Webern and "Total Organization": An Analysis of the Second Movement of Piano Variations,

Op. 27
Author(s): Peter Westergaard
Source: Perspectives of New Music, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Spring, 1963), pp. 107-120
Published by: Perspectives of New Music
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 WEBERN AND
"TOTAL ORGANIZATION": AN ANALYSIS
OF THE SECOND MOVEMENT OF PIANO

VARIATIONS, OP. 27

PETER WESTERGAARD

IN ONE SENSE of the phrase a Beethovensymphony is "totally

organized";thatis, all the characteristics of sound thatBeethoven
couldnotate-pitchclass,register, timbre, duration,dynamics, etc.-
participate in, indeedare necessaryto, the organization of the work
as a whole.In theusual,slogan,senseofthephrase,onlyserialmusic
is "totally
organized"; thatis, onlyin serialmusicis thepattern formed
by the variations within each separatecharacteristic easilyanalyzed
andself-contained, onlyin serialmusicdo thepatterns withinseparate
characteristics come froma commonscheme.For in such music
"totalorganization" is to be achievedby the applicationof row pro-
ceduresnotonlyto pitchclass butto othercharacteristics as well.'
Now the championsof serial music have oftenclaimed that
Webern'scompositional techniques, albeitin a rudimentary or incom-
pleteway,foreshadowed theirown.I mustsay thatI haveyetto find
so primitive a procedurein anyofWebern'smusic.For one thing,in
Webern'smusic (as in Beethoven's music) controlof the interaction
betweencharacteristics of soundratherthanpatternmakingwithin
nonpitchcharacteristics is theprincipalconsideration.2 Considerthe
patternswithinseparatecharacteristics in the secondmovementof
Webern'sPiano Variations, Op. 27 (see Ex. 1):
Pitch class: Inversionally relatedrow formsare canonicallydis-
posed.The last noteof each rowformis also thefirstnoteof the
nextrowform.
1 I.e. in the music of the principal European serialists (Boulez, Stockhausen,
e.g.) writtenin the firsthalf of the last decade. It should be clear fromwhat Nono,
that I am not talking about music in which the interactionof characteristicsfollows
is con-
trolledor in which nonpitchcharacteristicsretain theirdifferential role (e.g. Babbitt's
Compositionfor Four Instrumentsfrom 1947-1948).
2 Consideringthe lack of controlof such interactionin
most serial music, the shift
during the latter half of the last decade from "totally predetermined" to "aleatoric"
technique is less radical than commonlysupposed.

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 PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC
4 5
3 I

)?fILit
1
Po: 2 -9 10

45 9
1 2 1 P1-2: 5 1
f7:I2 3 5 p

10 11
I3J59 I.2
2.:

f f
1233 9 9 10
3 1-2 f 4 5 9 11 0: 1 12
6
p12

AE . I2

10 1

3 (5 4 1P4512
) 2 9s.10 12

3 59() 4 IFI
910
iMW

fH2f if p >i
34 s25(5) 5 9 l1 1 12

3 1 11

Rhythm:The timelag ofthecanonis constantat one eighthnote,

forminga successionoffiguresmadeup of twoeighthnotes.The
distancesbetweenbeginningsof consecutive
figures(measuredin
the
eighthnotes) produce followingpattern:
: 3 343 32 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 :11:2 3 32 32 3 3 3 32 3 6 (3):

Articulation
(the closestthe composercan get to controlof piano
timbre):The two-eighth-note figuresare articulated
in fivediscrete
types:

