Andrew Kuster
Doctor of Musical Arts in the Literature and Performance of Choral Music
University of Colorado, Boulder
(C) Copyright 2000 Andrew Kuster. All Rights Reserved.
Stravinsky's Topology. Doctoral Dissertation. Boulder, CO: University of Colordao, 2000. www.lulu.com/akuster
Stravinsky's Topology: An Examination of his Twelve-Tone Works through Object-Oriented Analysis of Structural and Poetic-Expressive Relationships with Special Attention to his Choral Works and Threni seeks to explain Stravinsky's implementation of certain row forms for particular formal events or to enhance the poetry in works with words. The investigation presents an analytical method called Object-Oriented analysis. The method is Object-Oriented in the sense that it employs topological figures such as the Torus and also that, like Object-Oriented Programming, data and the operations that work on that data are grouped together. In his twelve-tone works, Stravinsky consistently returns to foundational rows, i.e. rows beginning or ending with the first or last members of the Prime row. Stravinsky employs foundational rows and uses particular row forms to underscore structural areas and to reinforce poetic meaning in Epitaphium, Anthem, Elegy for J. F. K., Fanfare for a New Theater, and The Owl and the Pussy-Cat. In The Flood, a larger work, Stravinsky expands beyond the foundational rows, but the forms he uses are still related to each other in their beginning or ending members. This discussion fully develops the method of Object-Oriented analysis by examining the vocal parts in The Flood and in a thorough study of Stravinsky's largest late work Threni. The investigation concludes with remarks about how a conductor can apply Object-Oriented analysis in the performance of Stravinsky's twelve-tone choral works.
Chapter 1: Introducion
Chapter 2: Analyses and General Characteristics of Stravinsky's Twelve-Tone Music
Chapter 3: Simple Application of Stravinsky's Method in His Short Works
Chapter 4: Extension of Stravinsky's Method in The Flood
Chapter 5: Twelve-Tone Rows and Geometrical Objects
Chapter 6: Threni: Large-Scale Musical-Poetical and Formal Row Employment with Objects
Chapter 7: Conclusion: Applications of Object-Oriented Analysis for the Conductor
Appendix A: Supplemental Matrices and Objects
Appendix B: Selected Bibliography and List of Scores Cited
Kuster, Andrew. "Stravinsky's Topology: An Examination of his Twelve-Tone Works through Object-Oriented Analysis of Structural and Poetic-Expressive Relationships with Special Attention to his Choral Works and Threni." D.M.A. diss., University of Colorado, 2000. WWW, [current date], http://home.earthlink.net/~akuster/music/stravinsky/objects/