Sonata for Two Pianos (Goeyvaerts)
Encyclopedia
Sonata for Two Pianos also called simply Opus 1 or Nummer 1, is a chamber-music work by Belgian composer Karel Goeyvaerts
, and a seminal work in the early history of European serialism
.
, five years his junior and at the time and a student in his last year at the Cologne Conservatory
. Goeyvaert's and Stockhausen's analysis and performance of the second movement of the Sonata in Theodor W. Adorno
's composition seminar had considerable significance for those young composers eager to develop serial thinking. The influence of the Sonata is also evident in Stockhausen's early serial compositions (Delaere 2001), particularly Kreuzspiel
, which Stockhausen began composing on his way home from Darmstadt and finished on 4 November 1951 (Sabbe 1981, 18–19). Adorno, however, did not appreciate the qualities of the work's second movement, because he could not find any motivic coherence in it. When Goeyvaerts found it difficult to defend himself in German (a language in which he was not fluent), Stockhausen stood up for his friend, telling Adorno, "you are looking for a chicken in an abstract painting" (Stockhausen 1989, 36).
Although originally titled Sonata for Two Pianos, Goeyvaerts later sought to accentuate the innovative intent of the work by referring to it simply as Opus 1 or Nummer 1 (Blumröder 1993, 38).
's Livre d'Orgue (Sabbe 1994, 64).
It is among the earliest examples of multiple or integral serialism, though it is something of a hybrid work. The outer movements relapse into older patterns and do not exhibit the technical purity and perfection of structural organisation found in the middle movements (Delaere 1994, 13; Delaere 1998). It was only with his Nummer 2
for 13 instruments that Goeyvaerts found a way of composing in which absolutely everything, from the overall form down to the tiniest detail, is governed by one and the same serial principle (Delaere 2001). The second movement in particular, with its isolated tones, is an example of punctual
music (Stockhausen 1989, 36).
The pitch
organisation is not based on a twelve-tone row
, but rather on a fourteen-note structure, organised into pairs of seven-note sets
. With reference to the chromatic total
, these sets are complementary
, except they both include the two pitches A and E (Sabbe 1981, 7). A possible model is the fourteen-tone series serving as the theme of the variation movement in Schoenberg's Serenade op. 24 (Sabbe 1994, 59).
One technique used in the Sonata to preserve an equilibrium amongst several parameters is the "synthetic number". This term was coined by Goeyvaerts and Stockhausen to describe a homeostatic
system based on the reconciliation of tendencies, where an increase in one dimension (e.g., duration) results in a decrease in another dimension (e.g., loudness) (Sabbe 1981, 20–21). The method used in the Sonata involves combining the numerical values assigned to the elements in each of four parameters (pitch, duration, loudness, and mode of attack) such that their sum will always be 7 (Sabbe 1994, 55, 71).
Karel Goeyvaerts
Karel Goeyvaerts was a Belgian composer.-Life:After studies at the Royal Flemish Music Conservatory in Antwerp, Goeyvaerts studied composition in Paris with Darius Milhaud and analysis with Olivier Messiaen...
, and a seminal work in the early history of European serialism
Serialism
In music, serialism is a method or technique of composition that uses a series of values to manipulate different musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, though his contemporaries were also working to establish serialism as one example of...
.
History
Goeyvaerts composed the Sonata during the winter of 1950–51, and brought the score with him when he attended the Darmstädter Ferienkurse in the Summer of 1951. There he met Karlheinz StockhausenKarlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz 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"...
, five years his junior and at the time and a student in his last year at the Cologne Conservatory
Hochschule für Musik Köln
The Cologne University of Music is a music college in Cologne, and Germany's largest academy of music.-History:The academy was founded by Ferdinand Hiller in 1850 as Conservatorium der Musik in Coeln...
. Goeyvaert's and Stockhausen's analysis and performance of the second movement of the Sonata in Theodor W. Adorno
Theodor W. Adorno
Theodor W. Adorno was a German sociologist, philosopher, and musicologist known for his critical theory of society....
's composition seminar had considerable significance for those young composers eager to develop serial thinking. The influence of the Sonata is also evident in Stockhausen's early serial compositions (Delaere 2001), particularly Kreuzspiel
Kreuzspiel
Kreuzspiel is a composition by Karlheinz Stockhausen written for oboe, bass clarinet, piano and four percussionists in 1951 ....
