Interpreting Musical Gestures, Topics, and Tropes: Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert

"Robert Hatten's new book is a worthy successor to his Musical Meaning in Beethoven, which established him as a front-rank scholar... in questions of musical meaning.... [B]oth how he approaches musical works and what he says about them are timely and to the point. Musical scholars in both musicology and theory will find much of value here, and will find their notions of musical meaning challenged and expanded." --Patrick McCreless

This book continues to develop the semiotic theory of musical meaning presented in Robert S. Hatten's first book, Musical Meaning in Beethoven (IUP, 1994). In addition to expanding theories of markedness, topics, and tropes, Hatten offers a fresh contribution to the understanding of musical gestures, as grounded in biological, psychological, cultural, and music-stylistic competencies. By focusing on gestures, topics, tropes, and their interaction in the music of Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert, Hatten demonstrates the power and elegance of synthetic structures and emergent meanings within a changing Viennese Classical style.

Musical Meaning and Interpretation--Robert S. Hatten, editor

"Robert Hatten's new book is a worthy successor to his Musical Meaning in Beethoven, which established him as a front-rank scholar ... in questions of musical meaning.... [B]oth how he approaches musical works and what he says about them are timely and to the point. Musical scholars in both musicology and theory will find much of value here, and will find their notions of musical meaning challenged and expanded."

Robert Hatten's new book is a worthy successor to his MusicalMeaning in Beethoven, which established him as a front-rank scholar... in questionsof musical meaning.... B]oth how he approaches musical works and what he says aboutthem are timely and to the point. Musical scholars in both musicology and theorywill find much of value here, and will find their notions of musical meaningchallenged and expanded. -- Patrick McCreless

This bookcontinues to develop the semiotic theory of musical meaning presented in Robert S.Hatten's first book, Musical Meaning in Beethoven (IUP, 1994). In addition toexpanding theories of markedness, topics, and tropes, Hatten offers a freshcontribution to the understanding of musical gestures, as grounded in biological, psychological, cultural, and music-stylistic competencies. By focusing on gestures, topics, tropes, and their interaction in the music of Mozart, Beethoven, andSchubert, Hatten demonstrates the power and elegance of synthetic structures andemergent meanings within a changing Viennese Classicalstyle.

Musical Meaning and Interpretation -- Robert S. Hatten, editor

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part I. Markedness, Topics, and Tropes

1. Semiotic Grounding in Markedness and Style: Interpreting a Style Type in the Opening of Beethoven's Ghost Trio, Op. 70, no. 1

2. Expressive Doubling, Topics, Tropes, and Shifts in Level of Discourse: Interpreting the Third Movement of Beethoven's String Quartet in B Major, Op. 130

3. From Topic to Premise and Mode: The Pastoral in Schubert's Piano Sonata in G Major, D. 894

4. The Troping of Topics, Genres, and Forms: Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler

Part II. Musical Gesture

Introduction to Part II

5. Foundational Principles of Human Gesture

6. Toward a Theory of Musical Gesture

7. Stylistic Types and Strategic Functions of Gestures

8. Thematic Gesture in Schubert: The Piano Sonatas in A Major, D. 959, and A Minor, D. 784

9. Thematic Gesture in Beethoven: Sonata for Piano and Cello in C Major, Op. 102, no. 1

10. Gestural Troping and Agency

Conclusion to Part II

Part III. Continuity and Discontinuity

Introduction to Part III

11. From Gestural Continuity to Continuity as Premise

12. Discontinuity and Beyond

Conclusion

Notes

Bibliography

Index of Names and Works

Index of Concepts