Harmony and Climax in the Late Works of Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Abstract

This dissertation develops a framework for interpreting the interaction of functional tonal structures, equal-interval chromatic structures, and modal structures in Sergei Rachmaninoff’s mature compositions (1909–1940). Three areas of research are involved: 1) harmonic materials, compositional techniques, and expressive characteristics in Rachmaninoff’s style; 2) chromatic and modal theories in general but with special emphasis on Russian repertories; and 3) theories of tonal tension, expressive shape, and climax as applied to Postromantic music. The harmonic language of Rachmaninoff’s mature works may be understood as an amalgam of well formed, differentiated components drawn from the Western common practice and Russian musical traditions. I show that different harmonic components have different rhetorical associations in the works studied; that different components are generally associated with different locations in form; and that acknowledging the interaction of different kinds of harmonic structures in a work contributes significantly to an understanding of expressive trajectory and large-scale organization, and—especially—to exegesis of climax events. Previous studies of Rachmaninoff’s works have with rare exceptions downplayed the significance of both Russian idioms and climax in his works. I argue that reevaluation is warranted on both counts. Although scholars have generally treated climax events as problems to be contained in tonal analysis, I treat them as core events around which to organize an analysis using a strongly tension-oriented approach. Chapters 1 and 2 address issues of form and harmony in Postromantic works in general and Rachmaninoff’s works in particular. I develop a theory of hyperdissonance to aid interpretation of extraordinary harmonic tensions and formal problems that resist explanation in conventional tonal and Formenlehre terms. Chapter 3 outlines the rhetorical associations that the variegated components of Rachmaninoff’s harmonic language have. Chapters 4 and 5 address equal-interval chromatic structures (octatonic, hexatonic, whole-tone) and modal structures (church modes, peremennost, nega) in Rachmaninoff’s mature works. In Chapter 6, the interpretive apparatus of Chapters 1 through 3 and the technical apparatus of Chapters 4 and 5 are applied to Rachmaninoff’s last three compositions: Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 43 (1934), Symphony No. 3, Op. 44 (1936), and Symphonic Dances, Op. 45 (1940).