Concerto (Webern)
Encyclopedia
Anton Webern
's Concerto for Nine Instruments, Op. 24 (German, Konzert für neun Instrumente, op. 24, 1934) is a twelve-tone
concerto
for nine instruments
: flute
, oboe
, clarinet
, horn
, trumpet
, trombone
, violin
, viola
, and piano
; containing three movement
s: I. Etwas lebhaft, II. Sehr langsam, and III. Sehr rasch; and composed with a derived row
, "often cited [such as by Milton Babbitt
(1972)] as a paragon of symmetrical
construction":
In the words of Luigi Dallapiccola
: "a work of incredible conciseness . . . and of unique concentration . . . . Although I did not understand the work completely, I had the feeling of finding an aesthetic and stylistic unity as great as I could wish for. [Prague, September 5, 1935]".
The second movement, "limits quite severely the values of many domains," for example featuring, "only two durational values (quarter
and half note
[s])," and, partly as a result, "features great uniformity in texture
and gesture".
The tone row may be interpreted as:
019, 2te, 367, 458
The opening displays, "its [the Concertos] distinctive trichord
al structuring," four of which, "comprise an aggregate
," or partition
. "The six combinations of [the partition]'s trichords generate three pairs of complementary
hexachord
s". "Webern takes full advantage of this property [its fourfold degree of symmetry] in the Concerto," that under four appropriate transformations (T0T6I5IB), the tone row
maintains its unordered trichords (j=019,091,etc., k=2te, l=367, and m=458). The hexachord featured is sometimes called the 'Ode-to-Napoleon' hexachord
(014589).
"The Latin square
...clearly shows the built in redundancy of [the] partition," four, and, "needless to say, Webern takes full advantage of this property in the Concerto":
For example, I5 =
548, 376, 2et, 109
Anton Webern
Anton Webern was an Austrian composer and conductor. He was a member of the Second Viennese School. As a student and significant follower of Arnold Schoenberg, he became one of the best-known exponents of the twelve-tone technique; in addition, his innovations regarding schematic organization of...
's Concerto for Nine Instruments, Op. 24 (German, Konzert für neun Instrumente, op. 24, 1934) is a twelve-tone
Twelve-tone technique
Twelve-tone technique is a method of musical composition devised by Arnold Schoenberg...
concerto
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
for nine instruments
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
: flute
Western concert flute
The Western concert flute is a transverse woodwind instrument made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist, flutist, or flute player....
, oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
, clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
, trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
, violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
, and piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
; containing three movement
Movement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
s: I. Etwas lebhaft, II. Sehr langsam, and III. Sehr rasch; and composed with a derived row
Derived row
The term "partition" is also French for the sheet music of a transcription.In music using the twelve-tone technique, derivation is the construction of a row through segments. A derived row is a tone row whose entirety of twelve tones is constructed from a segment or portion of the whole, the...
, "often cited [such as by Milton Babbitt
Milton Babbitt
Milton Byron Babbitt was an American composer, music theorist, and teacher. He is particularly noted for his serial and electronic music.-Biography:...
(1972)] as a paragon of symmetrical
Symmetry
Symmetry generally conveys two primary meanings. The first is an imprecise sense of harmonious or aesthetically pleasing proportionality and balance; such that it reflects beauty or perfection...
construction":
Luigi Dallapiccola
Luigi Dallapiccola was an Italian composer known for his lyrical twelve-tone compositions.-Biography:Dallapiccola was born at Pisino d'Istria , to Italian parents....
: "a work of incredible conciseness . . . and of unique concentration . . . . Although I did not understand the work completely, I had the feeling of finding an aesthetic and stylistic unity as great as I could wish for. [Prague, September 5, 1935]".
The second movement, "limits quite severely the values of many domains," for example featuring, "only two durational values (quarter
Quarter note
A quarter note or crotchet is a note played for one quarter of the duration of a whole note . Often people will say that a crotchet is one beat, however, this is not always correct, as the beat is indicated by the time signature of the music; a quarter note may or may not be the beat...
and half note
Half note
In music, a half note or minim is a note played for half the duration of a whole note and twice the duration of a quarter note...