, which Stockhausen began composing on his way home from Darmstadt and finished on 4 November 1951 (Sabbe 1981, 18–19). Adorno, however, did not appreciate the qualities of the work's second movement, because he could not find any motivic coherence in it. When Goeyvaerts found it difficult to defend himself in German (a language in which he was not fluent), Stockhausen stood up for his friend, telling Adorno, "you are looking for a chicken in an abstract painting" (Stockhausen 1989, 36).
Although originally titled Sonata for Two Pianos, Goeyvaerts later sought to accentuate the innovative intent of the work by referring to it simply as Opus 1 or Nummer 1 (Blumröder 1993, 38).
Material and form
The Sonata for Two Pianos is in four movements, which are simply designated with Roman numerals and metronome markings. Movements I and II are presented in retrograde to form movements III and IV—a pattern that may have been suggested by the four sections of the first piece in Olivier MessiaenOlivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...
's Livre d'Orgue (Sabbe 1994, 64).
It is among the earliest examples of multiple or integral serialism, though it is something of a hybrid work. The outer movements relapse into older patterns and do not exhibit the technical purity and perfection of structural organisation found in the middle movements (Delaere 1994, 13; Delaere 1998). It was only with his Nummer 2
Nummer 2
Nummer 2 for thirteen instruments is a composition written in 1951 by the Belgian composer Karel Goeyvaerts....
for 13 instruments that Goeyvaerts found a way of composing in which absolutely everything, from the overall form down to the tiniest detail, is governed by one and the same serial principle (Delaere 2001). The second movement in particular, with its isolated tones, is an example of punctual
Punctualism
Punctualism is a style of musical composition prevalent in Europe between 1949 and 1955 "whose structures are predominantly effected from tone to tone, without superordinate formal conceptions coming to bear"...
music (Stockhausen 1989, 36).
The pitch
Pitch (music)
Pitch is an auditory perceptual property that allows the ordering of sounds on a frequency-related scale.Pitches are compared as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies,...
organisation is not based on a twelve-tone row
Twelve-tone technique
Twelve-tone technique is a method of musical composition devised by Arnold Schoenberg...
, but rather on a fourteen-note structure, organised into pairs of seven-note sets
Set theory (music)
Musical set theory provides concepts for categorizing musical objects and describing their relationships. Many of the notions were first elaborated by Howard Hanson in connection with tonal music, and then mostly developed in connection with atonal music by theorists such as Allen Forte , drawing...
. With reference to the chromatic total
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...
, these sets are complementary
Complement (set theory)
In set theory, a complement of a set A refers to things not in , A. The relative complement of A with respect to a set B, is the set of elements in B but not in A...
, except they both include the two pitches A and E (Sabbe 1981, 7). A possible model is the fourteen-tone series serving as the theme of the variation movement in Schoenberg's Serenade op. 24 (Sabbe 1994, 59).
One technique used in the Sonata to preserve an equilibrium amongst several parameters is the "synthetic number". This term was coined by Goeyvaerts and Stockhausen to describe a homeostatic
Homeostasis
Homeostasis is the property of a system that regulates its internal environment and tends to maintain a stable, constant condition of properties like temperature or pH...
system based on the reconciliation of tendencies, where an increase in one dimension (e.g., duration) results in a decrease in another dimension (e.g., loudness) (Sabbe 1981, 20–21). The method used in the Sonata involves combining the numerical values assigned to the elements in each of four parameters (pitch, duration, loudness, and mode of attack) such that their sum will always be 7 (Sabbe 1994, 55, 71).
Discography
- Fünfzig Jahre neue Musik in Darmstadt. Vol. 1. CD recording. Col Legno WWE 1CD 31894. Includes Goeyvaerts: Sonata for Two Pianos (second movement), performed by the composer and Karlheinz Stockhausen. Munich: Col Legno, 1996.
- Goeyvaerts, Karel. The Serial Works [#1–7]. Champ d'Action (Jan Michiels and Inge Spinette, pianos, in Nr. 1). Megadisc MDC 7845. Gent: Megadisc Classics, 1998.
Further reading
- Christiaens, Jan. 2003. "'Absolute Purity Projected into Sound': Goeyvaerts, Heidegger and Early Serialism". Perspectives of New Music 41, no. 1 (Winter): 168–78.
- Moelants, Dirk. 2000. "Statistical Analysis of Written and Performed Music: A Study of Compositional Principles and Problems of Coordination and Expression in 'Punctual' Serial Music." Journal of New Music Research 29, no. 1 (March): 37–60.