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 O rder N u m b er 8727617

Expanded tonality in the late chamber works of Sergei Prokofiev

Kaufman, Rebecca Sue, Ph.D.

University of Kansas, 1987

Copyright © 1987 by Kaufman, Rebecca Sue. All rights reserved.

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 EXPANDED TONALITY IN THE LATE CHAMBER WORKS

OF SERGEI PROKOFIEV

by

Rebecca S . Kaufman

B.M.E., Southwestern College, 1978

M.M., University of Kansas, 1983
M.Phil., University of Kansas, 1985

Submitted to the Department of Music and

Dance and the Faculty of the Graduate School
of the University of Kansas in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Music Theory.

Dissertation Committee

Cha

Dissertation defended: March 1987

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 © 1987

Rebecca S . Kaufman

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

TABLE OF C O N T E N T S ................................... iii

LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES * ...................... . = v

LIST OF G R A P H S ....................................... xiv

LIST OF F I G U R E S ............................ . . xviii

PREFACE ........................................... xix

Chapter

I. THE ANALYSIS OF TWENTIETH-CENTURY TONAL

M U S I C ........................................... 1

Historical Definitions of Tonality .......... 1

Tonal S y s t e m s ................................. 5
Tonal Perception.............................. 11
The Analytic Procedure . „ . . ..............16

II. SERGEI PROKOFIEV: A SURVEY OF THE LIFE

OF A SOVIET C O M P O S E R ............................ 26

III. THE STRING QUARTET NO. 2, OP. 9 2 ................ 48

The First M o v e m e n t ............................ 53

The Second M o v e m e n t .............. 80
The Third M o v e m e n t ........................... 100
Expanded Tonality in the Second String
Q u a r t e t ................................... 122

IV. THE SONATA FOR FLUTE AND PIANO, OP. 94 . . . . 126

The First M o v e m e n t ........................... 129

The Second M o v e m e n t ......................... 154
The Third M o v e m e n t ........................... 179
The Fourth M o v e m e n t ......................... 194
Expanded Tonality in the Flute Sonata . . . 222

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 v. THE SONATA FOR V IO L IN AND PIANO, OP. 80 ... 225

The First M o v e m e n t ....... .. .............. 230

The Second M o v e m e n t .................... 249
The Third M o v e m e n t ...................... 277
The Fourth M o v e m e n t .................... 294
Expanded Tonality in theViolinSonata. . . 319

VI. THE SONATA FOR CELLO ANDPIANO, OP. 119 . . . 324

The First M o v e m e n t .......................330

The Second M o v e m e n t .....................363
The Third M o v e m e n t .......................383
Expanded Tonality in theCelloSonata . . . 409

VII. S U M M A R Y ................................... 412

BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................... 426

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 LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES

Example Page

3.1. Prokofiev, String Quartet No. 2, first

movement, meas. 1 ...................... 54

3.2. First movement, theme 1, meas. 1 - 4 ............ 55

3.3. First movement, theme 2, meas. 28-31 ........ 55

3.4. First movement, closing theme, meas. 48-51 . . 56

3.5. First movement, meas. 19-26 57

3.6. First movement, meas. 43-47 59

3.7a. Folksong No. 11 from Taneyev's collection . . 60

3.7b. Prokofiev, String Quartet No. 2, first

movement, closing theme, meas. 48-56 ........ 61

3.8. First movement, meas. 62-66 64

3.9. First movement, meas. 73-76 65

3.10. First movement, meas. 96-97 66

3.11. First movement, meas. 103-06 ................. 67

3.12. First movement, meas. 115-20 ................. 68

3.13. First movement, meas. 151-54 ................. 69

3.14. First movement, meas. 155-59 ................. 70

3.15. Second movement, meas. 5-6 ................... 82

3.16a. Miaskovsky, Symphony No. 23, third move­

ment, meas. 1-14, the folksong "Islambei" . . 83

3.16b. Prokofiev, String Quartet No. 2, second

movement, meas. 1 1 ......................... 84

3.17a. Folksong No. 10 from Taneyev's collection . . 85

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 Example Page

3.17b. Prokofiev, String Quartet No. 2, second

movement, meas. 36-52 . . . . . 86

3.18. Second movement, meas. 1-2 ................... 87

3.19. Second movement, meas. 9-10 87

3.20. Second movement, meas. 12-13 ................. 89

3.21. Second movement, meas. 14-16 ................. 90

3.22. Second movement, meas. 26-35 ................. 91

3.23. Second movement, meas. 146-54 94

3.24. Second movement, meas. 154-55 95

3.25. Second movement, meas. 157-60 96

3.26. Third movement, meas. 1 - 4 ................... 101

3.27. Third movement, meas. 12-13, cello only . . 101

3.28. Third movement, meas. 263-66, melody only . 102

3.29a. Miaskovsky, Symphony No. 23, first

movement, meas. 132-39 ..................... 103

3.29b. Prokofiev, String Quartet No. 2, third

movement, meas. 1 - 7 ......................... 103

3.30. Third movement, meas. 92-100 ............... 104

3.31. Third movement, meas. 177-78 ............... 104

3.32. Third movement, meas. 263-66 ............... 105

3.33. Dissonantand dual-entity harmonies .... 107

3.34. Third movement, meas. 120-23 ............... 109

3.35. Third movement, meas. 149-58 ............... 110

3.36. Third movement, meas. 195-96 ............... Ill

3.37. Third movement, meas. 205-06 ............... 112

3.38. Third movement, meas. 255-62 ............... 112

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 Example Page

3.39. Third movement, meas. 326-28, 332-33,

344-45 ...................................... 115

3.40. Third movement, meas. 427-31 ............... 117

3.41. Third movement, meas. 435-39 ............... 118

4.1. Prokofiev, Flute Sonata, first movement,

theme la, meas. 1 - 4 ........................ 130

4.2. First movement, theme lb, meas. 9-10 .... 131

4.3. First movement, theme lc, meas. 15-16 ... 131

4.4. First movement, theme 2, meas. 20-25 .... 132

4.5. First movement, theme 3, meas. 42-44 .... 133

4.6. First movement, meas. 5 - 8 .......... 135

4.7. First movement, meas. 13-16 136

4.8. First movement, meas. 26-29 138

4.9. First movement, meas. 38-41 139

4.10. First movement, meas. 8 1 - 8 8 ................. 141

4.11. First movement, coda, meas. 123-30 ......... 143

4.12. Second movement, part one, meas. 7-18 . . . 155

4.13. Second movement, part one, meas. 19-27 . . . 156

4.14. Second movement, part one, meas. 82-88 . . . 156

4.15. Second movement, part two, meas. 162-73 . . 157

4.16. Second movement, part two, meas. 174-77 . . 158

4.17. Second movement, meas. 27-29 ............... 160

4.18. Second movement, meas. 42-58 ............... 162

4.19. Second movement, meas. 60-63 ............... 163

4.20. Second movement, meas. 77-86 .............. 164

4.21. Second movement, meas. 157-61 166

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 Example Page

4.22. Second movement, meas. 208-20 168

4.23. Second movement, meas. 348-59 169

4.24. Second movement, meas. 367-70 170

4.25. Third movement, part one, meas. 1-18 . . . . 181

4.26. Third movement, part two, meas. 34-37 . . . 182

4.27. Third movement, meas. 43-47 184

4.28. Third movement, meas. 57-67 186

4.29. Third movement, meas. 82-89 187

4.30. Third movement, meas. 92-94 188

4.31. Fourth movement, refrain, meas. 1-5 .... 196

4.32. Fourth movement, refrain, meas. 17-20 . „ . 197

4.33. Fourth movement, episode 1, meas. 30-35 . . 198

4.34,. Fourth movement, episode 2, meas. 84-90 . . 199

4.35. Fourth movement, meas. 9-10 200

4.36. Fourth movement, meas. 21-30 .............. 202

4.37. Fourth movement, meas. 72-83 .............. 205

4.38. Fourth movement, meas. 103-07 207

4.39. Fourth movement, meas. 117-21 208

4.40. Fourth movement, meas. 167-69 210

4.41. Fourth movement, meas. 170-74 211

5.1. Prokofiev, Violin Sonata, first movement,

refrain, meas. 1 - 1 6 ......................... 234

5.2. First movement, episode 1, meas. 17-27 . . . 235

5.3. First movement, episode 2, meas. 51-55 . . . 235

5.4. First movement, episode 3, meas. 79-81 . . . 236

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 Example Page

5.5. First movement, meas. 103-07 ............... 237

5.6. First movement, meas. 28-40 239

5.7. First movement, meas. 49-51 240

5.8. First movement, meas. 60-69 . 241

5.9. First movement, meas. 98-107 ............... 243

5.10. Second movement, theme 1, meas. 1-8 .... 250

5.11. Second movement, theme 2, meas. 50-64 ... 251

5.12. Second movement, theme 3a, meas. 82-85 . . . 252

5.13. Second movement, theme 3b, meas. 86-89 . . . 252

5.14. Second movement, theme 3c, meas. 92-95 . . . 253

5.15. Second movement, theme 4, meas. 133-41 . . . 253

5.16. Second movement, meas. 1-8 ................. 255

5.17. Second movement, meas. 9-14 256

5.18. Second movement, meas. 38-50 ............... 257

5.19. Second movement, meas. 100-103 .......... 260

5.20. Second movement, meas. 104-15 .......... 261

5.21. Second movement, meas. 153-66. . . . . . . 263

5.22. Second movement, meas. 167-70.... .......... 264

5.23. Second movement, meas. 274-77.... .......... 266

5.24. Second movement, meas. 289-92.... .......... 267

5.25. Second movement, meas. 293-300... .......... 268

5.26. Third movement, part one, meas. 7-14 . . . . 279

5.27. Third movement, part two, meas. 29-31 . . . 280

5.28. Third movement, meas. 1 - 2 .............. 280

5.29. Third movement, meas. 25-28 282

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 Example Page

5.30. Third movement, meas. 32-39 283

5.31. Third movement, meas. 40-42 284

5.32. Third movement, meas. 90-96 286

5.33. Fourth movement, part one, meas. 1-4 . . . . 297

5.34. Fourth movement, part two, meas. 51-59 . . . 297

5.35. Fourth movement, part two, meas. 59-65 . . . 298

5.36. Fourth movement, part four, meas. 128-30 . . 298

5.37. Fourth movement, part five, meas. 195-200 . 299

5.38. Fourth movement, meas. 213-14 .......... 300

5.39. Fourth movement, coda, meas. 223-29 .... 301

5.40. Fourth movement, meas. 17-21 ............... 302

5.41. Fourth movement, meas. 30-38 ............... 303

5.42. Fourth movement, meas. 39-43 ............... 304

5.43. Fourth movement, meas. 80-88 ............... 305

5.44. Fourth movement, meas. 95-101 .......... 306

5.45. Fourth movement, meas. 133-34, 157-59 . . . 308

5.46. Fourth movement, meas. 181-88 .......... 309

5.47. Fourth movement, meas. 192-94 .......... 310

5.48. Fourth movement, meas. 195-200.... .......... 311

5.49. Fourth movement, meas. 2 1 0 . 312

5.50. Fourth movement, meas. 230-33..... .......... 313

6.1. Prokofiev, Cello Sonata, firstmovement,

theme la, meas. 1 - 5 ......................... 331

6.2. Firsu movement, theme lb, meas. 13-15 . . . 332

6.3. First movement, meas. 71-74 332

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 Example Page

6.4. First movement, transition, meas. 22-26 . . 333

6.5. First movement, theme 2a, meas.33-36 . . . 334

6.6a. First movement, theme 2b, meas.49-51 . . . 334

6.6b. Prokofiev, Alexander Nevskv, "The Field

of the Dead," meas. 1 1 - 1 2 ............... 335

6.7. Cello Sonata, first movement, meas. 3-11 . . 336

6.8. First movement, meas. 17-21 337

6.9. First movement, meas. 27-33 338

6.10. First movement, meas. 37-41 339

6.11. First movement, meas. 41-48 340

6.12. First movement, meas. 49-59 341

6.13. First movement, meas. 69-70 342

6.14. First movement, meas. 71-74 342

6.15. First movement, meas. 77-82 343

6.16. First movement, meas. 87-90 344

6.17. First movement, meas. 104-10 ............... 345

6.18. First movement, meas. 112-15 .............. 346

6.19. First movement, meas. 115-20 ............... 347

6.20. First movement, meas. 128-35 ............... 348

6.21. First movement, meas. 159-61 ............... 349

6.22. First movement, meas. 223-31 .............. 352

6.23. First movement, meas. 239-43 .............. 353

6.24. Second movement, part one, meas.1-6 . . . . 364

6.25. Second movement, part one, meas. 13-17 . . . 365

6.26. Second movement, part one, meas. 25-58. . . 366

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 Example Page

6.27. Second movement, part two, meas. 50-57 . . . 367

6.28. Second movement, part two, meas. 66-71 . . . 368

6.29. Second movement, meas. 15-17 .............. 369

6.30. Second movement, meas. 21-25 .............. 370

6.31. Second movement, meas. 30-34 .............. 371

6.32. , Second movement, meas. 41-49 .............. 372

6.33. Second movement, meas. 67-72 ........... = . 373

6.34. Second movement, meas. 78-82 ... 374

6.35. Second movement, meas. 90-93 . . . . . . . . 375

6.36. Second movement, meas. 109-13 376

6.37. Third movement, refrain, first thematic

idea, meas. 1 - 8 ............................. 384

6.38. Third movement, refrain, second thematic

idea, meas. 18-24 385

6.39. Third movement, episode 1, first thematic

idea, meas. 32-39 386

6.40. Third movement, episode 1, second

thematic idea, meas. 47-51 .......... 386

6.41. Third movement, episode 1, third thematic

idea, meas. 5 9 - 6 3 ........................... 387

6.42. Third movement, episode 1, fourth

thematic idea, meas. 68-71 .......... 387

6.43. Third movement, episode 2, meas. 108-11 . . 388

6.44. Third movement, coda, meas. 199-201 . . . . 389

6.45. Third movement, meas. 7 - 9 .............. 390

6.46. Third movement, meas. 27-30 ........ 391

6.47. Third movement, meas. 38-39, 46-47, 58-59 . 393

6.48. Third movement, meas. 59-63 ........ 394

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 Example Page

6.49. Third movement, meas. 76-81 . .......... 395

6.50. Third movement, meas. 94-105 .............. 396

6.51. Third movement, meas, 112-13 ............ 397

6.52. Third movement, meas. 133-38 ............... 398

6.53. Third movement, meas. 194-99 ............... 400

6.54. Third movement, meas. 2 1 2 ................... 402

6.55. Third movement, meas. 218-21 ............... 403

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 LIST OF GRAPHS

Graph Page

3.1. String Quartet No. 2, first movement,

middleground graph of the exposition ........ 72

3.2. First movement, middleground graph of

the d e v e l o p m e n t .............................. 75

3.3. First movement, middleground graph of

the recapitulation............................ 77

3.4. Structural background of the first

m o v e m e n t ...................................... 79

3.5. Second movement, middleground graph of

part o n e ...................................... 97

3.6. Second movement, middleground graph of

part t w o ...................................... 98

3.7. Second movement, middleground graph of

part t h r e e .................................... 99

3.8. Structural background of the second

m o v e m e n t ..................................... IOC

3.9. Middleground graph of the third movement . . 119

3.10. Structural background of the third

m o v e m e n t ..................................... 122

4.1. Flute Sonata, first movement, middle-

ground graph of the exposition...............145

4.2. First movement, middleground graph of

the d e v e l o p m e n t ............................. 148

4.3. First movement, middleground graph of

the recapitulation............ 150

4.4. Structural background of the first

m o v e m e n t ..................................... 152

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 Graph Page

4.5. Second movement, middleground graph of

part o n e ..................................... 172

4.6. Second movement, middleground graph of

part t w o ............................ 175

4.7. Second movement, middleground graph of

part t h r e e ................................... 177

4.8. Structural background of the second

m o v e m e n t ..................................... 178

4.9. Third movement, middleground graph of

part o n e ..................................... 190

4.10. Third movement, middleground graph of

part t w o ..................................... 192

4.11. Third movement, middleground graph of

part t h r e e ................................... 193

4.12. Structural background of the third

m o v e m e n t ..................................... 194

4.13. Fourth movement, middleground graph of

part o n e ..................................... 213

4.14. Fourth movement, middleground graph of

part t w o ..................................... 217

4.15. Fourth movement, middleground graph of

part t h r e e ................................... 219

4.16. Structural background of the fourth

m o v e m e n t ..................................... 221

5.1. Violin Sonata, middleground graph of

the first m o v e m e n t ........................... 245

5.2. Structural background of the first

m o v e m e n t ..................................... 248

5.3. Second movement, middleground graph of

the exposition............................... 270

5.4. Second movement, middleground graph of

the d e v e l o p m e n t ............................. 272

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 Graph Page

5.5. Second movement, middleground graph of

the recapitulation........................... 275

5.6. Structural background of the second

m o v e m e n t ...................... 276

5.7. Third movement, middleground graph of

part o n e ..................................... 288

5.8. Third movement, middleground graph of

part t w o ..................................... 290

5.9. Third movement, middleground graph of

part t h r e e ................................... 292

5.10. Structural background of the third

m o v e m e n t ..................................... 293

5.11. Middleground graph of the fourth movement . 315

5.12. Structural background of the fourth

m o v e m e n t ..................................... 319

6.1. Cello Sonata, first movement, middleground

graph of the e x p o s i t i o n ..................... 354

6.2. First movement, middleground graph of

the d e v e l o p m e n t ............................. 357

6.3. First movement, middleground graph of

the recapitulation and c o d a ................. 359

6.4. Structural background of the first

m o v e m e n t ..................................... 362

6.5. Second movement, middleground graph of

part o n e ............................ . . . 378

6.6. Second movement, middleground graph of

part t w o ..................................... 380

6.7. Second movement, middleground graph of

part three .................... . 382

6.8. Structural background of the second

m o v e m e n t ..................................... 383

6.9. Middleground graph of the third movement . . 404

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 Graph Page

6.10. Structural background of the third

m o v e m e n t ........................ 409

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 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1.1. Register designations ....................... 25

3.1. String Quartet No. 2, second movement,

formal design .............................. 81

4.1. Flute Sonata, fourth movement, formal

d e s i g n ....................................... 195

5.1. Violin Sonata, first movement, formal

d e s i g n ....................................... 233

5.2. Fourth movement, formal design ............. 296

6.1. Cello Sonata, first movement, harmonic

reduction of the first part of the coda . . 351

6.2. Third movement, harmonic reduction of

meas. 2 1 2 - 1 9 ................................. 402

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 PREFACE

Music in the twentieth century exhibits more

diversity in compositional procedures than in any

previous period of music. There are compositions that

rely on the tonal structures of previous periods and,

conversely, those which deliberately avoid tonal

implications. Between these two extremes is a

significant body of compositions that use one or more

pitches as an organizational center without the

superstructure of functional harmony. Traditional

methods of harmonic analysis have often proved

inadequate in view of the changing definition of

tonality.

In the music of Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953), one of

the foremost composers in the first half of the

twentieth century, one finds a tonal language based on

an expansion of the traditional major-minor tonal

system. Pitch events outside the major-minor system

function alongside traditional elements. Since tonality

continues to be an important organizational element of

twentieth-century music, a study of Prokofiev's tonal

language contributes to an understanding of tonality in

the twentieth century.

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 The late chamber music of Prokofiev offers a glimpse

of his mature style. After he returned to the Soviet

Union in 1936, he composed the following chamber works:

the String Quartet No. 2, op. 92 (1942); the Sonata for

Flute and Piano, op. 94 (1943), arranged for violin and

piano (1944); the Sonata for Violin and Piano, op. 80

(1938-46); and the Sonata for Cello and Piano, op. 119

(1949). These compositions were chosen for their close

historical proximity, similarity within a particular

genre, lack of programmatic and textual requirements,

and crystallization of musical expression.

A discussion of the analysis of twentieth-century

tonal music and an overview of Prokofiev's life and

works will precede the analyses of the four chamber

works. A summary of important findings will conclude

the study.

For the sake of consistency, all of the musical

examples from Prokofiev's music are taken from the

collected works of Prokofiev published by Belwin Mills.

In the Belwin Mills edition, the Flute Sonata appears as

the Second Violin Sonata; the violin version includes

bowings and some double stops. The differences between

the two versions do not affect the tonal perception of

the work or the analysis.

A study of this scope would not be possible without

the generosity of other people. The author gratefully

xx

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 acknowledges the guidance of Stanley Shumway, the

dissertation adviser. His patience, inspiration, and

scholarship are exemplary. The other members of the

dissertation committee— J. Bunker Clark, Edward Mattila,

and John Pozdro— have devoted a significant amount of

time and energy toward the completion of this project.

Special thanks are extended to Edward Williams and Harley

Wagler for their timely contributions to the chapter on

the Second String Quartet. Ginger.and Ken Ratzlaff and

the Department of Economics provided computer resources

during crucial stages of this project. Most of all, the

author expresses gratitude to her husband Dennis for his

constant support and encouragement.

xxi

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 CHAPTER I

THE ANALYSIS OF TWENTIETH-CENTURY TONAL MUSIC

Historical Definitions of Tonality

An analysis of tonal music in the twentieth century

must begin with a definition of tonality. Historically,

the word tonality has been applied to various levels of

tonal consciousness. Jean-Philippe Rameau, in his

Traite de l'harmonie (1722), provided the first concept

of tonality with specific rules for a particular tonal

system. The first use of the actual word tonalite as a

scale on which music is based appears in

Alexandre-Etienne Choron's treatise Sommaire de

l'histoire de la musicrue (1810) . A French lexicon,

Dictionnaire de musique moderne (1821), written by

Francois Castil-Blaze, included a definition that

designated the tonic, subdominant, and dominant as the

fundamental pitches in a key. Francois-Joseph Fetis,

often credited with the origin of the word tonality,

recognized it as a scale with certain pitches having

some measure of repose, a definition found in the

preface to the third edition of his Traite complet de la

theorie et de la pratique de l'harmonie (1844). In the

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 2

late nineteenth century, Hugo Riemann, in his

Vereinfachte Harmonielehre (1893), held that all

tonality is based on the functions of the tonic,

subdominant, and dominant. Since Riemann's time, the

meaning of tonality has often implied the functional

relationships of the three primary' chords in the major-

minor system.1

The current usage of the term tonality allows for

the many ways in which it can be established. In its

broadest sense, tonality refers to the relationship

among pitches such that preference is given to one or

more tones or pitch events. The system of relationships

may resemble a hierarchy of pitches or at least a

gravitational pull toward the tonic. This general

definition of tonality appears frequently in theoretical

works. The standard reference works confirm the many

possible tonal relationships beyond the major-minor

system: Willi Apel compares tonality to ". . . the

general principle of relaxation of tension, tension

being the particular state that implies a resolution,

information on the historical definitions of

tonality was compiled from Matthew Shirlaw. The Theory
and Nature of Harmony (London: Novello, 1917; 2nd reprint
ed., Sarasota, Florida: Birchard Coar, 1970): Bryan
Simms, "Choron, Fitis, and the Theory of Tonality,"
Journal of Music Theory 19, no.l (Spring 1975): 112-38;
and The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
(1980), s.v. "Tonality," by Carl Dahlhaus.

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 3

i.e., a return to relaxation, a stable state";2 Carl

Dahlhaus, writing in The New Grove Dictionary of Music

and Musicians, discusses several possible tonal systems,

but he limits the tonic category to just one pitch.3

The authors of The Language of Twentieth Century Music

assign the term centric priority to tonal structures

that exist outside of the major-minor system with one

pitch as tonic.4

Other scholars generally agree to the potentiality

of more than one pitch serving as tonic. In his book

Structural Functions of Music. Wallace Berry describes

tonality as

a formal system in which pitch content is perceived

as functionally related to a specific pitch-class or
pitch-class-complex of resolution, often
preestablished and preconditioned, as a basis for
structure at some understood level of perception.
The foregoing definition of tonality is applicable
not just to the "tonal period" in which the most
familiar conventions of tonal function are practiced
(roughly the eighteenth and the nineteenth
centuries), but through earlier modality and more
recent freer tonal applications as well.5

2Willi Apel, "Atonality," Harvard Dictionary of

Music. 2nd ed. (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press
of Harvard University Press, 1972), p. 62.

3The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians

(1980), s.v. "Tonality," by Carl Dahlhaus.

4Robert Fink and Robert Ricci, "Centric Priority,"

The Language of Twentieth Century Music: A Dictionary of
Terms (New York: Schirmer Books, 1975), p. 13.

5Wallace Berry, Structural Functions in Music

(Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1976), p. 27.

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 4

Paul Harder contributes this interpretation: "Tonality

is the tonal orientation which results from the pre­

eminence of a single pitch, or pitch complex, with other

pitches assuming various degrees of secondary

importance."6 Roy Travis, in his article "Towards a New

Concept of Tonality?", offers a similar explanation:

"Music is tonal when its motion unfolds through time a

particular tone, interval, or chord."7

From these sources and others, it becomes clear that

the definition of tonality should not be limited to one

particular tonal system, the major-minor system.

Although the major-minor system influences many

twentieth-century works, it obviously cannot account for

all tonal music. Charles Burkhart explains the danger in

carrying the major-minor system too far:

Although we must be aware of forcing on a work the

familiar norms of the tonal system when they no
longer apply, there is no doubt that many individual
works feature one or more pitch classes that, like
the tonic triad in a tonal work, clearly have highest
priority in that work. Such pitches may take the
form of a triad, a triad to which one or more tones
are added, a polytriad, a nontriadic chord, an
interval, or a single tone. Such constructs are
sometimes loosely referred to by the term "tonic
sonority," but their superficial resemblance to the
role played by the tonic triad in a tonal work should
not be overstr’‘
.ssed; in tonal music the tonic triad
brings with it a complete closed system that operates

6Paul 0. Harder, Bridge to Twentieth Century Music:

A Programmed Course (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1973), p. 1.

7Roy Travis, "Towards a New Concept of Tonality?",

Journal of Music Theory 3, no. 2 (November 1959): 261.

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 5

consistently within a large repertoire— a system,

moreover, whose operations are so firmly established
that a single note can sometimes imply one or more
other notes not explicitly stated— whereas a given
"tonic sonority" may function as such in only one
work, and must establish its own system all by
itself.8

Tonal Systems

The establishment of a system of tonal relationships

can occur in several ways. In their book A Generative

Theory of Tonal Music. Fred Lerdahl and Hay Jackendoff

outline three elements that contribute to a tonal

system: "a pitch collection or scale, a member of the

pitch collection designated as tonic, and a measure of

relative stability among members of the pitch collection

(particularly with respect to the tonic.)"9 Relative

stability, as defined by the authors, refers to "relative

consonance and dissonance.1110 Typically, the tonic is

emphasized by a secondary source of stability, the

dominant, though the dominant, if considered as a

function and not just a pitch, may not be a perfect fifth

above the tonic. In addition to a dominant,, cadences and

melodic shapes also emphasize the tonic. The relative

8Charles Burkhart, Anthology for Musical Analysis.

4th ed. (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1986), p.
435.

9Fred Lerdahl and Ray Jackendoff, A Generative

Theory of Tonal Music (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT
Press, 1983), p. 294.

10Ibid., p. 295.

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 stability among members of the pitch collection emerges

from various elements: melody, harmony, and harmonic

progression.11

Historically, the evolution of common-practice

harmony can be grouped into four stages: unitonic, in

which functional progressions dominate; transitonic,

which focuses on the dissonance of the dominant seventh

chord within functional progressions; pluritonic, which

includes modulation to distantly related keys; and

omnitonic, in which any sonority can function in relation

to any other sonority.12 Music of the nineteenth century

falls into the pluritonic category with traditional

functional harmony articulating the tonic and controlling

the sense of progression. Twentieth-century tonal music

may be pluritonic or omnitonic.

In reference to the major-minor system, Hugo Riemann

organized all chords into either tonic, dominant, or

subdominant functions. Allen McHose expands this to four

classifications of diatonic chords, which are in a

specific order and position in relation to the tonic.13

11Ibid., p. 296.

12Michael R. Rogers, Teaching Approaches in Music

Theory; An Overview of Pedagogical Philosophies
(Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois
University Press, 1984), p. 56.

13Allen Irvine McHose, Basic Principles of the

Technioue of 18th and 19th Century Composition (New York:
Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1951), pp. 129-35.

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 The basic principle of chord classes can be expanded to

include chromatically altered chords, as illustrated by

Stanley Shumway.14 Marion Guck, in an article on the

functional relations of chords, proposes a theory of

harmonic relations similar to that of McHose based on a

categorization of four possible harmonic functions: 1)

tonic; 2) post-tonic, plagal, or pre-domincint; 3)

dominant; and 4) closing tonic. Guck's theory considers

substituted chords within the general context of

perceived functions and makes it easy to identify the

unusual characteristics of a piece.15

A definition of functional harmony that goes one

step further comes from Allen Forte : "... the term

functional relationship designates a necessary

interdependence between two (or more) tones so that the

presence of one generally implies the presence of the

other (or others)."16 This explanation allows for the

identification of important pitch relationships in

whatever tonal system they appear. One should be

cautious, though, because of the specific connotations

14Stanley Shumway, Harmony and Ear Training at the

Keyboard. 4th ed. (Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown), p. 176.

15Marion A. Guck, "The Functional Relations of

Chords: A Theory of Musical Intuitions," In Theory only
4, no. 6 (November-December 1978): 29-42.

16Allen Forte, Contemporary Tone-Structures (New

York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia
University, 1955), p. 9.

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 associated with the term functional harmony. Until a

broader definition of the term becomes standardized, a

clarification should accompany its usage.

Another manifestation of tonality relies on what is

commonly known as nonfunctional harmony, or harmonic

relations that defy analysis by functional means.

Richard Chrisman attaches the label "axis tonality" to

music that has a tonal center, but without the

traditional functional relationships.17 Though some

nonfunctional harmonies are actually substitutes for

functional ones, other relationships cannot be

categorized. An analysis of this type of nonfunctional

harmony requires an accounting of the important voice

leading characteristics and intervallic arrangements to

determine significant tonal features. John Pozdro, in

his article "Resources for the Interpretation of

Nonfunctional Tertian Harmonic Progression," outlines a

useful method of analysis based on careful and

systematic observation of salient elements in a

nonfunctional harmonic progression. The aural

implications of a particular passage determine the

identification of significant relationships, which might

not be apparent from the visual notation. This method

17Richard Chrisman, "A Theory of Axis Tonality for

Twentieth Century Music" (Ph.D. dissertation, Yale
University, 1969), p. 5.

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 helps to uncover the reasons why certain progressions

make aural sense, but cannot be clearly understood with

traditional methods of analysis.18

In addition to the use of nonfunctional harmony, a

weakening of functional implications occurs when the

harmony is a product of linear motion, which seems to be

the case in many twentieth-century works. In reference

to harmony in twentieth-century music, one textbook

states, "The combinations of the lines (chords) obscured

tonality because of almost continual chromatic activity

and modulation. As a result, functional harmony ceased

to be the only viable determinant of tonal

organization.1,19 The direct result of this linear

emphasis often surfaces as frequent root movement by

minor or major second and a change in musical syntax.

In twentieth-century tonal works, several possible

pitch systems exist: either 1) functional harmony no

longer plays such an important role; or 2) different

pitches substitute for traditional functional

relationships; or 3) sonorities relate to each other in

new ways, the omnitonic stage. In any particular work,

18John Pozdro, "Resources for the Interpretation of

Nonfunctional Tertian Harmonic Progression," American
Music Teacher 32, no. 1 (Septeraber-October 1982): 22-23.

19Horace Reisberg, "The Vertical Dimension in

Twentieth-Century Music," in Aspects of Twentieth-Centurv
Music, ed. Gary E. Wittlich (Englewood Cliffs, New
Jersey: Frentice-Hall, 1975), p. 323.

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 10

a pitch hierarchy may be difficult to ascertain.

Michael Rogers lists several concepts that identify the

various roles of an emphasized pitch:

1. Centricity— a pitch structure in which one.

tone is made to serve (and be perceived) as
referential to all the others.
2. Tonality— the sum of relationships and
attractions that projects the centricity of a
keynote. . . .
3. Polarity— tones other than tonic serving as
secondary focuses or goals, thus providing the basis
for tonal movement: departure and return.
4. Tonicization— a momentary strengthening of
secondary elements (treating them as if they were
temporary tonics) but within a stable key. . . .20

Rogers goes on to list other harmonic principles, such

as chromaticism and cadences, that help to define a

tonal system.

Lerdahl and Jackendoff, dealing with the perception

of tonality, recognize the problems in identifying a

hierarchical structure in many twentieth-century works:

. . . to the degree that the applicability of

these various aspects of musical grammar are
attenuated, the listener will infer less hierarchical
structure from the musical surface. As a result,
nonhierarchical aspects of musical perception (such
as timbre and dynamics) tend to play a greater,
compensatory role in musical organization. But this
is not compensation in kind; the relative absence of
hierarchical dimensions tends to result in a kind of
music perceived very locally, often as a sequence of
gestures and associations. Its complexity often
resides in the extreme refinements of individual
nuances.21

20Rogers, p. 54.

21Lerdahl and Jackendoff, p. 298.

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 11

Numerous twentieth-century tonal systems deserve

mention, but cannot be explored in detail. Wallace

Berry lists the following tonal systems as a

"conjectural set of classifications of levels of

significance of tonal function" existing beyond the

conventional major-minor system: tonality of quasi-

functional manifestations; extended (expanded) tonality;

tonal flux extinguishing, or severly attenuating, tonal

function; and multitonality or pantonality.22 other

tonal systems associated with particular composers

include Bartok's axis tonality (as proposed by Lendvai),

Scriabin's chord center, Milhaud's polytonality,

Stravinsky's polarity, and Hindemith's series

relationships.23

Tonal Perception

The analysis of tonal music is contingent upon our

ability to perceive a tonal center and associated

functions. The appropriateness of a particular analysis

ultimately rests with the aural impressions, not the

visual notation.

At a fundamental level, music is heard as a series

of patterns. Comprehensible patterns usually consist of

22Berry, p. 172.

23A brief explanation of each system appears in The

New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1980), s.v.
"Tonality."

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 12

a unit of two to five pitches, which are contextually

placed in relation to the patterns surrounding it. Ear

training, as a musical skill, builds on the process by

which patterns are organized into structures. The recall

of these structures indicates the development of

audiation, or the ability to mentally hear something

without the actual sound being present.24

Numerous studies have attempted to explain the

capacity for musical perception. Some limit themselves

to one element such as melody or rhythm; others link

music theory to linguistic theory. One such study, A

Generative Theory of Tonal Music by Lerdahl and

Jackendoff, presents a strong case for the consideration

of music theory as a cognitive science. In their book,

they attempt to verbalize the principles by which music

is organized and perceived as an organic whole. The term

generative relates to linguistic theory in the use of its

mathematical definition, which is 11. . . t o describe a

(usually infinite) set by finite formal means."25

Generative theory permits the development of a musical

grammar, which can offer insights into the many

formations of tonal music.

24Edwin E. Gordon, Learning Sequence and Patterns in

Music, rev. ed. (Chicago; G.I.A. Publications, 1977), pp.
1-46.

25Lerdahl and Jackendoff, p. 6.

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 13

Four components comprise their theory: 1) grouping

structure, which can be heard as motives, phrases, etc.;

2) metrical structure, or the function of strong and weak

beats; 3) time-span reduction, which recognizes the

structural importance of certain pitches over others; and

4) prolongational reduction, a way to express tension and

relaxation in hierarchical terms.26 On the basis of the

four components, Lerdahl and Jackendoff set up rules for

possible and preferred structural descriptions. These

rules allow them to make cognitive judgments about the

specific qualities of a work. The result is recognition

and documentation of musical intuition. Near the end of

the book, in a discussion of contemporary music, the two

authors acknowledge that a lack of relative pitch

stability in a composition forces the listener to depend

on other elements for a hierarchical organization of the

music.27

Richard Norton, in his book Tonality in Western

Culture, also approaches tonality from a perceptual

standpoint. He describes five interconnected principles

that affect our perception of tonality: 1) pitch

selectivity; 2) melodic gesture; 3) linguistic

preformation; 4) durational preeminence; and 5) vertical

26Ibid., pp. 8-9.

27Ibid., p. 298.

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 14

motion. Pitch selectivity identifies the group of

pitches in use, which in turn determines the cognitive

level and degree of expectation. Melodic gesture

defines and organizes the pitch system, thus becoming

the most accessible element in a composition. The

concept of linguistic preformation relates musical

grammar to linguistic grammar, particularly in vocal

music but also extending to instrumental music. The

temporal weight of one pitch throughout a work

accentuates its role as tonic, which is Norton's

principle of durational preeminence. Vertical sonority

refers to the harmonic element, which is closely related

to melody because of its melodic origin. All of these

factors influence our perception of tonality in any given

work, and thus the analysis of that work.28

Further work on music cognition can be found in a

collection of essays entitled Musical Structure and

Cognition. compiled by Peter Howell, Ian Cross, and

Robert West. In the second essay in the collection, the

three editors survey past literature on perception,

including Lerdahl and Jackendoff's book and Schenker's

theories, and propose guidelines for the development of

a model of perceived musical structure. Several basic

28Richard Norton, Tonality in Western Culture

(University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press,
1984), pp. 58-79.