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 WEBERN AND "TOTAL ORGANIZATION"
The patternof successionofthesetypesof articulation
is:
1 :234511243452121 :J:22 22351124425141:1
Dynamics:There are threediscretedynamiclevels: p, f, and ff.
These levelsare canonic,i.e. thelevelis constantwithinanytwo-
eighth-notefigure.The patternmadeby successivefiguresis:
f
pfpfpfpffpfpfpf
::
ffppfffpfpffpffpffff
Thus, whilethe textureof thismusicmay superficially resemble
that of some serial music (note particularly the rapid alternation
amonga limitednumberoflevelsortypesofnonpitch characteristics),
its structuredoes not.None of thepatternswithinseparatenonpitch
characteristicsmakes audible (or even numerical)sense in itself.3
The pointis thatthesecharacteristics are stillplayingtheirtraditional
roleofdifferentiation. They interactwith one anotherand withpitch
to clarifypitchrelationships, out
sorting for theear thosepitchrela-
tionships which are to shape the movement.
For purposesofclarityI havedividedmyanalysisintotwostages:
I. A codification oftheinterrelationships among:
i. thesevendyadsformedby theinversion symmetry aroundA
(A/A, Bb/G#,B/G, C/F4, C4/F, D/E, and Eb/Eb);
ii. thepositionofthesedyadsin thefourpairsofrowforms;
iii. theregistersin whichthedyadsappear;
iv. thefivediscrete typesofarticulationinwhichthedyadsappear:

v. the threediscretedynamiclevelsat whichthesearticulation

typesmayoccur(p, f, and if); and
vi. rhythmic variables(distancebetweenbeginningsof figures,
metricpositionof figures).
II. An interpretationoftheeffects of theseinterrelationships
in such
traditionaltermsas: use ofthemedium,rhythm andmeter,intervallic
detail,large-scaleintervallic
structure (harmonicmotion),and struc-
tureofthemovement as a whole (form).
s I omit registerin this "serial analysis." In fact,controlof registeris of the utmost
importancein Webern but has been little used in the primitiveserial techniques
referredto. Little wonder; it makes too much difference.Imagine all the adjacent or
simultaneousoctaves that would occur if serial procedureshad also been applied to
registerin the locus classicus of primitiveserialism: Boulez' Structures (1952).

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 PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC
I
A. Invariably:
1. The dyadA/A appears p.
2. The dyadEb/Ebappears ofmorethantwonotes
."infigures
( or ) ff.
3. The first
dyadlof eachrowpairis alsothetwelfth dyadof
thepreceding rowpairand alternates betweenBb/G#as
f and otherdyadsas thea 's of ff.All such
,
figures
begin on thesecond of
quarter a measure.
Distances
betweensuchfigures alternatebetweensixmeasures(.0
to ) and fivemeasures ( t to 0 ).
4. TheJ.
sixth,seventh,andeighthdyadsofeachrowpairare
articulated/'. (Withthecuriousexception of thef in
mm.3-4 theyeare all ff.) Theyare theonly'j figures.
The lowerchordis on thefirstbeat.
5. Where or ( figuresoccurat the same pointin
consecutive
4. row is suchthattheinter-
pairs,theregister
vallicstructure
of JI 's and in
's consecutive transposi-
tionsofthesamerowformis mnaintained:

A
and
P m.3 m.8
p

m.4mM.9
m.20
Ex. 2

6. All fffigureshave morethantwo notes.In all fffigures

the lowergroupof notesis on the quarternotebeat, the
upperoff.
covered
B. Wherenotalready bystatements underA:
1. The dyadEb/Ebappearsas the P 's of . (The
Eb/Ebin m. 15 is covered byA4.)
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 WEBERN AND "TOTAL ORGANIZATION"
2. The dyadBb/G#appearsf. (The Bb/G#'sin mm.8-9 and
m. 15 are coveredby A4.)
3. The ninthdyad in a row pair is articulated
. p. (The
A/A in m. 9 is coveredby Al.)
4. Any dyadwhichis the same as an immediately preceding
dyad appearsas a two-notefigurep, and beginsa quarter
note afterthe precedingfigurewhichis f or, because of
A4,ff( for,p ). (TheB/Ginmm.8-9is covered by
A4 and theF/C#in m. 17 by A3.)
5. Dyads describedunderB4 have the same registeras the
immediately precedingdyad.
C. Wherenotalreadycoveredby statements underA or B:
1. The dyadD/E appearsin t figures.(The firstD/E in
m. 15 is coveredby A4; theD/E in m. 4 and thesecond
D/E in m. 15 are coveredbyB3.)
2. The tenthand eleventhdyads appear as e (The
tenthand eleventhdyadsof the fourthrow pair.fin. m. 21
are coveredby Bl.)
3. Dyads keep theregisterin whichtheyoriginally occur:

