'Form and Orbital Tonality in the Finale of Bruckner's Seventh Symphony'

This article investigates questions of form in the Finale of Bruckner's Seventh Symphony, paying special attention to the reversed recapitulation as a problematic category in contemporary Formenlehre. Counterpointing Timothy Jackson's reading of the movement as a ‘tragic’ reversed sonata against James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy's critique of the concept of reversal, it seeks ways of accounting for the movement's novel form‐functional characteristics, which integrate concepts of thematic syntax with a model of chromatic tonality, drawing simultaneously on Schenkerian and neo‐Riemannian theories and the notion of the double‐tonic complex first proposed by Robert Bailey. The argument is contextualised in relation to critical debates about Bruckner's forms that originated during the composer's lifetime, especially claims of material discontinuity and harmonic illogicality, which were common in the symphonies’ pro‐Brahmsian reception and which linger in the discourse up to the present. The article's central claim is that a substantial understanding of both the Finale's form and its critical reception is attendant upon a theory of formal function, which takes seriously the difficulties of harmonic analysis that Bruckner's post‐Wagnerian idiom engenders

On Not Inviting Difficulties in Haydn\u27s Symphonies

In his classic article “Sonata Form Problems” Jens Peter Larsen warned of analytic pitfalls that result from the reliance on anachronistic models of musical form. The modern tradition of taking “textbook sonata form as the starting point,” as he put it with disarming simplicity, often “invites difficulties” in the analysis of Haydn’s sonata forms. This article follows up Larsen’s essay by reconsidering some perceived formal difficulties in Haydn’s symphonies that arise from mismatches between Haydn’s practice and modern expectations. Specifically, it explores ways in which Haydn\u27s symphonies do things that according to the “textbook” are not supposed to happen in sonata form. The first of these involves appearances of the tonic during the development section, which have been termed medial tonic returns.” The second involves the clear statement of primary theme material in a non-tonic key before the decisive tonic return that initiates the recapitulation proper, which are here dubbed “medial thematic returns.” Both of these formal procedures are commonly discussed as part of the problematic of the so-called “false recapitulation.” The advantages and disadvantages of this concept as a tool for musical analysis have been well-rehearsed by now. By separating the two components of this device—the seemingly preemptory recurrence of the tonic and of the main theme—this article clarifies the analytic problem and shows how a more historical sense of formal process reveals important yet overlooked aspects of Haydn’s evolving approach to symphonic form during his two decades as Prince Esterhazy’s resident symphonist

Mary Hunter and Richard Will, editors, Engaging Haydn: Culture, Context, and Criticism

Taken as a whole, the twelve new scholarly articles in Engaging Haydn: Culture, Context and Criticism, a fine collection edited by Mary Hunter and Richard Will, demonstrate the breadth and depth of a vigorous mainstream of American musicology. This mainstream is neither greatly invested in archival research nor overtly committed to ideological critique, but builds on strong traditions of interpretive, contextualizing criticism, supported by analytic observations, that have flourished in recent decades in Haydn studies as elsewhere

MUSC 104--Music and Modernism in Society, 1885-1945

This course is an exploration of the nature and significance of modernist music in European and American culture and society between 1885 and 1945. It is not a comprehensive survey; rather, the course concentrates on a series of key works, locales, and situations. Along the way, you will be plunged into the often extreme aesthetic experience of modernist music. You will encounter and explore works by a number of the major composers of the era. You will grapple with crucial issues raised by musical modernism, including the interaction of music and cultural politics, the prevalence of scandal in this era, the significance of changing representations of gender and sexuality, the variety of audience and critical responses to new music, the impact of media and technologies impacting music, emerging distinctions between ‘high’ and commercial art, and the fate of music under totalitarianism

Factors determining the performance of private equity funds : a litterature review and an empirical study of the effects of industrial and geographical specialization

The purpose of this report is to explore factors determining the performance of private equity (PE) funds. The first part of the report discusses performance measurement in the PE industry and reviews literature aiming at estimating the historical performance of PE as an asset class. Subsequently, literature on performance determinants in the PE industry is reviewed. The second part of this report is an empirical study based on a mixture of private placement memoranda, due diligence material and other information about 28 PE funds. These funds are described with respect to their general characteristics and investment strategy. Furthermore, the track records of the general partners raising the funds are described and compared to relevant benchmark information from Thomson Financial’s VentureXpert database. Based on the collected data, the effects of geographical and industrial specialization are investigated using univariate analyses and multiple regression. The results indicate that, for the venture capital funds, an exclusive focus on the Nordic region has yielded better performance than a less focused Nordic strategy. What is more, indications that venture funds benefit from specializing industrially is also found. However, simultaneous geographical and industrial specialization is found to have a negative effect. No significant effects of specialization are found in the buyout part of the sample

Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 /

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 25 Nov 2014)

The first edition of Anton Bruckner\u27s Fourth Symphony: Authorship, production and reception

For more than fifty years the first printed edition of Anton Bruckner\u27s Fourth Symphony (1889) has been rejected as a corruption of the composer\u27s intended text. Although this edition, which transmits a distinct version of the symphony, appeared with Bruckner\u27s approval, most scholars now believe that it was bowdlerized. As a result, this text has been dismissed from the canon of Bruckner\u27s works. This dissertation reappraises the validity of this judgment by exploring both the compositional history and the modern reception of this text. The belief that this version of the symphony is corrupt was initially promulgated in the 1930s and enshrined in the commentary to the first modern edition of the symphony, edited by Robert Haas (1936). This view has been handed down as fact for decades, yet if examined critically it is clear that it was shaped by the circumstances in which it originated. Bruckner reception was intensely politicized in the Third Reich and, as I demonstrate, ideology played a determining role in the formulation and legitimation of Haas\u27s interpretation. The remainder of the dissertation reevaluates Bruckner\u27s authorship of the Fourth Symphony by detailing, for the first time, its compositional history. My research shows that Bruckner was fully involved in the preparation of the version of the symphony he published in 1889: he revised the Stichvorlage extensively (virtually every page reveals his handwriting) and there are detailed, if previously unrecognized, references in Bruckner\u27s personal calendars to these revisions. It is undeniable, however, that Bruckner received advice and assistance from others in preparing this version of the symphony. Rather than dismissing the work for this reason, this dissertation draws upon the work of Jerome McGann and others in literary textual criticism to reframe the problem. By placing both authorship and textual production in historical perspective, I show that such collaboration was not editorial interference; rather it was a crucial aspect of Bruckner\u27s final compositional intentions. I conclude that this late published version of the symphony is not only authorial but is, in fact, Bruckner\u27s definitive version of the work