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 15

principles form the basis for their guidelines: 1) the

need to choose the most important elements rather than

try to account for everything; 2) the determination of

how elements and patterns fit together or contrast with

each other; and 3) the ability to distinguish between

what is and is not structurally important. The

guidelines they suggest could produce several models

depending on the actual data used.29

Although the specifics of musical perception may be

difficult to discern, we still can recognize the way in

which they influence a sense of tonality in a work and

the resulting analysis. In the eighteenth and

nineteenth centuries, tonal cognition grew from the

functional relationships of tonic, subdominant, and

dominant. Even though the major-minor system became

quite elaborate through chromatic alterations, the focus

on the tonic remained, for the most part, clear. In the

twentieth century, different factors contribute to the

recognition of tonality, but we still depend on the

strong expectation inherent in the dominant-tonic

relationship to confirm a sense of a tonal center. The

strength of the dominant-tonic expectation may enrich

29Robert West, Peter Howell, and Ian Cross,

"Modelling Perceived Musical Structure," in Musical
Structure and Cognition, ed. by Peter Howell, Ian Cross,
and Robert West (London: Academic Press, 1985), pp. 21-52.

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 16

new tonal systems or it may be a hindrance to their

acceptance.

The Analytic Procedure

An analytic procedure applied to twentieth-century

music requires a flexible approach that is suggested by

the music itself. The definition of analysis reflects

the proper priorities: "[Analysis is] the resolution of

a musical structure into relatively simpler constituent

elements, and the investigation of the functions of those

elements within that structure."30 Analysis should

increase our understanding of a composition by relating

significant information about a work to the piece as a

whole. Too often, a description of detail is offered as

an analysis; without the consideration of the role of

particular details within the context of the entire work,

the analysis lacks substance. Allen Forte, in his book

Contemporary Tone-Structures. explains that

In a very definite sense, an effective analysis

synthesizes: it provides new insights, which, in a
process of reorganization and consolidation, lead to
greater knowledge. . . .
. . . One should be fully aware, however, that
the analysis of a work is an abstraction of that work
and is not to be identified with the work itself . .
• •
31

30The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians

(1980), s.v. "Analysis," by Ian D. Bent.

31Forte, p. 1.

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 17

Analysis is a combination of "explanations, connections,

relationships, patterns, hierarchies, and

comparisons.1,32 Ultimately, the most significant

observations are based on the unique characteristics of

a particular work.

The nonverbal nature of music makes a verbal

discussion problematic. At best, an analysis should be

presented in a form that relates directly to the music,

either with actual musical notation or something that

suggests musical representation. "Analysis is designed

to direct your attention to certain selected features in

the music, and symbols are chosen which are appropriate

to the purpose served."33 This may take the form of an

annotated score, analytic sketch, letter and number

symbols, or verbal description— an effective analysis

usually combines several approaches.

The process of analysis has several implications

beyond itself. Through analysis, one discovers both the

stylistic features of a composer or group of composers

and the broader concepts of how music operates.

Composers find a rich resource in the works of other

composers, which in turn enriches their own work. In the

immediate sense, analysis directly affects performance.

32Rogers, pp. 75-76.

33Harder, p. 127.

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 18

The most effective and meaningful performances highlight

the significant connections and interrelationships in the

music. Ultimately, a performance should illuminate the

fundamental pattern of a piece, as it appears in detail

and over a longer span. Without a deep understanding of

a work, the performer risks a shallow and overtly

technical rendition that does not communicate effectively

to the listener.

If analysis is intended to reveal musical structure,

then the analytic approach should account for the ways in

which the structure is presented and reinforced. To

understand the detail in relation to the whole, it must

be assumed that not all pitches are equal in structural

importance. Evaluation becomes a critical part of the

process of analysis. The natural order of observation,

from small details to large spans, makes obvious sense in

the presentation of an analysis, too.

One of the most helpful analytic methods with which

to discover musical structure is a theory developed by

Heinrich Schenker. Schenkerian analysis, which is based

on the primacy of linear associations in conjunction with

harmonic implications, provides a way to illustrate

long-range tonal relationships and the relative

importance of secondary pitches. According to Allen

Forte and Steven Gilbert in their book Introduction to

Schenkerian Analysis. " . . . tonal music is 'music in a

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 19

key.' If a piece is in a given key, it will communicate

that fact by intelligibly involving the tonic scale and

triad as a frame of reference.1,34 Although the technical

aspects and notation of Schenkerian analysis were

designed for music based on the major-minor tonal system,

the basic philosophy behind Schenkerian analysis, which

is the recognition of hierarchical musical structure, can

be applied to tonal music based on other tonal systems.

An analytic method influenced by Schenker, or an

adaptation of Schenkerian analysis that retains the

important features of his theories yet allows for other

manifestations of tonality, can reveal significant

information about twentieth-century tonal music. In

addition, a significant advantage of Schenkerian

analysis is the use of symbolic notation, which can

replace lengthy verbal explanations. The application of

structural analysis in no way precludes the use of other

analytic methods; in this study, it seems to be the most

appropriate primary procedure because of the types of

tonal configurations in the works being analyzed.

By observing the structural levels and linear

connections contained in a nontraditional tonal system,

one can gain a greater understanding of the way in which

the tonal system operates. Felix Salzer, in his own

34Allen Forte and Steven E. Gilbert, Introduction ..to

Schenkerian Analysis (New York; W.W. Norton, 1982), p. 131.

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 20

version of Schenkerian analysis contained in his book

Structural Hearing, explains the significance of

structural analysis in terms of chord grammar and chord

significance. In his view, traditional Roman numeral

analysis accounts for chord grammar, but fails to

illustrate the relative importance of chords in relation

to each other. Structural analysis accounts for the

contextual significance of chords in addition to their

grammatical use.35 Forte and Gilbert describe the

concept of chord significance in this manner: "The

function of a note is determined by its harmonic and

contrapuntal setting."36 This accounting of both the

vertical and horizontal function of any given note

allows for a better understanding of its role in the

tonal system. This does not imply that structural

analysis can account for all elements in a composition;

its limitations suggest additional analysis.

The structural levels of Schenkerian analysis

illustrate broad tonal relationships in addition to

significant detail. The three categories of structural

levels— foreground, middleground, and background— each

provide important information and are thus equally

35Felix Salzer, Structural Heading: Tonal Coherence

in Music (New York: Charles Boni, 1952; reprint ed., New
York: Dover Publications, 1962), p. 10.

36Forte and Gilbert, p. 11.

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 21

valid. Forte provides a useful description of these

levels, particularly as they might apply to

nontraditional tonal systems:

Foreground characteristics might be, for example

embellishments of various kinds, or the relative
loudness or softness of a composition. In contrast,
the background is the basic structure, the tonal
skeleton, divested of detail. And the middleground
is midway between these two; it includes details, yet
it reveals the essential elements of the structural
background.37

In Schenker's view, the background conforms to one of

three possible patterns based on a descent from the

primary tone to the tonic. The process by which the

background is discerned is also applicable to tonal

systems other than the major-minor system. A more

useful model of schenker's background is as an

illustration of the basic idea that the surface detail

embellishes and emphasizes, be it a tonic triad or some

other cell or single pitch.

The middleground, in its position one step removed

from detail yet not as sparse as the background, often

yields the most useful information about a composition

because it emphasizes contextual pitch relationships

without the burden of surface detail. The foreground

level, primarily a description of important details and

surface relationships, has often been used as a complete

analysis by inexperienced students. When it is combined

37Forte, Contemporary Tone-Structures. p. 8.

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 22

with the middleground and background levels, significant

conclusions about the tonal structure of a composition

can be obtained.

The analytic notation associated with Schenkerian

analysis consists of standard musical notation in a

different context. The relative importance of an

individual pitch, depending on its melodic and harmonic

context, is depicted with a graduated system of

noteheads having no rhythmic implications. Beamed and

stemmed white noteheads represent the most important

pitches in a work. In descending order of importance,

the other notehead symbols are the stemmed black notehead

and the black notehead without a stem. Dependency among

pitches is illustrated with beams, slurs, and ties.

Beams are used for significant long-range relationships,

and slurs are generally confined to motion closer to the

foreground level. As a general rule, conjunct and

disjunct motion are not combined within one slur. Each

note must be accounted for by either a beam, slur, or

tie; in this way, it becomes clear that the function of

individual pitch events occur within the context of other

pitch events.

Another important concept in Schenkerian analysis is

prolongation. Forte and Gilbert define prolongation as

"... the ways in which a musical component— a note

(melodic prolongation) or a chord (harmonic

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 23

prolongation)— remains in effect without being literally

represented at every moment."38 Prolonged pitches are

stemmed and sometimes connected to the same pitch later

in the graph with a dotted slur, which indicates a tie.

Important types of prolongational relationships include

the prolonged tonic or dominant and the large-scale

neighboring tone.

The most important pitches of the upper fundamental

line have a scale degree designation with a caret (1) in

addition to a beam. If the upper fundamental line

descends from scale degree five to one, for example, one

should not assume that all five pitches are structurally

equal. The first note, or Schenker's primary tone, and

the final tonic usually have more structural weight than

the intervening pitches. In some instances, a conjunct

descent does not emerge because one or more pitches are

either absent or lack emphasis. In any case, the

particular work establishes its own background that is

reinforced at all structural levels, even though the

background pattern may not conform to Schenker's standard

patterns.

In the following chapters, foreground detail is

discussed in conjunction with examples from the score.

The middleground graphs include the most important

38Forte and Gilbert, p. 142.

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 24

foreground details along with significant events beyond

the foreground level. In the middleground graphs, two

notational symbols for conjunct lines are borrowed from

Schenkerian analysis. Important foreground motions are

notated as noteheads contained within a slur. On a

larger scale, a conjunct line of structural significance

in which every pitch is harmonized over a longer span of

time illustrates what Schenker defines as a linear

progression. A beam, in a position that cannot be

confused with the beam of the fundamental line, connects

the pitches in a linear progression. A stemmed note with

a flag represents a structurally significant pitch event,

either a neighboring tone or some other note that is

prolonged over a period of time. Register transfer or

coupling can be shown in two ways, either with a dotted

slur, which is particularly appropriate for long-range

transfers, or with a diagonal arrow for transfers near

the foreground level.

At the middleground level, notes appear in their

original octave register. Registral adjustments, which

allow the fundamental line to appear in its obligatory or

primary register, are most prominent at the background

level. In the analyses to follow, the discussion

proceeds from the foreground to the background. The

designation of pitches in a particular register will

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 25

adhere to the standard numbering system found in the

theory literature (Fig. l.i).

Fig. 1.1. Register designations.

Further explanation of the analytic graphs will be

included in each of the analyses.

« .d

In the music of Prokofiev, tonality exi sts as an

expanded version of the major-minor tonal system. The

term expanded in this context refers to extensions and

additions to the framework of traditional functional

harmony. Prokofiev's distinctive brand of expanded

tonality appears both within phrases and sections and at

places of structural importance, as evidenced in the

following chapters.

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 CHAPTER II

SERGEI PROKOFIEV: A SURVEY OF THE LIFE

OF A SOVIET COMPOSER

The circumstances and events surrounding the

composition of a musical work contribute to that work in

tangible and intangible ways. In the particular case of

Soviet composers in the first half of this century, the

policies of the Central Committee of the Communist Party

directly affected the lives of individual composers, yet

the Party could not exert total authority over composers'

output. After the Bolsheviks established control in

1917, deviation from the Party's position and any form of

recognizable protest resulted in public reprimands, but

the creative spirit never disappeared. The struggle

between Party demands and free creativity has dominated

musical life in the Soviet Union since the 1930s. In the

final analysis, the context in which a work is composed

is subsidiary to the music itself; nevertheless, one

needs to be aware of the social and political conditions

in order to understand a composer's works. An

interesting case in point is Sergei Prokofiev, who was

26

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 27

born in Russia in 1891 and died in the Soviet Union in

1953.

During his lifetime, Prokofiev lived and worked in

two worlds, one inside Russia and the Soviet Union, the

other outside. He left the Soviet Union for professional

reasons and returned years later for nostalgic ones. At

one point in his life, he claimed to be untouched by

political undercurrents, but he later realized the

inescapable interdependency of music and life in Soviet

society. In an effort to understand Prokofiev's role as

a composer in the Soviet Union, a survey of his life and

important political events will illuminate the inside

and outside forces on his life.

From 1891, the year he was born, until 1918,

Prokofiev lived in Russia. His musical skills developed

early in his life, and because he was an only child in a

well-to-do household, his parents arranged for the best

musical training they could afford— private tutoring by

Reinhold Gliere, and study at the St. Petersburg

Conservatory. When Prokofiev's father died in 1910, his

mother sought employment in order to keep her son in

school.

J Prokofiev's study at the conservatory did not

progress smoothly; his unconventional musical ideas and

belligerent attitude frustrated his teachers. Although

Prokofiev gradually lost respect for his instructors, he

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 benefited from the intellectual exchange and lifelong

friendship of his fellow students, among them the

composer Nikolai Miaskovsky and Boris Asafiev, a

musicologist. Compositions from Prokofiev's

conservatory years include the first four piano sonatas

(although the third and fourth sonatas were revised in

1917) and the first two piano concertos. As an example

of the level of his self-confidence, Prokofiev's entry

in the piano performance competition was his own First

Piano Concerto, which earned him a first prize over the

objections of some of the judges, including Alexander

Glazunov. Upon finishing his studies, Prokofiev

embarked on a solo career as a pianist while continuing

to compose.

During the years of World War I, 1914-18, he wrote

the Scythian Suite, the First Violin Concerto, The Tale

of the Buffoon. Visions Fugitive. The Gambler, and his

Symphony No. 1, better known as the Classical Symphony.

The Evenings of Contemporary Music in St. Petersburg, a

series of concerts devoted to avant-garde music,

afforded numerous occasions for Prokofiev to perform his

own works. Some critics welcomed the freshness of

Prokofiev's compositional style and his bravura as a

pianist, while others called him the new enfant

terrible.

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 29

Because Prokofiev focused all of his energy on his

developing solo career, he was unaware of the growing

political tension in Russia, especially during the year

1917. On 7 November 1917,1 Lenin and the Bolsheviks

seized power in Russia. The change in government

brought with it a change in domestic policy— the

Bolsheviks tried to regulate and control all cultural

activities. Some of the changes instituted included: 1)

the nationalization of the Moscow and Petrograd

(formerly St. Petersburg) conservatories; 2) the

conversion of all the works by deceased composers from

private copyright to the public domain; and 3) the

issuance of a seventy-four-page volume of instructions

for active musicians. This particular resolution

required musicians to secure advance approval for all

concerts and to submit detailed reports of all musical

activities.

After the Bolshevik Revolution,- a dramatic decline

in the standard of living made life quite difficult for

the general public. Many composers left the country,

either with exit visas or by illegal means. Prokofiev

soon decided that it was time for him to leave the

Soviet Union, too. His decision probably resulted

1This date conforms with the Julian calendar, which

was replaced by the Gregorian calendar in February 1918.
The Gregorian date for the revolution is 25 October.

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 30

partly from the oppressive living conditions and partly

from his desire to further his career; a precedent had

been set by the many accomplished Russian composers who

went abroad at some time in their careers. He had also

heard that audiences in the United States were open-

minded, something he did not experience in his home

country. Before the November revolution, he made some

preliminary inquiries about resettling in the United

States; after the revolution, he decided that his career

would thrive better there. To leave the country, he

needed to secure an exit visa from Anatol Lunacharsky,

the first People's Commissar of Public Education.

Lunarcharsky, after hearing a performance of the

Classical Symphony in April 1918, agreed to Prokofiev's

exit visa, saying, "You are a revolutionary in music, we

are revolutionaries in life. We ought to work together.

But if you want to go to America I shall not stand in

your way,"2 It was a rare concession from Lunarcharsky

and a fortuitous opportunity for Prokofiev.

In the United States, Prokofiev experienced both

successes and failures as a composer/pianist during the

years 1918-22. Major works from these years include the

Third Piano Concerto, They Are Seven. The Love for Three

2Sergei Prokofiev, "Autobiography," in S. Prokofiev;

Autobiography. Articles. Reminiscences, ed. Semyon
Shiifstein, trans. Rose Prokofieva (Moscow; Foreign
Languages Publishing House, n.d.), p. 50.

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 31

Oranges. the Overture on Hebrew Themes and The Fiery

Angel. Despite several years of concertizing, with

tours in Europe and the United States, Prokofiev found

it difficult to maintain financial solvency. He tired

of playing the standard piano literature when he really

wanted to perform his own compositions. This

dissatisfaction, coupled with the postponement of the

Chicago Opera Company's production of The Love for Three

Oranges, made him contemplate a move to Europe. The

possibility of working with Diaghilev in Paris finally

convinced him to change his residence again. Prokofiev

first moved to Ettal in the Bavarian Alps in March 1922

and then to Paris in September 1923 after marrying Lina

Llubera.

During the Paris years, 1922-32, Prokofiev completed

the Fifth Piano Sonata, The Steel Step, the Second,

Third, and Fourth Symphonies, The Prodigal Son. On the

Dnieper. the String Quartet No. 1, and the Fourth and

Fifth Piano Concertos. He also finished a partial auto­

biography that was published in Moscow in 1932. In this

autobiography, Prokofiev offers what he considers to be

the four primary characteristics of his music:

The first was the classical line, which could be

traced back to my early childhood and the Beethoven
sonatas I heard my mother play. . . . The second
line, the m o d e m trend, begins with that meeting with
Taneyev when he reproached me for the "crudeness" of
my harmonies. At first this took the form of a
search for my own harmonic language, developing later

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 32

into a search for a language in which to express

powerful emotions. . . . The third line is the
toccata. or the "motor,” line traceable perhaps to
Schumann’s Toccata which made such a powerful
impression on me when I first heard it. . . . The
fourth line is lyrical; it appears first as a
thoughtful and meditative mood, not always associated
with the melody, or, at any rate, with the long
melody. . . . I should like to limit myself to these
four "lines," and to regard the fifth, "grotesque"
line which some wish to ascribe to me, as simply a
deviation from the other lines. . . . I would prefer
my music to be described as "Scherzo-ish" in quality,
or else by three words describing the various degrees
of the Scherzo”“Whimsicality, laughter, mockery.-*

Prokofiev continued to travel during the Paris

years, giving concert tours in the United States,

Europe, and, in 1927, the Soviet Union. As early as

1923, the Soviet Union had extended an invitation for

Prokofiev to tour there. He finally accepted the offer

and began a tour in January 1927, the first time he had

been in his homeland for nine years. Even though the

existing arts organization in the Soviet Union, the

Association of Proletarian Musicians (RAPM), disapproved

of The Steel step. Prokofiev's early successes and warm

reception in his home country motivated him to consider

a more permanent stay. Prokofiev was homesick, and most

of his close friends were still in the Soviet Union. He

rented an apartment in Moscow as early as 1933, but his

family did not join him until the spring of 1936.

During those three years, the number of Prokofiev's

3Ibid., pp. 36-37.

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 33

Soviet commissions increased. Concerning Prokofiev's

decision to leave Paris, Serge Moreux relates the

following from a conversation with Prokofiev in June

1933:

Foreign air does not suit my inspiration, because

I'm Russian, and that is to say the least suited of
men to be an exile, to remain myself in a psycho­
logical climate that isn't that of my race. . . .
I've got to go back. I've got to live myself back
into the atmosphere of my native soil. I've got to
see real winters again, and Spring that bursts into
being from one moment to the next. I :ve got to hear
the Russian language echoing in my ears, I've got to
talk to people who are of my own flesh and blood, so
that they can give me back something I lack here—
their songs— my songs. Here I'm getting enervated.
I risk dying of academism. Yes, my friend: I'm going
back.4

Prokofiev wanted to return to the Soviet Union not

because he sympathized with the communist system of

government but because of his Russian roots. He

explained this distinction in a conversation with Victor

Seroff after he had made his decision to return to the

Soviet Union:

. . . here [in Paris] I have to kowtow to publishers,

managers, all sorts of committees, sponsors of
productions, patronesses of art, and conductors each
time I wish my work to be performed. A composer
doesn't have to do that in Russia. And as for
"politics." they don't concern me. It is none of my
business.*

4Serge Moreux, "Prokofieff: An Intimate Portrait,"

Tempo 11 (Spring 1949): 9.

5Victor Seroff, Sergei Prokofiev: A Soviet Tragedy

(New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1968), p. 167.

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 Prokofiev decided that the environment most

conducive to his style of composition existed in the

Soviet Union. Most of the works he had written during

his years abroad were viewed with skepticism by Soviet

audiences. Exasperated by the realization that only a

few of his compositions were appreciated, Prokofiev

responded, "I do not want Soviet audiences to judge me

only by the march from the Three Oranges and the Gavotte

from the Classical Symphony.”6

Prokofiev returned to the Soviet Union at a time of

increased tension between the government and the

individual artist. During the 1930s, the Central

Committee slowly tightened its control over creative

activities. April 1932 saw the release of the party

resolution entitled "On the Reconstruction of Literary

and Artistic Organizations," which set the course, for

the development of the arts under communist rule.

According to Boris Schwarz, "It signified the end of an

era of flexibility, and inaugurated one of

regimentation. It transformed Soviet arts from

multiformity to conformity and, ultimately, to

uniformity."7 The resolution disbanded all existing arts

6Sergei Prokofiev, "Notes," in S. Prokofiev:

Autobioaaphv. Articles. Reminiscences. p. 99.

7Boris Schwarz, Music and Musical Life in Soviet

Russia, enlarged edition 1917-1981 (Bloomington: Indiana
University Press, 1983), p. 110.

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 35

associations and formed the new Union of Soviet

Composers (Sovuz Sovetskikh Komoozitorov). The union

published its own journal, Soviet Music (Sovetskava

Muzvka), with the stated purpose of promoting a Marxist-

Leninist musicology based on the concept of "socialist

realism."

Socialist realism, as a compositional method, is an

outgrowth of the Communist Party’s plan to regulate

music according to certain ideological concepts. First

used in the context of literature, the term originally

appeared in an essay by Maxim Gorky entitled "On

Socialist Realism," and then in a speech by Andrei

Zhdanov, an official Party spokesman, at the opening of

the First All-Union Congress of Soviet Writers on 17

August 1934. Zhdanov's speech included this definition:

. . . the truthfulness and historical concreteness of

the artistic portrayal should be combined with the
ideological remolding and education of the working
people in the spirit of socialism. This method in
literature and literary criticism is what we call the
method of socialist realism.8

A more descriptive wording came from the newly-

established Composers' Union:

The main attention of the Soviet composer must be

directed towards the victorious progressive princi­
ples of reality, towards all that is heroic, bright,
and beautiful. This distinguishes the spiritual
world of Soviet man and must be embodied in musical

8Andrei Zhdanov, Essavs on Literature. Philosophy,

and Music (New York: International Publishers, 1950), p.
12 .

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 36

images full of beauty and strength. Socialist Re­

alism demands an implacable struggle against folk-
negating modernistic directions that are typical of
the decay of contemporary bourgeois art, against
subservience and servility towards modern bourgeois
culture.9

The Soviet government wanted the term socialist realism

to encompass all that is ideal in the communist state.

Nicolas Slonimsky, in his book Music since 1900.

presents a more detailed explanation that deals

specifically with music:

Soviet composers were urged to create an art national

in form and Socialist in content. . . . Stylis­
tically, Socialist Realism requires the retention of
the tonal system of composition, broadly based on the
folk modalities of Russian songs and the native
chants of other Republics of the Soviet Union. The
doctrine of Socialist Realism concentrates on the
national development of operas and secular oratorios,
in which revolutionary ideals can be expressed
verbally as well as musically. . . . The classical
tradition of the Tierce de Picardie, with its major
cadence, suits perfectly the Soviet preference for
major keys. Anatoly Lunacharsky, first Commissar of
Education of Soviet Russia, explained the political
advantage of major keys by comparing them with the
convictions of the Bolshevik party, while minor keys
were reflecting the introvert pessimism of the
Mensheviks.10

Virgil Thomson adds this perceptive analysis of the role

of a Soviet composer:

9l,Statutes of Composers' Union," in the article

"Sotsialisticheskii Realism," in Entsiklopedicheskii
Muzvkalnvi Slovar. ed. V. Steinpress and I. Yampolski,
2nd ed. (Moscow, 1966), quoted in Schwarz, p. 114.

10Nicolas Slonimsky, "Socialist Realism," Music

since 1900. 4th ed. (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons,
1971), pp. 1490-91.

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 37

. . . a [Soviet] composer is a writer of

editorials. He is supposed to elevate, edify,
explain, and instruct. He is to speak a language
both comprehensible to all and worthy by its dignity
of a nationwide public. He is to avoid in technique
the overcontrapuntal and the overharmonic, in
expression the abstract, the tricky, the mystical,
the mechanical, the erotic. He is to turn his back
on the West and make Russian music for Russia, for
all of Russia, and for nothing beyond.11

The antithesis of socialist realism is the concept

of formalism, or art for art's sake. In the official

definition, formalism is the "separation of form from

content."12 In musical terms, it describes the

preeminence of abstract ideas over programmatic

ideological content and a lack of musical substance.

Party officials used formalism as a derogatory term and

a convenient label for those compositions than did not

please them. Unless individual expression glorified the

Soviet regime, it was branded as formalism. Prokofiev

offered another definition in this somewhat flippant,

yet serious, remark: "Formalism is sometimes the name

given to that which is not understood on first

hearing."13 In a similar vein, Shostakovich explained,

■^Virgil Thomson, "Composers in Trouble," New York

Herald Tribune. 22 February 1948; reprinted in A Virgil
Thomson Reader (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1981), p. 311.

12Entsiklopedicheskii Muzvkalnvi Slovar. 2nd ed.,

s.v. "Formalism," translated in Schwarz, p. 129.

13Israel V. Nestyev, Prokofiev, trans. Florence

Jonas (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press,
1960), p. 278.

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 38

"add a verse— that's 'content'; no verse, that's

'formalism'.!'14

During the three years in which Prokofiev was

readjusting to Soviet life, he publicly expressed his

desire to be a model Soviet composer, which implies some

agreement with the official stance of the Party. "The

Soviet Union's gigantic achievements on the material and

cultural fronts have impressed me tremendously. I hope

to reflect the fervor and enthusiasm that have made this

possible. . . ."15 To assist in the training of young

composers, he agreed to teach a few post-graduate

composition students at the Moscow Conservatory for a

short time.

As a part of the guidelines established by the

Composers' Union, composers wrote "collective" works.

Before a composition was completed, the composer played

it for fellow musicians and musicologists, who in turn

offered constructive criticism in an effort to provide

guidance to the composer as he or she finished the work.

Everyone was responsible for everyone else? as a result,

creativity was stifled and conformity was the ideal.

In a 1934 article entitled "The Path of Soviet

Music," Prokofiev obviously supported the concept of

14Schwarz, p. 76.

15Nestyev, p. 244.

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 39

socialist realism. He exhorted composers to write

"great" music to correspond with the greatness of the

time. Music, in his words, should reach the mass

audience, many of whom had had little or no previous

contact with serious music. With an emphasis on melody,

the music should inspire the listeners, and affirm the

value of Soviet music to the rest of the world.16 In the

years 1932-36, Prokofiev composed two of his best-known

works, music for the film Lieutenant Ki-ie and Romeo and

Juliet, both Soviet commissions and both well received.

In the 1930s, political tensions, both inside and

outside the Soviet Union, escalated. By 1936, only four

years after the 1932 Resolution, Party officials felt

the need to publicly criticize another important Russian

composer, Dmitri Shostakovich, for formalist tendencies

in his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. With a plot based

on murder, greed, and lust, the opera contained scenes

that were too realistic for Stalin's tastes. As

Prokofiev later admitted, this denunciation caused him

to reappraise his own music in an effort to "correct"

unacceptable elements.17

16Sergei Prokofiev, "The Path of Soviet Music," in

S. Prokofiev: Autobiography. Articles. Reminiscences, pp.
99-100.

17Letter from Prokofiev in response to the

Resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union
Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of 10 February 1948, in
Slonimsky, p. 1373.

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 40

1936 also marked the beginning of Stalin's Great

Purge. People who were even remotely suspected of anti-

Party sentiments were arrested and., in many cases, they

subsequently disappeared. Among those executed was

Vsevolod Meyerhold, a producer who collaborated on

several of Prokofiev's stage works.

In 1939, the Soviet Union signed the Non-Aggression

Pact with Germany in a desperate attempt to stave off a

military confrontation with Hitler. In the years 1936

to 1941, Prokofiev completed Peter and the Wolf, the

Cantata for the Twentieth Anniversary of the October

Revolution. Alexander Nevskv. Semyon Kotko. the Sixth

Piano Sonata, and The Duenna. Although works such as

the Cantata and Semvon Kotko were designed to promote

the idea of socialist realism, Prokofiev failed to

convince Party officials of his good intentions.

Performances of both compositions were suspended.

In 1941, Prokofiev's personal life suffered an

upheaval that may or may not have been connected with

the government. His friendship with Myra Mendelson, a

graduate of the Moscow Literary Institute with strong

connections to the Communist Party, led to the

dissolution of his marriage to Lina Prokofiev. A

related factor in the breakup of his marriage was a

state decree that had been issued on 15 February 1937,

making it illegal for Soviet citizens to marry

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 41

foreigners. Lina, Prokofiev's Spanish-born wife, was

later arrested and sent to a labor camp, and Myra,

though she never married Prokofiev, lived with him for

the rest of his life.

Conflicts on the world front increased until, on 22

June 1941, Germany repudiated the Non-Aggression Pact

and invaded the Soviet Union. Again, Prokofiev was

completely surprised at the outbreak of war because he

did not concern himself with international political

events. Moscow soon came under siege, so, in August

1941, the Soviet authorities decided to evacuate a group

of artists and musicians to Nalchik, a town in the

Kabarda region on the northern slopes of the Caucasus

Mountains. Lina Prokofiev stayed in Moscow and Myra

Mendelson made the trip with Prokofiev to Nalchik.

The quiet little town of Nalchik provided a relaxed

and creative atmosphere for the group of visiting

musicians? Prokofiev wrote the Seventh Piano Sonata and

the Second String Quartet while there. In the Second

Quartet, he borrowed material from a collection of

Kabardinian folksongs that had been transcribed by

Sergei Taneyev. Late in 1941, as the fighting drew

closer, the group was transferred to Tbilisi, the

capital of Georgia. In May 1942, the film producer

Sergei Eisenstein invited Prokofiev to work with him on

the movie Ivan the Terrible. Prokofiev voluntarily moved

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 42

to Alma-Ata, and in September 1942, while orchestrating

the opera War and Peace, he began work on a sonata for

flute and piano. After the war ended in 1945, he

composed Cinderella, the Eighth and Ninth Piano Sonatas,

and the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies. During the summer of

1946, he revised and finished a sonata for violin and

piano from sketches he began in 1938.

The end of World War II led into a time of renewed

cultural control, known as Zhaanovshchina. instigated by

the new leader of the Communist Party in Leningrad,

Andrei Zhdanov. Zhdanov, the same person who set down

the policy of socialist realism in the 30s, was in

charge of carrying out Stalin's wishes to strengthen the

Soviet Union's ideological front, particularly in

opposition to Russia's wartime allies. Zhdanov was the

author of four official party resolutions on the arts,

the first three of which covered literature, theater,

and film. The fourth, "On the Opera The Great Friendship

by Muradeli," also known as the 10 February 1948

Resolution, dealt with music. The resolution began with

a discussion of the problems in Muradeli's opera:

The music of the opera is inexpressive and weak.

It has not a single memorable melody or aria. It is
confused and discordant; it is built on continuous
dissonances, and ear-splitting combinations of
sounds. . . .
The composer did not take advantage of the
richness of folk melodies, songs, refrains and dance
airs, so abundant in the art of the nations of the
USSR. . . .

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 43

. . . the fiasco of Muradeli's opera is not an

isolated case, but is closely connected with a
precarious condition of contemporary Soviet music and
with the spread among Soviet musicians of formalistic
tendencies.18

What followed was a denunciation of Prokofiev,

Shostakovich, Miaskovsky, Khachaturian, and others for

anti-nationalist formalism. According to Party

officials, the 1936 criticism of Shostakovich should have

been taken more seriously by other composers:

Despite these warnings, and despite the

directives given by the Central Committee of the All-
Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) in its resolutions
regarding the magazines Zvezaa and Leningrad, the
cinema film Great Life, and measures for improvement
of the repertoire of dramatic theaters, no reori­
entation of any kind was made in Soviet music. . . .
Particularly bad are the conditions in symphonic and
operatic production, with reference to composers who
adhere to the formalistic anti-national movement.
This movement has found its fullest expression in the
works of composers such as Comrades Shostakovich,
Prokofiev, Khachaturian, Shebalin, Popov, Miaskovsky,
and others in whose music formalistic distortions,
and anti-democratic tendencies which are alien to the
Soviet people and its artistic tastes, are repre­
sented with particular obviousness. The char­
acteristic features of this music are the negation of
basic principles of classical music; the preachment
of atonality, dissonances and disharmony, supposedly
representative of "progress" and "modernism" in the
development of musical forms; the rejection of such
all-important concepts of musical composition as
melody, and the infatuation with the confused,
neuropathological combinations which transform music
into cacophony, into a chaotic agglomeration of
sounds. This music is strongly reminiscent of the
spirit of contemporary modernistic bourgeois music of
Europe and America, reflecting the dissolution of

18"Resolution of the Central Committee of the All-

Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of 10 February 1948,"
in Slonimsky, p. 1359.

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 44

bourgeois culture, a complete negation of musical

art, its impasse.
An essential trait of the formalistic movement is
also the rejection of polyphonic music and polyphonic
singing, based on simultaneous combination and
development of a series of independent melodic lines,
and the cultivation of a monotonous type of unison
music and song, often without words, in violation of
the system of many-voiced singing harmony peculiar to
our people, all of which leads to impoverishment and
decline of music.19

Prokofiev's declining health, due in part to a

concussion he suffered in 1945, kept him from attending

the General Assembly of Soviet Composers, which convened

shortly after the 10 February Resolution. At this

assembly, each composer, except for Miaskovsky who chose

not to reply, made some kind of response to the

resolution. Prokofiev's reply took the form of a letter

to Tikhon Khrennikov, the secretary of the Composers'

Union. In his letter, which was read at the conference,

Prokofiev cited a few of his compositions that he thought

worthy of Soviet ideology. As for formalistic elements

in his music, he responded, "The existence of formalism

in some of my works is probably explained by a certain

self-complacency, an insufficient realization of the fact

that it is completely unwanted by our people."20 In

reference to melody he wrote:

I have never questioned the importance of melody.

I love melody, and I regard it as the most important

19Ibid., pp. 1359-60.

20"Letter from Prokofiev," in Slonimsky, p. 1373.

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 45

element in music. I have worked on the improvement

of its quality in my compositions for many years. To
find a'melody instantly understandable even to the
uninitiated listener, and at the same time an
original one, is the most difficult task for a
composer. . . . It may also happen that a composer,
fussing over his melody for a long time, and revising
it, unwittingly makes it over-refined and compli­
cated, and departs from simplicity. Undoubtedly, I
fell into this trap, too, in the process of my work.
One must be particularly vigilant to make sure that
the melody retains its simplicity without becoming
cheap, saccharine, or imitative.21

Prokofiev also defended himself as a tonal composer:

I must admit that I, too, have indulged in

atonality, but I also must say that I have felt an
attraction towards tonal music for a considerable
time, after I clearly realized that the construction
of a musical work tonally is like erecting a building
on a solid foundation, while a construction without
tonality is like building on sand. . . . In some of
my works in recent years there are sporadic atonal
moments. Without much sympathy, I nevertheless made
use of this device, mainly for the sake of contrast,
in order to bring tonal passages to the fore.22

Outside the Soviet Union, the response to the

disciplinary action by the Central Committee was mixed.

Virgil Thomson, the music reviewer for the New York

Herald Tribune at that time, offered little sympathy:

Soviet music is the kind of music that it is because

the Soviet composers have formally and long ago
decided to write it that way, because the Communist
Party accepts it that way, and because the people
apparently take it. When the Party clamps down on it
for "deviation," who am I to complain if the
composers of it themselves don't? Whether they could
do so with any hope of success, of course, is
doubtful. All we know from previous occasions is
that he who confesses and reforms quickest gets off

21Ibid., p. 1373.

22Ibid., p. 1374.

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 the lightest. I do not find, given the whole of
Russian political and esthetic theory, that the
procedure is undignified? and apparently the
composers do not find it so, however much they may
regret having to submit to the sanctions. It seems
likely that they would feel far worse, even if they
could survive, excommunicated from the intellectual
life and deprived of their forum.
Russians mostly, I imagine, believe in their
government and country. Certainly these great,
official public figures do. They could not, in a
period so severely censored, have become national
composers by mere chicanery.23

If Thomson's view is accurate, then Soviet composers

should not feel too persecuted because they have, after

all, chosen the Soviet way of life. In returning to the

Soviet Union, Prokofiev certainly chose the Soviet

atmosphere, but he probably did not anticipate all of the

consequences.

Although Zhdanov died about six months after the 10

February 1948 Resolution, his policies continued to be

strictly followed by his successor, Khrennikov. The

group of censured composers had their works banned from

performance and commissions were withdrawn. To redeem

himself, Prokofiev revised an unfinished opera, The Story

of a Real Man. The under]ying concept of the opera is to

depict the heroic character of an ordinary Soviet

individual— in this case, a fighter pilot injured in the

war. The opera emphasizes the psychological changes in

the main character as he recovers from his injuries.

23Thomson, pp. 311-12.

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 47

Unfortunately, after a closed preview for Party

officials, the opera was rejected for its formalist

tendencies. The Story of a Real Man was performed for

the first time only after Prokofiev’s death.