E !-
P-
kLA
it a
._
~ ii,

._ ,

Ex. 3

(The D/E and B/G in m. 8, theB/G in mm.8-9, thefirst

E/D and theEb/Eb in m. 15, and theB/G in mm. 19-20
are coveredby A5; thesecondE/D in m. 15 and theB/G
in m. 20 are coveredby B5.)
4. is (The in m. 12 is covered B4.)
J. p. figures
5. Consecutive f. have by
contrasting dynamics.(The f-f-
p-p in mm. 11-13 is becauseof A3, B4, and Al.) Where
possiblethedynamiclevelalternates betweenf and p. (The
in m. 6 and m. 17 are coveredby A3, the i 's in
J.8, m. 15, andm. 19 byA4, theEb/Ebin m. 21 A2.)
m. bTy
D. Wherenotalreadycoveredby statements underA, B, or C:
1. The dyads Fg/C and F/C#occurringseparatelyappear
S theseare the only 's. (The C#/Fin m. 17 is
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 PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC
coveredby A3; theC/F#in m. 18 willbe explainedunder
D2.) Occurringconsecutively,F#/Cand F/C#are treated
like repeatingdyadsunderB4. (The Ft/C and the F/Cs
in mm. 3-4 are alreadycoveredby A4.)
2. Bb/G#appearsas . (Bb/G#in mm.8-9 and m. 15 are
coveredby A4. A - 7~ at m. 18 is impossiblebe-
cause of C5. Alternatedynamicsforthe are impos- ,
sible: ffbecause of A6, p because of C5-A/A -T in m. 19
mustbe p becauseof Al.)
3. The dyadB/G appears . (The B/G's in mm.2-3 and
m. 8 are coveredby Cl, J. thosein mm.8-9 and mm. 19-20
by A4, thatin m. 20 by B4.)
4. Consecutivefiguresbegin a dottedquarterapart. (They
begina halfnoteapartin mm.2-4 becauseofA4, a quarter
noteapartin mm.5-6,mm.10-11,andmm. 16-17 because
of C2, in mm. 12-13, m. 15, and mm. 19-20 because of
B4, and a dottedhalf note apart in mm. 21-22 because
of A3.)
Some comments on thepurposeand implications of the above state-
mentsare in order:
i. They are redundant.(For example,all occurrences of Eb/Eb
as P 's are coveredby AS and Cl; Bl is therefore unnecessary.
Such redundancy is indicativeof a tightlyknitorganization.
The 4; at m. 6 is relatednotonlyto the at m. 21
by the common Eb grace notes[B1] butalso to thoseat
. mm. 2-3,
m. 17 andm. 21 bythecommonE andD eighthnotes[Cl] and
at m. 17 by regularity of recurrence--m. 6 to the repeatof
m. 6, repeatofm. 6 tom. 17, m. 17 to therepeatofm. 17 each
elevenhalfnotes[A3].)
ii. Theyaresufficient, giventhesuccessionofpitchclasses,to infer
everyaspect of each momentof themovement. (Indeed, given
thisrow,its canonicdisposition withoutretrograde symmetry,
and thesestatements, we mayinferthe movement, sincethese
are theonlyfourtranspositions ofthisrowwhichsatisfyA3.)
II
A. Use of the medium:
Webern makesconsiderabledemandson the pianist,but thesede-
mandsneverworkagainstthe mechanicsor acousticsof the instru-
4 See Milton Babbitt, "Twelve-tone Invariants as Compositional Determinants,"
Musical Quarterly,for April 1960.
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 WEBERN AND "TOTAL ORGANIZATION"
ment.The pianistis not asked to play A/A - or even1 (See
IA1). The pianistis asked to differentiate betweenthreediscrete
dynamiclevels, as well as fivediscrete articulation
types,but he is
neveraskedto playsinglenotes( , n , or 7 ) ff(See
IA6), or three-note accentedchords ( . j ) p (See- IA4). The
longestsingle notes ( , ) are alwaysfrwhiletheshortest( [r )
are p (See IC4) -with the single exceptionof m. 12 wherethe
changeis made easierto projectbecause of the context:the f
directlyfollowsf 5 (the onlycase wheref followsf). and is. in
turndirectlyfollowedby the same pitchesin the same articulation,
but p.5
B. Rhythmand meter:
The frequency(almost three quartersof the time) with which
consecutive figuresbegina dottedquarterapartconstantly temptsthe
listenerto hear the movementin termsof a 3/8 meter.He will,
however,constantly be joltedout of such a meterby variousirregu-
larities(see the exceptionsto ID4). These irregularities, moreover,
participatein largerregularpatterns,all of whichare measurable
in integralnumbersof halvesor quartersand mostof whichare not
measurablein integralnumbersof dottedquarters:
i. thedistancebetweenterminalfiguresof bothsectionsand their
repetitions (the Bb/G#in m. 11 servesas thelast figurein the
firstsectionand its repetition as well as the firstfigurein the
repetition ofthefirstsectionandsecondsection)is alwayseleven
halves(See IA3). For thelistenerthismeansthatno changein
meteris necessaryto keep the metricpositionof sectionsthe
same forbothstatements-if he hearsthemovement in 2/4.
ii. thedistancesbetweenthelowergroupof notesin all loud (f or
ff,mostlythe latter) figuresinvolvingmore than two notes
( and fl ) are (in order of frequency)five,two,
.. or
twelve, quarters.For the listenerthishelpsdefinethe
thre&e
position of the quarternotebeat.
iii. the distancesbetweenconsecutive low, loud chords(the lower
