Grounded in a Neo-Riemannian analysis of three related transformational phenomena throughout Walküre, Tristan, and Parsifal, I introduce a generalized conception of the “slide” transformation, illustrating that such an analytical approach directly implicates Freud’s conception of the “uncanny” throughout Wagner’s mature works.
Read moreSymmetry from Asymmetry: Brahms's Language
Now we can view the two syntaxes in light of the characteristics they possess: Brahms uses tonality as a strong gravitational force, whereas he calls on voice-leading transformations to neutralize those tonal tendencies. Contrary to intuition, this culture of the syntaxes is not by nature. Indeed, tonality can serve as a means for the most outlandish of modulations (à la Reger’s Modulation), while even bizarre Riemannian transformations can serve to prop up a gravitational tonality rather than deactivate it
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