In the remaining years of his life, Prokofiev wrote

the Cello Sonata, The Stone Flower, the Symphony-Concerto

for cello and orchestra, and the Symphony No. 7. Most

critics agree that Prokofiev's last compositions are not

among his best works, yet there are some bright moments

in them. Perhaps the reduction in dissonance and

harmonic interest indicates Prokofiev's desire to

conform to the Party's wishes, or it might represent a

lessening of his creative drive because of his failing

health. Whatever the reason, it seems clear that an

adjustment of his harmonic language takes place during

the last few years of his life.

On 5 March 1953, both Prokofiev and Stalin died.

The news of Prokofiev's death was withheld for two days

so that it would not compete with the death of Stalin.

The coincidence of these two deaths provided the final

touch of irony to Prokofiev's life as a composer in the

Soviet Union.24

24Biographical material and information on music in

the Soviet Union came from two sources: Boris Schwarz,
Music and Musical Life in Soviet Russia; and The New
Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1980), s.v.
"Prokofiev, Sergey," by Rita McAllister.

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 CHAPTER III

THE STRING QUARTET NO. 2, OP. 92

In August of 1941, the tensions of war seemed far

away to the group of exiled Soviet artists and musicians

in Nalchik, the small capital of the Kabarda-Balkar

republic southeast of Moscow. The local residents of

Nalchik welcomed the influx of highly trained

professionals and accommodated them as best they could

so that their guests could continue with their work.

Both the evacuees and the town benefited from their

mutual cooperation— the music of the region influenced

and stimulated the artists, and the quantity and quality

of cultural activity enriched the life of the community.

During the war, Nalchik became one of the most active

theatrical and musical centers in the Soviet Union.

The town of Nalchik played a pivotal role in the

composition of Prokofiev's String Quartet No. 2, op. 92.

A collection of folksongs in the local library inspired

Prokofiev to envision a string quartet. In his

autobiography, Prokofiev relates the series of events

that led to the writing of his second quartet:

4S

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 49

The Department of Arts had in its files recordings of

Kabardinian folk songs, one folio of which had been
recorded by S. I. Taneyev. "Look here," the chairman
of the Arts Committee said to us, "you have a
goldmine of musical material here that has
practically been untapped. If you take advantage of
your stay here to work up this material you will be
laying the foundation of a Kabardinian music." And
indeed the material proved to be very fresh and
original and before long we all set to work.
Myaskovsky very soon sketched the outline of his
23rd Symphony. I contemplated writing a string
quartet. I felt that the combination of new,
untouched Oriental folk-lore with the most classical
of classic forms, the string quartet, ought to
produce interesting and unexpected results. But when
I actually started to work it suddenly occurred to me
that since the musical culture of Kabarda was at a
low level of development according to European
standards, apart from some beautiful folk songs, my
quartet might not be understood in Nalchik at all.
However the chairman of the Arts Committee to whom I
confided my doubts reassured me on this score.
"Write as you feel," he said. "If we won't
understand your quartet now we will appreciate it
later on."1

Prokofiev borrowed two folksongs from Taneyev's

collection and two other folksongs, one entitled

"Getigezhev ogurbi" and the other "Islambei."

Prokofiev's good friend and fellow composer Nicolai

Miaskovsky used the "Getigezhev Ogurbi" folksong in the

first movement of his Symphony No. 23 and "Islambei" in

the third movement.2 The borrowing and exchange of

1Sergei Prokofiev, "The Artist and the War," in S .

Prokofiev; Autobiography. Articles. Reminiscences, ed.
Semyon Shlifstein, trans. Rose Prokofieva (Moscow:
Foreign Languages Publishing House, n.d.), p. 126.

2George Calvin Foreman, "The Symphonies of Nikolai

Yakovlevich Miaskovsky" (Ph.D. dissertation, University
of Kansas, 1981), p. 402.

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 50

material in these two composers' works illustrates their

collaborative effort during their time in Nalchik.

The collection of twenty Caucasian folksongs

transcribed by Sergei Taneyev were first published in an

article entitled "On the Music of the Mountain Tartars"

in Vestnik Evropy in 1886.3 In the article, Taneyev

describes the two genres of music in this collection,

dance music and old mountain songs, and the four types

of instruments used to accompany the songs: the svbvkhe.

a harsh-sounding six-holed cylindrical instrument about

twenty-eight inches long; the kharsa. a percussion

instrument made of wooden boards tied together and hit

with a stick; the kanvr kobuz. similar to a twelve-

string or six-string harp; and the kobuz, a two-string

violin tuned in a perfect fifth and played with a bow.

Most of the folksongs were performed in a two-voice

homophonic texture of melody and accompaniment. In

certain cases, the accompanying line bordered on

heterophony. In performances of the folksongs, Taneyev

reported hearing numerous unprepared dissonances and

parallel fifths and octaves, which seemed unusual to his

trained musical ear. He also noted complex rhythmic

3Sergei Taneyev, "On the Music of the Mountain

Tartars," in In Memory of Sergei Ivanovich Taneev. 1856-
1946: A Collection of Articles and Materials on the 90th
Anniversary of His Birth, ed. Vladimir Protopopov (Moscow
and Leningrad: Muzikal'noe Gosudarstvennoe Izdatel1stvo,
1947), pp. 195-211.

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 51

groupings of five, seven, and nine notes. Although most

of the folksongs followed a modal pitch organization,

some folksongs contained intervals of less than a

semitone, the result being a microtonal scale.

The writing of the quartet proceeded quickly, but

not without some difficulties. Myra Mendelson recalls

the completion of the piece. "'I simply couldn't get

over one spot, so I just lost my temper and wrote it,'

he said to me after finishing his Second Quartet."4 The

first performance of the quartet on 5 September 1942 in

Moscow, in a concert by the Beethoven Quartet, received

favorable responses from critics and the public.5

Israel Nestyev, Prokofiev's Soviet biographer,

compares the tense and dissonant sections of the quartet

with the oppressive wartime conditions. The primitive

qualities in this quartet led Nestyev to mention that

Prokofiev " . . . sometimes made excessive use of

'barbaric' harmonies and strident timbres (particularly

in the first movement)."6 The simplicity and freshness

of the folksong influence is, in Nestyev's view, damaged

4Myra Mendelson-Prokofieva, "Work Was His Life," in

Shlifstein, p. 170.
5Victor Seroff, Sergei Prokofiev: A Soviet Tragedy
(New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1968), p. 253.

6Israel V. Nestyev, Prokofiev, trans. Florence Jonas

(Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1960),
p. 332.

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 52

by the harshness of Prokofiev's setting and results in

"stylistic duality."7 On the positive side, Nestyev

cites several timbral effects that imitate Caucasian

folk instruments: a strumming technique typical of

instruments in the kemanae family, and pizzicato and col

leqno effects common to native percussion instruments.®

Melodic ideas provide the organization for much of

the musical material in the quartet. Although this can

be said about much of western music, it is especially

true in the case of Prokofiev. Subtle similarities among

themes of the different movements give coherence to the

work, yet the many separate melodic ideas within a

movement supply a great deal of variety. In some ways,

the music of Prokofiev resembles that of Mozart; both

composers preferred to write new themes rather than spend

too much time on the development of previously stated

themes.

The interval of a perfect fourth is an important

generative element throughout the quartet; it appears in

various melodic settings, and the importance of the

subdominant harmony and function confirms its harmonic

significance. Although pure quartal harmony rarely

7Ibid., p. 334.

8Ibid., p. 334.

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 53

occurs, a common harmonic sonority is a triad with one

or two added fourths.

The overall tonality of the quartet centers on the

pitch class F with close ties to the major diatonic

system. The quartet projects the basic tonal movement of

F— E— F, which appears in several ways: 1) the"key

relationships of the movements; 2) the inclusion of E in

the F major tonic sonority of the first movement; 3) the

E Phrygian pitch organization of the second movement,

which naturally emphasizes the F— E motion; and 4) the

E— F root movement of the final cadence of the third

movement. These instances, along with other ones,

clearly establish E as the second most important pitch

class in the tonal hierarchy.

The First Movement— Allegro sostenuto

The sonata-form first movement incorporates and

expands upon the diatonic system of F major. The pitch

class E is second in importance to F as a referential

pitch, primarily in its appearance as a part of the tonic

sonority. The tonic sonority consists of a grouping of

perfect fifths, F— C— G— D— A— E (Ex. 3.1).

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 54

Ex. 3.1. Prokofiev, String Quartet No. 2, first

movement, meas. 1.

Within the sonata form, a note common to two tonal areas

often connects large and small sections, particularly if

the tonal relationship is remote.

A structural emphasis on the subdominant harmony

supersedes the traditional dominant emphasis. The

subdominant and, to a lesser degree, the lowered

submediant substitute for the dominant in small- and

large-scale progressions and cadences. Although the

dominant harmony is present in functional progressions

and cadences, its role in the structural background is

significantly lessened.

Conjunct linear motion, most often contained within

the interval of a perfect fourth, engenders most of the

melodic material in the first movement. The

predominance of the melodic perfect fourth is consistent

with the structural weight of the subdominant harmony.

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 55

Themes

Three folk-like themes lay the groundwork for the

first movement. In his discussion of this work, Nestyev

credits an authentic folk melody as the source for the

first theme,9 but the melody is not one of the folksongs

in Taneyev's collection (Ex. 3.2).

Ex. 3.2. First movement, theme 1, meas. 1-4.

A Ih'^ ru <«C«*mi t<> J 10%

\ U \.'; r r f f r ,. .
= a - ’=i--i 4 -
, rf| t j rr
4
J j J j

,
L| ^
-

L _ Jr
u - - Ji -f
,/ * j
i

U ----------------- ^ 14.-------------------- i
U ■ ■* --J —

The second theme (meas. 28) suggests a stomping dance

step (Ex. 3.3). .

Ex. 3.3. First movement, theme 2, meas. 28-31.

9Ibid., p. 332.

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 56

The triadic closing theme contains strong rhythmic

accents (Ex. 3.4).

Ex. 3.4. First movement, closing theme, meas. 48-51.

(V)

/I

Because of the dominance of melody over harmony, the

movement suggests an analysis that stresses linear

relationships in addition to harmonic ones.

The Exposition

At the foreground level, extended tertian

structures, which include ninth, eleventh, and

thirteenth chords, are the basis for most of the

sonorities in the first thematic area (see Ex. 3.2). As

harmonic entities, the first two chords are an F major

triad with an added sixth progressing to a B-flat major

triad with an added sixth, a subdominant motion.

Unusual voice leading, in this case parallel sevenths in

the inner parts, advances the harmonic motion at the end

of the first phrase (meas. 4). Linear motion within

individual parts takes precedence over harmonic

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 57

considerations, yet the fundamental roots of chords

govern the sense of harmonic progression.

In the restatement of the opening theme, the

different types of rhythmic subdivisions among the four

parts (meas. 11) resemble the variety of subdivisions

found in folksongs, which might result from textual

requirements. In Taneyev's collection of folksongs, a

direct influence on this quartet, various subdivisions of

the beat, although not simultaneously, are common.

The F major pitch hierarchy soon expands to include

the pitch class A-flat (meas. 21, 24, 25; Ex. 3.5).

Ex. 3.5. First movement, meas. 19-26.

In each instance, the A-flat is highlighted by

articulation and metrical stress. The A-flat, which is

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 58

not a part of the diatonic system of F major, contrasts

sharply with the surrounding pitches, yet it leads subtly

into the second theme. When the second thematic area

begins (meas. 27), the A-flat resolves down as an upper

leading tone to the dominant G of the new tonal area of

C.

A pesante feeling characterizes the accompaniment to

the second theme (meas. 27; see Ex. 3.3). Tonic and

subdominant chords alternate on strong and weak beats, in

lieu of the traditional tonic and dominant exchange. The

subdominant chords naturally give emphasis to the pitch

class F. The first phrase of the second theme connects

to the second phrase by diatonic, ascending parallel

sonorities (meas. 31). In response to the first phrase,

the second phrase descends chromatically (meas. 35).

In the restatement of the second theme, the

rhythmic activity increases to rapid groups of five in

melodic motion by step (meas. 38 and 40). The

descending chromatic parallel motion of the second

phrase (meas. 35) is extended even further in the

restatement (meas. 41-43). The sequential descent

departs from the tonal area of C and progresses through

the addition of lowered scale degrees before ending on a

quartal sonority (meas. 44). The reiterated a-flat1 in

the first violin part (Ex. 3.6), resolves down a minor

second to G, the dominant of the tonal area C.

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 59

Ex. 3.6. First movement, meas. 43-47.

The G serves as a link back to the tonality of C and the

closing theme (meas. 48). As heard previously, the

A-flat functions as an upper leading tone to the

dominant.

The closing theme is the eleventh folksong in

Taneyev's collection (Exx. 3.7a, 3.7b).

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 60

Ex. 3.7a. Folksong No. 11 from Taneyev's

collection.10

Tamil yflTb. Kaimmna rouieiu (Ka6apaHHCKan)*.

A llegro *!!a m arcin . \

13

10Taneyev, p. 205

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 61

Ex. 3.7b. Prokofiev., String Quartet No. 2, first

movement, closing theme, meas. 48-56.

(»

/I

mp

mp

mp

mp

According to Taneyev's labeling, the folksong is a

Kabardinian "exit" dance, probably designed to coincide

with some type of staged motion. Prokofiev quotes the

first five measures, keeping the rhythm intact, and then

continues freely. The original folksong contained two

parts, the lower part being similar to a drone. In the

folksong, the pedal point B lessens the harmonic

implications of the melodic tones. In a similar manner,

even though the sonorities change under the melody, the

effect of Prokofiev's setting is pandiatonic. The

conjunct inner parts connect the quartal and secundal

chords smoothly. The lowest-sounding line oscillates

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 between C and F, the tonic and subdominant, in the

opening measures (meas. 48-51), repeating the

alternation first heard in the second theme (meas. 27).

Prokofiev keeps the tonal focus on C, whereas the

folksong travels from B through other tonal areas and

ends on G-sharp.

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 63

Leading into the codetta,11 a series of pandiatonic

i;LThe precise identification of a coda or codetta is

difficult considering the differences among definitions
as found in the literature. In general, a coda functions
as an appendage to a movement or work and a codetta is
something less, usually occurring after a section other
than the final one, or as a section in a fugue. Variable
elements such as substance, length, and essential
harmonic movement, can cause confusion in labeling. In
an analysis, one must decide how much material is enough
for a coda and what is its relationship to the rest of
the work.
The two standard books on musical form vary in their
usage of the terms coda and codetta. Wallace Berry, in
his book Form in Music (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey:
Prentice-Hall, 1966, p. 97), defines a coda as ". . . the
final section to an entire piece or movement— a section
in which something more than mere cadential extension or
elaboration occurs.” In sonata form, a coda should
emphasize the end of the movement through either a return
of thematic material, additional development, or a
repetition of the tonic sonority. It should be, as Berry
states, "an extensive peroration," (p. 204). A codetta,
shorter in length, appears at the end of an exposition
and usually has a closing theme or else it intensifies
the final cadence.
Douglass Green, in his Form in Tonal Music: An
Introduction to Analysis (2nd ed., New York: Holt,
Rinehart and Winston, 1979, pp. 139-41), identifies three
types of tonal structures in a coda and four designs.
The three structures are: 1) prolongation of the tonic by
a chord succession; 2) prolongation of the tonic by means
of a tonic pedal; and 3) delay of the final tonic by
means of a deceptive cadence. The four designs include:
1) an extension of the final phrase; 2) a single phrase;
3) a large coda in sections; and 4) a codetta, or an
appendage to only the last part of the piece.
Because of the variety of ways in which a coda can
function, Green's recognition of these levels provides
some help. At best, one can label a section as a coda
and explain their reasons. In this study, the tonal
structures and designs as explained by Green will be used
and explained in each instance.
As one of the problematic areas in theory, it would
be beneficial if the problems in naming the various types
of closing material would prompt further study and
discussion. Terminology appropriate to the various
functional levels needs to clarified and standardized.

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 64

clusters accompanies the ascent to c3 (Ex. 3.8).

Ex. 3.8. First movement, meas. 62-66.

plii ___ pooo f i t

'h'g'Mutt

. jt

Y"-ui in— jr s
jr*
i

The codetta, a prolongation of the dominant tonal area by

a dominant pedal (meas. 64-66), consists of

neighboring-tone ornamentation surrounding c3 and ending

with a plagal cadence. In the final measure of the

exposition (meas. 66), D and E combine with C and G to

form a triadic sonority with an added fourth. The

cadence and final sonority attest to the importance of

the perfect fourth.

The Development

One of the primary differences between the

development and the exposition is an increase in the

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 65

level of dissonance. Harmonic tritones (meas. 70) ,

buried within consonant sonorities up until this point,

become the norm. The dissonance of the harmonic tritone

expands into a bitonal effect (Ex. 3.9)— the melody in

the first violin, based on the closing theme, outlines a

B-flat major triad and the cello traces an E minor triad,

two triads a tritone apart. The two inner parts increase

the harmonic ambiguity with c-sharp1 , the minor third of

a B-flat triad, and a-flat, the major third of an E

triad.

Ex. 3.9. First movement, meas= 73-76.

3 ----------------- i----------------- —

•T 1 y

•rc o

The continued presence of harmonic tritones also

surfaces as diminished triads and fully-diminished

seventh chords.

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 The development section is propelled by the momentum

of two linear progressions in contrary motion. The

first violin presents the ascending linear progression

and the cello contributes the descending one. The

expanding tension of these lines finally resolves to a D

major triad (meas. 96). Immediately following the

resolution to D, an exchange between the D major triad

and an F augmented triad with a major seventh results in

a dissonance between F-sharp and F-natural, a chromatic

mediant relationship typical in Prokofiev's music (Ex.

3.10).

Ex. 3.10. First movement, meas. 96-97.

The D major triad never becomes firmly established as a

new tonal area.

As the development section continues, a sequential

version of the second theme is the basis for a harmonic

and melodic descent (meas. 101)— a descent that

ultimately ushers in the recapitulation. In this

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 67

descent, the two violins are paired in imitation with

the viola and cello (meas. 101-04) until the first theme

enters in the violins over an accompaniment based on the

second theme (Ex. 3.11).

Ex. 3.11. First movement, meas. 103-06.

Theme 1

Theme 2

Thematic layering as a means of developing material

seems to be a common technique in Prokofiev's music.

A retransition toward the recapitulation uses

fragments from the first theme (meas. 111-19) with

sonorities that contain a high level of dissonance

because of the many minor seconds, major sevenths, and

tritones (Ex. 3.12).

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 68

Ex. 3.12. First movement, meas. 115-20.

The climax of the movement and of the level of

dissonance occurs at the same time (meas. 115-16). The

pitch class E in the two violins serves as a common tone

to connect the development section with the

recapitulation. The F-sharp in the cello descends by

semitone to F-natural, thus completing the descending

motion back to the tonic that began earlier in the

development.

The Recapitulation

The recapitulation follows traditional practice in

the transposition of all thematic material to the tonic

tonal area of F. All three themes reappear, but in

shortened form. The pandiatonic clusters of the

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 69

exposition (meas. 62) accompany the final descent of the

fundamental line to the tonic F.

The coda (meas. 151-59) extends the material first

heard in the codetta at the end of the exposition and

prolongs the final tonic by chord succession. Added to

the ornamented melody and drone accompaniment is a

fragment of the opening theme that emphasizes f.-sharp2

and b1 (Ex. 3.13).

Ex. 3.13. First movement, meas. 151-54.

These two pitches, which are outside the diatonic system

of F major, remind the listener of the surprising A-flats

in the exposition's first thematic area and provide the

last remnant of dissonance to be resolved. The pedal

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 point F continues on through a shift to the subdominant

(meas. 155-56); the subdominant harmony resolves to tonic

and the movement ends with a plagal cadence (Ex. 3.14).

Ex. 3.14. First movement, meas. 155-59.

01

The b-natural1 altered pitch combines with the tonic

chord as a leading tone of the dominant (meas. 157-58)

and resolves upward in the last measure. The final

sonority lacks the third, but the presence of the major

third in previous measures strongly implies an F major

triad at the end.

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 71

The Middleqround

A representation of the first movement at the

middleground level presents some problems. The

profusion of descending lines and ascending passing

motion makes it difficult to separate foreground detail

from middleground events. A possible solution might be

to show several middleground levels instead of only one,

but a single middleground level enables to reader to

survey all of the important middleground events in one

graph.

In general, harmonic progression follows the circle

of fifths, though some progressions involve diatonic and

chromatic parallel motion. Many of the slurs that span a

perfect fourth represent a conjunct presentation of that

fourth at the foreground level.

The middleground graph of the exposition uncovers

the most significant conjunct lines (Graph 3.1).

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 72

Graph 3.1. String Quartet No. 2, first movement,

middleground graph of the exposition.
Theme 1
® ? ©

—
fa ^ -6

i
7

- X ' z
.

. |v5T -■ f -- — Ivy a ■■

! 1 1

Theme 2
(21) (27) (32) 36) 141

fr- n = ± rlr~ A .-I

“ T
r. = i k = ± ,
v _y i -----
■Jr ^ .......... ■

Closing Theme Codetta

48) (64)

**■

HI — r

f'
I
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 73

The diagonal lines near the beginning indicate a voice

exchange between the outer parts.

The upper fundamental line begins on the third scale

degree A, which is emphasized throughout the first theme.

The pitch class C becomes the focus of the second theme,

although it is not a part of the fundamental line. The

bottom fundamental line starts on F, the tonic, and ends

on the dominant C. In general, the first theme stays in

a consistent range while the upper fundamental line of

the second theme gradually ascends two octaves.

The first pitch in the first violin, e2 , plays a more

important role than is immediately apparent at the

beginning of the movement. It recurs several times in

this graph as a stemmed note, in some cases as a large-

scale leading tone to the tonic F.

As evidence of an expanded tonal system, the

emphasis on A-flat just prior to the second theme

receives a stemmed note in the middleground graph. In

the context of this graph, the role of the A-flat as a

dominant substitute becomes clear.

The verticalization of notes in the upper and lower

lines reveals some nontriadic alignments. In many

cases, the sonorities outlined are seventh chords or

added-note chords. The relative strength of the

nontriadic tones warrants their representation at the

middleground level.

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 74

The exposition ends with an ascending linear

progression toward the pitch c3 . The importance of the

linear progression is confirmed by another ascending

linear progression at the end of the movement.

The pitch class A is prolonged through the

development as a member of the upper fundamental line

(Graph 3.2).

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 75

Graph 3.2. First movement, middleground graph of the

development.

Theme 1 Closing Theme

74. 78. 96

retrans. Recapitulation

A temporary emphasis on D (meas. 96) breaks the tonal

ambiguity of the development section. The two lines in

contrary motion that lead into the D tonal area are

notated as linear progressions.

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 Important pitches in the bottom voice stay within a

narrow range around the tonic F. Instead of

highlighting traditional functional relationships, the

bottom line descends from E to C and concludes with a

semitone resolution from F-sharp to F at the start of

the recapitulation. The pitch class C, which is the

dominant of F, lacks stability because it is not

harmonized with the dominant harmony.

The recapitulation follows many of the same melodic

and harmonic motions heard in the exposition, with a few

exceptions (Graph 3.3).

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 77

Graph 3.3. First movement, middleground graph of the

recapitulation.

Theme I
20)a

J
... . 7* ' -S - \ 1 ....

¥ - - y - = *
■ ~ ~ “ \ i ■ V "

W t .
< V 1 " /' \ " 9?

? ___ y .. -------------------------------

Theme II Closing Theme Coda

L3i \
a % (is:
A A
2 1

• -" " li - f t > -

rfi;-- 1■
. -------- 'Xr-.--------=^=---

* r
\ |l= u ^ 0

Some of the material is shortened and the second theme

remains in the tonic tonal area. The ascending linear

progression to the final tonic pitch controls the sense

of forward motion to the end of the movement, but the

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 78

upper fundamental line descends from the third scale

degree A to the tonic F. The second scale degree,

although not present in the upper voice, emerges in an

inner part as a member of a leading-tone seventh chord

(meas. 150) and as the harmonic root of a series of

pandiatonic chords based on the outline of a G minor

triad. The coda emphasizes a plagal cadence with two

prominent chromatically altered pitches.

Connections and transitions between major sections

can be easily observed in this reduction. Between the

exposition and development sections, a common tone, E,

the third of the C major tonic triad and the first note

of the development, joins the two sections together. The

E functions as a common tone again at the end of the

development, in conjunction with a half-step motion from

F-sharp to F in the bass register.

The Background

In the structural background of the entire movement

(Graph 3.4), the upper fundamental line spans a major

third, from the third scale degree down to the tonic.

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 79

Graph 3.4. Structural background of the first

movement.

Exposition Development Recapitulation Coda

A A
3 ( 2)1

T 1
, T ------- O U ----------
r - T t
¥ — ^
.Ur-

----- V
j r k f ..
M

The lower fundamental line includes the secondary tonal

areas of the dominant and the subdominant, but the

subdominant appears in the more structurally important,

penultimate position. Nevertheless, the logic of the

tonal scheme and its resemblance to classical forms

confirms the classical basis for Prokofiev's music. Even

at this analytic level, dominant substitutes remain;

e.g., the A-flat in the first thematic area that leads

into the second theme (meas. 25). Secondary tonal

movement by major third occurs twice, A-flat— C and

D-flat— F.

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 80

The Second Movement— Adagio

As in the first movement, the interval of a perfect

fourth controls both melodic and harmonic elements.

Conjunct linear motion spanning a perfect fourth can be

found in all sections and structural levels. Most of

the harmonies are either triadic or pentatonic, and the

sense of harmonic progression relates to the circle of

fifths. Typically, this implies the hierarchy of tonic

and dominant, but in this movement, as in the other

movements, the subdominant takes precedence over the

dominant at the middleground and background levels.

The pitch organization conforms to the phrygian

mode, with some references to the locrian and mixolydian

modes. The central contrasting part establishes a D

major tonality with the typical functional relationships

of the major-minor system. The many instances of linear

motion within the prevailing pitch organization are both

modal and chromatic, ascending and descending.

The contrasts in style, pitch organization, and

rhythm make the divisions of the ternary formal

organization easy to discern. At all levels, from

foreground detail to background motion, neighboring

motion defines many pitch relationships. Important

techniques that generate the movement and extend it in

time include pedal points and layers of rhythmic

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 81

activity, along with the melodic perfect fourth and

conjunct linear motion.

Primary Melodic Ideas

Three melodic ideas delineate the parts and sections

of the symmetrical arch form. The first part contains

two closely related sections; the symmetry emerges from

the reversal of material from the first part after the

middle second part. The corresponding tonal areas

confirm the arch formal organization (Fig. 3.1).

Fig. 3.1. String Quartet No. 2, second movement,

formal design.

Section Melodic Idea Tonal Areas Measures

A A1 E 1-10
A2 A,G 11-25

B B D 26-132

A' A2 A 133-45
A1 A 146-60

The first melody, a melancholy lament effectively

scored in the cello, traces a descent by step from e2 to

e1 (Ex. 3.15).

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 82

Ex. 3.15. Second movement, meas. 5-6.

r»

In the second section of part one, the first violin

plays a melody based on the Kabardinian dance tune

"Islambei,11 a folksong also borrowed by Miaskovsky in

his Symphony No. 23, third movement (Exx. 3.16a,

3.16b),12

12Nestyev, p. 333.

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 83

Ex. 3.16a. Miaskovsky, Symphony No. 23, third

movement, meas. 1-14, the folksong "Islambei."

A llefro t It m * ( J .m )

ii'bi'm

C. Iiri.

Tl*M

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 84

Ex. 3.16b. Prokofiev, String Quartet No. 2, second

movement, meas. 11.

--t-f
(/«><) J '

While Miaskovsky's version resembles a brisk dance,

Prokofiev presents a tranquil melody over a calm pedal

point.

The melody in the second part (meas. 36) is the

tenth folksong in Taneyev's folksong collection (Exx.

3.17a, 3.17b).

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 85

Ex. 3.17a. Folksong No. 10 from Taneyev's

collection.13

3 3 3 10 3 3 3

15 I J

13Taneyev, p. 204.

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 86

Ex. 3.17b. Prokofiev, String Quartet No. 2, second

movement, meas. 36-52.

In borrowing the folksong, Prokofiev changes the key

signature. The original folksong has three sharps, but

Prokofiev uses only two, the result of which is a

G-natural at the end of Prokofiev’s first phrase. The

use of G-natural allows Prokofiev's adaptation and

harmonization to stay in the tonal area of D without an

emphasis on the tonic in the melody.

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 87

The First Part

The opening measures of the first part quickly

establish the Phrygian mode (Ex. 3.18).

Ex. 3.18. Second movement, meas. 1-2.

ED.. . .
_ , f . -

pr r Pr 1 r - i f f ‘j i j
- if — J'
--V ft ' --

' f ------------r-

The cadence preceding the first theme (last eighth note

beat of meas. 5) is a Phrygian cadence— F and D

expanding outward to an octave on E. The ascending

answer phrase (Ex. 3.19) combines conjunct eighth-note

motion in the first violin and viola with a rhythmically

augmented version in the second violin and cello.

Ex. 3.19. Second movement, meas. 9-10.

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 88

Individual notes lose their functional implications and

coalesce in a wash of sound.

The pandiatonic blending of sound continues into the

beginning of the second section of part one (meas. 11),

Prokofiev's adaptation of the folksong "Islambei."

Under the first violin's sixteenth-note pattern, the

second violin supplies a complementary melodic line in

augmentation (see Ex. 3.16b). The pitch collection of

the second section organizes into a white-note hexatonic

scale built on A with only F missing. Tension invades

the pandiatonic feeling with the entrance of two altered

notes, d-sharp2 and f-sharp2 (Ex. 3.20); the two added

notes add pungency and melodic direction because of their

expected resolution, each by semitone upward.

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 89

Ex. 3.20. Second movement, meas. 12-13.

(SA

mp

mp

The tonal reference shifts from A to G (meas. 13), a

typical modal shift of a major second. The descending

scale passage in the first violin in the G locrian mode

yields to the mixolydian mode in the second half of the

measure in the second violin. A new melodic idea that

lasts for two measures (meas. 15-16, 19-20) acts as a

central contrasting portion in the second section of

part one (Ex. 3.21).

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 90

Ex. 3.21. Second movement, meas. 14-16.

Because of its brevity and the rapid alternation with

the first phrase of the second section, the

identification of a new theme seems unjustified. The

second section recurs at the original pitch level of A

(meas. 17), but the pedal point shifts to G instead of

the original A.

Both of the sections are combined in the closing

portion of the first part (meas. 22). The pitch

organization of Phrygian on A is heightened by the use

of B-flat in the cello and later in the first violin.

The resolution of B-flat to A links the second section

to part two.

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 91

The Second Part

The first four measures of the second part (meas.

26-29) establishes D as the new tonic pitch class, but

the B-flat carried over from the second section of part

one lessens the strength of D pitch system until it

finally drops out (Ex. 3.22).

Ex. 3.22. Second movement, meas. 26-35.

pm

Part two, in contrast with part one, relies heavily on

the alternation of the tonic and dominant pitches and

their implied harmonies.

The accompaniment to the folksong melody in the

second part consists of layers of varied rhythmic

groupings and pulses (see Ex. 3.17b). The second violin

and viola maintain a duple pulse in opposition to the

triple metrical notation, in a pattern that repeats

every five measures. The cello also follows a duple

pulse but in a grouping that lasts for two measures.

Only the melody of the first violin follows the implied

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 92

triple division of the measure. In the second phrase

(meas. 44), the melody's pulse changes to duple, which

further disguises the meter. The overlapping rhythmic

and pitch patterns create pentatonic harmonies based on

the five pitch classes D, E, F-sharp, A, and B. Similar

to the method he used in borrowing a folksong in the

first movement, Prokofiev includes only the first portion

of the folksong and makes the necessary alterations to

suit his tonal purposes.

Incomplete neighboring motion, also known as an

appoggiatura, connects the first and second periods of

part two. The first period ends on b2 , the second scale

degree (meas. 50); a resolution of b2 takes place only as

the second period begins. To further emphasize the tonal

instability of the first period, the B is harmonized with

a quartal sonority instead of a triadic one (see Ex.

3.17b). An incomplete neighboring motion, E— D, appears

in the cello (meas. 70).

In a restatement of the melody of part two, the

texture thickens with spiccato repeated notes in a duple

pulse (meas. 76). In the first phrase, the second

violin plays the triplet figure from the second phrase

against the theme in the first violin. In the second

phrase, the second violin answers the melody in contrary

motion on alternate beats (meas. 88). Another

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 93

noticeable feature of the restatement is a descending

chromatic line in the viola (meas. 92-94, 98-102).

As the second part nears its end, chromatically

altered pitch classes, or those outside the established D

major tonality, enter one by one, first a B-flat (meas.

112), then G-sharp, F-natural, and E-flat (meas. 117-22).

The altered notes weaken the D major tonality and prepare

for a change in the tonal emphasis. The pitch class A

becomes the common-tone pivot in a modulation to A

mixolydian (meas. 130-32).

The Third Part

The second section of part one returns (meas. 133)

as the first section of part three in the tonal area of

A mixolydian with an occasional G-sharp, instead of the

original A hexatonic scale. Chromaticism, particularly

descending chromatic lines, plays more of a role in the

final part than in the first part. The restatement of

the middle portion of the second section (meas. 141)

expands to include a harmonization of the melody in

sixths. Following the second section, in a reverse

order of presentation, part three (meas. 146) focuses on

an A pitch level instead of the original pitch level of E

(EX. 3.23).

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 94

Ex. 3.23. Second movement, meas . 146-54.

^ T e m p o l J .: « . v
{ i n =?= : i . v - l... , 1- .: i .l-t-: .-------------------
Ji ------- J* iT. | n t---------- ii— . j 1—
yM j ----------- •“—!
rE
** f ttprttt. / —
~ V
■ 'j. „ y— t • h ■ J \:
\ r F 2 j i' i
ftiprtet. "
v
■>H Jl J.__ - ■-4-.-- J J.-------- i J'- i
Jttprttt. _
, - , v ______ j (V)

— ..... ■_4: ^

rr

rr

rr

The return of the first part at its original E pitch

level appears over C as a part of a smooth transition

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 95

back to E? the C divides the tonal distance between A and

E. The transition to E Phrygian is accomplished through

a descending root progression, G— F— E (meas. 150-51).

A sonority with dissonant tension signals the start

of the cadential area moving toward the tonic E chord

(Ex. 3.24).

Ex. 3.24. Second movement, meas. 154-55.

r a* — i

As part of a respelled French augmented-sixth chord, the

E is a common tone with the tonic sonority, and the

active interval, E to G-flat, implies a resolution to F;

the resolution is reached two measures later (meas. 157).

An arpeggio by thirds ascends to E through with an F

minor triad, to an A-flat augmented chord, and then to a

C major triad before reaching an E minor sonority (Ex.

3.25) .

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 96

Ex. 3.25. Second movement, meas. 157-60.

N p

This root movement by thirds instead of fifths reflects

the modal orientation of the entire movement. Like the

first movement, the second movement ends in open fifths

with no third.

The Middleoround

The many instances of register displacement, or

octave leaps, give the movement a feeling of

expansiveness. The concept of obligatory register, the

idea that the important lines belong in a single

register, lacks substantiation in this particular

movement. Even though the register changes are more

superficial than structural, the notation of pitches in

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 97

their actual octave register in the middleground and

background graphs recognizes the obvious importance

Prokofiev attached to registral displacement,

The middleground graph of the first part reveals the

importance of linear motion over harmonic motion in the

outer parts (Graph 3.5).

Graph 3.5. Second movement, middleground graph of

part one.

In the first part, register transfer, first e2 to e1 and

then a1 to a2 , and conjunct motion controls most of the

material. The pitch class G (meas. 14) functions as a

large neighboring tone to the tonal area of A of the

second subsection.

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 98

In contrast to the first part, functional

relationships, particularly tonic and dominant, regulate

the middle part (Graph 3.6).

Graph 3.6. Second movement, middleground graph of

part two.

B
(26) 36) (50 66) (75

94

U -
-b- J

r\ '.in— -— ------->------ --- »-- -

V |

Conjunct motion that spans wide intervals characterizes

the melodic motion of the second part. Upper

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 neighboring tones, notated with flags, and register

transfers at the cadences are other prominent features.

In a break from traditional practice, a portion of

the third part is transposed (Graph 3.7).

Graph 3.7. Second movement, middleground graph of

part three.

A2 A1 .

The return of the first part begins in A mixolydian and

returns to E only at the very end of the movement. The

pitch a2 is a cover tone because it is heard over the

fundamental e2 , but it does not displace the importance

of e2 .

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 100

The Background

The rounded form consists of a large neighboring tone

motion of E— D— E in the upper fundamental line (Graph

3.8) .

Graph 3.8. Structural background of the second

movement.

Part One Part Two Part Three

r 9r ,
rA—r ( . . . — ..
-111
9=j -----------

f r
✓—s
At-
■ 1> 1

Though a descending fundamental line to the tonic can be

identified, it is partially buried in inner parts and

therefore lacks authority. The large-scale tonal

relationships, often by the interval of a second or

third, reflect the overall modal orientation.

The Third Movement— Allegro

Much of the musical material in the rondo-form third

movement emanates from two related events. A perfect

fourth tetrachord in several different forms, both

descending and ascending, generates most of the melodic

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 101

material. The first statement of the tetrachord (meas.

1) follows the major form of the tetrachord (Ex. 3.26).

Ex. 3.26. Third movement, meas. 1-4.

The opening motive of the first movement, a natural

minor tetrachord spanning a perfect fourth (E— F— G— A ) ,

surfaces again early in the third movement (Ex. 3.27).