of the two in any figure) (are eitherfive or six halves
5 Compare the situationin Boulez' Structures.The pianists are asked to differenti-
ate between twelve different ways of playing a note (indicated by no
q,
indication, .,', , 9 -, , ) each one of which may appear in -,any
.,, of twelve
discrete dynamic levels (indicated
and by pppp, ppp, pp, p, quasi p, mp, mf, quasi f, f,
ff,fff,and ffff). For an explanation of the mechanics of the serial procedure, see
Gyorgy Ligeti, "Entscheidung und Automatik in der StructureIa," Die Reihe, iv,
pp. 38-63. Ligeti omits the fourthand tenth articulationtype. He asks rhetorically:
"Was kiinntezwischen * und 'normal' [no indication] oder I und eingeschoben
werden?" (What could be inserted between * and "normal," or :betweenr and
?), but in fact VAand - exist in those in
positions IC.
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 PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC
(See IA5). For thelistenerthishelpsdefinethepositionof the
downbeat.
Thus thewritten meteris no "'pureconvention."6Nor is it difficult
to
if
hear we hear the movement in context:the eighth-note minimal
unitsin a 2/4 meterat J= ca. 160 are precededby sixteenthnotes
in a 3/16 meterat J.= ca. 40 at theend of thefirstmovement and
followedby quarternotesin a 3/2 meterat J= ca. 80 at thebegin-
ningof thelast movement.7
C. Intervallic detail:
One mightsupposethatthe intervalsbetweenconsecutivenotesof
each of the two canonic "voices" (i.e. the row intervals)would
dominatethe foreground. In fact,however,these "voices"are not
voicesinthetraditional sense,butstructural determinants. The effects
ofthesymmetrical disposition of these"voices"on the surface texture
are farmorereadilyperceptible thanthe"voices"themselves. Almost
everyavailablefactorservesto emphasizethe connections between
canonicallycorresponding notes in the two "voices"(the dyads) at
the expenseof the connectionsbetweenconsecutivenotes within
the"voices":8
i. register:the "voices"cross constantly, while registerfor four
of the dyads is constantand forthe otherthreemoreor less
so (See IC3).
ii. correlationbetweenpitchclass and interval class: as a rowform
is transposed, its intervalclasses are associatedwithnew pitch
classes,butbecauseoftheconstantaxisofinversion, theidentity
of thesevendyadsremainsunchangedregardlessof row trans-
position.
iii. dynamics:forthemostpart,consecutive noteswithinthe"voices"
are at a contrasting dynamic levelwhile canonically correspond-
ingnotesare invariably at thesamedynamiclevel.Furthermore,
twoofthesevendyadsalwayskeepthesamedynamiclevel (See
IA1, IA2), anotheralmostalways (See IB2).
iv. articulation: forthemostpart,consecutive noteswithinthetwo
6 See my more general discussion of this problem for the third movementin the
first issue of PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC.
7 The frequencyof certain intervalclasses (0, -- 3, and 6 semitones) at distances
of an even numberof quarternotes establishedby David Lewin ("A Metrical Problem
in Webern's Opus 27," Journalof Music Theory,Spring 1962, pp. 124-133) may also
help establish the meter,but is insufficient
in itself in that it gives no indicationof
where the downbeat is.
s It seems to be commonlyassumed that the "voices" in Webern's structuralcanons
are to be heard as texturalvoices, e.g. Rene Leibowitz, Schoenberg and His School,
translated by Dika Newlin, Philosophical Library, New York, 1949, pp. 211-215,
235-238.
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 WEBERN AND "TOTAL ORGANIZATION"
"voices"are in contrasting whilecanonicallycorre-
articulation,
sponding notes are in the same articulation.
Furthermore, one
of thesevendyadsis alwaysin thesame articulation type(See
IAL), threeare in the same articulation typemoreoftenthan
not (See IB1, IC1, and ID2).
v. rhythm:at least for the firstthree articulationtypes,notes
within"voices"are further apartin time(two or moreeighths,
usuallythree) than canonicallycorrespondingnotes(alwaysone
eighth): thus the one factorwhich consistently identifies
to
whichof two "voices"a notebelongsis its positionin a two-
eighth-notefigure.9
The significantexceptionsto theabovewill all be foundin figuresof
the 4M and articulation
types;here,noteswithina "voice"are
tobe heardat thrsamedynamiclevel,eithersimultaneously andinthe
same articulation or closerin timethan the canonictime lag and
legato,and closerin register
thanmanyofthecanonically correspond-
ing notes.The intervalsemphasizedby thesefiguresare:
a. predominantly odd (coinposedof an odd numberof semitones)
as opposedto theexclusivelyevenintervals ofthedyads,and are
b. thesameas theintervals emphasized at the endofthefirstmove-
mentand thebeginningof thethird.