[s])," and, partly as a result, "features great uniformity in texture
Texture (music)
In music, texture is the way the melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic materials are combined in a composition , thus determining the overall quality of sound of a piece...
and gesture".
The tone row may be interpreted as:
019, 2te, 367, 458
The opening displays, "its [the Concertos] distinctive trichord
Trichord
In music theory, a trichord is a group of three different pitch classes found within a larger group . For example a continguous three note set from a musical scale or twelve-tone row. The term is derived by analogy from the 20th-century use of the word "tetrachord"...
al structuring," four of which, "comprise an aggregate
Chromatic scale
The chromatic scale is a musical scale with twelve pitches, each a semitone apart. On a modern piano or other equal-tempered instrument, all the half steps are the same size...
," or partition
Derived row
The term "partition" is also French for the sheet music of a transcription.In music using the twelve-tone technique, derivation is the construction of a row through segments. A derived row is a tone row whose entirety of twelve tones is constructed from a segment or portion of the whole, the...
. "The six combinations of [the partition]'s trichords generate three pairs of complementary
Combinatoriality
In music using the twelve tone technique combinatoriality is a quality shared by some twelve-tone tone rows whereby the row and one of its transformations combine to form a pair of aggregates...
hexachord
Hexachord
In music, a hexachord is a collection of six pitch classes including six-note segments of a scale or tone row. The term was adopted in the Middle Ages and adapted in the twentieth-century in Milton Babbitt's serial theory.-Middle Ages:...
s". "Webern takes full advantage of this property [its fourfold degree of symmetry] in the Concerto," that under four appropriate transformations (T0T6I5IB), the tone row
Tone row
In music, a tone row or note row , also series and set, refers to a non-repetitive ordering of a set of pitch-classes, typically of the twelve notes in musical set theory of the chromatic scale, though both larger and smaller sets are sometimes found.-History and usage:Tone rows are the basis of...
maintains its unordered trichords (j=019,091,etc., k=2te, l=367, and m=458). The hexachord featured is sometimes called the 'Ode-to-Napoleon' hexachord
'Ode-to-Napoleon' hexachord
In music, the Ode-to-Napoleon' hexachord is the hexachord named after its use in the twelve-tone piece Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte by Arnold Schoenberg . Containing the pitch-classes 014589 it is labeled 6-20 in Allen Forte's taxonomic system...
(014589).
"The Latin square
Latin square
In combinatorics and in experimental design, a Latin square is an n × n array filled with n different symbols, each occurring exactly once in each row and exactly once in each column...
...clearly shows the built in redundancy of [the] partition," four, and, "needless to say, Webern takes full advantage of this property in the Concerto":
| j | k | l | m |
| l | m | j | k |
| m | l | k | j |
| k | j | m | l |
For example, I5 =
548, 376, 2et, 109
Further reading
- Gauldin, Robert (1977). "Pitch Structure in the Second Movement of Weber's Concerto Op. 24.", In Theory Only 2 (10): 8-22. cited in
- Gauldin, Robert (1977). "The Magic Squares of the Third Movement of Webern's Concerto Op. 24." In Theory Only 2 (11-12): 32-42. cited in
- Rahn, John. 1980. Basic Atonal Theory. New York: Longman, Inc. ISBN 0-582-28117-2.
- Stockhausen, KarlheinzKarlheinz StockhausenKarlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...
(1963 [1953]). "Weberns Konzert für neun Instrumente op. 24". In his Texte zur Musik 1, edited by Dieter Schnebel, 24–31. DuMont Dokumente. Cologne: Verlag M. DuMont Schauberg. [First published in Melos, no. 20 (1953), 343–48.] - Wintle, Christopher (1982). "Analysis and Performance: Webern's Concerto Op. 24/II.", Music Analysis 1: 73-100. cited in