Ex. 3.27. Third movement, meas. 12-13, cello only.

In the contrasting second episode, the operative

tetrachord is F— E-flat— D-flat— C, a natural minor

tetrachord (Ex. 3.28).

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 102

Ex. 3.28. Third movement, meas. 263-66, melody only.

ff

The second important event, closely related to the

major tetrachord, is a descending conjunct line

containing more than one tetrachord. Descending lines

appear at all structural levels, including the

background. Many of the conjunct lines at the

middleground level occur over a tonic pedal point, a

technique that reinforces the tonal area but supplies

interest within it.

Primary Melodic Ideas

Four melodic ideas delineate the rondo form. The

refrain, a folksong entitled "Getigezhev Ogurbi," also

appears in Miaskovsky's Symphony No. 23, first movement

(Exx. 3.29a, 3.29b).

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 103

Ex. 3.29a. Miaskovsky, Symphony No. 23, first

movement, meas. 132-39.

@Mmo mosso <m» sampro alia marci.)(J..)

ofc. I 5.1. _ -_______ ^

•T V “ pc - r r— *7— r— |r - - - - c u 1r r ' r- - - c z r ^ r — r
». « P 3 N m m ono (oik acrapre a lia o a re ia x J.-n i

Ex. 3.29b. Prokofiev, String Quartet No. 2, third

movement, meas. 1-7.

The first episode resembles an incantation (Ex. 3.30).

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 104

Ex. 3.30. Third movement, meas. 92-100.

•I p«atl*

mp

An outline of a seventh chord and a lowered supertonic

scale degree characterizes the second episode (Ex. 3.31).

Ex. 3.31. Third movement, meas. 177-78.

l*i) PuchissI DIO U t MlO

mp

pit

frtp mp

The third episode, cast in the parallel minor mode,

evokes an anguished feeling (Ex. 3.32).

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 105

Ex. 3.32. Third movement, meas. 263-66.

C H f.

it'
r
Vlf
1 — =

r f r ■ r mf t r -- f~r r-rr
_ _ _ JL _
T f - f - f 1r~ f f f f r f f r r f r r ft Q fl* f t

■ rr~- T ~ f ~

i f ; ; r r — r ff-frr r M ; r~
,1 -^r f f-£ f - f f r 5=0 :

[■ «■ fa t=*=£-.r.-rf=£

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 106

Similarities of melodic presentation and usage

provide unity within the movement. Not only are the

melodies interrelated, but some of the material is

anticipated before its actual exposition (cf. meas. 8

and 94, 33 and 82, 168 and 177). In subsequent

presentations, Prokofiev sometimes retains the melodic

idea in the original key and transposes the

accompaniment for a slightly different tonal context

(cf. meas. 93-100 and 109-15).

The Refrain

At the foreground level, the composer emphasizes

different types of dissonant and dual-entity harmonies at

points of articulated stress. At the end of the first

phrase (meas. 7; see Ex. 3.29b), the vertical sonority in

the viola and cello, D— F-sharp— G, emphasizes the

dissonance of the minor second interval. The next

accented sonority (meas. 14), consists of two harmonic

entities separated by register, C— G and F-sharp— A— C,

which results in a dissonant major seventh simultaneity

(Ex. 3.33). Another interpretation of the same sonority

recognizes the presence of two fifths a semitone apart,

F-sharp and G in a C sonority. The perfect fifth lends

stability and a measure of consonance to the sonority.

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 107

Ex. 3.33. Dissonant and dual-entity harmonies.

Meas. 14 Meas. 16 Meas. 28

pitt.

A triad with a split third; e.g., a D major-minor

sonority, appears two measures later (meas. 16). Another

occurrence of the dual-entity harmony is an exact

transposition, F— C and B— D— F (meas. 28). When the

phrase reaches a cadence (meas. 32), the cadential

sonority includes only the pitch classes C and D, a

secundal rather than triadic harmony.

In Prokofiev's autobiography, he mentions four

elements that are characteristic of his music:

classical, modern, toccata, and lyrical.14 In this

movement, the toccata element first appears as rapid

sixteenth notes in all four instruments (meas. 33); it

later becomes an integral part of the first episode

(meas. 82-115).

14See pp. 31-32.

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 108

The First Episode

The first episode depends on the melodic, minor

second interval that usually functions as a neighboring

tone. The pitch class E embellishes F, and D-flat points

toward C. While the accompaniment rests on an E-flat

minor triad at the beginning of the episode (meas. 84),

the melody is based on a B-flat minor triad (meas.

93-100? see Ex. 3.30). At the cadence at the end of the

first phrase, the E-flat minor triad shifts to a B minor

triad (meas. 100), a linear modulation that incorporates

one common tone and the two outer notes expanding outward

by minor seconds in contrary motion. Even though the

harmony changes, the melodic idea remains at the same

B-flat pitch level (meas. 109). At the same point of

modulation in the second phrase, the harmony shifts back

to E-flat (meas. 116) and the melody emphasizes the minor

second from A to B-flat. The reappearance of the refrain

(meas. 121) at its original pitch level of F takes on a

bitonal character because of the E-flat focus of the

accompaniment (Ex. 3.34).

•v

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 Ex. 3.34. Third movement, meas. 120-23.

A restatement of the first episode, in the tonal

areas of E-flat minor and B minor (meas. 127-35),

precedes another presentation of the refrain (meas.

142). In this refrain, the dominant C pedal point

underneath an F triad with an added G prevents any

strong feeling of the tonic F. The label of added-note

as applied to the pitch class G does not seem appropriate

because the G functions as a member of the sonority, not

as a foreign tone. Furthermore, the G connects the

opening F harmony with an excursion to A-flat and back

again to F (Ex. 3.35).

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 110

Ex. 3.35. Third movement, meas. 149-58.

-L l Tzj:
n V

mp

Jrr=u-
TJ.l
y *
im

{'■'I'T i > i r
T T

mp

mp

The Second Episode

In the second episode (beginning in meas. 177) , the

expanded tonal system based on E is characterized by a

quartal tonic sonority and a Phrygian, or semitone,

melodic emphasis in the cello (see Ex. 3.31). The melody

in the first violin follows a neighboring-tone pattern of

D (the seventh of the tonic pitch) to the tonic E and

back to D. Prokofiev uses quartal and secundal

structures at important points; e.g., the cadential

sonority at the end of the first phrase of the second

episode (meas. 182), a sonority consisting of the pitch

classes B and A.

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 Ill

As the section continues, a development of the

second episode results in a strong bitonal effect

because of the superimposition of a G-sharp major triad

in the first violin over an E major triad in the other

parts (Ex. 3.36).

Ex. 3.36. Third movement, meas. 195-96.

ifjf (* r
n
i$M f f r —•A1Tji.TftffF
fed?j
$ 1 *
J - ..: : t
J d >
V,
=■ rr-'

If considered as one entity, the sonority would consist

of E as the root, a split fifth, and the major seventh

D-sharp, but the clear separation of register suggests

instead two chordal entities. The final cadence of the

second episode, especially in the descending cello line

of G-natural— F-natural— E, reinforces the phrygian

flavor of the second episode's melody (Ex. 3.37).

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 112

Ex. 3.37. Third movement, meas. 205-06.

-&% r... 9m ■ .J

#t-'W
¥ = b= ------
j
>■

w
i '4-
¥ = J =

.iri
f =

\.. _(J .J..

Another statement of the refrain in F major brings

the first large part of the movement to a close. The

final melodic idea in the cello, a descending major

ninth leap from g to F, becomes the main idea of the

succeeding cello cadenza (Ex. 3.38).

Ex. 3.38. Third movement, meas. 255-62.

J=«i
A n d a n t e mol t o
v.'ciu n i 1111

The cadenza emphasizes the interval of a major ninth, the

melodic counterpart of secundal harmony, and the upper

and lower leading tones of the dominant C, which are

B-natural and D-flat. The change in key signature, not

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 113

immediately audible but instead gradually assimilated,

forecasts the F minor section to follow.

The Third Episode

Rapid rhythmic and pitch activity at a fortissimo

dynamic level creates tension in the third episode (see

Ex. 3.32). Consistent with the tense mood, the pitch

organization changes to the parallel minor. The

accompanimental material— descending scales— in the third

episode originally appeared in the cello cadenza. The

melody, which seems to be much slower in this setting,

follows the descending form of the natural minor

tetrachord. Though the tonic sonority of F minor

controls the section, the harmony rarely sounds in root

position. The avoidance of the root in the bottom voice

heightens and prolongs the uneasiness. The eventual

arrival at F (meas. 283) effectively resolves the tension

built up thus far. Once the F is reached, tonic and

dominant pedal points continue to diffuse the agitated

mood as the section winds down. The extremes in

register in the concluding phrases (meas. 286-94),

suggest a feeling of spaciousness and relaxation after

so much activity in close harmonic structure.

The transition to the next section is supported by

contrary motion in the outer two voices. The interval

of C-sharp— f3 at the end of the third episode (meas.

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 114

294) contracts by semitone to D— e3 (meas. 295). A

transposed return of the toccata-like first episode

(meas. 295) begins in the tonal area of D minor and

contains a reference to B-flat minor (meas. 301-16).

The bottom fundamental melodic line in the cello

progresses from D (meas. 326) to D-flat (the third of B-

flat minor; meas. 327) to C (meas. 333; Ex. 3.39).

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 115

Ex. 3.39. Third movement, meas. 326-28, 332-33, 344-

45.

Meas. 326-28

Fill

Fitt.

mp

Meas. 332-33

ill ftalia.

j*

Meas. 344-45

Pooo meno m o n o

FT

mp

rr

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 116

The third of the C sonority, E, becomes both the leading

tone of the F tonal area and the major seventh in a major

seventh tonic sonority in the next episode.

A restatement of the second episode (meas. 345)

starts a minor second higher than the original

presentation (cf. meas. 183). The bitonal section

(meas. 357-64) now combines A major and F major, instead

of G-sharp and E. The transposition of this section

allows the Phrygian cadence at the close of the section

(meas. 367-68) to end on the overall tonic of F. In an

extension of the second episode (meas. 369-77), the

Phrygian melodic line, F— G-flat— F, of the third episode

becomes the main melodic idea. A common tone F and

chromatic voice leading in the other parts effects a

smooth transition to the concluding refrain.

The final refrain (beginning in meas. 378), in the

tonic tonal area of F, starts at a pianissimo dynamic

level and rises to fortissimo by the end of the movement.

Within the F major diatonic system of the refrain,

Prokofiev adds chromaticism; e.g., a chromatic ascending

line with several octave displacements (meas. 392-95).

A harmonic progression that breaks up the monotony

of the tonic harmony (Ex. 3.40) can be best understood by

an examination of the voice leading.

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 117

Ex. 3.40. Third movement, meas. 427-31.

The root movement of the progression, A— E— F-sharp—

F-natural, has functional implications, but the voice

leading by half and whole steps convinces the listener of

its linear derivation, particularly in the movement of

the last two chords, F-sharp to F.

The movement ends with a short coda that consists of

an extended version of the refrain's motive with a rapid

triadic descent over several octaves (meas. 431-39). It

warrants identification as a coda because of the

prolongation of the tonic by chord succession. The root

movement of the descent, A— A-flat— E— F, does not follow

the circle of fifths, but makes aural sense because of

the voice leading (Ex. 3.41).

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 118

Ex. 3.41. Third movement, meas. 435-39.

Chromatic voice leading connects the pitch classes A and

A-flat, and the root movement of E— F at the cadence

confirms the Phrygian character of the whole movement.

The Middleqround

Because of the abundance of foreground detail, a

practical and useful middleground sketch relates more

closely to the background than to the foreground (Graph

3.9) .

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 119

Graph 3.9. Middleground graph of the third movement.

Refrain Episode 1

Refrain Episode 2

© < 58j £77) .95

Refrain Cadenza Episode 3

© © © © © ©
ft
i
< 4 ^ , 1 ------ 1- S X l i X

==== 3* s = = = = = = = = =
1
1
i I
1
^ — r — ■ ■ -- 1 ------n 5 > -- -----------
1
F=*»z>— - a—

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 120

Episode l Episode 2

Refrain

&

Even with a reduced middleground, voice leading is not

as structurally significant at the middleground level as

it is in the other two movements. Large- and small-scale

neighboring tones, as substitutes for traditional

functional relationships, provide the harmonic contrast

both between statements of the refrain and within

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 121

episodes. The refrain contains an important conjunct

line from b-flat2 to c2 , but only one conjunct line in

the movement rates a designation as a linear progression.

In the second episode, each scale degree in the

descending F minor line has an accompanying harmony

within the tonal area of F minor, which justifies its

notation as a linear progression.

Between the parts of the form, common tones usually

provide the link that connects the two parts. In most

cases, the pitch class F is the common-tone bridge. In

the transition to the first episode (meas. 80-93), the

accompaniment descends to the new tonic of E-flat, but

when the episode begins (meas. 93), it emphasizes F, a

common tone with the previous section.

The Background

A sketch of the structural background displays the

descending fundamental line and the primary and

secondary tonal areas (Graph 3.10).

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 122

Graph 3.10. Structural background of the third

movement.

/•* /N A C C'
5 4 3 2 1

-6 J -I"*■ c t

................

9 7--- L
9 ^

t !

Even though the fundamental line begins on the fifth

scale degree, C, the fourth scale degree of B-flat is

more important because it recurs at points of emphasis

and with greater frequency. Secondary tonal areas

relate to the tonic pitch by the interval of a second or

third, instead of the traditional fourth or fifth.

Expanded Tonality in the Second String Quartet

The interval of a perfect fourth, both melodically

and harmonically, stands out as a significant generative

element in the Second String Quartet. It controls the

unfolding of material to a greater extent than the

perfect fifth of the tonic-dominant relationship.

Probably the most important manifestation of the

predominance of the perfect fourth is the relative

prominence of the subdominant over the traditional

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 123

dominant. Quartal harmony, although used infrequently,

and added-note chords also relate to the perfect fourth.

Another important intervallie relationship is the minor

second, which surfaces as melodic chromaticism, root

movement by minor second, and large-scale neighboring

tones.

Conjunct melodic lines, often built on perfect fourth

tetrachords, characterize much of the melodic material,

though at times the conjunct motion is registrally

displaced. The preponderance of melodic ideas, which

overlap in some cases, suggest an emphasis on linear

relationships and connections. Prokofiev borrows several

folksongs for themes, a technique that makes the quartet

more accessible and appealing.

The diatonic pitch system and triadic functional

harmony provide the basis from which Prokofiev explores

expanded tonality. The major pitch system, although

embellished with chromaticism, forms the foundation for

the first and third movements. The Phrygian pitch

organization of the second movement, along with its

harmonic and cadentiai implications, gives variety within

the overall diatonic sound.

Evidence of an expanded harmonic usage emerges in a

limited context as bitonality, bichords, pandiatonicism,

and dissonant harmonies. In several instances, Prokofiev

uses dissonant harmonies at climactic points or points of

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 124

articulated stress. Additions to the diatonic vocabulary

include an emphasis on altered pitches and chords, such

as the lowered mediant in a major key. Extended tertian

sonorities, added-note chords, quartal and secundal

harmonies, and triadic sonorities with a split third give

contrast within the primarily triadic sound. Prokofiev's

use of pedal points allows him to emphasize a tonal

center within a nonfunctional harmonic setting.

Sudden harmonic shifts are usually accomplished

through chromatic voice leading and common tones.

Nonfunctional progressions, used sparingly, command

attention because of their presence at important moments;

e.g., the final cadential area of a movement.

Functional implications are obvious in large- and

small-scale contexts with nontraditional harmonies and

progressions appearing mostly within sections. The tonal

movement of the entire sonata, F— E— F, reflects both

conventional and unconventional practices— conventional

in its emphasis on the leading tone, yet unconventional

in the use of the leading tone as a contrasting tonal

area.

The analytic graphs that depict the tonal content of

each of the movements also illustrate the ways in which

the sonata goes beyond traditional tonal practices. The

first movement features an upper fundamental line that

descends from a1 to f1 but without the second scale

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 degree. The structural background of the second movement

reflects a modal pitch organization, but not Schenkerian

theory, in its unified E— D— E fundamental line. The

third movement, however, unfolds a descending upper

fundamental line, from scale degree five to one. In each

movement, the secondary tonal areas reveal the ways in

which Prokofiev expands traditional tonal functions.

The string Quartet No. 2 relies heavily on

traditional harmonic practice, yet effectively presents

ways of adapting traditional tonality to suit twentieth-

century musical ideas.

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 CHAPTER IV

THE SONATA FOR FLUTE AND PIANO, OP. 94

As the fighting of World War II drew closer to

Nalchik, a small town near the Black Sea, an exiled

group of artists and musicians, including Prokofiev, was

transferred from Nalchik south across the Caucasus

Mountains to Tbilisi, the capital of the Georgian

republic. Shortly after Prokofiev arrived in Tbilisi in

November of 1941, the film producer Sergei Eisenstein

invited Prokofiev to join him in Alma-Ata to work on the

film score for Ivan the Terrible. In May 1942,

Prokofiev and Myra Mendelson left Tbilisi and traveled

to Alma-Ata at the foothilJ s of the Altai Mountains near

the Chinese border, a long journey of sixteen hundred

miles.

Because of the nature of his collaborative effort

with Eisenstein, whereby some music would be written

before the scene was shot and then completed after the

filming, Prokofiev found himself with extra time on his

hands. He continued to orchestrate the opera War and

Peace and managed to write several other film scores for

the Central Soviet Film Studio while waiting on the slow

126

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 127

production schedule of Ivan the Terrible. In September

1942, he began work on the Sonata for Flute and Piano.

The following summer, during which Prokofiev worked on

his ballet Cinderella with the Kirov Ballet stationed in

Perm, he finished the Flute Sonata. In Prokofiev’s own

words, "I had long wished to write music for the flute,

an instrument which I felt had been undeservedly

neglected. I wanted to write a sonata in delicate,

fluid classical style."1 The work was premiered by

Nikolai Kharkovsky and Sviatoslav Richter on 7 December

1943 in Moscow with favorable reviews. At the suggestion

of David Oistrakh, Prokofiev later arranged the sonata

for violin and piano. According to Prokofiev, the flute

part was easily transferred to the violin:

This proved not too difficult, since we [David

Oistrakh and Prokofiev] found that the part of the
flute is easily adaptable to violin technique. Very
few changes were required, most of them affecting the
bowing. The piano part remained unchanged.2

In the version for violin, the sonata is known as the

Second Violin Sonata, op. 94-bis. It was first

performed by Oistrakh and Lev Oborin on 17 June 1944.

Several scholars note the similarities between the

flute sonata and some of Prokofiev's "classical" works,

•^Sergei Prokofiev, "Autobiography," in S. Prokofiev:

Autobiography. Articles. Reminiscences, ed. Semyon
Shlifstein, trans. Rose Prokofieva (Moscow: Foreign
Languages Publishing House, n.d.), p. 131.

2Ibid., p. 131.

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 128

such as his Classical Symphony. Israel Nestyev,

Prokofiev's Soviet biographer, classifies it as a piece

in an eighteenth-century style but with twentieth-

century harmonic ideas.3 Other writers note a

resemblance to the music of Bach and Handel because of

the relationship of tempos among the movements, slow-

fast-slow-fast, and the presence of dotted rhythms,

particularly in the second theme of the first movement.4

The formal organization of the flute sonata

corresponds with established patterns— the four

movements are sonata, scherzo and trio, ternary, and

rondo. The extension of melodic ideas is accomplished

primarily through repetition and recurrence rather than

by developmental techniques. Prokofiev described himself

as a melodic composer and this sonata corroborates that

description. The two instruments share the melodic

material, performing as partners instead of just soloist

and accompanist.

Prokofiev relied on the traditional diatonic system

as the foundation from which he explored nonfunctional

relationships. The overall tonality of D major, a

designation supplied by Prokofiev, is reinforced by the

3Israel V. Nestyev, Prokofiev, trans. Florence Jonas

(Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1960),
p. 345.

4Lawrence and Elisabeth Hanson, Prokofiev: The

Prodigal Son (London: Cassell & Company, 1964), p. 195.

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 129

use of functional harmony, yet enriched by an expansion

of the diatonic system. In this sonata, the most common

techniques beyond the diatonic system include an

increased emphasis on altered chords, triads enhanced by

added notes, and chromatic voice leading. In addition to

chromatic voice leading, chromaticism smoothly connects

distantly related tonal areas.

The First Movement— Moderate

The functional relationship of tonic and dominant

provides the framework for the D major pitch hierarchy

of the first movement. A prominent secondary

relationship is the lowered submediant chord, commonly

though- of in traditional harmony as an altered chord

borrowed from the parallel minor key. In this study,

the labels associated with functional harmony have been

used for identification purposes, but they should not be

taken as an indication of function unless it is so

stated. The word function. in this case, describes the

interdependency of chords in a progression and the tonal

implications of each chord. Thus, the use of the term

lowered submediant directs the reader to the exact scale

degree on which the chord is built, but does not

necessarily imply a progression from that chord. The

lowered submediant, as both an upper leading tone of the

dominant and as a chord resolving to the tonic, assumes

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 130

a significant secondary functional role in this sonata

because of its structural importance. Another important

intervallic relationship is the melodic and harmonic

minor second, which is most easily observed as chromatic

voice leading.

Themes

Melodic material clearly defines the formal

organization of this first-movement sonata form. The

first theme group, all in the large tonic tonal area of

D, consists of three separate ideas (Exx. 4.1, 4.2, 4.3).

Ex. 4.1. Prokofiev, Flute Sonata, first movement,

theme la, meas. 1-4.

M o d irtto J : is

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 131

Ex. 4.2. First movement, theme lb, meas. 9-10.

A tf

Ex. 4.3. First movement, theme lc, meas. 15-16.

The second theme, in the dominant tonal area of A,

outlines an A major arpeggio in an uneven rhythmic

pattern (Ex. 4.4).

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 132

Ex. 4.4. First movement, theme 2, meas. 20-25.

The martial third theme enters at the beginning of the

development section (Ex. 4.5). Because this sonata

appears in the collected works as the Second Violin

Sonata, this passage includes double stops. In the flute

version, the repeated e2s are absent.

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 133

Ex. 4.5. First movement, theme 3, meas. 42-43.

Although these three themes form the basis for the

extension of material in the movement, it is not the

development of thematic ideas that extends the music,

but the restatement and recurrence of these ideas.

Ideas are repeated at different tonal levels, melodies

are superimposed, or new themes are added; e.g., the new

theme at the beginning of the development section. Some

development of ideas might occur within a restatement, in

the manner of an extension. The composer rarely breaks

up a melody and develops just a fragment of it.

The Exposition

At the foreground level, one can observe the

intricacies of Prokofiev's chromaticism and altered

chord usage. Most of the melodies contain conjunct

motion or arpeggios with clear ties to the diatonic

tonal system. At the beginning of theme la (meas. 1-2;

see Ex. 4.1), chromatic voice leading effects a smooth

transition from the D major tonic triad to a B-flat

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 134

major seventh sonority. The B-flat resolves to A in the

next measure (meas. 3), but the accompanying dominant

chord on A is not the typical major chord, but a minor

seventh chord. At the end of the first phrase (meas. 3-

4), root movement by fifths (in this case supertonic to

dominant) progresses toward C and a sequential

repetition of the first phrase. The pitch class C (meas.

5), which is outside the diatonic system of D, is an

altered tone with structural significance at the

middleground level as a neighboring tone to D.

The sequence continues from C to A-flat (Ex. 4.6),

the pitch class a tritone from D and the most distant

point in the tonal region of D.

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 135

Ex. 4.6. First movement, meas. 5-8.

After the A-flat resolves to G (meas. 7), the motion

from a G minor seventh chord on the second beat to a B

major seventh chord with a split third on the third beat

involves root movement by major third and chromatic

voice leading. The term split third refers to a chord

with both thirds, such as the B sonority (meas. 7).

Because the progression quickly returns to D in the next

measure (meas. 8), the A-flat seems to operate within

the sphere of D rather than apart from it.

The second theme within the first theme group is

based on the harmonic alternation of a tonic chord and

an augmented dominant chord. The melodic neighboring

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 136

motion of F-sharp— E-sharp— F-sharp and ascending

motion, both diatonic and chromatic, provide melodic

direction (meas. 9-12; see Ex. 4.2). The restatement of

theme lb (meas. 13) again emphasizes A-flat, the tritone

of D (Ex. 4.7).

Ex. 4.7. First movement, meas. 13-16.

The A-flat major triad, in turn, prepares for the tonal

area of theme lc by means of an enharmonic common tone—

the E-flat (meas. 14) becomes D-sharp (meas. 15), the

third of the new B major tonic triad.

In the temporary tonal area of B (meas. 15-19; see

Ex. 4.3), root movement by the interval of a major third

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 137

controls the harmonic progression. The B major triad

progresses to a G major-minor seventh sonority, which is

embellished by two melodic lines in contrary motion

(meas. 15-16). The G sonority is the lowered submediant

in B major, a prominent altered chord that reappears

numerous times in this movement. A descending chromatic

line, F-sharp— F-natural— E (meas. 18-19), accompanied

by a descending dominant seventh arpeggio, leads into

the tonal area of the second theme, A major.

A short two-measure piano interlude introduces the

second theme (meas. 20-21; see Ex. 4.4). The

accompaniment to the second theme (meas. 22), chromatic

semitones in the piano that ascend and descend, provide a

counterbalance to the theme's ascending arpeggio. The

second theme firmly establishes A as its focal point,

though at the end of the phrase the harmony slides down

chromatically from an A major chord through a

fully-diminished seventh chord to a G-sharp major triad,

a major chord built on the leading tone (meas. 24).

This type of root movement by half step with chromatic

voice leading can be appropriately called a chromatic

slide because of its harmonic effect. The G-sharp does

not lead directly back to A, but instead proceeds to the

dominant chord on E (meas. 26).

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 138

In the next few measures, the harmonic progression

toward a restatement of the second theme again contains

a chromatic slide and chromatic semitones (Ex. 4.8).

Ex. 4.8. First movement, meas. 26-29.

mp

From the dominant chord on E (meas. 26), the phrase

moves to a B-flat minor triad (meas. 28). The B-flat

chord (the tritone and lowered dominant of E) shifts

chromatically into a French augmented-sixth chord built

on B on the fourth beat. The diminished third interval,

D-sharp— F, resolves in a conventional manner to E

(meas. 29) .

Within the restatement of the second theme

(beginning in meas. 30), the progression takes an

unexpected turn. The root of the anticipated dominant

chord is supplanted by a pedal tone C, which is a major

third below E. The use of D-sharp instead of D further

disguises the dominant function. As a part of the

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 139

dominant tonal area, the chromatic slide observed

earlier is now transposed to E-flat and E (meas. 37).

The codetta at the end of the exposition (meas. 38-

41) depends on the linear motion of three harmonic

triads: A major— F minor— E major (Ex. 4.9).

Ex. 4.9. First movement, meas. 38-41.

The F minor triad has an enharmonic third, which is

probably spelled as G-sharp because of the following E

major triad. An analysis in the dominant key of A major

results in the harmonic progression of tonic— minor

lowered submediant— dominant. Again, the lowered

submediant surfaces at a significant point in the formal

organization. In this instance, it resolves directly to

the dominant in the manner of an upper leading tone.

Conjunct melodic motion in three inner voices holds

the progression together. One voice descends C-sharp—

C— B, another ascends G-sharp— A, and the third descends

F-natural— E (see Ex. 4.9).

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 140

The Development

In the development, melodic passing motion and

neighboring-tone motion at the foreground level gives

coherence in the midst of changing and ambiguous tonal

areas. The development section begins with the martial

theme cited earlier (see Ex. 4.5) and proceeds with the

thematic material of both themes in the secondary tonal

areas of C-sharp major (theme la), G-sharp major (theme

la), and B-flat major (theme 2). The secondary tonal

areas relate to the opening dominant tonal area of A by

the intervals of a major third and minor second.

In the development section, Prokofiev occasionally

uses material from two different themes simultaneously,

usually as melody and accompaniment (meas. 66; theme 2

and codetta). The final two temporary areas of tonal

emphasis, B (meas. 73) and G (meas. 76), are both the

interval of a major second from the dominant area A. In

a link following a G major presentation of theme lb

material, the piano adds the melodic altered tones

C-sharp, E-flat, and B-flat over a tonic pedal point

(meas. 78)— these altered tones create and sustain

tension that builds toward the retransition.

The retransition (Ex. 4.10) emphasizes the lowered

submediant, a triad on B-flat with both the perfect and

augmented fifths, a type of split fifth.

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 141

Ex. 4.10. First movement, meas. 81-88.

*._^ vp---- ^ ^ \U !>

-ff f
33
8--- T~
Ft L.
1#r nT ..

IcJeJsJ UJ

^ bem ttmml*

- r'~T = = lif— nJ— ^ ----

7 0
-r ----

This B-flat sonority also includes the primary tonic of

D in anticipation of the upcoming recapitulation. To

complete the motion toward the recapitulation, an

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 142

inexact sequence of triads and seventh chords descends

to the original tonal area of D (meas. 85-88). The

chromaticism of the descending sequence expands upon the

chromatic semitones first heard in the exposition. The

prominent position of the lowered submediant B-flat

within the large harmonic motion of the retransition

reinforces its importance in the entire movement.

Immediately preceding the recapitulation (meas. 88), an

augmented-sixth chord closely related to a French

augmented-sixth chord, with its implied half-step

resolutions, leads chromatically into the

recapitulation.

The Recapitulation

Prokofiev follows traditional practices by

transposing all thematic material in the recapitulation

to the tonic area of D, with the exception of themes lb

and 3, which do not reappear. The transposition of

theme lc allows for scale degree three of the

fundamental line to coincide with theme lc rather than

with lb as it did in the exposition's descending line.

In the latter part of the two-part coda, the first

part of which is a return of the codetta (meas. 115-22)

and the second is built on a type of deceptive cadence

(meas. 123-30), the reappearance of a B-flat minor triad

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 is the final confirmation of its structural significance
(Ex. 4.11).

Ex. 4.11. First movement, coda, meas. 123-30.

PP

.1 V fit.

mp

The descending root movement by major third (meas. 126-

27), taken from the opening measure and heard in the

context of theme la throughout the entire movement,

becomes a secondary linear progression that also descends

to the tonic pitch. The final cadence consists of a

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 144

chord borrowed from the parallel minor key— a diminished

supertonic harmony that resolves to the tonic D.

In addition to the major chord built on the lowered

submediant scale degree, Prokofiev also emphasizes the

minor triad built on the same scale degree (meas. 38-39)

and a minor triad built on the lowered dominant (meas.

28, 37). Each sonority is carefully resolved: the major

lowered submediant chord resolves to either dominant or

tonic; the minor lowered submediant goes to the dominant;

and the minor lowered dominant chromatically slides up to

the regular dominant. Harmonic chromaticism most often

functions as either an upper or lower leading tone

because of its subsequent resolution. Melodic

chromaticism also follows directional implications as

either a passing tone or neighboring tone.

The Middleground

In a graph of the middleground, evidence of an

expanded use of the diatonic system emerges. The

following middleground graph represents the relative

importance of particular pitch events without surface

detail (Graph 4.1). To display the timbral differences

and the exchange of material between the flute and piano,

three individual staves are used.

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 145

Graph 4.1. Flute Sonata, first movement,

middleground graph of the exposition.

Theme la Theme lb
©A
© ©
5

FI

Pf

Theme lc

© © ©
*— r-:. - ^Z rk z~ ~ ~
\ i> i '

m— 1
------------ --------------- — %==?
-----

grit ,>«
* v ■----=£----
=r%. ■-£#*■■■
Y . — ■. ■—

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 146

Theme 2

Q -i'
£

5*7= t ;i„ "

. W'^-l 3 /

Codetta
© ©

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 147

The pitch class A, established by the flute in the

opening measure, is prolonged through the exposition as

the first note of the fundamental line. A linear

progression encompassing a third, from A to F-sharp,

spans and connects the first two thematic ideas. Within

the primary tonal areas of tonic and dominant, smaller

sections and progressions incorporate chords outside the

major diatonic system. For instance, the first thematic

idea consists of the basic motion of D to C, the

borrowed subtonic, and back to D.

The primary harmonic motion through the exposition

moves from tonic to dominant with temporary emphases on

A-flat major and B major, both of which are considered

distantly related to D major.

Certain types of intervallic relationships stand out

at this level. Root movement by major third and melodic

major and minor thirds outline many harmonic and melodic

motions. Chromatic and diatonic neighboring tones

connect smaller and larger sections. Melodically, the

minor second appears frequently as a neighboring tone or

passing tone with an expected resolution.

The development section contains references to most

of the themes in a variety of tonal areas, including

C-sharp major, B major and minor, G-sharp major, B-flat

major, and G major (Graph 4.2).

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 148

Graph 4.2. First movement, middleground graph of the

development.

Theme 3 Theme la Theme 3

52
(5 m A)

Theme 2 Theme la Codetta Theme 2

(65)

s*r 1l ± l l
r i
tt'" " ''-,
-------------- ■■ i h
/rtl
j» » —

• e £i
If

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 149

Theme lb

Between presentations of thematic areas, common tones or

chromatic motion connect the subsections, which softens

the modulation to a distantly related tonal area.

Register transfer also plays a prominent role. Chromatic

linear motion, B— B-flat— A, closes the development

section.

The recapitulation presents the descent of the upper

fundamental line from scale degree five to one (Graph

4.3) .

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 150

Graph 4.3. First movement, middleground graph of the

recapitulation.

©
Theme la

/s
5
©A
4
© Theme

A
0

T
- ± ------------------- & -
,T
1 o --- 1
-1— 6
I

Theme 2 Coda
10‘ LIS)
A A
2 1

JLi_

§i
*
-T
1 J

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 151

IT

The tonal areas of the recapitulation are limited to

tonic and dominant, with a temporary emphasis on the

lowered submediant B-flat in the coda. Important

passing- and neighboring-tone motion is included in the

discussion of the exposition. A secondary conjunct line

that imitates the fundamental line, but with the lowered

third scale degree instead of the major third, concludes

the movement.

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 152
The Background

A structural reduction of the entire movement

reveals several important features (Graph 4.4).

Graph 4.4. Structural background of the first

movement.

Exposition Development
A
5

, V~-t- fj ^
r
^ ---- = -
f f ' M i fjf
Recapitulation Coda
/' /\ A / S.
e 2 1
3

,4 - - ^ | r 1 ,
*------- i> " --------------

t T a

4
----------------------

Of f
^ T

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 153

The upper fundamental line of the movement descends from

the dominant A to the tonic D. The bottom fundamental

line rests on either the tonic or the dominant, thus

reiterating the basic tonic-dominant framework. Between

presentations of important pitches, represented here by

open noteheads and stems, lines of lesser importance

indicate features that make this movement an example of

expanded tonality.

The basic root movement of a major third,

represented by D to B-flat in the structural reduction,

reappears with enough frequency to become an important

feature of the movement. Most instances of the movement

by major third are in the same descending direction as

the first presentation.

The importance of the semitone also emerges at the

background level, particularly in the development

section. Secondary linear progressions in the

exposition and development provide interest within the

prolongation of the fifth scale degree of the

fundamental line. The final harmonic progression of the

movement focuses on the motion from B-flat, the lowered

submediant, to the tonic D. This motion answers the

descent of D to B-flat in the opening measures.

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 154

The Second Movement— Allegretto scherzando (Scherzo)

The second movement conforms to a typical scherzo in

its formal organization and light, dance-like style. An

important characteristic of the entire movement is the

interval of a minor second, both harmonically and

melodically. Root movement by minor second develops

into large neighboring tones over longer spans. Within

the parts of the form, chromatic slides, whereby the

entire harmony shifts, are evidence of the significance

of the semitone. In most cases, the harmony slides down

rather than up. Melodic semitones can be seen in the

prominent chromatic voice leading, frequent use of

secondary leading tones, and a type of static harmonic

change consisting of an inner part alternating between

two notes a semitone apart. The inclusion of the

leading tone in the final cadential sonority is

confirmation of the semitone’s importance.

Primary Melodic Ideas

Changes in melodic material determine the structure

of the movement. The opening scherzo contains two

thematic ideas, of which the first has two related

periods, and two connecting transitions. Short, three-

note phrases give a breathless quality to the first

section (Ex. 4.12).

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 155

Ex. 4.12. Second movement, part one, meas. 7-18.

A hemiola effect distinguishes the second period from

the first: the duple feeling gives way to a triple meter

(Ex. 4.13). The melody of this subsection follows the

accompanying harmonic changes closely.

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 156

Ex. 4.13. Second movement, part one, meas. 19-27.

mp

The second section in the scherzo begins in the parallel

key of A major but soon dissolves into tonally ambiguous

root movement by minor second (Ex. 4.14).

Ex. 4.14. Second movement, part one, meas. 82-88.

/ ”/

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 157

The trio section, the second part of the ternary

design A B A , presents two new melodic sections. The

first one seems to be influenced by folksong. The modal

characteristics of the melody, in particular the raised

fourth scale degree, or lydian fourth, are prominent

because of the open-fifth drone in the piano (Ex. 4.15).

Ex. 4.15. Second movement, part two, meas. 162-73.

#4 ^3
| Poco piu la o a a j dot J-J.

‘t r
TV

The second melodic idea of the trio section suggests the

singing of birds (Ex. 4.16).

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 158

Ex. 4.16. Second movement, part two, meas. 174-77.

1 *

tr

The repetition and recurrence of melodic statements

organizes the material into recognizable parts and

sections. Strong tonal centers, most often at points of

formal restatement, delineate the divisions despite the

constant rhythmic drive. Sections of ambiguous tonality

usually precede a new tonal center in the succeeding

measures.