it.------------

Ex. 4

D. Largerintervallic structure("harmonicmotion"):
Despiteits highlyenergetictexture(the largeintervals, theway the
rhythmic detailworksagainstthemeter,theconstantrapidchanges
ofdynamicsandarticulation) themovement soundshighlystatic.The
emphasisplaced on theseven dyads (See factorsii-vabove) and the
factthatthesedyadsstayforthemostpartin thesameregister(See
IC3) prevents almostall senseofharmonic motion.What sensethere
is is producedbythetransposition of Aa and ( figuresas de-
finedby IA5. Most of thepitchclasses that because
changge'egister
9 Althoughnot completelyconsistent,the disposition
of the handsmightbe con-
sideredas an identifying
factor,at leastforthepianist.
*
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 PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC
of IA5 participatein figures;hencethe harmonicshape of the
movement in thesuccessiveappearancesofthisfigure:
is concentrated

mm.8-9m.15 mm.19-20
mm.3-4

Ex. 5

Variousdetailshelp thesefiguresemergefromthe surrounding fig-

ures: The figureat mm.3-4 createsthefirstdeviationfromthenorm
of dottedquarterbetweenbeginningsof figures(See ID4). (I am
unsurewhythisfigureis notif. Perhapsthecombination of thefirst
rhythmic and the firstdynamicdeviation would be too much.)
The figureat mm.8-9 is immediately precededby the first
deviation
fromthe normalregisterof the dyads (and the onlydeviationnot
occurringin a ( figure):
z. z

