Schenker's Brahms : analyses in the Oster collection of the New York public library

Helsby, Nathan Edward (2001) Schenker's Brahms : analyses in the Oster collection of the New York public library. University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.

Abstract

The life and work of Heinrich Schenker continues to engage the attention of the academic community. With the opening up to scholarship of the Oster Collection, the principal Nachlass of Schenker's work, our understanding of the theorist is set to be further enriched. This thesis focuses on some unpublished analyses of Brahms, a composer much admired by Schenker but generally neglected in the theorist's published output, with a view not only to uncovering fresh insights into the music, but also to clarifying Schenker's view of Brahms and his output. At the same time, such can help us better understand important aspects of Schenker's theory and its development.

Chapter 1 considers the relationship between the composer and theorist from a personal and professional standpoint, before going on to exemplify and interpret Brahms's appearances in Schenker's publications. In Chapter 2, I provide a survey of the accessible files in the Oster Collection and outline some of the issues involved in studying these materials. The next two chapters form the case studies of the thesis, focusing on unpublished analyses on the chamber music and the opening Allegro con brio from the Third Symphony. The final chapter draws together the various strands that emerge in the main analyses, assessing the value of the unpublished material both for Schenker research and for Brahms analysis, as well as considering the future for work on the Nachlass.

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