For this assignment I wanted to deal with chromatic music seen in a negative light when evaluated in terms of the usual categories and distinctions - "bad" or "deficient" chromaticism. This led to Bruckner, whose music has often been derided as clumsy, awkward, and lacking unity - as if its chromaticism were not in proper relation to diatonicism, whether harmonically, prolongationally, or formally, dooming it to failure, a deviation from the straight and narrow. Bruckner's many theoretical defenders, beginning with Ernst Kurth, typically strive to articulate alternative, positive modes of representing Brucknerian musical sense. Recent analytic work on Bruckner has sought to apply new models of chromaticism in combination with traditional concepts.

The readings below contain detailed analyses of parts of the first movements of the Seventh and Eighth Symphonies which draw from, and critically evaluate, a variety of approaches, and bring to bear many of the issues raised in the first two assignments. Thus armed, we will take aim at the second movement (Scherzo) of the Eighth, whose Trio attracted particular scorn from Schenker for its "bad presentation" and "unbeautiful thoughts," from a composer whose works he considered "simply badly written," from a symphony described by Hanslick as "diseased" (see Korstvedt, below) - technical criticism tinged with value judgements. All three readings also contain analytic comments on the Scherzo. Use them, along with any other approaches you wish, to familiarize yourself with the harmonic and formal content of the movement; we will test Schenker's comments and ponder the provocative nature of chromaticism in this music.

Readings (please click on authors' names and supplemental links for PDF files)

Horton, Julian. Bruckner's Symphonies (Cambridge University Press, 2004), chap. 4, "Bruckner and musical analysis." Horton reviews the problems Bruckner's style poses for tonal (e.g. Schenkerian) analysis, proceeds to apply different transformational approaches, and articulates a concept of tonal fields and oppositions. Note several basic binary distinctions which frame his discussion, such as: diatonic/chromatic, tonal/non-tonal, symmetrical/asymmetrical, single/double tonic, and progression/opposition. Please read pp. 92-119 (middle) and 135 (middle)-138; skim pp. 119 (middle)-125 for the conclusion. I have posted the entire chapter for interest's sake. The transformational analysis is straightforward; if you are unfamiliar with the Hyer and Cohn systems, a brief summary is posted below in the supplementary materials.

Benjamin, William. "Tonal Dualism in Bruckner's Eighth Symphony." In The Second Practice of Nineteenth-Century Tonality, ed. W. Kinderman and H. Krebs (University of Nebraska Press, 1995), pp. 237-258. The details of the analysis are perhaps less crucial for us than the concepts behind them, those that Benjamin himself identifies, along with distinctions such as key/chord, progression/opposition, single/double tonic, and (interestingly) continuity/discontinuity. Benjamin concentrates on the first movement, which is long; do not feel obliged to digest it all. Do note his general comments on the second movement.

Korstvedt, Benjamin. Excerpts from Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 (Cambridge University Press, 2000). Read pp. 3-9, on the symphony's critical reception, and 36 (bottom)-39, a brief analytic overview of the second movement. Korstvedt's analysis of the first movement (beginning on p. 27) is included for reference.

Supplementary Materials

Bruckner:

-- Symphony no. 7, movt. I, opening section, score (for Horton)
-- Symphony no. 8, movt. I, score (for Benjamin)
-- Symphony no. 8, movt. II, score

-- Symphony no. 7, movt. I, recording (Ricardo Chailly/Berlin Philharmonic)
-- Symphony no. 8, movt. I, recording (Herbert von Karajan/Vienna Philharmonic)
-- Symphony no. 8, movt. II, recording (Herbert von Karajan/Vienna Philharmonic)

Kopp, David. Chromatic Transformations in Nineteenth-Century Music (Cambridge University Press, 2002), sections 6.5-6.6, pp. 151-164, on the Hyer and Cohn systems. I have also included section 6.4, on Lewin; p. 149 has a concordance table for transformations in the different systems.

Horton, Julian. Enlarged pages containing analyses.