S m.6 m.8 p
P m3

originalpatterns (pitchesmaintained) originalpatterns

transposed
Ex. 6

The figureat m. 15 (the pointof climax) is at theend of the only

p fffsuccessioninthemovement.'0 Nevertheless,thetypeofharmonic
motionpresented by thesefiguresis a limitedone. In thefirstplace,
mostofthismotionis withinan essentially stationaryverticalsonority;
that is, most of the dyads in the ( figuresare in theirnormal
register.This is made possible (desptieIA5) by the factthatthe
mostfrequent intervalbetweenadjacentpitchesin theverticalorder-
ing of all dyadswithinvariableregister, the fourth,
by Mr. Tobias Robison.
1oThis pointwas broughtto my attention
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 WEBERN AND "TOTAL ORGANIZATION"

Ex. 7
is also themostfrequent relationshipbetweentranspositionlevelsof
the same row form.(The firstand second,second and third,and
fourthand firstrow formsare a fourthapart.) In the secondplace,
thissameintervalis also presentin thechordto be transposed.Thus
we have an effectsimilarto thatof arpeggiation withoutstepwise
linearmotionin tonalmusic.There is no linearmotionof the kind
whichproducesthestrongest effectof motionin tonalmusic:motion
by step fromone element of the establishedverticalsonorityto
another.Wherelinearmotionby stepoccurs,it is almostexclusively
of the neighbor-notetypeas, forexample,withinthe figures: f

Ex. 8

as well as betweenthepitchesofthe il figuresand thefixedpitches

of the totalverticalsonority, thosereceivingemphasis
particularly
through beingat thebeginningortheendofa section(the A
figures)and theotherfffigures"(see Ex. 9).
11The boundaries of each section are presumably made obvious by the exact
repetition.Thus each section can be thought of as beginning and ending with a
Bb/G#figure:

firstsection secondsection
I m.111 I m.1 m.221 m.22
of
repetition of
repetition
firstsection secondsection

However, in a context in which a number of figures keep recurring exactly, the

repetitionof an entiresection loses some of its obviousness.The terminalBb/G#fig-
ures are of immenseimportanceto the structureof the movement,but are in constant
danger of being submergedin the surroundingdetail in a way that the fffiguresare
not. The following factors help create a strong sense of identityfor the terminal
Bb/G#figures:
1. Both Bb and G$ are so oftenused as the twelfthtone of one row and the first
of the next.
2. Bb/G#when used as a terminal figure is always .' with the Bb first.Other
appearances either reversethe order (m. 5 and m. 15) or change the articula-
tion (mm.. 8-9, m. 15, and m. 18). The interrelationbetween the various
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 PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC

m.6 m.11 m.17m.21m.22

Ex. 9

betweenthe sonorityoutlined
Note the relationships

Ex. 10

and the climaxchords:

Ex. 11

as a whole (form):
ofthemovement
E. Structure
is the basis
structure
Here, as in tonalmusic,largescale intervallic
of form;texturaldetailsserve primarilyto projector clarifythis
structureandtherebytocreateform.Here,as intonalmusic,an analy-

characteristicsof sound would have been a simplerone (and simplerto describe;

see the last exception to ID2) had the last five measures read:

Such a version,however,not only adds a Bb/GS in the order and articulation

type otherwisereservedfor terminalpointsbut also removesthe long rest before
the figurein m. 22, therebymaking the beginning of the second statementof
the second section considerablyless obvious. (For another importanteffectof
this rest, see the end of this article.)
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 WEBERN AND "TOTAL ORGANIZATION"
sis offormin termsoftexturaldetailswithout referenceto theunder-
lyinglarge scale intervallicstructureis misleading.12Equally mis-
leading are those analyses which assume that such an underlying
intervallic
structure is automatically
providedforbytherowscheme.13
Now in facttherow structure of thismovement has a greatdeal to
do withits form.The pitchesof thelarge scale intervallic structure
describedin SectionD (See Exx. 8-11) are made up largelyof
thefirst,second,sixth,seventh, eighth,and twelfthtonesof thevari-
ous rows.'4Butthelistener doesnothearthesepitchesas participating
12 Such as Wilbur Ogdon's analysis of this movement ("A Webern Analysis,"
Journal of Music Theory, Spring 1962, pp. 133-138). Ogdon considers form as
determinedby rhythmand dynamicsindependentof pitch elements.He mentions"the
isorhythmicattitudeof this composition"and continues,"The serial progressionruns
on its own track, as it were, while the rhythmic-formal structuredevelops independ-
ently."Yet not onlyare relationshipsbetweenpitch and nonpitchcharacteristicsfar too
consistentto considerthemas developingindependently(see sectionI of this analysis)
but the "rhythmic-formal structure"is less regular than Ogdon's abstractsimply,and
much less regular than the talea to which he refers.His abstract reads:
Al A2 A3 A4
I al a2 b2 ' j al a2 bl I al b21 al a2 bl
B1 B2 B3 B4
I al bl I a2 b2 I 1
bl al al a2 b2 I(al)
where
al or f followed
bya rest
=J
a2 = p followed
bya rest

bl = for ffFp F followed

bya rest

b22 or followed
bya rest

Certain regularitiesin the abstract are misleading:

1. the regularityof phrase structure.(No reason is given for the placementof the
phrase brackets.The consistencyof the factorswhich tend to produce grouping
in the firstsection-firstunit loud, last unit long-disappears in the second.)
2. the alternationof al, a2, bl, and b2 in B1, B2, and B3. (The numbers have
differentmeanings for a and b.)
S. the symmetricalrelationshipbetween the succession of b's in the two sections-
b2 bl b2 bl and bl b2 bl b2-and the identity of Al and the
"recapitulationphrase," B4. (The b2 in B4 is inaccurate. The end should read
al a2 bl al (al).)
Such
13s analyses are evidentlybased on the widespread argumentthat twelve-tone
techniqueis a substitutefortonalityand that hence row schemes are like key schemes.
A primitiveexample of this kind of analysis would be: At the end of the firstsection
tone twelve of row two becomes tone one of row one for the repetitionof the first
section, but can also become tone one of row three for the beginning of the second
section,just as the dominantat the end of the firstsection of a tonal binaryformcan
lead back to the tonic or lead on to the second section.
14The horizontal and vertical relationships in this
structure, particularly the
identities,are made possible by the frequencyof fourths and major seconds both
between tones one, two, six, seven, eight, and twelve and between the various trans-
position levels used.
. 119 -

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 PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC
in thelargescale intervallic
structureof themovement just because
of theregularityoftheirpositionsin a successionof rows-he hears
themthatwaybecausetheyare sortedoutforhimand made clearto
him by the particularnonpitchcharacteristics the composerhas
assignedto them.
The followingexampleindicatesthestructure of themovement as
a whole. (The numbersindicatethe positionof each note in its
respectiverow;boldfacenumbersmeanthatthenotecomesfroman
inversionform.)
terminal figures

2 2

figures

12
Ex.
Ex. 12

The onlyexceptionto an otherwisecompletely regularpatternis

thefigureat m. 21. Yet it can hardlybe ignoredsimplybecause it
does notfitintothe row schemethe way the otherfiguresdo, par-
ticularlysince it is givenan important positionin the shape of the
movement as we perceiveit. It is by two quarterrests,the
followed
longestsilence in the movement. For a moment m. 21 mightseemto
be theend.Afterall,thesepitchesin thisarticulation at thisdynamic
levelhavealreadybeenusedin thefirstsectionas interior punctuation
(m. 6), and two of thesepitches(E and D) have been used in the
samepositionin thesame articulation typeat thesamedynamiclevel
forthe same purposein thesecondsection(m. 17). Indeed,thisis
the onlyuse of thisarticulation typeat thisdynamiclevelthatdoes
not use the firsttwo tonesof a row and does not dividea section
approximately in half: hencefora momentthe ambiguityat m. 21
and hencetheHaydnesquewit oftheend of themovement.

* 120 *

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