Because of the nature of much of the musical

material, especially in the first part, fragmentation of

melodic ideas becomes a practical means to extend and

generate material. Although most of the sections are

restated in their entirety, the restatements may be

extended in order to prepare for the next section. In

the coda, the fragmentation and rapid alternation of the

sections within the first part is an effective means of

achieving closure. Within melodic sections, the two

instruments exchange melodic and accompanimental material

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 159

and sometimes imitate each other at the distance of a

measure or less. The overlapping presentations created

by close imitation help to maintain the continuous flow

of the music.

The First Part

An examination of the foreground uncovers important

features of Prokofiev's style. The offset rhythmic

accents of the introduction along with the uncertain

tonal feeling seems to create a musical "question mark."

Two diverging chromatic lines. B— B-flat— A in the

bottom voice and E— F— F-sharp— G— G-sharp— A in the

upper, lead directly into the first melodic idea.

Once the first section begins, the accompaniment

reinforces the tonal area of A with a sonority that

includes the second scale degree, B (meas. 7; see Ex.

4.12). The term added-note chord could be applied,

though its suitability in all cases is questionable.

Chromatic melodic motion in the first section sustains

the chromaticism of the introduction. Prokofiev

transposes the second phrase to a tonality of C major

with an occasional B-flat. The presence of the B-flat

corresponds to either the mixolydian mode or the use of

chords borrowed by the major key from the parallel minor

key.

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 160

In the second period (meas. 19; see Ex. 4.13), the

arrival at the tonal area of A-flat can be understood in

two ways. In the long span, A-flat is a minor second

below the opening tonal area of A, thus functioning as a

large neighboring tone; in addition, the A-flat major

triad is connected to the previous C tonal area by the

common tone C. In preparation for the A-flat, the

leading-tone motion of G to A-flat in the bass register

effects a smooth shift into A-flat. A descending bass

line (meas. 19-27), from G to B-flat, carries the

subsection to a cadence. The second period ends on a

D-flat minor triad (meas. 27), which forms the basis for

the first transition.

The reiterated D-flat minor triad in the transition

becomes a static harmony with the only change being two

pitches in alternation, G and B-double-flat (Ex. 4.17).

Ex. 4.17. Second movement, meas. 27-29.

tr.p

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 161

The static quality of the transition creates a breathing

space before the quick tempo of the first period starts

again. To return to the opening material, the D-flat

chromatically slides into the restatement of the first

period at the pitch level of D, which is the subdominant

of A.

The restatement of the first subsection involves

rapid register changes in the flute not present in the

original melody, a technique that adds to the excited

quality of the theme. The expected harmonic shift to

D-flat for the second period (A-flat in the original)

slides instead into A (meas. 46; Ex. 4.18).

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 162

Ex. 4.18. Second movement, meas. 42-58.

**

The ensuing chromatic bass line diffuses the strength of

the A tonal center. The transition, an extended version

of the first transition, focuses on a static D minor

triad (meas. 58) with a melodic alternation between

G-sharp and B-flat. It is extended by the addition of a

triad a minor second away, an E-flat minor triad in first

inversion (Ex. 4.19).

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 163

Ex. 4.19. Second movement, meas. 60-63

,i
YFf 't
The back-and-forth exchange of these two triads

emphasizes the bass movement of a major third. The flute

accompanies the piano with rapid ascending scales that

loosely follow an E-flat minor scale. When the piano

answers with descending scales, the scales include

G-natural instead of G-flat. The tension between G-flat

and G-natural in the two instruments is further evidence

of the importance of the interval of a minor second.

The alternation between the D minor and E-flat minor

triads finally resolves to a D-flat major triad (meas.

75); the D-flat triad becomes the beginning of a

descending line toward the middle section. To

distinguish between the two types of transition

material, the D-flat transition is designated as

transition 2.

Because of the tonal strength of the D-flat

transition and the precedent set in the first

transition, the listener expects the new theme to enter

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 164

on A-flat. Instead, Prokofiev surprises us with a shift

to A major (Ex. 4.20).

Ex. 4.20. Second movement, meas. 79-86.

Fi< 1 — - - - - f— — ■' - 1
V

>

.1 J— .frS -,
.r lr

The penultimate note of the descending scale acts as an

upper leading tone of the new tonal area of A. The

effect is less jarring when one realizes that the D-flat

of the transition becomes C-sharp, the third scale

degree of A. The common tone between the two tonal

areas supplies a thread of aural continuity.

The A major focus of the second section quickly

expands to include D-sharp, the raised fourth scale

degree, or lydian fourth (meas. 85; see Ex. 4.14). The

D-sharp anticipates its prominent role in the main

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 165

section of the upcoming trio. The chromaticism in the

inner parts, ascending from F (meas. 87-90), propels the

harmonic progression of the second section. The

alternation of two triads a minor second apart, which

first appeared in transition 1, becomes the means by

which to depart from the tonal area of A in the second

section. In this instance, the two triads are G major

and G-sharp minor, which have one common tone between

them. The imitative, overlapping melodic ideas

contribute to the ambiguity of the tonal area.

A restatement of the second section in the piano

enters on A-flat (meas. 103), a minor second below the

original presentation. At the point of the alternating

triads in the original, the restatement instead switches

to transition 1, a static G-flat major harmony (meas.

115-22). The fifth of the G-flat triad, D-flat,

chromatically slides into D and a return of the first

section (meas. 123).

The return of the first section rounds out the first

large part of the movement (meas. 123). Two descending

lines in the bass with inexact chromaticism, first C to

E-flat and then D to A, are an expansion of the single

line in the first presentation. A reference to

transition 2, repeated quarter notes at a fortissimo

dynamic level, rests on A, the dominant of the upcoming D

tonal area of the trio (meas. 153-56). A gentle

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 166

ascending melody added to the repeated notes (Ex. 4.21)

organizes into an A lydian scale. The use of the lydian

mode prepares for the lydian emphasis of the first

section of the trio.

Ex. 4.21. Second movement, meas. 157-61.

tit.

The D-sharp functions as an upper neighboring tone to

the upcoming tonal area of D in the trio.

The Second Part

The sustained drone effect of the trio's first

section contrasts with the quickness of the scherzo.

The melody seems to be influenced by folksong because of

some of the altered scale degrees (see Ex. 4.15). The

G-sharp in the second measure (meas. 163) is the lydian

fourth scale degree in D, and the F-natural at the end

of the phrase corresponds to one of the minor modes.

The harmonic progression of the second phrase relies on

fifth-related functional relationships to the noticeable

exclusion of a dominant harmony.

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 167

The next section of the trio (see Ex. 4.16) also

centers on D, but not D major or minor. The first

sonority (meas. 174) consists of a quartal arrangement

of pitches. This sonority then progresses to a

enharmonic French augmented~sixth chord (meas. 175); the

quality of the chord suggests the French label, but the

typical resolution is not present. The lowest note of

the chord, B-flat, is the lowered submediant of D, but

resolves directly back to D instead of to the dominant

A. The B-flat moves up an augmented second to C-sharp

with a common tone in another voice in the next statement

of the phrase (meas. 182), and then proceeds through a

sequence of chords to G-sharp minor, the raised

subdominant of D, before completing the motion through

the dominant A to the tonic D.

The piano takes over the melody for the first phrase

of the restatement of the first section (meas. 190-93).

In the second section, the emphasis on B-flat. the

lowered submediant scale degree, is prolonged over eleven

measures (meas. 209-19) before finally settling on A

(meas. 220). The B-flat figuration combines with a

transposed version of the first section in the flute's

lowest register (Ex. 4.22).

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 168

Ex. 4.22. Second movement, meas. 208-20.

■ f r p ' f j - -f f

t A
F f = = * F = = = 3 ,j ■■■■ i ■■ i S3
— ---- * 7 ? -------- J

, ....... J r f . .... ,, . I* | , l-pfttf

411 L» — I L ■ \ '

m f

■ . j U ■■ t— t--.1 luj-.-j:
L ril \ J. ••I i iJ *

The resulting harmony, a B-flat diminished-minor seventh

chord, adds to the unstable nature of the progression

toward the return of the scherzo. The chromatic lines

leading into the scherzo consist of an exchange between

A and B-flat in the bass register and C-sharp and

C-natural in the middle register (meas. 222-27). The

C-natural becomes the common-tone link to the third

section.

The Third Part

The final scherzo is an exact repetition of the

first part through statements of the melodic material of

the first and second sections. It departs at the point

when the piano enters with a G-flat major triad as a

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 169

part of the second section's melody (meas. 334). In the

second scherzo, the G-flat is sustained through a return

of transition 2 on G-flat (meas. 335). In this extended

version, the G-flat transition shifts to D-flat, which

then resolves to A, just as it did in the first part.

The final return of the second section signals the

beginning of the coda, which functions primarily as a

prolongation of the tonic (Ex. 4.23).

Ex. 4.23. Second movement, meas. 348-59.

" i r - nr
rr.rj r i \ J . Q p . I
m - h . n ,

A ^ - V \ V

Fragments of both of the sections in quick alternation

provide final reminders of the melodic material of the

scherzo. The rapid exchange of melodic ideas creates

several dissonances, most notably C and C-sharp. A

descending passage built on the ascending melodic thirds

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 170

of the first section emphasizes the intervals of a minor

second and major third, which are the intervals between

most of the pitches in the three-note patterns.

After a brief stop on the dominant E, the final

harmonic motion (Ex. 4.24) progresses from the dominant

E to D-sharp and F-sharp in the piano, which is a direct

dissonance with the D in the flute.

Ex. 4.24. Second movement, meas. 367-70.

The D-sharp (the lydian fourth of A) and the F-sharp (the

dorian sixth) resolve down a tritone to A and C, which

are members of the tonic sonority. Even in the final

cadence, the significance of notes outside the diatonic

system is acknowledged. The minor second interval in the

final sonority, a second-inversion A minor triad with an

octave G-sharp grace note, adds a touch of sharp

dissonance that carries over into the silence following

the movement. Only after the next movement starts does

the listener realize that the E in the bass, an unstable

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 171

chord tone on which to conclude a movement, acts as a

leading tone to the third movement's key of F major.

Several observations can be made about the

foreground detail in this movement. The melodies

generally follow triadic outlines, and the numerous

octave leaps contribute to a rather wide range. Most of

the vertical sonorities are triadic with occasional added

notes. Harmonic expectations are sometimes circumvented,

but, for the most part, traditional functional harmony

forms the basis for harmonic progression.

In addition to melodic chromaticism, chromatic voice

leading connects phrases and larger sections. Distantly

related tonal areas often have a common tone to lessen

the sudden shift.

The Middleqround

Important neighboring tones can be observed in a

middleground graph of the first part (Graph 4.5).

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 172

Graph 4.5. Second movement, middleground graph of

part one.

al a2 al

© © © © © ©
trans. 1

FI

Pf.

V.

a c

a2 trans. 1 t r a n s . 2 b

d D *7 A

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 173

al a2 trans. 2
13) ^23) 31) 035)

trans. l

X*\frb— T * W

u
m -M- M txaz

A^ d

At this level, the number and variety of notes outside

the diatonic system of A minor attest to the increased

importance of these notes. The three-note ascending

motive first heard in the flute sets the stage for both

ascending and descending conjunct motion at the

middleground level. The descending minor second

interval can be seen in larger spans and in smaller

juxtapositions.

An illustration of primary and secondary linear

formations in a graph such as this cannot adequately

account for the presence of certain triadic

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 relationships. Since Western ears are accustomed to the

aural tendency of a triad to center tonal hearing, the

graph includes upper- and lower-case letters to indicate

the pitch level and quality of triads that occur at the

middleground level. The recognition of triadic

formations reinforces the basic triadic nature of the

movement without detracting from the long-range linear

relationships.

The second part emphasizes altered pitches within

the tonal area of D instead of rapidly changing tonal

areas as in the first part (Graph 4.6).

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 17 5

Graph 4.6. Second movement, middleground graph of

part two.
d c

L74) 0 .9 0 )

p. I -

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 176

A secondary linear progression, A— G-sharp— F— E— D

controls the melodic direction of the trio's main

melodic idea. Second to the tonic in importance is the

pitch class B-flat, the lowered submediant scale degree.

The second section of the trio features an alternation

between the tonic chord and a B-flat sonority, and the

final section relies on B-flat to make the transition

back to the scherzo.

Because of the amount of repetition between the two

presentations of the scherzo, the middleground graph of

the third part is shortened in order to highlight only

the differences between the two parts (Graph 4.7).

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 177

Graph 4.7. Second movement, middleground graph of

part three.

Coda

© © © ©

*meas. 228-334 are a repeat of meas. 7-113, so they are

not included hare.

The tonal area of A minor in the third part is

reinforced by its upper leading tone, B-flat. The coda

maintains a constant emphasis on A with other pitch

events, among them conjunct lines and altered pitches,

providing interest.

The Background

A graph of the structural background illuminates the

primary and secondary tonal areas (Graph 4.8).

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 178

Abbreviations for tonic, subdominant, and dominant appear

below the system.

Graph 4.8. structural background of the second

movement.

Part One Part Two

,'L| ^ i 4 i - . ,\A -J-" i

Ft f
V

Part Three Coda

T S T D T

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 179

A prolongation of the pitch class A in the upper voice

throughout the movement is paired with an alternation

between the tonic A and the subdominant D in the bottom

fundamental line. As a secondary tonal area, the

subdominant is the most important. Dominant harmony is

relegated to a smaller role within phrases, but it does

enter into the final cadential area.

In the background graph, important neighboring-tone

relationships are indicated with a slur and flag on the

pitch that functions as a neighboring tone. Because of

the significance of the ascending register transfer of

a1 to a2 , it is included in this graph, even though the

concept of obligatory register would imply only the

presence of a2 .

The Third Movement— Andante

After the quiet forcefulness of the first movement

and the fast-paced scherzo second movement, the third

movement sustains a feeling of calm and tranquility.

The relaxed mood of this movement counterbalances the

dynamic power of the fourth movement to follow.

Of the four movements in the flute sonata, the third

is the most overtly functional in its harmonic

relationships. In the functional hierarchy, the

dominant follows the tonic in importance. Within this

strong tonic-dominant framework, Prokofiev introduces

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 180

tonal areas that are a minor second above or below the

preceding tonal center. Chromatic voice leading, often

in at least two voices, makes a smooth transition from

one tonal area to another. The presence of tonal areas

related by a semitone also falls into the category of

neighboring motion, of which there are numerous examples

at various structural levels.

Primary Melodic Ideas

The third movement organizes easily into a ternary

form with a coda. Changes in melodic material, tonal

areas, harmonic rhythm, and amount of chromaticism

contribute to the high level of contrast between the

first two parts. The song-like cantabile melody of the

first part includes several wide intervals, one of the

hallmarks of Prokofiev's style (Ex. 4.25).

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 181

Ex. 4.25. Third movement, part one, meas. 1-18.

A ad aa le J=*t
I I

y g = g n - i 1= 3=
= ----------

’3 +
mp

Tf

:1 = 3 ^ =

The second part sounds like a slow blues melody (Ex.

4.26).

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 182

Ex. 4.26. Third movement, part two, meas. 34-37.

The essence of each part is the restatement and

reappearance of melodic material without much

development, although some development of the first part

does occur in the coda when a fragment is extended by

means of harmonic parallelism over a tonic pedal point.

The First Part

Close examination of the foreground uncovers

numerous instances of chromatic voice leading, or

movement by semitone. In general, chromatic motion in

the outer parts indicates chromatic inner parts. For

example, near the end of the first phrase, when the

tonal center shifts from F to F-sharp, the outer parts

move in contrary motion by whole step in the upper part

and a half step in the bottom part (meas. 7-8; see Ex.

4.25). To complete the harmonic shift, d2 resolves down

by half step to c-sharp1 in the following measure. As

the progression moves toward a D minor triad (meas.

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 183

9”10), the upper and middle parts move by half step and

the bottom voice descends a whole step.

Chromatic neighboring tones at three levels of a

compound melody shape the flute melody in the second

phrase (meas. 10-13; see Ex. 4.25). The melodic

chromaticism spans an even wider range as the flute

melody descends to g1 and then ascends to c2 (meas. 13-

16). In conjunction with the flute, the bass line in

the piano ascends by minor and major seconds from D to

c. Thus, by the end of the first period, Prokofiev

reveals several important features of this movement: the

diatonic framework combined with chromatic voice leading

and melodic chromaticism.

In a restatement of the first period, the piano

presents the melody. The harmonic shift of F— F-sharp

(meas. 24-25) is temporarily delayed by chromatic

passing tones in the upper voices on the strong beat of

the measure. The restatement ends with descending

instead of ascending chromaticism.

The Second Part

The second part of the ternary design features the

flute in the bottom octave of its range in a blues-like

melody (meas. 35-37; see Ex. 4.26). The melody is

saturated with the full chromatic potential of its

narrow range. Most of the notes lie between g1 and b 1,

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 184

a major third, with f1 and d1 added at the end of the

phrase. The accompanying harmony consists of a C major

tonic chord and a dominant sonority built on G that is

more quartal than tertian because of the presence of a

major second instead of a third. The pitch organization

resembles the blues scale with its raised fourth and

lowered seventh scale degrees.

A large neighboring motion, from C major to B minor,

sets up the next full statement of the second part's

melodic material (meas. 43). Adjustments in the melodic

chromaticism create a dissonance, E-sharp and F-sharp,

between the flute and piano; the resulting sonority is a

triad with a split fifth (Ex. 4.27).

Ex. 4.27. Third movement, meas. 43-47.

mp

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 185

When the piano imitates the flute figuration in the

second phrase (meas. 47), it adds the harmonic seventh

to the B minor split-fifth sonority. The seventh is

also a part of a descending descant line, B— A— G—

F-sharp. The section returns to the tonal area of C

through the upper neighboring tone, C-sharp (meas. 52).

The last presentation of the blues melody in its

original tonal area (meas. 53) adds even more chromatic

notes to the point where only the pitch classes C-sharp

and D are absent. The transition to the third part (Ex.

4.28) depends on two ascending chromatic lines: a bottom

line that slowly rises from C to F (meas. 57-63); and an

upper part that starts on b-flat1 and ascends to d-flat2

(meas. 61-64).

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 186

Ex. 4.28. Third movement, meas. 57-67,

i i

Hal >
*i ,

The D-flat becomes the dominant of the new tonal area of

G-flat in the third part.

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 187

The Third Part

In the third part, or return of the first part, the

flute continues with the figuration of part two while the

piano presents the melody of part one in octaves (meas.

66; see Ex. 4.28). Chromatic voice leading in contrary

motion softens a harmonic shift from G-flat major to G

minor (meas. 71-72). Once the progression reaches G

minor, the tonal distance back to F major is considerably

shortened. A chromatic bass line and harmonic

parallelism (meas. 77-78) set up a cadence on F in the

measure preceding the coda (meas. 81).

With an F pedal point anchoring the coda, chromatic

parallel motion in the upper parts slowly descends to

the lowest register of the flute (Ex. 4.29).

Ex. 4.29. Third movement, meas. 82-89.

rr

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 188

In this descent, the flute follows the melodic shape of

both phrases of the melody from part one and the piano

contributes triadic figurations in strict chromatic

parallel motion. The final cadence involves chromatic

voice leading in four identifiable voices. Although some

of the lines are displaced at the octave, the

chromaticism can be clearly heard (Ex. 4.30).

Ex. 4.30. Third movement, meas. 92-94.

r lln « to

<~TU J J 1 j ,J J i-Tjj 1

j ■ . .. ...... = ..... ....... = j

w l j ? "i 1Fn.=— p
r
(■ .1 .........

- — --

A hint of the parallel minor key results from the

outline of an F minor triad in the lowest voice in its

descent to the final F, but the A-natural in the last

measure confirms the F major tonality.

The conclusion of the third movement ties in with

the fourth movement by means of a common-tone link. The

tonic F of the third movement emerges as E-sharp in the

first measure of the fourth movement. Although the

tonality of the fourth movement is more closely related

to D major, the E-sharp imparts a major-minor, or split

third, character to the main theme.

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 189

The Middleground

A middleground graph of the first part illustrates

the role of chromatic voice leading and linear motion in

the connection of large and small tonal areas (Graph

4.9) .

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 190

Graph 4.9. Third movement, middleground graph of

part one.

© © © © © ©
3
T
FI. I i ■

Pf.<
¥
s i

1 1

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 191

In the first part, the shift from F major to F-sharp

minor involves one common tone, A, and contrary motion

in the two outer parts (meas. 7-8). Several measures

later, the F-sharp moves back down to F (meas. 10). In

the bottom voice, the final cadence of the first part is

approached through the tritone, F-sharp, which resolves

as a leading tone up to the dominant G of the final tonal

area of C. In the upper voice, the dominant appears

first and the tritone follows one measure later.

Other instances of chromatic voice leading occur in

the second part (Graph 4.10).

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 192

Graph 4.10. Third movement, middleground graph of

part two.

The opening tonal area of C modulates to B (meas. 43),

and C-sharp prepares for the return of the opening

melody in C. Two ascending chromatic lines precede the

third part.

The G-flat tonal area at the beginning of the third

part acts as a chromatic neighboring tone, both to G and

F (Graph 4.11).

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 193

Graph 4.11. Third movement, middleground graph of

part three.

Coda

Chromatic voice leading in contrary motion in the outer

pares also contributes to the modulation from G-flat

major to G minor (meas. 71-72). Another chromatic line

closes the movement.

The Background

A depiction of the tonal areas within each part

highlights significant neighboring-tone motion (Graph

4.12).

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 194
Graph 4.12. Structural background of the third
movement.

Part One Part Two part Three coda

a A
3 1

c 1 \ - - S 6- - - -
.kd --------
^

■ ^ .. -1-1 _____ — —

' 4 f - f
£ 4 f

If reduced to a single musical expression, the upper

fundamental line descends from the third scale degree to

tonic over a large I— V— I progression.

The Fourth Movement— Allegro con brio

As in the third movement, the strong functional

relationship between tonic and dominant is the foundation

for tonality in the rondo-form fourth movement. The

individual sections focus on either the tonic or

dominant tonal centers, with the only exception being

the second episode. The elements of an expanded

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 195

tonality, or that which goes beyond the diatonic system,

occur within sections and phrases.

The formal organization of the fourth movement can

best be described as rondo form. The refrain appears

four times in the movement, each time based on the tonal

center of D and closely aligned to the key of D major.

The design of this particular rondo form is as follows

(Fig. 4.1):

Fig. 4.1. Flute Sonata, fourth movement, formal

design.

Section Melodic Ideas Tonal Area Measures

Refrain Al, A2 D 1-29

Episode I B A 30-53

Refrain Al, A2 D 54-66

Episode I B A 67-71

Episode 2 C F 72-121

Refrain Al, A2 D 122-44

Episode I B D 145-60

Refrain (Coda) Al D 161-74

In shortened form, the design i s A B A B / C / A B A , or

a large A B A . Because the second episode presents new

material without any development of material from the

refrain and first episode, the sonata rondo form is not

appropriate in this instance.

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 196

Primary Melodic Ideas

Wide intervallic leaps characterize the refrain (Ex.

4.31).

Ex. 4.31. Fourth movement, refrain, meas. 1-5.

Allrirro coi krie

The emphasis on E-sharp in the ascending split-third

arpeggio gives the refrain a major-minor quality. The

E-sharp is also the leading tone of F-sharp; it resolves

up to the F-sharp by the end of the first measure. The

second subsection of the refrain, in contrast to the

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 197

first subsection, depends almost exclusively on conjunct

motion (Ex. 4.32).

Ex. 4.32 Fourth movement, refrain, meas. 17-20.

j'l r,nrn.n=t i ,;fan~i i

> ■
ansts-g-y—,►- # ^
fcarL,, e-f-Mg f

1i i i~i J~•m J ■i'-i' i ■

t i i i £ i r M

The melody of the first episode resembles a technical

exercise for thirds and arpeggios with a lot of

neighboring-tone activity (Ex. 4.33).

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 A conjunct, three-note ascending motive generates the

lyrical, singing melody of the second episode. As in

the refrain, the second episode incorporates several

disjunct intervals (Ex. 4.34).

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 199

Ex. 4.34. Fourth movement, episode 2, meas. 84-90.

l1fm o

rcg 1 1■ ■ ■■

-- -
I
I
n i pVi Ct , ^ • *

■-kI j T E n ri= = = EE^:Jl=3EFgE I-ri ; ¥...rr=v

i i ---- J

J -i-' J-J-

The interval of a minor second, prominent in the

other three movements of this sonata, plays an important

but limited role in the fourth movement. In the first

measure of the refrain, the semitone between E-sharp and

F-sharp becomes the focal point of the difference

between D major and D minor. Although most of the

sections in the tonal area of D affiliate with the major

key, the final statement of the first episode returns in

the key of D minor. Melodic chromaticism, another type

of semitone relationship, often relates to the concept

of secondary leading tones, particularly in the second

episode.

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 200

To extend and develop the melodic material, the

composer uses three primary techniques: 1) superimposed

melodies; 2) imitation between the two instruments, often

at the distance of one measure or less and lasting for

only a measure or two; and 3) melodic anticipation, which

is the appearance of short fragments of a melody before

the first full statement of it (meas. 113, 141).

In the refrain, the juxtaposition of the D major and

D minor triads in the first measure highlights the

semitone relationship of E-sharp and F-sharp. The

semitone is integrated into the refrain as a chromatic

neighboring tone (meas. 3; see Ex. 4.31). The

restatement of the first subsection of the refrain begins

a whole step below D, on C, just as in the restatement of

the first theme of the first movement. Chromatic voice

leading— in this instance, 6 and B-flat resolving to

F-sharp and A— makes for a smooth tonal shift to F-sharp

minor at the end of the restatement (Ex. 4.35).

Ex. 4.35 Fourth movement, meas. 9-10.

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 In the second subsection (see Ex. 4.32), conjunct

motion, both diatonic and chromatic in various rhythmic

durations, controls the flow of the music. The harmonic

progression moves from the D major tonic triad through a

D augmented triad (meas. 23) to a G minor triad (meas.

24) before reaching a major seventh sonority built on

B-flat (meas. 25), the lowered submediant in the key of D

(Ex. 4.36).

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 202

Ex. 4.36. Fourth movement, meas. 21-3 0.

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 203

The crux of the progression is the common tone A-sharp

or B-flat— the A-sharp of the D augmented triad becomes

the B-flat of the G minor sonority and the root of the

B-flat major seventh chord. In addition, chromatic voice

leading (A— A-sharp, F-sharp— F-natural) strengthens the

progression. The B-flat sonority has a pre-dominant

function because it leads into a descending,

fully-diminished arpeggio that resolves to the new key of

A major (meas. 25-30). In the key of A, the B-flat

corresponds to the Neapolitan pitch, so the pre-dominant

function is congruous with traditional tonal functions.

The First Episode

The first episode begins with an ascending passage

closely related to an A major scale (meas. 30-32; see

Ex. 4.33), but the emphasis soon changes to chromatic

lines in contrary motion (meas. 32-33). Chromaticism in

the restatement of the first episode consists of

oscillating pitches instead of continuous chromatic

motion (meas. 43-44).

The second appearance of the refrain and first

episode (meas. 54-71) contains the same material as the

first two sections, but in shortened form. The final

note of the descending scale at the end of the first

episode (meas. 71) is altered from G-sharp to G to set

up movement by step to the new tonal area of F and the

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 204

second episode (meas. 72). Even though the voice

leading makes visual sense, the aural effect surprises

the listener.

The Second Episode

In the second episode, the tonal area of F relates

to A major as the lowered submediant and to D major as

the lowered mediant; in both cases, it is a relationship

outside the major diatonic system. An increase in

dissonance, both harmonically and melodically, heightens

the unexpected arrival at the tonal center of F (Ex.

4.37) .

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 205

Ex. 4.37. Fourth movement, meas. 72-83.

r - . - ■ ■ i z i i — z i — .11— i s
i . i, * ; — dr-.:..=r- s h — h
< r » i — 1 T 7 «[ — T F
F —
w» >

?J„.
*

The first beat of each measure consists of a harmonic

tritone, F and B-natural (meas. 73-75). Melodic

movement in an inner voice accents the chromatic line

B-natural— B-flat— A and the lower neighboring tone

G-sharp. The chromatic line, harmonized by additional

melodic semitones, slowly ascends to A and C, the third

and fifth of the tonic triad (meas. 83). Several static

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 206

measures of these pitches allow the tension of the phrase

to subside before the entrance of the second episode.

Chromatic movement and voice leading in a less dissonant

setting reappear in the second episode over dominant and

tonic pedal points (meas. 93-96).

An ascending diatonic line that prepares for the

restatement of the second episode's melody includes a

descending chromatic line and more melodic chromaticism

in the inner parts (Ex. 4.38).

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 207

Ex. 4.38. Fourth movement, meas. 103-07.

53

TLidjtUi ‘T i t *

Harmonic motion depends on the chromatic voice leading

between chord tones. Even the D major-minor sonority

from the opening of the movement reappears (meas. 105-

06). A descending chromatic line, F— E— E-flat, leads

into the new tonal area of A-flat (meas. 107) ; A-flat,

in the F major diatonic system, is the lowered mediant,

another altered diatonic pitch class.

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 208

The transition back to the refrain (meas. 113-21)

spotlights sonorities with tritones, major sevenths, and

augmented fifths, all of which imply an expected

resolution of the active interval in contrary motion

(Ex. 4.39).

Ex. 4.39. Fourth movement, meas. 117-21.

IT

TEE

The subsequent refrain (meas. 133) is varied by the

restatement of the second subsection at its original

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 209

pitch level over a transposed accompaniment, B minor

instead of D major. This shift to the relative minor

serves two functions: 1) it maintains an emphasis on D

in the upper fundamental line; and 2) it provides tonal

variety within the larger tonic tonal area.

In anticipation of the upcoming first episode, the

piano states the first episode's melody while the flute

continues with material from the refrain (meas. 141-

42). An ascending D-flat major scale in the flute leads

directly into the first episode; D-flat prepares for a

upward modulation by minor second to the first episode's

tonal area of D minor.

Statements of the first episode in both D minor

(meas. 145) and D major (meas. 154) tie in with the

split-third sonority at the beginning of the movement.

The final refrain (meas. 161), which functions as a

coda, contains repeated segments of the refrain in

imitation, which are followed by chromatic lines in

contrary motion that build tension toward the end of the

sonata (Ex. 4.40).

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 210

Ex. 4.40. Fourth movement, meas. 167-69.

T f t>:

The bass line descends from D (meas. 166) to D (meas.

169) and the upper line ascends from B (meas. 167) to D

(meas. 169). Although the flute plays descending

chromatic scales, the essential line proceeds upward.

In the final harmonic progression, chromatic voice

leading connects the triads of C-sharp major, F-sharp

major, G major, and D major (Ex. 4.41).

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 211

Ex. 4.41. Fourth movement, meas. 170-74.

mm* r f r f if f A f t f t t f f l

9--
f ,#f fr e ,Kg f ■
{' -TO- .
I—
OJ
i Zj ’—
1

—M
oi,—
' aJr 11
a.

v n
|| 'r f f f 1 r»t - i» I» ii
f r t ff

+iJligdfL> - f fl- f g fr , f » | fr'

— — ^=-

J U J ......................

^ - 1 i

Prokofiev emphasizes the plagal cadence G to D with

repeated soundings of the G major triad before giving

way to a simple statement of the pitch classes D— A — D in

octaves in the final measure (meas. 174). The lack of a

strong dominant at the end of the sonata is consistent

with its diminished role throughout the sonata.

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 212

The Middlearound

A middleground graph of the first part discloses the

arpeggios and numerous conjunct lines that connect the

register transfers (Graph 4.13).

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 213

Graph 4.13. Fourth movement, middleground graph of

part one.

Refrain 1
© ©

Refrain 2 Episode 1
© @
—■— —

& L . r J
I
t
1

yr. . --------

------ ■ I
If /r— y

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 214

$ %

3=*

Refrain 1
(54)

sLu r'3L'i: --
m .

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 215

Refrain 2 Refrain 1
© ©

Many of the conjunct lines derive from either the first

episode or the second subsection of the refrain. The

prevalence of conjunct lines in the first episode can be

clearly seen in the above graph. Disjunct lines, on the

other hand, can be traced to the first subsection of the

refrain.

Even though many of the important primary and

secondary pitches represented in the middleground graph

relate to the D major tonic triad, the appearance of

notes outside the key of D major attests to the expanded

D tonality. In many cases, the notes outside the key of

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 216

D major have a linear function; i.e., they connect to

other pitches as neighboring tones or passing tones,

either by half step or whole step.

A graph of the second part, which consists of the

second episode, illustrates several instances of

chromatic neighboring tones (Graph 4.14).

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 217

Graph 4.14. Fourth movement, middleground graph of

part two.

Episode 2
(72)

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 218

The prolonged A of the upper fundamental line appears in

two registers. The secondary tonal areas include A-flat,

the lowered mediant in F major, and D, the submediant of

F and the overall tonic of the movement.

The middleground graph of the third part closely

resembles the first part, but in a shortened version

(Graph 4.15).

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 219

Graph 4.15. Fourth movement, middlegiound graph of

part three.

Refrain 1

© ©
J . , —l- — x i

y - fj - ■ — -

^ M > ii "- - - - :- - - - -
‘— f—
i — f -

' I - —

Refrain 2 Episode 1
© © ©

T~ ' ^ i -
i
- ................ -

--------------------------- --------- — !■ = ■ ■:- - - - - - - - - - -

i !
) ’
... - — — Lr - " ■■■■■;■— — — . • „ ~ .
-*11 ■■ 1 3 / *■ * r,rj ■■■r ,
~ ^ T y ■

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 220

Refrain 1 (Coda)

2.-------- N
n r - n a n -------------------------------i-----------------------------------------------------k a ------------- a r » ------ * ------------

y - ' - " .............. 1 ...... ■ =

tk~-lduir. ................... .................................................................................................................................................

J — a --------------------

T
--------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------
J — — --------- :— — i ...... —~ i: -W-r .
7 r

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 221

The tonal emphasis rests firmly on D with a temporary

excursion to B minor and a plagal cadence at the end

instead of an authentic one. Because of their aural

importance, the extremes in register and register

transfer are still included in this graph.

The Background

A graph of the primary tonal areas shows the

prolongation of a2 in the upper fundamental line and the

tonal areas of the main sections, all in major keys: D,

A, D, F and A-flat, and D (Graph 4.16).

Graph 4.16. Structural background of the fourth

movement.

. .
/) *!) -
r ...... - - ■-........ -
i 11 j
-------- •---------------------------------------- •---- ------- ------*

J - " J
........ --■■■■■ ■ ■■■ , _ . _

i
\j i- ■

m f~ r r f1 5PfTT '
TT

Changes in tonal centers correspond with changes in

sections or a return of previous material.

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 222

An important principle of Schenkerian analysis is

the descending fundamental line that ends on the tonic.

This movement cannot have a complete, descending

fundamental line because it lacks the dominant to tonic

final cadence that allows for the second scale degree;

however, the second scale degree does appear in the

cadential progression leading into the final refrain

(meas. 160) . In opposition to a descending line, an

ascending chromatic pattern, C— C-sharp— D (see the

middleground graph of part threet, Graph 4.15),

reinforces the supremacy of D and the strength of the

final cadence. The Flute Sonata closes with a large

plagal cadence. The descent of the fundamental line is

either implied or presented out-of-order.

Expanded Tonality in the Flute Sonata

Beyond the traditional emphasis on the perfect fifth

as a part of the tonic-dominant relationship, the minor

second plays a significant role in the Flute Sonata.

Melodically, the minor second functions as a neighboring

tone and passing tone. It becomes the basis for numerous

chromatic lines and voice leading between nonfunctional

harmonies. The increased number of secondary leading

tones also substantiates its importance. At the

background level, large-scale neighboring motion reflects

an abundance of foreground melodic chromaticism.

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 223

The element of melody, particularly the number of

different melodies interacting within the course of a

movement, controls the flow of the music to a greater

extent than any other element. Instead of being

developed to any extent, melodies are repeated and

recalled later in the movement. Within melodies,

Prokofiev places emphasis on nondiatonic pitches within a

diatonic context; e.g., the modal effects in the second

movement.

Chords outside the diatonic system command attention

as structurally important sonorities instead of just

harmonic embellishments. Prominent altered chords

include the lowered submediVr^ in a major key, sonorities

with a split third or fifth, added-note chords, and

nontriadic formations.

From the functional hierarchy controlled by the tonic

triad and fifth-related root movement, Prokofiev extracts

his tonal foundation and then broadens the scope of the

harmonic system. The subdominant takes precedence over

the dominant in the second and fourth movements, but the

dominant is prominent in the other two. In some cases,

the secondary tonal area is not a part of the diatonic

system; e.g., the F major second episode in the D major

fourth movement. Root movement by major third and minor

second, not a significant feature of traditional

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 224

tonality, occurs with greater frequency in the Flute

Sonata.

Chromaticism, as a continuation of the minor second,

also contributes to harmonic motion. The surprise effect

of an unexpected modulation between distantly related

tonal areas is palatable to the listener because of the

chromatic voice leading, which is often in contrary

motion, and common-tone connections. On the other hand,

a direct harmonic shift, or chromatic slide, allows for

the full jarring effect of sudden harmonic movement.

Harmonic parallelism, an extended form of chromatic

slide, diffuses the sense of functional harmony and

becomes another means by which to modulate from one tonal

area to another.

Prokofiev's Flute Sonata provides numerous examples

of ways in which the diatonic system is expanded but not

destroyed.

