Critique

f

Humanism:

Sym-

posium

New

York: rewer

nd

Warren,

930).



698 TheMusical

uarterly

51.

On theNew

Humanists,

eeDavid

J.

Hoeveler,

r.,

heNew

Humanism:

CritiquefModernmerica,900-1940Charlottesville:niversityress fVirginia,

1977).

t should e noted hat

heNew

Humanists

eparted

rom

he

enteel

radi-

tion

n

some

eyways, otably

n

their

enouncementf he etachmentf

rt

rom

lifewithinhat radition.

52.

Malcolm

owley,

xile's eturn:

Literarydyssey

f

he 920s

1934;

New

York:

intage,

956),

.

53.

Roderick

ash,

TheNervous eneration:merican

hought,

917-1930

Chi-

cago:

Rand

McNally,

970),

110.

54.

For discussionf he

nstability

f

he

erm,

eeRichard

ilman,

ecadence:

The

trangeife f

n

Epithet

New

York:

aber, traus,

nd

Giroux,

979).

55.

Elaine

howalter,

exual

narchy:

enderndCulture

t

the in e

Siecle

New

York:

iking,

990),

169.

56.

In

her

tudy

f he

eception

f

Pelleas

t

Me'lisande,

ann

assleriscussesow

criticslso

uestioned

he

moral

ualities

f

Debussy

nd

his

opera.

ee

Passler,

Pel-

leas

nd

Power: orces ehind he

Reception

f

Debussy's

pera,

9th

entury

usic

10

1987):

257-59.

57.

John

.

Reed,

Decadent

tyle

Athens:

hio

University

ress,

985),

.

58.

Reed,

Decadent

tyle,

.

59. For

tudies

f hese

movements,

ee

Christopher

asch,

heNewRadicalismn

America

1889-1963):

he ntellectual

s

a Social

ype

New

York: lfred

.

Knopf,

1965),

nd

Leslie

ishbein,

ebels

nBohemia:heRadicals

f

he

Masses,

911-1917

(Chapel

Hill:

University

fNorth arolina

ress,

982).

60. For

fuller

iscussion

f he

ffectf hewar n the ultural

ebels,

ee

Henry

F.

May,

he

End

f

American

nnocence:

Study

f

he

irst

ears

f

Our

OwnTime

(New

York: lfred

.

Knopf,

969),

61-98;

Wertheim,

heNewYork ittle enais-

sance,15-26; ndThomas ender, ewYorkntellect:Historyf ntellectualifen

NewYork

ity rom

750

o he

eginningsf

OurOwn

Time

New

York: lfred

.

Knopf,

987),

49-55.

61. Martin

reen,

ew

York 913:The

Armory

how nd he atersontrike

ageant

(New

York: harles

cribner's

ons,

1988).

62.

Margaret

.

Anderson,

Art nd

Radicalism,

ittle eview

(Mar.

1916):

.

63. See

Metzer,

Ascendancy

f

Musical

Modernism,

08-12.

64.

Henry

olden

uss,

The

Anarchiclement

n Some

Ultra-Modern

uturist

Music, rtWorld (May 917):139-41.

65. For

Gilman's

arlier

iews f

choenberg,articularly

he

First

tring

uartet

and he

Three iano

ieces,

p.

11,

ee

Gilman,

The rrubrical

choenberg

nd

His

Extraordinary

usic,

orth merican

eview

99

Mar.

1914):

52-57.

66. For

nstance,

ownes

poke

bout

eoclassicism

t a

League

f

Composers

lecture-recital

6

Apr.

1930).

n

addition,

e

frequently

iscussed

travinsky's

eo-

classical

orks

n

his

riticism.



NewYork

eceptionf

Pierrot

unaire 699

67.

Olin

Downes,

Gala

Program

y

Composers,

ew

York

imes,

7

Apr.

1933,

p.16.

68.

Lawrence

ilman,

Music,

ewYork

erald-Tribune,

7

Apr.

1933,

.

13.

69. Francis .

Perkins,

New

riends

rogram

ed

by

choenberg,

ewYork

Herald-Tribune,

8

Nov.

1940,

.

15.

70.

Gilman,

Music,

3.

71.

Perkins,

New

riends

rogram,

5.

72.

Olin

Downes,

'Pierrot

unaire':

choenberg's

onception

f

His

Score

Brings

Out ts

True

Merit,

ewYork

imes,

4

Nov.

1940,

ec.

9,

p.

7.

73. A. Walter ramer,Composers'eague alaListncludes usicndFilm,

Musical

merica

3

(25

Apr.

1933):

13.

74.

This

ine,

O

alter uft us

Marchenzeit,

s

from

he ast

ong

f

Pierrot;

rans-

lation

y

Andreworter

n

Dunsby,

ierrot

unaire,

1.

schoenberg and pierrot lunaire

Documents