Musical organicism and its alternatives.

Organicism is an aesthetic paradigm whose origins likely predate the Platonic exhortation that every discourse must be constructed like a living body--with head, middle, feet, and fitting relation between parts and whole. This dissertation surveys some historical sources of musical organicism: at its roots in ancient philosophy, in its reflorescence in the romantic era, and among such musical thinkers as Schenker and Schoenberg. Organicism is deeply embedded in Western artistic culture, but paradoxically, its influence has often gone unnoticed, and precise definitions of organicism are rare. The organic principle is defined here as a dialectic entailing overriding unity and (often teleological) growth; five secondary attributes and four accompanying dispositions are ascribed to this organicist model. In Western music, organicism serves as a fundamental paradigm guiding tonal and post-tonal composition alike; hence organicist aesthetics bridges the supposed ideological gap between tonal and certain later idioms. Organicist analyses of Brahms's Intermezzo Op. 76, No. 6 and Schoenberg's Klavierstuck Op.33a illustrate some of the typical manifestations of organicism in music, and reveal the organic link between tonal and twelve-tone composition. The twentieth-century quest for new compositional idioms has often yielded merely novel vehicles for conveying the well-worn values of organicist culture. But certain aspects of some organicist music--notably the projection of temporal continuity and teleology, and attendant notions of the autonomous, absolute artwork and divine-genius artist--increasingly appear ill suited to contemporary artistic expression. Existing alternatives to organically conceived theory and composition are examined including the formal alternatives proposed by minimalism, indeterminacy, and moment form. These movements claim to be influenced by non-Western aesthetic models, and the dissertation explores some ways in which such models might also provide impetus for further innovation. The dissertation also discusses some pioneering examples of feminist music scholarship and analyzes facets of organicist musical culture from a feminist perspective. An exegesis of Marilyn Shrude's 1982 piano work Solidarnosc engages some of the foregoing alternative perspectives, notably a critical method, influenced by Maus (1988), of uniting dramatic (and anthropomorphic) and technical description.Ph.D.Communication and the ArtsMusicPhilosophyPhilosophy, Religion and TheologySocial SciencesWomen's studiesUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/128572/2/9034443.pd

Circles and Sensibilities: Music by and for Virgil Thomson

This video documents the concert titled "Circles & Sensibilities: Music by and For Virgil Thomson" at the University of Michigan Museum of Art on November 1, 2013. Exploring the artistic circle as creative milieu and engine through the compositions of early-mid 20th century American composers, students, alumni, and faculty from the School of Music, Theatre, & Dance performed works written by Virgil Thomson, Aaron Copland, Ned Rorem, David Diamond, Marc Blitzstein, Paul Bowles, and David Del Tredici. Professor Nadine Hubbs provided commentary. Performances by: John Boonenberg (piano), Jean Bernard Cerin (baritone), Jennifer Goltz (soprano), Kathryn Goodson (piano), Matthew Leslie-Santana (violin), Donald Sinta (saxophone), and Adam Tendler (piano). This concert was presented as part of the 2013 performance series, SMTD@UMMA, and was made possible with support from The Katherine Tuck Enrichment Fund, the Department of American Culture, and the Residential College. It was presented in conjunction with the UMMA exhibit Adolph Gottlieb: Sculptor. This concert was presented by The University of Michigan Museum of Art, The School of Music, Theatre & Dance, and the Lesbian-Gay-Queer Research Initiative at the Institute for Research on Women and Gender.The Katherine Tuck Enrichment FundThe Department of American CultureThe Residential Collegehttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106998/1/Circles_and_Sensibilities-FullConcert-Final.movhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106998/3/ConsentForms-CirclesSensibilities.pd