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 CHAPTER V

THE SONATA FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO, OP. 80

After suffering through several debilitating war

years, the Soviet Union finally felt a surge of

confidence from the successful defense of Stalingrad in

January 1943. The government seized this opportunity to

build morale among its citizens by promoting and

decorating war heroes. Artists were also recognized for

their contributions to the war effort. A group of

established composers, Prokofiev among them, received

the Order of the Red Banner. Artists who had been

evacuated during the early years of the war were invited

to return to Moscow in the hope that the war would soon

be over. Prokofiev and Myra Mendelson moved back to

Moscow in October 1943, following the completion of the

Flute Sonata, War and Peace, and Cinderella.

Prokofiev divided his time between Moscow and

Ivanovo, a small town about fifty miles west of Moscow.

The Soviet government had given the Composers' Union a

large estate in Ivanovo where up to twenty composers and

their families could spend the comfortable summer months.

Each composer had private quarters in which to work far

225

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 226

away from the noise and activity of the city. In these

peaceful surroundings, Prokofiev finished the Eighth

Piano Sonata and his Fifth Symphony during the summer of

1944.

Several days after the premiere of the Fifth

Symphony on 13 January 1945, Prokofiev fell down a

flight of stairs and suffered a brain concussion. His

recovery from both the concussion and the onset of

hypertension was a slow process; he spent four months in

a sanitarium under orders not to compose, but he still

managed to do some work in secret. Prokofiev never

regained his full strength during his remaining years.

For health reasons, Prokofiev was advised to leave

Moscow. In June 1946, he and Myra moved to Nikolina

Gora, a small town almost forty miles west of Moscow

that was to be home for the rest of his life. After 1950

and until his death, he divided his time between his

country home and Moscow. The serene, secluded atmosphere

proved to be quite conducive to composing.

In the fall of 1946, Prokofiev completed the Sonata

for Violin and Piano, op. 80. He had told Myra that he

first thought of writing a sonata for violin after

hearing Handel's Sonata in D, op. 1, no. 13.1 The first

■^Douglas Townsend, jacket notes for Sergei

Prokofiev; Two Sonatas for Violin and Piano (Musical
Heritage Society 1135, n.d.).

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 227

sketches from 1938 included the beginning of the first

movement, exposition of the second, and themes of the

third.2 Prokofiev outlined the sonata in one of his

articles:

The first movement, Andante assai, is severe in

character and is a kind of extended introduction to
the second movement, a sonata allegro, which is
vigorous and turbulent, but has a broad second theme.
The third movement is slow, gentle, and tender. The
finale is fast and written in complicated rhythm.3

The Violin Sonata, dedicated to David Oistrakh, was

first performed on 23 October 1946 in Moscow by Oistrakh

and Lev Oborin. The preparation for the premiere began

with an invitation from Prokofiev to Oistrakh for a

hearing. Oistrakh recalled the meeting:

I remember the day in the summer of 1946 when I

drove out to Prokofiev's country place to hear a new
violin sonata he had written.
I arrived punctually at the appointed hour.
Before long, Myaskovsky, who lived nearby, joined us
and we sat down to listen to Prokofiev's sonata. If
I am not mistaken Myaskovsky was also hearing it for
the first time. Before beginning to play, Prokofiev
enumerated all the movements, after which he played
the whole sonata through without pausing. It made a
powerful impression, in spite of the fact that he
played it with much less than his usual brilliance.
One felt that this was truly great music, and indeed
for sheer beauty and depth nothing to equal it had
been written for the violin for many a decade.
Myaskovsky had only one word for it: "A masterpiece,"

2Israel V. Nestyev, Prokofiev, trans. Florence Jonas

(Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1960),
p. 385.

3Sergei Prokofiev, "What I am Working On," in

Vsesovuznove Obshchestvo Kulturnoi S w a i s Zacrranitsoi
(USSR Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign
Countries), cited by Nestyev, pp. 385-86.

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 228

he said. "My dear fellow, you don't realize what you

have written!" he kept saying to Prokofiev. He was
obviously deeply moved.4

Oistrakh also described Prokofiev's active role in

the rehearsals of the sonata:

Later when I and my partner L. N. Oborin, the

pianist, were learning to play the sonata we visited
the composer many times and he gave us a great deal
of invaluable advice. One could see that this work
was very dear to him. He took obvious pleasure in
working at it with us, making suggestions concerning
both the character of the movement and the inner
meaning of the music itself. . . . After remarks of
this kind the whole spirit of the sonata assumed a
deeper significance for us.5

The sonata was warmly received. The Soviet

newspaper Pravda, in a review dated 21 November 1946,

cited the sonata's "Russian national spirit" and "stern,

epic grandeur."6 In March 1947, the Violin Sonata was

awarded the Stalin Prize, first degree.7

4David Oistrakh, "In Memoriam," in S. Prokofiev:

Autobiography. Articles. Reminiscences, ed. Semyon
Shlifstein, trans. Rose Prokofieva (Moscow: Foreign
Languages Publishing House, n.d.), p. 242.

5Ibid., p. 242.

6Nestyev, p. 388.

7"Stalin Prizes (renamed Lenin Prizes in 1956) were

divided into first, second and third class. The first
class consisted of 100,000 roubles, the second of 50,000
roubles, the third of 25,000 roubles. In Music, four
categories were set up. . . . Within each of these
categories, prizes of first, second, and third class were
awarded, and within each prize class, several recipients
were eligible." Boris Schwarz, Music and Musical Life in
Soviet Russia, enlarged edition 1917-1981 (Bloomington:
Indiana University Press, 1983), p. 228n.

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 229

In many works by Soviet composers during the war

years and after, a feeling of nationalism is apparent.

The Violin Sonata exhibits some nationalistic spirit in

its long, lyric themes and heroic character, but the

general mood is not particularly jubilant. As mentioned

by several scholars, the sonata resembles an epic because

of the cyclic return of melodies in the fourth movement.

Israel Nestyev suggests his own version of the sonata's

programmatic elements: the first movement simulates the

storytelling of a crusli8 player, and the second movement

implies brutal military power. The haunting scales of

the final section of the first movement represent the

"haze of centuries" and "images of the past."9 Prokofiev

told Oistrakh during a rehearsal that the scales should

sound "like the wind in a graveyard."10 The first and

third movements of the Violin Sonata were played by

oistrakh at Prokofiev's funeral.11

Tonal centers control the pitch organization of the

Violin Sonata, but the pitch organization and tonal

system differs in each of the movements. Each movement

8The gusli, a native folk instrument of Russia,

resembles a psaltery in both its trapezoid shape and
method of playing by plucking the strings.

9Nestyev, pp. 386-88.

100istrakh, in Shlifstein, p. 242.

11Nestyev, p. 438.

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 230

explores a different means of expanding the major-minor

system of tonality. In most cases, the pitch system

more closely resembles the chromatic system of twelve

notes rather than the seven-note diatonic system.

For the most part, triadic harmonies govern harmonic

progression, but usually in a nonfunctional way.

Chromatic voice leading and root movement by major and

minor second are two important features of Prokofiev's

musical language in this sonata.

The motivic structure of most of the thematic

material plays an important role in the development of

material and the cyclic characteristics of the sonata.

The use of the term cyclic recognizes the appearance of

the same melodic material in more than one movement and

the similarities among the various themes. The fourth

movement brings back actual statements and hints of

melodies from previous movements.

The First Movement— Andante assai

In contrast to the style typical of a first

movement, the Violin Sonata opens in a somber, melancholy

mood. According to Nestyev, Prokofiev wrote the first

movement as an extended introduction to the second

movement.12 The lively character and sonata form of the

second movement makes this explanation plausible.

12Ibid., p. 385.

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 231

Throughout the first movement, the pitch class F

functions as a tonal anchor in a mixture of major and

minor keys and diatonic and chromatic systems. Although

Prokofiev includes the designation "F minor" in the

title, the pitch organization of the first movement

suggests F aeolian for three reasons: 1) the absence of

the leading tone E; 2) the static, pandiatonic effect

created by the use of pedal points; and 3) predominant

root movement by seconds in the third episode.

The chromatic organization of some of the sections

is a foreground manifestation of the importance of the

melodic minor second. At other structural levels, the

minor second becomes a part of chromatic middleground

lines and large-scale leading-tone motion.

As the movement progresses, the texture increases

from a single line through some contrapuntal treatment

to full homophonic texture. Near the end of the

movement, melody is a byproduct of harmony.

A refrain interspersed with through-composed

sections creates a rondo form, even though the refrain

returns in tonal areas other than the tonic. In this

case, the term modulating rondo seems most

appropriate.13 Changes in melodic material, pitch

13The identification of a form associated with

transpositions of a refrain is quite problematic,
especially if one considers the discrepancies in
definitions in the current literature. The choices for

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 232

such a formal pattern seem to be limited to two: rondo or

ritornello. Both of these forms have something
resembling a refrain, but the common definitions of rondo
usually do not account for the possibility of the refrain
occurring in more than one tonal area. The New Grove
Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1980) limits the use
of ritornello to the concerto form and mentions that the
refrain in the rondo form normally recurs in the tonic
key. Willi Apel, in the Harvard Dictionary of Music,
does not allow for the possibility of a transposed
refrain in either the rondo or ritornello. The New
Oxford Companion to Music explains the difference between
ritornello and rondo without discussing possible
transpositions of the refrain.
The authors of standard textbooks on form offer
little help. Wallace Berry, in Form in Music (Englewood
Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1966, p. 140),
concedes that the return of the rondo theme might be, in
rare cases, in a different key, but he doesn't mention
the ritornello. Douglass Green applies ritornello to the
concerto form and adds that only a few rondos contain
recurrences of the refrain in a key other than tonic in
his Form in Tonal Music. 2nd ed. (New York: Holt,
Rinehart and Winston, 1979, p. 161). According to Leon
Stein in Structure and Style: The study and Analysis of
Musical Forms (Evanston, Illinois: Summy-Birchard, 1962,
pp. 88, 162), every refrain in a rondo is in the tonic
key and the ritornello can be found only in the concerto
form.
Other sources provide some mention of the peculiar
case of the transposed refrain. John White, in The
Analysis of Music (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey:
Prentice-Hall, 1976, p. 61), cites a ritornello procedure
in which the ritornello returns in various related keys,
as opposed to the rondo that has only tonic statements of
the refrain. Cedric Thorpe Davie, in Musical Structure
and Design (London: Dobson Books, 1953? reprint ed., New
York: Dover Publications, 1966, pp. 94-95), identifies a
ritornello form that goes beyond the concerto. His
definition of ritornello form includes statements of the
ritornello in the middle of a work in keys other than the
tonic. Jan LaRue, in Guidelines for Stvle Analysis (New
York: W.W. Norton, 1970, p. 185), discusses a similar
formal organization, but he attaches the label modulating
rondo. Another author, Malcolm Cole, in an article
entitled "Rondos, Proper and Improper" (Music and Letters
51, no. 4, October 1970: 388-99), distinguishes between
proper and improper rondos, improper being those with

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 233

organization, texture, and style define the sections.

The sections organize into three large parts; the

following chart represents the fonaal organization and

tonal areas of each section (Fig. 5.1).

Fig. 5.1. Violin Sonata, first movement, formal

design.

Section Melodic Idea Tonal Area Measures

Refrain A F 1-16

Episode 1 B (D) 17-27

Refrain A1 E-flat 28-38

r\
Episode 1 B1 u 39-50

Episode 2 C B 51-68

Refrain A' ' C 69-78

Episode 3 D F 79-88

Refrain A F 89-92

Episode 3 D F 93-97

Refrain A F 98-107

some of the refrains not in the tonic key.

Since the formal organization of the first movement
closely resembles a rondo with the sole exception of the
transposed refrains, LaRue's modulating rondo label seems
the most appropriate term.

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 234

Primary Melodic Ideas

The refrain resembles a dirge in its melodic

simplicity and slow tempo (Ex. 5.1).

Ex. 5.1. Prokofiev, Violin Sonata, first movement,

refrain, msas. 1-16.

Andtnt* =

Plino

The first episode emphasizes chromatic relationships

(Ex. 5.2) .

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 235

Ex. 5.2. First movement, episode 1, meas. 17-27.

F oca p l a ftnlaftto

mp

A pandiatonic effect centered on the tonal area of B

characterizes the second episode (Ex. 5.3).

Ex. 5.3. First movement, episode 2, meas. 51-55.

The third episode contains extended tertian structures

based on pitch classes in the F aeolian mode in a static

harmonic setting (Ex. 5.4).

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 236

Ex. 5.4. First movement, episode 3, meas. 79-81.

.. — 11 i T^ > ,
.iu**imm
Fg’»-— -■==
...■ --------

\ I2 i
— * r =

The refrain is primarily diatonic, but the

statements of the first episode are highly chromatic.

The second episode, based on a B tonal center,

emphasizes a pandiatonic harmonization. With the

introduction of more chromaticism and dissonance into

the pandiatonic setting, the music leads into a

restatement of the refrain. The static quality of the

third episode, with its tonic pedal point, relates to

the slow-moving octaves of the refrain.

Similarities among the sections result from the

presence of two primary melodic motives: 1) a perfect

fifth interval; and 2) a conjunct motion of three notes,

each a major second apart and spanning the interval of a

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 237

major third. Both motives are present in the opening

measures of the movement (see Ex. 5.1). The bottom part

of the final cadential area in the movement follows the

same pattern of ascending conjunct motion (Ex. 5.5).

Ex. 5.5. First movement, meas. 103-07.

The Refrain

Motivic structure and pervasive neighboring motion

appear at the foreground level. The first phrase of the

refrain, which is based entirely on the two motives,

descends by minor second to F-flat (meas. 6; see Ex.

5.1). The A-flat trills in the violin establish the

first note of the upper fundamental line. Descending

conjunct motion of A— G— F (meas. 10-13), an inversion of

the second motive, sets up the second statement of the

refrain, and descending motion also leads into the first

episode, in this case F— E— D (meas. 16-17).

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 238

The First Episode

The chromaticism of the first episode weakens the

sense of tonal centering, but the pitch class D seems to

have some control. The feeling of ongoing motion in the

first episode results partly from the descending motion

in the bottom register of the piano, F-sharp— F— E—

E-flat (meas. 20-24; see Ex. 5.2). Neighboring motion in

the violin and piano (meas. 25-27) finally settles on

A-flat at the beginning of the next statement of the

refrain (meas. 28).

The second statement of the refrain begins on a

different pitch level but with the intervals adjusted in

the manner of an eighteenth-century counterpoint answer

(Ex. 5.6).

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 239

Ex. 5.6. First movement, meas. 28-40.

The lower neighboring tone of the first refrain, F—

F-flat, is transformed into an upper neighboring tone in

the second refrain, E-flat— F-flat. The F-flat,

respelled enharmonically as E, leads up to F (meas. 37)

before descending to D (meas. 39) in a variation of the

three-note motive.

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 240

In the first episode's second appearance (meas. 39),

an ascent to d3 in the violin precedes two complementary

descending chromatic lines over a pedal point D (meas.

39-40; see Ex. 5.6). This tonicization of D, an altered

scale degree outside the mode of F aeolian, is the first

evidence of the importance of D in the movement. As the

section continues, the violin settles on a G-flat major

triad, still over the pedal point D (meas. 45); the

G-flat triad becomes an enharmonic dominant of the

upcoming second episode, the fifth section of the

movement (Ex. 5.7).

Ex. 5.7. First movement, meas. 49-51.

The G-flat triad and F, the tritone of B, effect the

motion toward the B tonal area (meas. 50).

The Second Episode

A pedal point B establishes the tonal area of the

second episode; a neighboring motion of B— C-sharp— B

emerges from the pandiatonicism of the B minor, or B

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 241

aeolian, pitch organization (see Ex. 5.3). The top

melodic line, b 1— c-sharp2— f-sharp1, contains both of

the primary intervals of the two motives in the refrain,

a major second and a perfect fifth. As pitches outside

the established pitch system enter— B-sharp (meas. 60),

E-sharp (meas. 61), D-sharp (meas. 62), B-flat (meas.

63)— the pandiatonicism of the second episode succumbs

to the chromaticism of the first episode (Ex. 5.8).

Ex. 5.8. First movement, meas. 60-69.

lto rlt

,xs

To conclude the section, B and D-sharp contract

chromatically to C, the tonal area of the third refrain

(meas. 67-69).

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 242

The next statement of the refrain consists of two

brief references in C aeolian (meas. 69-73) that yield

to a single line, first in octaves and then in close

imitation (meas. 74-78). The primary motion of the

passage descends chromatically, G — G-flat— F.

The Third Episode

The rapid, muted scales of the third episode, the

seventh section, are meant to sound ” . . . like the wind

in the graveyard.1,14 The entire section has an F aeolian

pitch organization. The piano supplies an F tonic pedal

point and extended tertian sonorities— these sonorities

are formed from primarily minor triads in each hand.

The progression of harmonies creates its own melody; the

tracing of this melody reveals neighboring motion,

E-flat— F— E-flat (meas. 79), and the conjunct motive,

F— G— A-flat (meas. 80-81; see Ex. 5.4). The resulting

bass line, above the tonic pedal point, includes several

descending melodic perfect fourths. Conforming to their

role in functional harmony, the perfect fourths create a

sense of closure rather than progression.

The third episode leads directly into a return of

the refrain. As in the opening refrain, the piano

presents the melodic line in octaves in the same

14See p. 229.

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 243

register, accompanied by a descending chromatic sequence

played pizzicato by the violin (meas. 89-92).

The rapid scales of the third episode reappear again

(meas. 93-97) before a final statement of the refrain

(Ex. 5.9).

Ex. 5.9. First movement, meas. 98-107.

(
SE.
(m:

di m . rr

The pizzicato notes in the violin are now purely

diatonic. The closing melodic idea, D-flat— E-flat— F,

is accompanied by softly arpeggiated chords in the

violin and piano. These are the chords Nestyev

associates with the playing of a crnsli. The root

movement of the arpeggiated chords does not follow a

complete descending fifths pattern toward the tonic;

instead, the chords progress G— A-flat— D-flat— F. The

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 244

last arpeggiated chord in the penultimate measure

includes a vertical sounding of the melodic motion

E-flat— F. The final sonority has an open fifth but no

third.

The Middleoround

A graph of the middleground level shows the linear

motion surrounding the tonal areas (Graph 5.1). By

separating the two instruments on three staves, the

division of musical material can be clearly seen. Where

the musical material is duplicated, it is usually

represented in the violin.

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 245

Graph 5.1. Violin Sonata, middleground graph of the

first movement.

Refrain Episode 1

wv 4 = -•■ -— - ? J- 1 - - - -
vin.
r— X
1
t- L'

|\
yifa=s:=^=

Pf.<

-\ *- — J____ 1
F r- T f c ‘f 3 p 1 ® ^ i r

Refrain Episode 1 (varied)

© ©

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 246

Refrain Episode 3 Refrain

89) (93) (98)

i o
1 7T ==»
tip1----- =■:--- 1

= 1 * 1 - - w
(--&M— ‘• S
..... . :— '■<-

' s w f e -----— : ..... .... ■ , G \ -----------

■a ■ ■
*
* ■- r

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 247

The refrain focuses on arpeggiations of the F minor

tonic triad with the inclusion of several nondiationic

pitch classes, e.g., F-flat and A-natural. The first

note of the upper fundamental line, A-flat, enters early

in the movement (meas. 5). The second statement of the

refrain (meas. 28) brings in the structurally important

E-flat neighboring tone, which resolves to D in the

return of the first episode (meas. 30).

The two appearances of the first episode contain

numerous instances of chromatic linear motion. The

secondary tonal areas of the first episode, D and

E-flat in the first statement and D in the second

statement, relate to the tonic F by the interval of a

third or second, which follows the modal orientation of

the movement. The pitch class D might suggest the raised

sixth scale degree of the dorian mode.

The neighboring motion between B and C-sharp

dominates the pandiatonic second episode. B, which might

relate to the lydian mode and its characteristic raised

fourth scale degree, functions as a lower neighboring

tone to C in the following refrain (meas. 69). As a

dominant. C prepares for the return of the tonic F.

The third episode is an embellishment of a slowly

descending F minor seventh arpeggio. A descending F

minor arpeggio shared by the violin and piano

accompanies the closing melodic line of the movement, a

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 248

conjunct motion of D-flat— E-flat— F. The second scale

degree G does not appear as a part of the upper

fundamental line.

The Background

A representation of the structural background

reveals the important tonal features of the movement

(Graph 5.2).

Graph 5.2. Structural background of the first

movement.

#=**=
y * w = * = ■ ■

P ..... 9
9-

^6 l|4

The upper fundamental line begins on A-flat and descends

by third to F instead of the typical descent by seconds.

The second scale degree G is not strongly harmonized and

thus lacks the structural weight to be included in the

background graph. The secondary tonal areas of D and B

are not members of the F minor scale; instead, they are

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 249

either altered diatonic scale degrees or references to

other inodes. B, the tritone of F, acts as an important

leading tone to the tonal area of c in a return of the

refrain.

The modal pitch organization of this movement,

particularly the pandiatonicism of the third episode,

lessens the harmonic tension and sense of progression.

Although the chromatic sections provide contrast, a sense

of melancholy calm pervades the movement.

The Second Movement— Allegro brusco

Although a tonal area of C dominates the second

movement, the relative importance of the other eleven

pitches suggests a chromatic pitch system instead of a

diatonic one. The lack of a significant tonic triad is

further evidence of a departure from traditional

tonality and functional harmony; in addition, the

subdominant, not the dominant, emerges as the most

important secondary tonal relationship. The number of

different tonal areas in the movement does not dissolve

or dilute the sense of tonality; instead, it seems to

emphasize the equivalence of the remaining eleven notes

in relation to the pitch class C.

The two instruments share in the presentation of

material. Each contributes to the first theme and

subsequent appearances of the theme, the result of which

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 250

is a timbral compound melody. A profusion of melodic

ideas substantiates the observation that Prokofiev tends

to write new melodies instead of developing existing

ones. Register transfers create a wide range in both

instruments and conjunct motion is prevalent throughout

the movement.

Themes

The sonata form of the second movement includes four

themes, one of which appears in the development section

and does not return in the recapitulation. Heavily

accented repeated notes as a part of two diverging

melodic lines characterize the first theme (Ex. 5.10).

Ex. 5.10. Second movement, theme 1, meas. 1-8.

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 251

Nestyev suggests that this theme depicts "brutal military

power" in the same manner as Prokofiev's Alexander

Nevsky.15 In contrast with the first theme, the second

theme suggests heroic influence, as indicated by the word

eroico. The second theme's tonal area of F is the

subdominant of the larger tonality of C (Ex. 5.11).

Ex. 5.11. Second movement, theme 2, meas. 50-64.

* IT

>

15Nestyev, p. 387.

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 252

The third theme, a theme group, contains three

subsections: 1) a syncopated lydian melody on A in

octaves (Ex. 5.12); 2) a melody based on an arpeggiated F

major triad (Ex. 5.13); and 3) rapid scales and repeated

notes in an E major tonality (Ex. 5.14).

Ex. 5.12. Second movement, theme 3a, meas. 82-85.

f • • • Irit

Ex. 5.13. Second movement, theme 3b, meas. 86-89.

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 253

Ex. 5.14. Second movement,, theme 3c, meas. 92-95.

The fourth theme, which enters in the development

section, provides much of the material for this section

(Ex. 5.15).

Ex. 5.15. Second movement, theme 4, meas. 139-41.

Poao p|i tmtillli

To extend the musical material, the composer uses

imitation and thematic layering in addition to new

melodies. The imitation usually involves only short

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 254

fragments of themes and the thematic layering appears

primarily in the development (e.g., meas. 197).

The Exposition

Melodic structures in the exposition usually

encompass three or four notes. Most of the vertical

sonorities at the foreground level are tertian,*

sonorities that are not obviously triadic often are, upon

close examination, incomplete extended tertian structures

or added-note chords. Chromatic voice leading connects

harmonies in nonfunctional relationships.

Although the opening meter is duple, irregular

groupings and overlapping entrances produce aperiodic

rhythmic accents. The opening pitch class C descends

through B to B-flat, the third of an arpeggiated G minor

triad, which is the minor dominant of C (Ex. 5.16).

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 255

Ex. 5.16. Second movement, meas. 1-8.

Allegro broeeo ••
•«io

The violin follows an ascending motion, A— B— C, toward

c3 ; at the same time, a melodic motion in the piano in

exact intervallic inversion, E-flat— D-flat— C, descends

to c (meas. 5-7). Once the octave on C is reached, an

extension of the phrase answers the opening motion with

harmonic root movement of B-flat— B— C (meas. 7-8). The

associated harmonies are tertian in structure, but only

one is in root position. The rapid octave displacement

creates semitone dissonances, although the relative

placement of the pitches in the chords remains the same.

The second phrase continues the octave displacement

of the first. Strong dominant and tonic chords in the

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 256

violin are accompanied by dissonant notes in octaves in

the low register of the piano (Ex. 5.17).

Ex. 5.17. Second movement, meas. 9-14.

The dissonant bass notes descend chromatically from

F-sharp to D-flat (meas. 12-14) toward a restatement of

the first theme in D-flat, a minor second higher than the

first presentation. The pitch class E becomes the focus

of the restatement because of rhythmic accent (meas. 22,

25) and reiteration (meas. 26-29). The importance of E

at this point surfaces in the middleground graph as the

first note of the upper fundamental line.

A literal return of the first eight measures of the

opening theme (meas. 30-37) establishes a small ternary

form for the first thematic area. The transition to the

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 257

second theme rests on chromatic motion around A-flat and

C; the chromaticism forms semitone dissonances over a

span of two octaves (Ex. 5.18).

Ex. 5.18. Second movement, meas = 38-50,

#r

lYmEor." b n tl

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 258

A fortissimo sounding of E and D (meas. 46), of which E

ties in with the middle section of the first theme (cf.

meas. 26-29), sets off a nonsequential series of

diminished, major, and minor sonorities leading to the

start of the second theme. The last two chords of the

descent lead directly into the second theme with

chromatic voice leading— G-sharp resolves up to A, and

F-sharp resolves down to F (meas. 49-50). F and A are

members of the tonic triad in the new tonal area of F.

The second theme begins with an emphasis on the

functional harmonic relationship of tonic and

subdominant, but the tonal system expands to include

chords outside the diatonic key of F major (see Ex.

5.11). An E-flat major chord, which might be considered

a borrowed subtonic, closes the first phrase (meas. 56).

The second phrase, aided by a chromatic melody,

progresses through E-flat minor seventh and F-sharp

minor chords toward the cadential A minor triad. The

relationship between the E-flat minor seventh and F-sharp

minor chords does not seem very distant if the pitch

G-flat, the third of E-flat minor, is understood as the

enharmonic equivalent of F-sharp. Because of the

enharmonic common tone, the second phrase makes aural

harmonic sense to the listener. Third-related root

movement characterizes both the progression within the

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 259

phrase, E-flat— F-sharp, and the relationship between the

tonic and cadential sonorities, F and A.

A restatement of both phrases of the second theme

leads directly into the third theme group by elision.

Modulations among the different fragments of the third

theme group are effected by common-tone relationships.

Theme 3a centers on the pitch class A and a lydian scale

formation (meas. 82-85; see Ex. 5.12). Four measures

later, A becomes the third of an F major triad and part

of theme 3b (meas. 86; see Ex. 5.13). Within theme 3b,

the pitch class B (meas. 90-91), the tritone of F,

becomes the dominant of the next tonal area of E and

theme 3c (meas. 92-95; see Ex. 5.14). The third of the

E major tonic triad of theme 3c, G-sharp, acts as a

large-scale leading tone to A in a return to theme 3b

(meas. 96). In this statement of theme 3b, the piano

arpeggio descends instead of ascends as it did in the

first statement.

In the concluding measures of the exposition, which

function as a short codetta, the pitch class F is the

tonal reference point in a dissonant sonority (Ex. 5.19).

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 260

Ex. 5.19. Second movement, meas. 100-103.

Though it is possible to spell the sonority in thirds,

with one case of a split interval, the close-structure

voicing makes it difficult to aurally perceive a triadic

structure. The dissonant tension resolves when only the

pitch class F remains (meas. 103).

The Development

In the development, the conjunct melodic lines span

intervals larger than a third, in some cases over an

octave. The larger melodic formations tie together

sequential repetitions of material and help to maintain

the flow of the music. At the beginning of the

development, tone clusters based on triadic arrangements

provide harmonic support to the ascending melodic line;

the recapitulation closes with the same type of triadic

clusters. The development opens with only the two

primary pitch classes of themes 2 and 3, F and A. As

other pitch classes are gradually added, the range

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 261

expands outward and volume and dissonance levels increase

(Ex. 5.20).

Ex. 5.20. Second movement, meas. 104-15.

v»r s-r
arac*.

4=1 ,11
(PIK.
t .r~
spsN

The nontriadic structure and dense voicing produce a

tone cluster effect, and the composite melody is an

example of timbral overlapping. The harmonic augmented

sixth in the last sonority, B-flat— G-sharp (meas. 114),

implies a resolution to an octave on A. The A^ in the

piano becomes a part of a fragment of the first theme

(meas. 115-18).

In the next subsection (meas. 115-22), the presence

of B-flat and D in every measure functions as a two-note

pedal point. The primary sonority in this subsection,

E— B-flat— D (meas. 119), can be spelled as an incomplete

seventh chord, but it does not function as one; if C is

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 262

included (meas. 120), the result is a whole-tone

sonority. The two-note pedal point shifts to F-sharp and

A (meas. 123) in conjunction with a statement of the same

fragment from the first theme in the tonal area of

F-sharp. After three measures, the pedal note F-sharp

moves down to F while the melodic fragment in the bottom

register descends chromatically, F-sharp— E-sharp—

E— E-flat, toward D-flat, the tonal area of the next

subsection based on theme 3 (meas. 129).

In this subsection, two of the thematic fragments of

the third theme group, theme 3b in the violin and theme

3a in the piano, are layered in a stratified texture.

The D-flat tonal center shifts up to D, but the F of the

upper line remains constant (meas. 133).

A descending bass line, B-flat— A-flat— G (meas.

136-39), leads into the fourth theme (see Ex. 5.15). The

piano imitates the eighth-note violin melody two beats

later at a different pitch level. Two phrases of the

fourth theme are followed by a rhythmically augmented

version of the theme in the tonal area of A with a

Phrygian pitch organization (meas. 147-52). Again, the

piano imitates the violin, but this time at the distance

of two measures.

In the next subsection, the imitative development of

a fragment of the first theme (cf. meas. 5-6) disguises a

gradually descending bass line (Ex. 5.21) .

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Ex. 5.21. Second movement, meas. 153-66.

rii
ft r r I T ' r ' ^ ^ f - J - ^ r f r r ^ - r r r r , . =»
A rf
ijj ■ 1 tv ■ ■■ ^ T r F r ?(*
jk
r■ ------ X | y ,
fctr . 11 .. . . .

■v— i f- rr t-i *- - - - - - - »' —

E 3 a = g g l f l j =f t T " .
V = ^ ^ = ~F r p —= = i± 3 U- - - - _ J - - 1 jJ ft j f J' " *fr J tffll

r if t Tf r r

. -* g = ^c r / / — 7 - ii.r.
_!- - - ... u'U.rf - - -f - . -. -. - .- .- .- - O -f -- .- n -. -r f- , - f- t pjv..
saar wirife *=■ l l U

f^i- rr tr fff rffi f

gjnioi

The pitch level of the thematic fragment changes little

in relation to the constantly descending bass. The

focus of the upper line moves from B (meas. 153-60)

through C to C-sharp (meas. 161-66). The sonorities

accompanying the two primary lines are mostly triadic,

but not part of a functional progression. The

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 264

sequential unfolding of this subsection connects to the

next by chromatic voice leading— the large A in the bass

resolves down to A-fiat and the g3 goes up to a-flat3

(meas. 166-67).

The development of this particular fragment from the

beginning of the first theme consists of a descending

chromatic line formed by overlapping minor seconds in a

compound melody (Ex. 5.22).

Ex. 5.22. Second movement, meas. 167-70.

I>9

Even though the ascending pitches in octaves in the

pianist's left hand, A-flat— C— D— G (meas. 167-70), are

inexact intervals and in the opposite direction of the

final cadential area of the movement, the anticipatory

nature of this passage is clear.

The rate of thematic change accelerates as the

development continues. Theme 4 returns in its

rhythmically augmented form in A-flat Phrygian, a minor

second below its original pitch level (meas. 175-80). A

shortened version of the sequential development of the

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 265

fragment from the end of the first theme (meas. 181-91)

is followed by a return of the opening fragment at an

E-flat pitch level (meas. 192-95). Thematic layering of

theme 2 over fragments of the first theme (meas. 196-215)

goes through the tonal areas of E-flat (meas. 196),

D-flat (meas. 202), G-flat (meas. 206), and A (meas.

212) before reaching a return of theme 1, in its

chromatically descending version, on a C pitch level.

The common tone c links the development section to the

recapitulation.

The Recapitulation

In the recapitulation, some of the thematic and

transitional material returns in reverse order. After a

restatement of the first theme (meas. 228-40), the

second portion of the transition to the second theme

appears before the first portion (cf. meas. 45 and 241,

38 and 245). The pitch level of the second portion,

which was first in the exposition, remains the same, but

the rest of the transition focuses more on chromatic

neighboring motion around F and F-sharp. An extension of

the transition played by the violin in double stops

(meas. 251-54) concludes on F, but the tonal area quickly

shifts to C at the start of the second theme (meas. 257).

By transposing the return of the second theme and theme

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 266

3b, the themes in the recapitulation concentrate on the

tonal area of C, the tonic of the movement.

Another reversal of material occurs in the return of

the third theme group. Theme 3b makes the first

appearance (meas. 271-80), outlining a C major arpeggio

instead of F major. A short link to another statement

of theme 3b contains a progression with the root

movement of F-sharp— D— E— C with associated harmonies

that are minor, minor, major, and major in quality (Ex.

5.23) .

Ex. 5.23. Second movement, meas. 274-77.

k* * • • o ■»
fjj H

The nonfunctional nature of this progression includes

dissonant semitones and the tritone F-sharp acting as a

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 267

dominant of the tonic C. The F-sharp is an integral part

of the theme, so its harmonic function seems to be an

expanded version of the melodic usage.

Theme 3a, although it begins on G, fits into an E

minor triad in its first measure (meas. 281). The

emphasis on E continues, but the scale formation changes.

Theme 3b enters again but with more chromaticism in the

inner parts (meas. 285). The pitch class E retains

control in the upper voice over the tonic C in the bottom

voice.

The dissonant, extended tertian sonority that first

appeared in the codetta surfaces again to start the coda.

The constant presence of C prior to the last four

measures functions as a tonic pedal (Ex. 5.24).

Ex. 5.24. Second movement, meas. 289-92

i
flit. ptam.

11T l-~ j ^ ~
j,r . . . . . . . ^
— A - I , i
nrj~i h4.' Eg ill i

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 268

The pitch classes in this structure organize into a whole

step-half step octatonic arrangement; the violin provides

tonal centering to the sonority with repeated accents on

the pitch class C.

After four measures, the dissonant sonority changes

to a bichordal structure, C major and D-sharp minor. The

sonority is bichordal because of the separation of

register (Ex. 5.25).

Ex. 5.25. Second movement, meas. 293-300.

n n n n

i«n l a
tn p o

jCT

xr o'
>■

In the piano, the final cadential area in octaves

consists of a disjunct melodic descent B— A-flat— E— C.

The pitch class B functions as a leading tone to C and

the last three notes form an augmented triad leading to

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 269

ascending scales in the violin complement the A-flat in

the piano— the first nine notes are an F melodic minor

scale (meas. 298). The last four pitches of the measure

and the first eight notes of the next grouping of

thirteen in the following measure organize into an E

major scale that corresponds to the E in the piano

(meas. 298-99). The last five pitches of the

penultimate measure convert to a C major scale to match

with the final C in the piano. The open octaves in the

final measure confirm the tonal emphasis on C without an

accompanying major triad.

The Middlearound

A middleground representation of the exposition

highlights the secondary tonal areas and prominence of

the subdominant (Graph 5.3). The letters T, S, and D

refer to tonic, subdominant, and dominant emphases.

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 270

Graph 5.3. Second movement, middleground graph of

the exposition.

Theme 1 trans. Theme 2

© © ® ©
- !
Vln. ---------
._L*___ _______
►

V
Pf .<
a-. .. = = ;
-- i"" f* ----
? rf o r" p

Theme 3b
Theme 3a
82) (86.

y — n r * ^ ^

r i

! $ = — " ■ = ... = ■ • ■ ■ ■ 1 ■

— - = ^ ■ = - - ■■

f f . , . „ ■ = ■ ■ ■ ■ : : = = 3 5 = ---------------------------r — = -

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 271

Important register transfers are included in this graph;

the first theme's two-octave ascent emphasizes not only

the theme's wide range but also the role of register

transfer as a structural element. Conjunct motion leads

toward significant pitches.

At this structural level, the frequency of pitches

outside the key of C major indicates a chromatic pitch

system instead of a C major diatonic system.

Restatements of themes at the interval of a minor second

or major second appear as large upper and lower

neighboring tones in the background graph; these

secondary tonal areas are evidence of an expanded system

of tonal relationships. The restatement of the first

theme (meas. 14) starts on D-flat, a minor second above

C. The second theme, in the subdominant tonal area of F,

emphasizes the pitch classes E-flat, the lowered seventh

or subtonic scale degree in F, and A, the mediant of F.

The tonal area of the third theme, A, is the submediant

scale degree in relation to the overall tonic of C.

In the exposition, the violin carries most of the

important upper melodic notes, but the situation changes

somewhat in the development section (Graph 5.4).

