Postwar Germanic and Anglophone Formenlehre

In the period since World War II, many theories of musical organization (musical form) have appeared in German-language and Anglophone scholarship. This project aims to uncover the ways that German-language scholarship has influenced its English and North American counterparts in this influential area of musical thought. The study of musical organization is one of the largest areas of music theory. Recently, this study has become more influential through two North American books that present new ideas about how music is organized. These new books, however, at least partly build on work from previous decades in Austria and Germany. By investigating what ideas and traditions appear in the writings of the last decades of the 20th Century and the start of the 21 st Century, this project will draw out the similarities and differences between German-language and Anglophone music scholarship. There are three main areas of investigation within this project: music theory in German- speaking countries, music theory in English speaking countries, and performance and music theory. First, this project starts with a thorough investigation of Austrian and German music theorists such as Erwin Ratz, Erwin Stein, and Carl Dahlhaus. These figures all produced explanations of how classical music is usually put together and how musical themes are usually organized. Some of the ideas put forward by these German-language scholars and musicians became the foundation of subsequent Anglophone scholarship. Second, the project continues with an investigation of English-language theorists such as William Caplin, James Hepokoski, and Charles Rosen. These figures build upon the work of their German- language collogues. The focus of this stage of the research will be to establish which ideas are shared between the different language traditions. Finally, the project investigates the impact of music theories of organization on musical performance. Through measurements taken from many recordings, this project will assess the number of performers that mirror the ideas of music theorists. This project will result in three main outcomes: a series of articles in music theory journals; a music conference; and a book. The articles will address various topics within the overall project. The conference will bring together scholars to discuss the topic of the project from many perspectives. The book will present the findings of the project as a single and thorough source.