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 Graph 5.4. Second movement, middleground graph of
the development.

Theme 4

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 273

Themes 1 & 2 Theme 1

Secondary melodic structures often unfold in parallel

octaves, particularly in the development section. The

lack of linear independence suggests the possibility of

one fundamental line. The development presents several

chromatic lines in which pitches of a descending

chromatic melody, based on the first theme, alternate

between the violin and piano (meas. 167, 192, 216). In

the bottom register, three instances of primarily

conjunct motion with some disjunct motion are notated

with straight arrows because of the disjunct motion

(meas. 103, 153, 185).

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 Tonal emphasis changes frequently in the

development, as indicated in the bottom staff. From the

subdominant emphasis at the beginning of the section,

the music moves through a variety of nondiatonic tonal

areas. The development closes with an anticipation of

the tonic tonal area of the recapitulation.

Reiterations of the third scale degree of the upper

fundamental line and the tonic in the bottom fundamental

line characterize the recapitulation (Graph 5.5).

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 275

Graph 5.5. Second movement, middleground graph of

the recapitulation.

Theme 1 trans. Theme 2 Theme 3b

J23) u 858) © ©
. 'V 'i r*
^L...‘L. =-=..1- 1:..-,— *
ft :_ r d * i ■ ....

y - - - - - ■■ - , -

L J----- — —a---------------- <*=<-----■»— . .---------------- Aa»-----

""I

Coda
Theme 3a Theme 3b Theme l
£n)&lS 85JQ89) <293,

* = =

r
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 276

At the end of the movement, the piano has the final

descent of E— C in the upper fundamental line while the

violin remains on the tonic pitch in a higher register.

The Background

A graph of the structural background reveals an

incomplete upper fundamental line (Graph 5.6).

Graph 5.6. structural background of the second

movement.

Exposition Development Recapitulation

r i ---------------------- | J------- \
y — -* |
1
Ii
-f— 9-------- !l
—
* 9- 59

The first note of the upper fundamental line, the third

scale degree E, establishes itself in the exposition and

enters again in the recapitulation after the long

development section. In the second theme, the

importance of the pitch class A in relation to the

subdominant tonal area of F foreshadows the third scale

degree of the fundamental line.

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 277

The secondary tonal areas of the development, A and

A-flat on one level and D-flat and G on a less important

level, provide structural evidence of the type of

expanded tonal variety in this sonata.

The Third Movement— Andante

In the third movement, the interval of a minor

second influences and generates many important melodic

events and harmonic progressions. It appears as

chromatic passing and neighboring motion and as

chromatic voice leading. Although the pitch organization

relates more closely to a seven-note diatonic

arrangement than to a chromatic system, the minor second

enriches the diatonic system and defines significant

relationships at different structural levels.

Tonality in the third movement takes the form of an

expansion of F major even though the overall harmonic

movement is F— C— F. Within a section or phrase, the

significant tonal reference points, in addition to

tonic, are not the dominant and subdominant pitches, but

other pitches such as the tritone. Further evidence of

expanded tonality can be found in the role of the pitch

class E. As a part of the tonic sonority, E functions

more as the major seventh of the tonic chord instead of

as a leading tone to F. In general, the harmonies

exhibit a triadic structure, but they are not a part of

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 278

functional harmony. Because of the smooth chromatic

voice leading, the predominant root movement by major and

minor second does not sound like harmonic parallelism.

The light texture of the third movement provides

effective contrast with the second and fourth movements.

Primary Melodic Ideas

Changes in melodic material, texture, and harmonic

style determine the sections of the ternary form. Part

one begins with a melodic emphasis on the pitch class E

as a part of the F tonic sonority and continues with a

highly chromatic melody. The arpeggiated accompaniment

sounds above the melody (Ex. 5.26).

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 279

Ex. 5.26. Third movement, part one, meas. 7-14.

Part two features a descending minor second motive and

pedal tones; the motive derives from the melodic

intervals of a minor sixth down and a perfect fifth up.

The resulting linear motion is a descending minor second

(Ex. 5.27).

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 280

Ex. 5.27. Third movement, part two, meas. 29-31.

J.l "y1 ®

Repetition of material at the same or different

pitch levels provides the primary means for extension of

material throughout the movement. In the second part,

much of the material on several structural levels

relates directly to the descending minor second motive.

The First Part

Foreground detail in the first part presents pitch

relationships that will emerge again at the middleground

level. The introduction sets up the light texture and

ethereal quality of the first part (Ex. 5.28).

Ex. 5.28. Third movement, meas. 1-2.

illull J:»«

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 281

Altered pitches outside the prevailing F major harmony

add to a descending chromatic line, C— B— B-flat— A —

G-sharp. The E major harmony of the second measure is

embellished by its own leading tone and the leading tone

of the dominant, D-sharp and A-sharp. The repeated

soundings of E in relation to F in the introduction

prepares for its inclusion in the tonic sonority as a

nonresolving seventh.

The chromaticism inherent in the harmonic voice

leading also contributes to much of the melodic material

in the first part. The melodic chromaticism extends the

melody over several phrases before concluding on an

A-flat augmented triad (meas. 15), a chord that has two

common tones, C and E, with the tonic sonority. A

restatement of the opening melody a minor third higher

differs from the original only in the doubling of the

melody two octaves higher (meas. 18-24). A B-flat2 in

the piano, the lowest note thus far, marks the beginning

of the transition to the second part. The two diverging

melodic lines in the piano combine with tremolos in the

violin, which correspond to the trills in the opening of

the first movement (Ex. 5.29).

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 282

Ex. 5.29. Third movement, meas. 25-28.

The transition incorporates chromaticism as a means to

connect nonfunctional root movement.

The Second Part

The second part builds on a descending minor second

motive. The motive is stated first in the violin and

the piano answers it a beat later (meas. 29; see Ex.

5.27). Its answer includes the descending motive, but

with octave displacement that gives it an ascending

effect.

In the second phrase, root movement of a tritone

accompanies the descending motive (Ex. 5.30).

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 283

Ex. 5.30. Third movement, meas. 32-39.

r=*=W---=£;

fc,-. f ---
i! 1 -1 —
U "" -vj-------— -----

r
The pitch levels of the motive and the bottom melodic

line continue to expand in contrary motion in the second

and third phrases. The goal of the expanding chromatic

lines is reached in the fourth phrase with a separation

of five octaves between the violin and the piano (meas.

38) .

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 284

Different triads in the violin and piano create a

bichordal effect in the second section of part two (Ex.

5.31).

Ex. 5.31. Third movement, meas. 40-42.

The B major triad in the violin has one pitch in common

with the E minor triad in the piano. Both harmonies

then chromatically slide down a minor second in the next

measure (meas. 41).

The minor second motive and the arpeggiated violin

line both play a part in the development and extension

of material throughout the rest of the second part. A

transposition of the second section a perfect fourth

higher (meas. 54) precedes a restatement of the first

section at the original pitch level with an F pedal

point instead of G (meas. 56). The section has a

rounded design, and a return of the first section at the

end of part two completes the arch organization of the

movement.

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 285

The Third Part

The third part, a restatement of the first part,

opens with the broken chord accompaniment from the first

statement. The return of the opening material, although

at the same pitch level, incorporates a few minor

changes in the accompaniment, including doubled notes

and extensions of some of the phrases. The mood of the

section becomes more somber when the last phrase closes

on an E diminished-minor seventh chord (meas. 82). A

melodic descent from F to B in the bottom voice (meas.

83) links the third part to the transition material from

the first part at a pitch level a minor second higher

than the original. The transition, also in an extended

4*

version, leads into a short coda by means of a deceptive

cadence (meas. 90-96).

The coda features the chromatic voice leading from

the other parts (Ex. 5.32); a first-inversion D minor

triad in the piano (meas. 90), accompanied by a double

pedal point in the violin, progresses to a

second-inversion F major triad (meas. 93) through the

chromatic movement of D-flat and B, both of which resolve

to C.

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 286

Ex. 5.32. Third movement, meas. 90-96.

Because of the uncertain nature of the tonic triad in

second inversion, the sense of tonal stability is

reserved until the last measure. The final melodic

motion consists of the pitch classes A and B resolving to

a unison F. The presence of the raised subdominant B

instead of the dominant C reinforces the established

harmonic organization that avoids the traditional

functional relationships.

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 287

The Middlearound

To demonstrate the subtleties of chromatic voice

leading in this movement, all of the middleground graphs

include a reduction of the harmonic motion, when

appropriate. The inclusion of a harmonic reduction in a

middleground graph is recognition of its relative

importance in this movement. Chromatic voice leading,

combined with common-tone connections, describes most of

the harmonic motion in the first part. Separation of the

two instruments on individual staves allows the reader to

see the exchange of material (Graph 5.7).

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 Graph 5.7. Third movement, middleground graph of
part one.

Vln.

Pf.

trans.

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 289

The homophonic setting of the two instruments in the

first part suggests a monophonic fundamental line.

Although the pitch class F, established at the beginning,

is a part of the melody, it is also the most important

pitch of the lowest voice. In the transition to the

second part, two distinct voices, an upper and a lower

line, surface. With all the chromaticism present thus

far, the chromatic line leading into the second part is

consistent with the style.

The harmonic reduction reveals notable intervallic

root relationships: minor second, minor third, and major

third in the first part; and minor second and tritone in

the second part. In many instances, common tones

connect adjacent sonorities. The conjunct movement of

other parts softens the chromatic effect of harmonies

related by the interval of a minor second. Passing

motion often leads to and departs from significant

middleground pitches.

The second part contains more conjunct lines than

part one (Graph 5.8).

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 290

Graph 5.8. Third movement, middleground graph of

part two.

I ^ ..6
%
m
Irriz

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 291

The descending minor second motive can be clearly seen

in the outer portions of the second part, while

chromatic harmonic motion that emphasizes the minor

second motive appears in the central section.

The middleground graph of the third part closely

resembles the graph of part one (Graph 5.9).

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 292

Graph 5.9. Third movement, middleground graph of

part three.

(58) @ © @ ©

Coda

© (84) © ©

- - - - - - - - - - - 1- - - -
-1 :— - A — "
" r^ i\
jy- - --- J
y — - - - - - - - - 3— 1- - - - - - -

- - - - - - - =- — - - - - - :- - - - - - - - - :- -
I I J L - , : -- _ . z - i = : . r ^ - ■■ -

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 293

In the coda (meas. 90), both instruments sustain the

third scale degree A. The resolution to the tonic pitch

in the piano occurs in the final measure. The pitch

class B, the tritone of the tonic F, prepares for the

conclusion (meas. 84) and participates in the final

cadence (meas. 96).

The Background

Tonal areas that are not functionally related can

be seen in a representation of the structural background

(Graph 5.10).

Graph 5.10. Structural background of the third

movement.

A B A

The tonal movement in the first part consists of

F— A-flat, which is movement by minor third with two

semitone dissonances between the two scale formations,

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 294

A— A-flat and E— E-flat. The transition based on B-flat

also relates to the second part by the interval of a

minor third.

The interval of a major second characterizes the

prominent tonal movement within the second part. The

dominant tonal area of C appears near the beginning and

end of part two.

The third part differs from the first in the

substitution of B for 3-flat for the tonal area of the

transition, and the presence of a1, a minor second above

a-flat1 , in the upper fundamental line. The filial

cadence reinforces the significance of the tritone B in

relation to F.

The Fourth Movement— Alleorissimo

In contrast with the serenity of the third movement,

the fourth movement follows the example of the second in

its rhythmic vitality. In addition, the use of melodic

and harmonic events from the first two movements

establishes a cyclic treatment of material within the

sonata. A detailed accounting of the recurring events

will be included in the following discussion.

The movement begins in an F major tonality with

excursions to other tonal areas and scale formations in

later sections. Exact sequences and transpositions

expand the diatonic system of pitch relationships, but

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 295

the movements's overall harmonic motion of I— V— I is

firmly rooted in traditional tonal practices.

In general, harmonic structures are triadic, but

with some quartal and secundal sonorities included. The

neighboring tone establishes itself as an important

relationship at several structural levels. Imitation

and counterpoint play more of a role in this movement

than in any of the previous movements.

The five-part formal organization resembles sonata

rondo in the restatement of the first part after a

contrasting one, but with material from earlier

movements replacing the last restatement of the first

part. An outline of the formal organization, tonal

areas, scale formations, and the material upon which

each section is based clarifies the unique

characteristics of the fourth movement (Fig 5.2).

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 Fig 5.2. Fourth movement, formal design.

Section Tonal Area and Characteristics Measures

A F major 1-49

B C major with addedchromaticism 50-82

Transition 83-101

A F major 102-13

C Contrapuntal development of 114-94

motive from the part one
along with a new motive? also
includes reference to motive
from the second movement

D F aeolian; combination of third 195-222

episode from the first movement
and motive from part four (C);
second section is a literal
restatement of third episode

Coda F aeolian with some F major? 223-3 3

chromaticism with F pedal points
and material from part two (B)

Primary Melodic Ideas

Repetition of melodic ideas and motives shape the

formal organization. Part one recalls the refrain of

the first movement in its intervallic melodic

structure— conjunct major seconds and a perfect fifth

(Ex. 5.33} .

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 297

Ex. 5.33. Fourth movement, part one, meas. 1-4.

The second part contains two melodies, one in the violin

followed by one in the piano (Ex. 5.34 and 5.35).

Lyrical diatonicism characterizes the violin melody.

Ex. 5.34. Fourth movement, part two, meas. 51-59.

The piano melody, in octaves, exhibits the same lyrical

quality.

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 298

Ex. 5.35. Fourth movement, part two, meas. 59-65.

After part three, which is a restatement of part one,

the fourth part presents a development of part one plus a

new motive. The motive contains certain characteristics

typical of folksong in its outline of a minor third with

a mordent effect (Ex. 5.36).

Ex. 5.36. Fourth movement, part four, meas. 128-30.

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 299

The fifth part brings back the third episode of the first

movement in conjunction with the motive from the fourth

part (Ex. 5.37).

Ex. 5.37. Fourth movement, part five, meas. 195-200.

Po«o a d i i noiio J : m
• r4. e p

i * $

fL — * — - 7 --

---------------------— - l — i— J --------- d—
-VO* '' ft 1i ‘ ----------------- Of- II

*V

^ d J J 1
TO;
I ' ' '
— - »■■■— t. ■■ '_ „ ,,

A literal return of the third episode constitutes the

second section of part five (Ex. 5.38).

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 300

Ex. 5.38. Fourth movement, meas. 213-14.

An F tonic pedal point, coupled with sequential and

parallel chromatic motion, and a reference to the piano

melody in the second part establish the coda (Ex. 5.39).

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 301

Ex. 5.39. Fourth movement, coda, meas. 223-29.

The First Part

An examination of the detail at the foreground level

reveals the melodic connections with other movements.

The opening measures are based on the same intervallic

motives as the first movement-two ascending seconds

followed by a descending perfect fifth. The rhythmic

groupings of notes create a syncopated effect— the meter

changes from five to seven to eight eighth notes per

measure. The irregularity of rhythmic pulses and meter

at this fast tempo gives rhythmic drive to the movement.

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 302

In the opening phrase, the pitch classes outside the

diatonic key of F major include the upper and lower

leading tones of the dominant C (meas. 3-4; see Ex.

5.33). The phrase ends on a B-flat subdominant harmony,

which in turn becomes the first sonority of the second

phrase. The second and third phrases, based on inexact

tonal transpositions of the first phrase, continue the

harmonic motion from the subdominant to the dominant

(meas. 8) and back to the tonic (meas. 12). As the first

part continues, a melodic variant of the first phrase

initiates the first instance of contrapuntal texture

(meas. 14). Quartal sonorities that grow out of the

counterpoint (Ex. 5.40) build harmonic tension toward a

restatement of the opening.

Ex. 5.40. Fourth movement, meas. 17-21.

Steady sixteenth notes, first in the violin and then

in the piano, accompany the restatement (meas. 22-31).

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 303

An upward chromatic shift to a G-flat major triad

prepares for a reference to the first phrase at a pitch

level a minor second higher than the original (Ex. 5.41).

Ex. 5.41. Fourth movement, meas. 30-38.

Through chromatic voice leading, the tonality quickly

shifts back to c, the dominant of F (meas. 36). C, in

turn, moves up by minor second to a pedal C-sharp (Ex.

5.42); a statement of the melodic material at a G pitch

level over the pedal C-sharp, the harmonic interval of a

tritone, disperses the sense of a strong tonal center.

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 304

Ex. 5.42. Fourth movement, meas. 39-43.

y y y y n

/
j j - .. -r-. = 1 — T— '.n
■J. j J J :
V r r j ' ■
j F
■

i i 1if---- -------- 1#4"

#3-
Si
lj* j?
3
i
|
?

The pedal-point anchor expands to include G and its

leading tone, F-sharp (meas. 46-49). The tension of the

C-sharp dissipates when it first resolves up to D and

then down to C, the tonal area of the second part. The

other pitch class G becomes the dominant of the tonal

area of C.

The Second Part

A short three-measure introduction based on

diverging, chromatic lines opens the second part (meas.

50-52; see Ex. 5.34). The number of chromatic pitches

that are not a part of C major indicates an expanded

pitch system. The melody itself is quite diatonic, but

the accompaniment is less so. Most of the chromaticism

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 305

can be described as upper or lower neighboring tones,

with two instances of split intervals (meas. 56, 57).

The second section of the first part involves a different

melody in the piano with the violin contributing

arpeggiated quartal and triadic sonorities (meas. 60-72).

The diverging chromatic lines from the beginning of

the second part precede a shortened restatement of the

melody. The restatement ends quietly with the melodic

movement D— C. Staccato repetitions of the pitch class c

in overlapping three-note groupings and the neighboring

motion of the following phrase recall the opening of the

second movement (Ex. 5.43; cf. second movement, meas.

1-2 ) .

Ex. 5.43. Fourth movement, meas. 80-88.

mp

A llogrlM lm o 1

-f]— — ---- ilrf-pf-isfrsg

y ^ ... fife -# — ^ C±^=
r

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 306

The neighboring motion starts a transition to part three,

which is based on material from part one.

The transition (meas. 83-101) focuses on contrapuntal

treatment of its opening motive in irregular rhythmic

groupings that are reminiscent of the beginning of the

movement; the piano answers the motive at the interval of

a perfect fifth three measures later (meas. 86; see Ex.

5.43 above). Triadic structures controlled by the bass

line's descending chromaticism heighten the harmonic

tension and tonal ambiguity (meas. 89-94). The tonal

ambiguity continues with descending arpeggiated seventh

chords in nonfunctional relationships and an emphasis on

C-sharp juxtaposed with a bichord (Ex. 5.44).

Ex. 5.44. Fourth movement, meas. 95-101.

£ m

fi

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 307

The transition finally ends on C, the dominant of the

F tonal area of part three.

The Third Part

The third part consists of an exact repetition of

the material from part one through the first three

phrases. Without a pause, a development of the melodic

ideas from both the first and second sections follows;

this development signals the start of the fourth part.

The Fourth Part

Two-part counterpoint based on part one opens this

section (meas. 114), and the triadic structures in a

quintuple meter from part two enter several measures

later (meas. 122). A new motive, first heard in part

four and an important feature of part five, enters in

octaves in the piano (meas. 128; see Ex. 5.36). The

fourth type of material to make an entrance in this part

is the arpeggios from the transition to the third part

(meas. 131). As part four continues, each of the four

types of material enter with some rapidity.

Over the larger span of the fourth part, the opening

of the second movement surfaces in a rhythmically

augmented version with long periods of silence between

segments of the melody (Ex. 5.45).

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Ex. 5.45. Fourth movement, meas. 133-34, 157-59.

Meas. 133-34

> r

Only the first three notes at a B pitch level occur in

the first reference (meas. 133-34; cf. second movement,

meas. l). The same three notes sound again two more

times (meas. 140-41, 151-52). The next segment contains

the conjunct motion up a third and back down (meas. 157-

58; cf. second movement, meas. 2). Another repetition

of the three repeated notes reappears at the C pitch

level, which is a minor second higher than B, the

original pitch level of the second movement (meas. 170-

71). The melodic fragments finally join into a full

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 309

statement of the first four measures of the original

melody spread over eight measures (Ex. 5.46).

Ex. 5.46. Fourth movement, meas. 181-88.

Among the tertian structures in the link to the

fifth part, chromatic voice leading points toward the

return of the tonic F. The pitch class G in a G major

descending arpeggio (meas. 189) moves to G-flat in the

next measure (meas. 190), and the piano adds an E-flat to

form a minor-major seventh sonority. The melodic motive

from part four and a diminished-minor-major ninth chord

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 310

built on C (meas. 191-92) lead into a melodic sounding of

the pitch classes G-flat and E (Ex. 5.47).

Ex. 5.47. Fourth movement, meas. 192-94.

The interval between the two pitch classes contracts to a

unison— G-flat resolves down by minor second to F, and E

moves up to F by half step.

The Fifth Part

The fifth part, a potpourri of material from most of

the movements, combines the rapid scales in a

rhythmically augmented version of part three from the

first movement (cf. first movement, meas. 79) with

melodic ideas from other movements (Ex. 5.48).

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 311

Ex. 5.48. Fourth movement, meas. 195-200.

Puao maau mono J:

4
•>*. 4

The triplets from the end of the first movement (see

meas. 89 in the first movement) and the fourth movement

motive from its fourth part both appear in the violin

(meas. 196, 197). The pitch class C, present in every

measure, provides a degree of stability to the harmonic

progression. Even a reference to the chromatic melody

of the third movement appears, again in the violin (Ex.

5.49; cf. third movement, meas. 9).

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 312

Ex. 5.49. Fourth movement, meas. 210.

The second section of the fifth part is approached by

the dominant moving to the subdominant before resolving

to tonic— a retrogression in traditional harmony (meas.

212 ) .

A literal restatement of the third part of the first

movement offers the most conclusive proof of the cyclic

nature of this sonata. The coda consists of two types

of chromaticism: chromaticism displaced at the octave

under a pedal F (meas. 223-26; see Ex. 5.3^'. and

harmonic parallelism combined with a short statement of

the piano melody from the second movement over a pedal F

(meas. 227-31; cf. second movement, meas. 60).

The final cadential area corresponds to a plagal

cadence because of its basic motion B-flat— F (Ex. 5.50).

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 313

Ex. 5.50. Fourth movement, meas. 230-33.

The B-flat minor seventh chord (meas. 232) progresses to

a c-flat minor triad with an F that is an anticipation

of the tonic pitch in the final sonority. E-flat moves

up to E and the bass moves from C-flat to G-flat. The

interval between G-flat and E, an augmented sixth,

resolves by minor second outward to an octave on the

tonic F. The use of an augmented sixth resolution as a

way to emphasize the tonic pitch ties in with the many

instances of chromatic neighboring tones in this

movement and with an important aspect of traditional

tonality. The presence of the tritone of F, C-flat, is

reminiscent of the tritone cadential motion in the third

movement. The open fifth in the final sonority fails to

establish allegiance to either major or minor, although

both pitch organizations have been prominent in all of

the movements. The lack of a third also confirms the

expanded system of pitch organization that goes beyond

major and minor formations.

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 314

The Middlearound

A graph of the middleground level illustrates

frequent conjunct passing motion, or linear unfolding,

that connects important pitches (Graph 5.11).

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 315

Graph 5.11. Middleground graph of the fourth

movement.

Refrain

© © ©

vm .

pf.

Episode 1

© @ @
/A
5

__ i .-

* / i = * S = t =

— --------------------------: ■■ J r / p l i © -

y .......... - ...............

■Frtt-------------------------- a

4 - 1

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 316

trans. Refrain

© © ©
------*■
in.
--------- _ ----------
-eh

1
-#*J . 1
.5.;---
----------------------

^ ---- \nrT - ------------ 1 -- -- IT -'"I "1

------------

Episode 2
@ @ 0 ) ^36) ^46)

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 318

At this structural level, instances of chromatic and

diatonic neighboring motion and the distribution of

material among the two primary registers of the piano

and the violin can be observed.

The most significant tonal relationships are

confined to tonic and dominant, an expansion of the

harmonic motion at the foreground level of the refrain.

Nonfunctional tonal areas occur within sections, such as

the emphasis on C-sharp at the end of the refrain. The

B tonal area of the second episode approximates a

functional relationship as a leading tone. As a

secondary tonal area, the tritone F-sharp appears over a

tonic pedal point in the second statement of the second

episode (meas. 179).

The third episode reinforces the fifth scale degree

of the upper fundamental line. The final descent to the

tonic sounds in the violin in the last two measures.

The Background

In a graph of the structural background, the

strength of the tonic-dominant relationship can be

clearly seen (Graph 5.12).

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 319

Graph 5.12. Structural background of the fourth

movement.

/\ /\ A A A
5 4 32 1

\J L '"V 1 I .... =;
7 ..........

? " 0 — 17 — ?—
T_
_/

The secondary tonal areas function in relation to the

dominant C. The first note of the upper fundamental line

becomes established in the first episode. In the descent

of the upper fundamental line, a B-flat minor seventh

sonority harmonizes the B-flat, but the other notes

leading to F are not harmonized.

Expanded Tonality in the Violin Sonata

In functional harmony, the most significant pitch

relationship spans the interval of a perfect fifth,

tonic-dominant. In Prokofiev's Violin Sonata, the

perfect fifth still controls some of the tonal

relationships, particularly large-scale tonal movement;

however, the minor second becomes the most important

secondary generative element in the sonata's expanded

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 320

system of tonality. In this sonata, the interval of a

minor second exists in several forms: 1) as a leading

tone, both in the pitch system and as a large-scale

relationship; 2) as a chromatic neighboring tone at

several structural levels, including prominent tonal

movement; 3) as a basis for chromatic pitch systems,

which naturally emphasize root movement by minor second

instead of the diatonic, major second movement; and 4) as

an integral part of a tertian structure; e.g., a member

of a major seventh sonority.

As in the previous chamber works in this study,

melodic ideas take precedence, but to a lesser degree.

At times, the melodic drive gives way to harmonic

progression. Themes are diatonic, chromatic, or diatonic

with chromaticism, most often as chromatic linear motion.

Various melodic devices include motivic repetition,

imitation, layering, and registral displacement of

conjunct lines. In the second movement, timbre plays an

important role in the sound of individual melodic

pitches.

Each movement has a different pitch organization and

hierarchy. The large parts of the first movement

alternate between diatonic and chromatic pitch systems;

the diatonic sections are either major or aeolian in

mode. The second movement contains a chromatic system of

all twelve notes organized by a tonal center. The third

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 321

movement focuses on a major scale enriched by significant

chromatically altered tones. A major scale formation

also provides the basic pitch organization of the fourth

movement, but with several modulations to nondiatonic

pitches.

Triadic harmonies, usually in a nonfunctional

setting, are the most common sonority in this sonata.

Other types of sonorities that contribute to the harmonic

style include extended tertian structures (sometimes

incomplete), bichords, added-note chords, quartal and

secundal harmonies, and tone clusters. These nontriadic

structures often occur at points of formal articulation.

Nonfunctional root movement concentrates on the

intervals of a minor second (or chromatic shift), major

second, minor third, major third, and tritone with

chromatic voice leading and common tones easing the

transition between chords. Large neighboring tones and

leading tones take precedence over traditional tonic-

dominant relationships. Other harmonic and tonal devices

that suggest an expansion of traditional tonality include

exact parallel motion, harmonic sequences, pedal points,

static harmonies, and pandiatonicism.

The final cadences of each of the movements also

confirm an expanded system of tonality. Root movement by

intervals other than a perfect fifth characterize the

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 322

cadences of two of the movements: the first movement

closes with a modal progression with root movement by

major second, and the cadential progression in the second

movement forms a descending augmented triad. In

addition, the cadence in the second movement includes the

raised subdominant scale degree in the final harmonic

motion, a pitch class that also functions as the leading

tone of the dominant, The fourth movement combines a

plagal harmonic motion with a harmonic augmented sixth

that resolves to an octave on the tonic to conclude the

movement. In each movement, the final sonority consists

of either a single pitch or an open fifth without the

triadic and tonal implications of a third.

All of the structural backgrounds are unconventional.

The upper fundamental lines in both the first and second

movements lack the second scale degree in a descent from

scale degree three to one. The third movement remains on

the first scale degree throughout. A descent from scale

degree five in the fourth movement contains all of the

intervening notes, but scale degrees three and two are

harmonically unsupported.

Prokofiev's Violin Sonata remains an accessible work

partly because of its firm tonal base. The various

elements of its tonal system make a notable example of

one of the ways in which music of the twentieth century

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 323

incorporates the rich heritage of traditional tonality

and yet expands upon it.

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 CHAPTER VI

THE SONATA FOR CELLO AND PIANO, OP. 119

Prokofiev's fall and resulting brain concussion in

January 1945 sapped his strength for an extended period

of time. His recovery period seemed lengthy to him

because of the restrictions placed on the amount of time

he could compose. His doctors insisted that he stop

composing, but Prokofiev found ways to work in private.

As his health improved, he was permitted to compose for

up to two hours a day. The serenity of Nikolina Gora,

Prokofiev's home during his recuperation, convinced him

to maintain a residence there permanently. He returned

to Nikclina Gora each spring after spending the winter

in Moscow.

After finishing the Sonata for Violin and Piano,

Prokofiev completed several other major works during the

latter part of 1946 and the first part of 1947, among

them the opera The Duenna, the Sixth Symphony, and the

Ninth Piano Sonata. For the celebrations surrounding

the thirtieth anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution,

he wrote an orchestral work entitled Thirty Years, also

known as Festive Poem, and a cantata Flourish. Mighty

324

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 325

Homeland, two rather obscure works. In the fall of

1947, he began work on the opera The Storv of a Real

Man. the completion of which was delayed and later made

difficult because of unusual external circumstances.

In 1948, Andrei Zhdanov, the person in charge of

applying the ideology of the Communist Party to the

arts, publicly accused Soviet composers of still being

too bourgeois even though they had received several

warnings in the 1930s. Zhdanov's views were spelled out

in the 10 February 1948 Resolution, a document that

reprimanded Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Miaskovsky,

Khachaturian, and other composers for formalistic

tendencies in their compositions. One week after the

resolution, on 17 February, the All-Moscow Composers

Meeting convened to provide an opportunity for Soviet

officials to cite specific compositions they thought

lacked value. According to the remarks made at this

meeting, the compositions by Prokofiev that offended the

officials most were his Sixth Symphony, the "Ode on the

End of the War," and the festive poem Thirty Years. In

the group of compositions that elicited slightly less

criticism were the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Piano

Sonatas, all the ballets written outside the Soviet

Union, the Third and Fourth Symphonies, and the Fifth

Piano Concerto.

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 326

Israel Nestyev offered this explanation of the

Party's disdain for some of Prokofiev's works:

Thus by 1948, despite the intensity of

Prokofiev's creative activity, his work began to show
signs of becoming obscure to the general audience.
This was what had caused the failure of the Festive
Poem and the very cold reception of the Sixth
Symphony, which most of the audience could not
understand. Furthermore, expressionistic
complexities made it difficult to grasp the Sixth and
Seventh Piano Sonatas, the Second String Quartet, and
other works. And at the other extreme, traces of a
certain forced and artificial simplification appeared
in his songs and choruses to texts by contemporary
poets.
Since the critics had failed to point out these
shortcomings, apparently content to praise every new
work by a leading Soviet composer, the time had come
for the Soviet public to make a serious critical
evaluation of the work of the Composers' Union. It
was necessary to help highly gifted artists overcome
the errors into which they were falling, to bring
their work closer to the demands of the people.1

At this meeting, Prokofiev's reply in the form of a

letter to Tikhon Khrennikov was read.2 Some scholars

speculate that a compromise was worked out through Myra

Mendelson and her personal connections in the Party,

because within a year, Prokofiev received the Stalin

Prize for his oratorio On Guard for Peace.

In an effort to redeem himself in the eyes of the

Party, Prokofiev completed The Storv of a Real Man with

the intention of pleasing the Soviet officials. At a

■^Israel V. Nestyev, Prokofiev, trans. Florence

Jonas (Stanford, California: Stanford University
Fress, 1960), p. 404.

2For a summary of Prokofiev's letter, see pp. 44-45.

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 327

performance at the December 1948 plenary session of the

Composers' Union, a session with the expressed purpose

of evaluating new works written after the 10 February

1948 Resolution, The Storv of a Real Man was denounced

by Khrennikov as an example of formalism:

Defeated ideologically, formalism still lives in the

music of Soviet composers. This is demonstrated by
the new opera of Prokofiev, Tale of a Real Man. In
the modernistic, anti-melodic music of his opera, in
the treatment of the Soviet people, the composer
remains on his old positions, condemned by the Party
and by Soviet Society. . . . He [Prokofiev] is still
interested only in the external sharpness of stage
action and naturalistic details.3

Prokofiev's attempt to improve his standing with the

Soviet officials had failed.

In spite of the Party's criticism. which might

persuade a composer to be cautious, Prokofiev continued

to work on new compositions. The piano score for a new

ballet based on a Ural folk tale, The Stone Flower, was

completed in March 1949. In the midst of working on The

Stone Flower. Prokofiev took time to compose a sonata

for cello and piano. He had heard Mstislav Rostropovich

perform his Cello Concerto, and subsequently sent

Rostropovich a copy of the sonata instead of the promised

revision of the concerto. Rostropovich traveled to

Nikolina Gora to perform the sonata for Prokofiev; this

3Tikhon Khrennikov, "Soviet Music in Its New

Stage," Pravda, 4 January 1949, quoted in Nicolas
Slonimsky, Music since 1900. 3rd ed. (New York:
Coleman-Ross, 1949), pp. 625-26.

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 328

meeting was the beginning of a collaboration between the

composer and the artist that later resulted in the

successful Sinfonia Concertante for cello and orchestra.

The Cello Sonata was first performed by Rostropovich

and Sviatoslav Richter for the appropriate authorities,

the Committee on the Arts, in June 1949. A private

concert was given to the board of the Composers' Union

on 6 December 1949 and the first public concert took

place on 1 March 1950 in Moscow.

The Cello Sonata contains a profusion of melodic

ideas with little development of material. The

simplistic nature of the sonata might suggest

acquiescence to the wishes of the authorities, or it

might simply indicate a softening of Prokofiev's sryie

as he approaches the end of his life. According to

Nestyev, the important characteristics of Prokofiev's

music in his Soviet period are found in this sonata: the

absence of "bold excesses, dissonances, and 'barbarisms"'

and the "alternation of wide intervals and colorful

chromatic turns, beautiful modulations, and the general

romantic color of the melody."4 Another scholar, Boris

Schwarz, describes Prokofiev's style in his later years

in relation to his earlier years:

Simplicity and lyricism became the guiding

features of Prokofiev's late style, while his

4Nestyev, pp. 416-17.

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 329

satirical streak and motoric drive weakened. . . .

According to Prokofiev's self-analysis, there are
five traits in his creative personality: classical,
innovatory, "toccata" (i.e. rapid, precise motion),
lyrical, and scherzo-humourous. At various periods
of his life, different facets became prominent. . . .
With age came mellowness, compassion, a sense for
tradition, and a feeling for simple beauty. The
"classical" and the "lyrical" facets of his
personality became dominant, while "innovation" and
"motion" faded into the background. . . .
Seen in this light, it is conceivable that
Prokofiev's creative evolution— in its broad
aspects— might have been the same regardless of
outside pressures.5

The return of the first theme of the first movement

near the end of the final movement creates a cyclic

presentation of material in the sonata. The three

movements of the sonata follow rather traditional formal

patterns: sonata, minuet and trio, and modulating rondo.

E V SIl ux lo i c i x y c u C I ic l x iT e x a u x G riS iix p S auu px u d i S y S u e iu S x ii

each of the movements conform to traditional practices—

C major, F major, and C major, respectively. The

elements of an expanded tonality occur within phrases

and sections.

The use of analytic graphs for this sonata presents

some difficulties because of the four-octave range of

the cello, which overlaps the piano part. In analytic

graphs of this sort, important melodic notes are

generally a part of the upper fundamental line. The

5Boris Schwarz, Music and Musical Life in Soviet

Russia, enlarged edition 1917-1981 (Bloomington: Indiana
University Press, 1983), pp. 242-43.

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 330

difficulties arise when primary melodic notes are sounded

in the cello in a register below the supporting piano

harmonies. In these instances, the obligatory register

of the upper fundamental line is in the same octave as

the bottom fundamental line. In other cases, the cello

plays in the upper part of its range with the piano

participating in a lower register. In the graphs of the

first two movements, the cello staff is placed below the

piano, so that the approximate registers are similar,

even though the cello sometimes plays in a treble

register. The graphs of the third movement have the

cello on top because of its relatively higher range in

this particular movement. In both instances, ease of

reading determined the score order.

Another problematic factor in an analysis of this

sonata is the abundance of foreground detail. Perhaps

the primary tonal elements are more clearly stated and

prolonged in this sonata because of Prokofiev's desire

to write music that could be easily understood by the

general public. Because of the foreground detail, an

appropriate and helpful middleground graph is closer to

the background than to the foreground.

The First Movement— Andante grave

The sonata-form first movement includes two thematic

groups, each with two melodic ideas. A head motive

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 331

consisting of a descending conjunct pentachord ties the

movement together (see Ex. 6.1 below). In some cases,

the motive is shortened to a descending tetrachord.

Variants of the basic motive, in the form of different

intervals or melodic direction, provide contrast within

the broader unity of the movement.

Themes

The solo cello opens the movement with the first

thematic idea. The descending pentachord is presented

within a prolongation of G (Ex. 6.1).

Ex. 6.1. Prokofiev, Cello Sonata, first movement,

theme la, meas. 1-5.

AiiiHU crave
▼ leleiaello

Plano
m i rnif
The second thematic idea, in the tonal area of the

relative minor, follows the outline of an A minor triad

(Ex. 6.2) .

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 332

Ex. 6.2. First movement, theme lb, meas. 13-15.

In the development, this theme reappears in a more

lively setting (Ex. 6.3).

Ex. 6.3. First movement, meas. 71-74.

V o d K tlt t l l l l l l J:l«<

A melodically disjunct transition to the second theme

group focuses on the tonal area of F-sharp, which is the

tritone of c (Ex. 6 . 4 ) .

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 333

Ex. 6.4. First movement, transition, meas. 22-26.

i-. ■'{ { 6 M t
4rm * a a

■mr
/
=J ---
I1*—

A slight pause precedes the introduction of the

second thematic group in the dominant tonal area of G

major. The arrival at G major sounds like a new

thematic area, unlike the entrance of the previous two

thematic ideas, thus justifying the designation of a

second theme group. The second theme outlines a

descending G major arpeggio (Ex. 6.5).

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 334

Ex. 6.5. First movement, theme 2a, meas. 33-36.

The first measure of the second thematic idea of the

second theme group is similar to the first measure of the

first theme in the second theme group (Ex. 6.6a).

Ex. 6.6a. First movement, theme 2b, meas. 49-51.

I---------- 1

Boris Schwarz claims that this melody is an "almost

literal quotation" from Prokofiev's Alexander Nevskv—

the first six notes in rhythm are part of the mezzo

soprano melody, starting with the third note, in "The

Field of the Dead" (Ex. 6.6b)."6 The accompanying minor

6Ibid., p. 236.

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 335

harmony and oscillating inner line closely resemble the

Nevsky setting, although the texture is thicker. The

same mood prevails in both.

Ex. 6.6b. Prokofiev, Alexander Nevskv. "The Field of

the Dead," meas. 11-12.

74 Meno mosso
C l.b .

pp
M-e.
mm fl noil-ay no no*.a» 6e-.no-My,

se n z a jo r d . u n is.

$ sen z* sord.
I
PP
■t, u^ - - . - ■

-o-
pp
A rchi

PP

PP

PP

The Exposition

In a detailed study of the exposition, several

distinguishing features of Prokofiev's style emerge. A

diatonic pitch organization based on C major

characterizes the first thematic idea, but with several

chromatic notes, which function as leading tones to

diatonic pitches, F-sharp— G and D-sharp— E (see Ex.

5.1). Functional harmonic relationships and primary

triads accompany the cello melody. Through an

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 336

embellished melody, a descending line from G to D (meas.

1-11) controls the direction of the melody (Ex. 6.7).

Ex. 6.7. Cello Sonata, first movement, meas. 3-11.

The secondary tonal area of D minor (meas. 11) is

harmonized at the beginning with added=ncte chords that

emphasize the melodic movement of F— E. A sudden move

to an F-sharp minor structure (meas. 17-18) seems less

jarring because of the chromatic shifting of two pitch

classes, c and G, to C-sharp and G-sharp, and the

retention of two common tones, A and E (Ex. 6.8).

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 337

Ex. 6.8. First movement, meas. 17-21.

Although the harmonic effect surprises the listener, the

voice leading dilutes the strength of the chromaticism.

In preparation for the transition, the F-sharp sonority

(meas. 19) shifts to C major, the original tonal area and

a tritone from F-sharp, and then back to F-sharp two

measures later (meas. 21).

The transition (meas. 22; see Ex. 6.4) consists of a

disjunct melody displaced over two octaves in the piano

with pitch classes derived from the harmonic progression.

The plucked chords in the cello accompany the piano and

reinforce the harmonic progression. The roots of the two

sonorities involved, F-sharp and C-sharp, are in a

functional relationship of tonic-dominant, but the notes

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 338

in the dominant structure form a diminished-minor seventh

chord, which weakens the tonic-dominant effect. Near the

end of the first phrase, the harmonic progression becomes

even further removed from traditional practices when

harmonic parallel motion of second-inversion triads

(meas. 25) leads into a Neapolitan chord with a minor

seventh (meas. 26).

The pitch class F-sharp becomes an important part of

the bridge to the second theme group (Ex. 6.9), both by

itself and in combination with A-flat (meas. 29-30).

Ex. 6.9. First movement, meas. 27-33.

The A-flat and F-sharp form a harmonic augmented sixth

that suggests a resolution to G. The resolution occurs

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 339

several measures later and G becomes the tonal area of

the second theme (meas. 33).

The second theme commences with a prolongation of

the tonic harmony for four measures (meas. 33-36; see

Ex. 6.5). The theme in the cello descends through a G

major arpeggio spanning two octaves. The G major pitch

organization expands to include E-flat, the lowered

submediant scale degree (Ex. 6.10).

Ex. 6.10. First movement, meas. 37-41.

The pitch collection becomes a combination of a major

tetrachord on the bottom and a harmonic minor tetrachord

on the top part of the scale. As a result, diminished

supertonic and minor submediant chords become part of

the progression (meas. 37, 39). The first statement

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 340

ends with a cadential augmented sixth that leads back to

the tonic sonority (meas. 40-41).

The second statement of the theme adds canonic

imitation at the octave between the piano and cello at

the distance of one measure (Ex. 6.11).

Ex. 6.11. First movement, meas. 41-48.

In this statement, chromaticism gradually invades the

diatonic system. Some of the chromaticism results from

descending major thirds in exact parallel motion (meas.

45, 47); other chromatic events are substitutes for

diatonic pitches or chromatic neighboring tones of

diatonic pitches (meas. 46, 48).

The head motive of the second thematic idea in the

second theme group (see Ex. 6.6) resembles the first

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 341

thematic idea because of similarities in rhythmic

values, intervals, and melodic direction (cf. meas. 33

and 49). The second thematic idea starts in the tonal

area of C-sharp minor— the raised subdominant of G— with

an E pedal point, but soon shifts to F major while

retaining the E pedal point (Ex. 6.12).

Ex. 6.12. First movement, meas. 49-59.

ii".T~r~lGlUfl»|.pr-

The chromatic mediant relationship between C-sharp minor

and F major involves two chromatic shifts, C-sharp— C

and F-sharp— F. From the E pedal point, a bass line

descending by minor thirds, E— D-flat— B-flat^ (meas. 53-

55), and even more chromaticism combine to diffuse any

sense of a particular tonal area. This tonal ambiguity

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 342

serves as a link to the final statements of the head

motive of theme 2b within an A minor tonal area (meas.

62-65). More chromatic voice leading carries the music

toward the final cadence of the exposition, a type of

plagal cadence (Ex. 6.13).

Ex. 6.13. First movement, meas. 69-70.

The d2 in the cello, played as a harmonic, anticipates

the final tremolo in the coda.

The Development

The development section begins with a canonic

treatment of the head motive of theme lb in rapid

sixteenth notes (Ex. 6.14).

Ex. 6.14. First movement, meas. 71-74.

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 343

While the pitch groups ascend at the foreground level,

the controlling line descends A— G— F-sharp— E, with the

E displaced one octave higher. The piano answers with

the same pattern doubled at the octave and transposed a

major third higher to E, a chromatic mediant

relationship. The piano answer leads chromatically into

an F major chord with an added G (meas. 79-80)— the A

acts as a common tone while other voices descend by

semitone (Ex. 6.15).

Ex. 6.15. First movement, meas. 77-82.

The added=ncte chord, in turn, introduces the

reappearance of theme la in the tonal area of F (meas.

81) .

An F major triad in first inversion harmonizes the

development of theme la (see Ex. 6.15). The two pitches

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 344

below the root act as lower cover tones, appearing below

F but not obscuring it. The entire passage has

continuity because of the F pedal point in an inner

part. The harmonic progression consists of an F major

triad alternating first with a G-sharp diminished

seventh chord, sometimes referred to as a common-tone

diminished seventh chord (meas. 82-83), and then with

sonorities with added chromatic notes (meas. 84-85).

The progression continues to the subdominant chord

(meas. 86), as in the exposition, and finally settles on

a tonic chord in first inversion.

Chromatic voice leading in contrary motion (meas.

88-89) leads into the tonal area of E-flat (meas. 89)

and another statement of theme lb (meas. 90) in the

canonic version from the beginning of the development

section (Ex. 6.16? cf. meas. 71).

Ex. 6.16. First movement, meas. 87-90.

The piano states the subject in E-flat (meas. 90-93) and

the cello answers at a G pitch level (meas. 94-97). A

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 345

short pause on a C-sharp major triad at the end of the

cello answer (meas. 97-98) signals a transition to the

next portion of the development.

A mutation from C-sharp major to C-sharp minor

coincides with a change in texture and tempo (meas. 99).

A flourish in the piano (meas. 99) introduces theme 2b

(meas. 100)? the ascending arpeggio of the flourish

continues as an accompaniment to the cello melody. The

tonal strength of C-sharp weakens as the C-sharp tonic

sonority moves chromatically to an F major-seventh chord

(Ex. 6.17).

Ex. 6.17. First movement, meas. 104-10.

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 346

The common tone E remains in the bottom voice until the

bass line descends chromatically from E to B-flat (meas.

108-10) .

Chromatic lines in contrary motion (meas. 112-14)

connect the tonal distance between the B-flat major

chord to the new tonal area of G-sharp minor and theme

2a (Ex. 6.18) .

Ex. 6.18. First movement, meas. 112-15.

■3*

The G-sharp is approached by semitone in the outer

voices, which, because of the subsequent resolution,

suggests an enharmonic augmented sixth. In the

exposition, theme 2a was approached in the same manner

(cf. meas. 30-32).

In this statement of theme 2a, the piano and cello

exchange portions of the melody (meas. 115-18), a

technique used earlier in the exposition (meas. 62-65).

The progression chromatically shifts from a G-sharp

minor triad to a G major chord (meas. 116-17), in which

the root and fifth of the G-sharp triad descend

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 347

chromatically while the third connects the two chords as

a common tone (Ex. 6.19).

Ex. 6.19. First movement, meas. 115-20,

5-

The next phrase of the theme involves another tonal

shift, in this case, a chromatic mediant relationship of

G major to E major; the one-measure link between the

phrases (meas. 119) relies mostly on pitch classes

outside the G major pitch system. The disjunct melodic

intervals in contrary motion also form vertical triadic

structures, although the linear motion outweighs the

harmonic results.

The development of theme 2a concludes with a passage

based on fragments of the theme borrowed directly from

the exposition at the same pitch level with a few minor

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 348

changes in orchestration (meas. 124-27; cf. meas. 62-

65). The development closes with a melodic line loosely

based on theme lb and its characteristic semitone (Ex.

6 .20 ) .

Ex. 6.20. First movement, meas. 128-35.

The semitone appears as F— E (meas. 128), B— C (meas.

130, 132, 133), D-sharp— E (meas. 130-31), and most

noticeably as the final F— E at the end of the passage

(meas. 134-35).

The Recapitulation

The return of theme la in doubled octaves in the

piano at its original pitch level announces the start of

the recapitulation (meas. 136). Melodic material in the

recapitulation reappears in a different order than in the

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 349

exposition, due primarily to the use of the transition,

which originally appeared between theme groups 1 and 2 in

the exposition, as a transition to the coda. Theme lb is

further developed in the recapitulation (meas. 149-59);

the theme enters in its original version (meas. 149) and

is answered by its melodic inversion (meas. 151).

The final phrase of theme lb reaches a cadence on a

B-flat augmented triad (meas. 159). The cello continues

with a disjunct melody (meas. 159) that resembles the

transition (cf. meas. 22), accompanied by expanding

chromatic lines, which also relate to an earlier

transition passage (Ex. 6.21; cf. meas. 112).

Ex. 6.21. First movement, meas. 159-61.

The bridge between themes lb and 2a ends with two

contrary lines in inexact inversion (meas. 165).

Theme 2a returns in the tonal area of C, the overall

tonic of the movement (meas. 166). The piano seems to be

the leader in the canonic imitation, but becomes the

follower when it starts again two measures later after

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 350

the cello entrance. The C major emphasis of theme 2a

changes to F-sharp minor at the entrance of theme 2b,

which is the same intervallic relationship between the

two themes in the exposition. In the recapitulation, the

reappearance of theme 2a after theme 2b is omitted;

instead, theme 2b is followed by the development

section's theme lb (meas. 186), an expanded reappearance

which includes some development of the theme based on

melodic inversion (meas. 190).

Aii altered version of the transition, in which

intervals are adjusted and the two instruments have

exchanged melodic roles, maintains its transitory

function by appearing near the end of the recapitulation

as a transition to the coda (meas. 203). Flourishes

reminiscent of the development section, in close

imitation between the piano and cello, conclude theme lc

(meas. 211-13).

The two-part coda (beginning in meas. 215), the first

part of which does not recall any of the thematic ideas

presented thus far, begins with a deceptive motion to an

unexpected tonal area. Rapid arpeggios that suggest the

flourishes of the previous section embellish the tonal

movement of F-sharp— B-flat— D— G-sharp— D— G, which

leads directly into C. A harmonic reduction of this

passage pinpoints the significant tonal movement (Fig.

6 .1 ) .

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 351

Fig. 6.1. Cello Sonata, first movement, harmonic

reduction of the first part of the coda.

M M M m m M9 M

Root mvt. 0 0 0 0 0 0

The first three chords are all major in quality with root

movement by major third. The G-sharp is the root of a

minor chord (meas. 221) that chromatically slides into an

extended tertian sonority built on G four measures later

(meas. 225), a technique observed earlier in the

development section (cf. meas. 115-18).

The cello descends to large D before reaching C at

the start of the second part of the coda (meas. 231).

The descent of the upper fundamental line happens in the

measures preceding the second part of the coda (Ex.

6 .2 2 ) .

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 352

Ex. 6.22. First movement, meas. 223-31.

The second part of the coda prolongs a tonic C major

chord with a tonic pedal point and an avoidance of

active tones, particulary the leading tone. The added-

note harmonic structures create a pandiatonic feeling

void of tension while the cello plays a tremolo in

harmonics that reminds the listener of the end of the

exposition (Ex. 6.23).

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 353

Ex. 6.23. First movement, meas. 239-43.

(
I

The dominant G is harmonized with a tonic chord in

second inversion, a choice that maintains the static

quality of the second part of the coda.

The Middleqround

To understand the primary and secondary tonal motion

that unfolds in the exposition, a middleground graph

provides a helpful synopsis (Graph 6.1). In this graph,

the cello is placed below the piano because its range in

this movement corresponds to the lower register of the

piano; however, some problems of overlapping registers do

occur.

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 354

Graph 6.1. Cello Sonata, first movement,

middleground graph of the exposition.

Theme lb

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 355

The first note of the upper fundamental line, in its

obligatory register, appears in the lowest octave of the

cello. This can be attributed to the role of the cello

as the primary solo instrument, even though the piano is

equal in importance. The conjunct descending motive,

which is the natural design of an upper fundamental line,

emerges at all structural levels. At the middleground

level, it can be seen in ascending form in addition to

the original descending pattern.

Neighboring-tone motions often characterize the

relationships between primary and secondary tonal areas.

The exposition begins in C and modulates to D for the

second statement of the first theme. Theme lb moves

from the tonal area of D to C-sharp and then to C. The

F-sharp tonality of the transition functions as an

extended leading tone to the G tonal area of the second

theme group.

Theme 2a, firmly based in the tonal area of G,

contrasts with theme 2b, which begins in C-sharp minor.

The tonal emphasis in theme 2b is clearly C-sharp, but

the associated harmonies are not in root position. In

theme 2b, the piano and cello present the melody in

octaves. Near the end of the exposition, the head of

theme 2a returns in the tonal area of A, the upper

neighboring tone of G. The cadential sonority emphasizes

the fifth as the upper primary note, a structure that

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 356

mirrors the importance of scale degree five as the first

note of the upper fundamental line.

Four-note descending lines, a variant of the

descending conjunct motive, provide direction and

cohesion to the development section (Graph 6.2).

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 357

Graph 6.2. First movement, middleground graph of the

development.

Theme lb Theme la Theme lb Theme 2b

71J © (89) (97) 0.06)

m
1^-T.
,
frki r 1
' Jrv I

Theme 2a
L15) 6*0)

.. m
3S&-, ----------------------------------------------------- - ---------------------

--------
1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hz.

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 The piano and cello often double each other in the

presentation of important pitches. In most cases, the

pitch classes in the piano are more prominent than those

of the cello, so they are notated in the piano. The

variety of tonal areas, often related by a minor or

major second, maintains coherence through the frequent

occurrence of the descending conjunct pattern, the main

motive of the movement.

The descending pattern at its original pitch level

marks the beginning of the recapitulation (Graph 6.3).

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 359

Graph 6,3= First movement, middleground graph of the

recapitulation and coda.

Theme la Theme lb Theme 2a

@) @ @

Theme 2b Theme lb Theme lc

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 360

Coda (1) Coda (2)

A A A A
5 4 2 1

|P J u '*L1— 1r>fr- —
-4 -*--------------

“ - f r * ff—
\ i
~
H^ - -- - *
TEfrftrjr -- 3
"9k =6
T"

) -$L

In the exposition, the cello presented most of the

significant pitches in its lowest register; however, in

the recapitulation, the two instruments share the bottom

register, with the accompanying instrument often

doubling the melodic line at a higher octave. The

return of the second theme group in the tonal area of C

prolongs the tonic in the bottom fundamental line

through the recapitulation. The variant of theme lb

first heard in the development section reappears in the

recapitulation; its descending four-note pattern

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 361

anticipates and prepares for the final descent of the

fundamental line in the coda.

The first part of the coda, which begins in the

tonal area of F-sharp, the tritone of C, consists of

harmonic changes based primarily on the interval of a

major third. The opening F-sharp sonority functions as

long-range leading tone to G, the first note of the

fundamental line. The descent of the upper fundamental

line is most audible in the cello, in the same octave as

that in which the movement started. The fundamental

line makes a clear descent to the tonic pitch, even

though it lacks the pitch class E; the presence of E is

implied by the downward motion of the line. The second

part of the coda, which begins when the fundamental line

reaches its goal of C, merely extends and prolongs the

tonic harmony.

The Background

A further reduction highlights the primary tonal

areas (Graph 6.4).

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 362

Graph 6.4. Structural background of the first

movement.

Coda
Exposition Development Recapitulation
A A S\ A
5 (5) 4 2 1

fiE =
W =

=±=3
z u. 7^9- ■- ~zr 9 1
f T T j

As the graph illustrates, secondary tonal areas often

function as large neighboring tones to primary tonal

areas. In the first theme group, the tonal emphasis

shifts from c to D to F-sharp, the tritone of C. At the

start of the second theme group, the F-sharp is then

heard as a leading tone to the tonal area of G. The

second theme group also moves a tritone from G to

C-sharp. The development section consists of tonal

movement that ends on E, which may compensate for its

absence in the final descent of the fundamental line. In

the recapitulation and coda, the tritone of C, F-sharp,

again reasserts itself.

The traditional tonal functions of dominant and

tonic remain intact in this movement, but nontraditional

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 363

pitch events and secondary tonal areas define an

expanded tonality that reflects Prokofiev's individual

style.

The Second Movement— Moderato

A light, playful mood sets the second movement apart

from the first. Nestyev claims that the melody in the

first part of this compound ternary form " . . . closely

resembles that of a children's game song."7 Although

Nestyev likens this movement to a scherzo, the meter and

tempo suggest something closer to a march. The pitch

class F, closely aligned with the major mode, controls

the tonal organization of the movement.

In the first part, coloristic chord successions and

chromatic parallel motion create a light-hearted effect

(EX. 6.24) .

7Nestyev, p. 416.

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 Ex. 6.24. Second movement, part one, meas. 1-6.

plat.
IC o d irilo a:»«

The second subsection answers the first— the two are

related by tonal center, but different in melodic

content (Ex. 6.25).

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 365

Ex. 6.25. Second movement, part one, meas. 13-17.

JLj T 3 F «
r

i*"^r V " ‘PnV^ rr 1-Tf rr-r

r r i
=f=

i -‘ p

The second main section of part one arises from a sudden

harmonic shift to A-flat major. Block chords in the

piano punctuate the rapid arpeggios in the cello (Ex.

6.26).

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 366

Ex. 6.26. Second movement, part one, meas. 25-28.

[\ l u r tt '[

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* $ * J 9 |

A P .— 4.J‘j J ^ J ■ -j j . l I |.

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--------- 5 ^ 3 -------3 — 3c ib i £ 4 i

The second part of the ternary form, a graceful and

lyrical waltz, changes meter, tempo, and character. The

cello becomes the primary melodic instrument (Ex. 6.27).

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 367

Ex. 6.27. Second movement, part two, meas. 50-57.

AadftiU dolca o

r l

The middle section of the second part, loosely based on

the melodic idea of the first section, covers several

tonal areas (Ex. 6.28).

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 368

Ex. 6.28. Second movement, part two, meas. 66-71.

Part three is a shortened version of part one with no

new melodic material.

The First Part

Liveliness and gaiety pervade the first part. In

the first measure, the F major tonic triad moves to the

subdominant B-flat and then to E major, a major chord on

the leading tone of F (see Ex. 6.24). This harmonic

shift, which sounds somewhat misplaced, is the first

indication of harmonic surprises to come. The second

phrase contains two lines descending chromatically over

tonic and dominant harmonies; the overall effect is

somewhat whimsical. The harmonic movement that begins

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 369

the second phrase, an F major triad to a D-flat major

seventh chord, establishes a chromatic mediant

relationship that occurs frequently in this movement.

The first two phrases form the first part of a

double contrasting period; the second portion of the

period (meas. 14), also in the tonal area of F,

alternates between the tonic triad and a common-tone

diminished seventh chord for the first two measures.

The concluding phrase involves root movement by

descending thirds, the first three of which form an

augmented triad, F— D-flat— A — F-sharp (meas. 15-17),

before settling on the dominant chord (Ex. 6.29).

Ex. 6.29. Second movement, meas. 15-17.

In a repeat of the second pair of phrases, the second

one is extended by means of an inexact sequence (meas.

21-23) that leads to a G major chord (Ex. 6.30).

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 370

Ex. 6.30. Second movement, meas. 21-25.

Chromatic motion around G and an arpeggiated G major

triad (meas. 24) focuses attention on G as the leading

tone of the next tonal area and the second melodic idea

of the first part.

The harmonic shift to A-flat (meas. 25), although

aided by intervening chromatic neighboring tones, has

been labeled as the "jolt function" by one Prokofiev

scholar.8 In the tonal area of A-flat, a descending

8The "jolt function" is "a Prokofiev harmonic device

derived from the deceptive cadence in minor, in which a
dominant-sounding harmony (triad or seventh chord) moves
up a half-step from the root to the root— or by extension
any other member— of the next chord, normally effecting a
modulation." Patricia Ashley, "Prokofiev's Piano Music:
Line, chord, Key" (Ph.D. dissertation, University of
Rochester, Eastman School of Music, 1963), p. 308.

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 371

chromatic line, which appeared in the first melodic idea,

concludes each phrase in this section (meas. 28 and 32;

see Ex. 6.26). To modulate back to the tonal area of F,

the dominant of A-flat (E-flat) ascends chromatically

through E-natural to reach F (Ex. 6.31).

Ex. 6.31. Second movement, meas. 30-34.

The first section returns with modifications in the

distribution of material between the two instruments. A

passage of descending augmented triads in inexact

parallel motion (meas. 41-44) effects a transition to the

second part (Ex. 6.32).

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 372

Ex. 6.32. Second movement, meas. 41-43.

rlt.
~~~ 1 t^ - 7 - - - t 7~ -I- ■ — ■■ ^ 1 " ~

r~4

Him.

5?

To complete the transition, minor triads descending by

major thirds (meas. 46-47), whose roots outline an

augmented triad, and ascending chromatic motion (meas.

48) finally settle on the tonic F (meas. 49). F, in

turn, becomes the pivot for the modulation to the

subdominant tonal area of B-flat and part two.

The Second Part

The middle part of the large ternary form contrasts

with the first part in meter, tonal area, and style.

The waltz style is established with smooth, flowing

eighth notes over a functional harmonic progression

based primarily on descending fifth relationships, I—

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 373

ii— vi— ii— V— I (see Ex. 6.27). Melodic chromaticism

(meas. 54-55) and some small-scale harmonic parallel

motion (meas. 56-57) provide interest within the

functional harmony. The second statement of the melody

is enriched with a fuller texture and more chromaticism

(meas= 58-66).

The second section of the waltz exhibits mode

mixture with chords and chord tones borrowed from the

parallel minor key (Ex. 6.33).

Ex. 6.33. Second movement, meas. 67-72.

Over a dominant pedal point, an E-flat minor subdominant

chord (meas. 67) moves to an enharmonic G-flat minor

triad (meas. 68), a minor triad built on the lowered

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 374

submediant scale degree and a semitone above the F pedal

point. The actual spelling of the F-sharp minor triad

prepares for the entrance of a B major sonority, an

enharmonic Neapolitan chord in the key of B-flat (meas.

70). The B major sonority progresses to C major (meas.

71), the secondary dominant of the dominant, which sets

up the second statement of the melody at the dominant

pitch level a perfect fifth higher (meas. 72). The

significance of the middle section of part two lies in

its combination of functional and nonfunctional

relationships.

A false recapitulation, created by a reharmonization

of the melody from the first section (Ex. 6.34),

anticipates the actual return of the waltz theme (meas.

82) .

Ex. 6.34. Second movement, meas. 78-82.

mp

A slight increase in melodic chromaticism distinguishes

the return from the original presentation. The bridge

to the third part consists of a G diminished-minor

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 375

seventh chord (meas. 90) and the dominant seventh of F

major (meas. 92; Ex. 6.35). The D-flat resolves down by

semitone to C while F ascends chromatically through

F-sharp to G by means of octave displacement.

Ex. 6.35. Second movement, meas. 90-93.

The Third Part

The third part is a shortened version of part one.

The first thirteen measures of part one are condensed

into seven measures in part three, the next section is

reduced from eleven measures to five, the second melodic

idea in A-flat does not reappear at all, and the final

section is contracted to four measures.

To conclude, a cadential extension alternates between

a leading-tone chord with a split third, E— G— G-sharp—

B-flat (meas. 108) and the tonic triad (Ex. 6.36). The

cello adds an augmented dominant chord (meas. 109).

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 376

Ex. 6.36. Second movement, meas. 109-13.

mp\

wtp

Both of these altered dominants offer further evidence

of an tonal system expanded beyond the major scale.

Another chord with a split third and split fifth, in

this case a tonic triad with G-sharp and B added (meas.

111), precedes the final flourish in the piano (meas.

112). The flourish contains diatonic pitches with the

addition of two chromatic tones, the lowered submediant

D-flat and the lowered supertonic G-flat, which relates

to their appearance earlier in the movement.

The Middlecrround

A graph of the middleground events confirms the

functional and nonfunctional relationships in this

movement. The basic tonal movement of F— A-flat— F

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 377

highlights one of the more important chromatic pitches

of the first part (Graph 6.5).

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 378

Graph 6.5, Second movement, middleground graph of

part one.

<D

Pf.

Vc.

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 379

Other significant pitch classes outside the tonal system

of F major are visible at this structural level. The

fifth scale degree C becomes the first note of the upper

fundamental line. Important register displacements

remain in the graph at this level. Nonfunctional

disjunct root movement can be observed, particularly in

the last portion of the first section.

The second section begins with an emphasis on the

fifth scale degree in the top part, in this case E-flat

over A-flat, the same arrangement found at the beginning

of part one. More conjunct secondary motion occurs in

the second section than in the first section. The final

section emphasizes the tonic F with both the traditional

major dominant and an augmented version, heard most

clearly in the descending root movement by major thirds

near the conclusion of part one.

The fifth scale degree in the upper part recurs at

the start of the second part (Graph 6.6).

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 Graph 6.6. Second movement, middleground graph of
part two.

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 The predominance of diatonic harmonies controls the

secondary motion within the prolongation of the tonic

harmony in the first part. Tonic and dominant pedal

points in the tonal area of the dominant anchor the

middle section even though the accompanying harmonies

are chromatically altered, as indicated by the upper

line. The last section of part two returns to the

diatonic relationships of part one.

The abbreviated third part functions as a

prolongation of the tonic F (Graph 6.7).

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 382

Graph 6.7. Second movement, middleground graph of

part three.

94 0 05 09,

The upper fundamental line maintains the emphasis on the

fifth scale degree C and*resolves down to the tonic F in

the last few measures..

The Background

A background reduction displays the most important

tonal areas (Graph 6.8).

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 383

Graph 6.8. Structural background of the second

movement.

Part one Part Two Part Three

Prokofiev's hierarchy of functional relationships over

nonfunctional ones is clearly evident at this level.

The Third Movement— Allegro ma non troppo

In the third movement, this hierarchy is reversed.

Nonfunctional relationships, especially as chromatic

mediants, characterize the primary tonal areas. The most

traditional functional relationship, tonic-dominant,

occurs frequently at a level close to the foreground,

within the context of a tonal area.

Prokofiev combines nonfunctional tonal areas with

simple, accessible melodies. This accessibility may be

in conformance with Party demands, or it may just be in

the nature of a final-movement rondo form. In either

case, the harmonic structure offers the most significant

features of expanded tonality in this movement.

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 384

The presence of a refrain alternating with

contrasting sections suggests a designation of rondo

form, even though the second statement of the refrain is

not in the tonic tonal area. The term '’modulating

rondo"9 most appropriately describes the formal

organization.

The first part of the refrain establishes a light

and jovial mood (Ex. 6.37).

Ex. 6.37. Third movement, refrain, first thematic

idea, meas. 1-8.

i l l i c r o ■» troppo

Another melodic idea that resembles folksong appears in

the second portion of the refrain (Ex. 6.38).

9See the discussion of the term "modulating rondo"

on p. 232n.

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 385

Ex. 6.38. Third movement, refrain, second thematic

idea, meas. 18-24.

P I
? —
r r'r f p f f f f - r r fr rt~ ^~*---

jJ J W i a x JTTj
-re

The contrasting tonal area of D-flat, in conjunction

with a change in style and texture, differentiates the

first episode from the refrain. Four related, yet

distinct, melodic ideas form a theme group (Ex. 6.39,

6.40, 6.41, 6.42).

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 386

Ex. 6.39. Third movement, episode 1, first thematic

idea, meas. 32-39.

jr

Ex. 6.40. Third movement

idea, meas. 47-51.

f ill 1 ~''j 'i- —: ;— sT v i

f =■ w

.fe U rrd .
, 4S-. n
*J >»

'Hi i g n p i

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 387

Ex. 6.41. Third movement, episode 1, third thematic

idea, meas. 59-63.

frt8- " jffl

Ex. 6.42. Third movement, episode 1, fourth thematic

idea, meas. 68-71.

m. t o

The second episode establishes a calm and soothing

mood in contrast to the vigor of the refrain and first

episode (Ex. 6.43).

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 388

Ex. 6.43. Third movement, episode 2, meas. 108-11.

The coda presents the final theme, one borrowed from

the first movement (Ex. 6.44) .

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 389

Ex. 6.44. Third movement, coda, meas. 199-201.

""V
J—3j—^— J 4- \ f-
f- ---
r ^
1 j -j - — —

i 1,1 n n r~i r ~ i
? fci!? * j; f f r
St r*i i ^ t

/i-t-7 rr:== li 1 U i r 1
.—---- r.J --H
1— j ,J r ■
1 • gjr- i ■ t .........

The Refrain

At the foreground level, harmonic progressions

usually follow traditional functions. The opening

phrase includes the primary chords of tonic, subdominant

seventh, and dominant embellished with two chromatic

nonharmonic tones (see Ex. 6.37). Two nonharmonic pitch

classes— F-sharp (meas. 3) and D-sharp (meas. 4)— serve

as leading tones to members of the tonic triad. The

melody in the cello spans almost two octaves with several

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 390

prominent register leaps; the wide intervals in the

melody identify an important characteristic of

Prokofiev's style.

The conclusion of the first period moves directly

into a restatement by means of elision. As the cello

plays the last two notes of the phrase (meas. 8), the

harmony in the piano has already shifted to the new

tonal area of A-flat, a tertian root movement already

cited as the "jolt function" (Ex. 6.45).10

Ex. 6.45. Third movement, meas. 7-9.

-r * - T
1
1

TTsl-'— "" '1 tfJ i

*$ -

V (>3v *fl

The piano continues with the transposed restatement in

A-flat and the cello soon takes it over. The final

sonority of the restatement again becomes the catalyst

for a modulation, in this case, a move toward E-flat

(meas. 16).

In the tonal area of E-flat, a melody that

emphasizes perfect fourths, major seconds, and

10See p. 370n.

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 391

arpeggiated chords in the piano, seems to relate to

folksong (meas. 18-25). The tonal area of E-flat moves

to a B major sonority (meas. 28) by whole-tone movement

in the bass register coupled with a common tone, E-flat

becoming D-sharp, in a chromatic mediant relationship

(Ex. 6.46).

Ex. 6.46. Third movement, meas. 27-30.

The bass descends again by whole step to A (meas. 30)

while the cello and piano follow an ascending line that

ends on C. the leading tone of the D-flat tonal area of

the upcoming episode.

The First Episode

The first episode's tonal area of D-flat is not

prepared or anticipated except for the minor second

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 392

resolution of C to D-flat and the implied resolution of

the A in the bass to A-flat, the fifth of the D-flat

tonic chord. The arrival at D-flat, an atypical tonal

area for a first episode, creates a harmonic surprise.

Once the new tonal area D-flat is reached, it

remains firmly entrenched, primarily through the use of

tonic pedal points. Cadences in the first episode all

consist of a major triad built on the leading tone, a

nonfunctional formation, resolving by exact parallel

motion to the tonic chord (Ex. 6.47).

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 393

Ex. 6.46. Third movement, meas. 38-39, 46-47, 58-59.

Meas. 38-39

-nrt i -n n I J =
^ ;l, 'W* r <3
^■
i
^ 3.i ■|
r*1 j ^
j ? ,j ~ D "'
ji— —
i ■a-— i
1
''I
!lii
; *

Meas. 46-47

Meas. 58-59

/ mfttmfmltt*

(j " - L

Descending melodic chromaticism, which contrasts with

the diatonic flavor at the start of the first episode,

plays an integral role in the second and third

subsections of the first episode. At one point in the

episode, Prokofiev superimposes two subsections (Ex.

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 394

6.48), a layered affect that reinforces the relatedness

of all the material in the first episode.

Ex. 6.48. Third movement, meas. 59-63.

Episode 1.3

Episode 1.4

The first episode dissolves into a transition based on

the augmented second C-flat— D and repeated B-flats

(meas. 71-81). The underlying ascending melodic motion

in the bass, C-sharp— D-sharp— E— F-sharp— G-sharp (Ex.

6.49) leads directly into the tonal area of A.

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 395

Ex. 6.49. Third movement, meas. 76-81.

UN

The Second Statement of the Refrain

The second appearance of the refrain in the tonal

area of A major results in the overall form of

modulating rondo instead of a traditional rondo, which

has repetitions of the refrain in the tonic key. The

nature of the rest of the material in the movement and

its treatment aligns more closely with a rondo

organization than with sonata or any other form.

The first statement of the refrain in A (meas. 81-

88) and the restatement in F major (meas. 89-93) is an

exact transposition of the original refrain a minor

third lower. The tonal area of F, in turn, prepares for

the second episode (Ex. 6.50).

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 396

Ex. 6.50. Third movement, meas. 94-105.

A »d»ntlao J : H

The ascending accompanimentai line from the second

measure of the refrain (meas. 2) forms the basis for a

bridge to the second episode; the rising line is

repeated several times (meas. 94-99) before descending

to large C, the lowest note of the cello (meas. 101). A

solo melodic line in the piano (meas. 102-05) continues

the feeling of descent and effectively releases the

tension of the previous part. The last two pitches,

b-flat and b-natural (meas. 105), ascend chromatically to

c1, which functions as the dominant of F and the second

episode.

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 397

The Second Episode

A reduction in the tempo and legato articulation

establish a cantabile feeling in the second episode (see

Ex. 6.43). In the second measure of the melody (meas.

109), D-flat enters first as an upper neighboring tone of

the dominant C, and then as the root of a major chord

(Ex. 6.51), a chord borrowed from the parallel minor key.

Ex. 6.51. Third movement, meas. 112-13.

The shift from a C added-note chord (meas. 112) to the

D-flat triad (meas. 113) is accomplished through

chromatic contrary motion in four voices: C— D-flat,

D— D-flat, E— F, and G— A-flat. A caesura on A-flat

(meas. 115), the dominant of D-flat, prolongs the

harmonic shift away from F major. Minor triads

descending by thirds (meas. 119-25) conclude on F and

introduce a restatement of the first part of the episode

in F major (meas. 126). The restatement differs from

the original in the exchange of roles between the two

instruments and the style of accompaniment.

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 398

The A-flat at the end of the section (meas. 133)

becomes the focal point of a bridge to the refrain in

its function as an upper neighboring tone of G (Ex.

6.52) .

Ex. 6.52. Third movement, meas. 133-38.

rlt.
u. AlUffro ■> »o» tro p p o

l
rr* r i *

A G-sharp minor triad, a respelled A-flat (meas. 134-

36), descends chromatically to G-natural (meas. 137),

the dominant of the refrain's tonal area of C (meas.

138) .

The Third Statement of the Refrain

The third refrain reverts to the original pitch

level of c (meas. 137-52); an abbreviated version of the

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 399

refrain's second period repeats its original £-flat

presentation (meas. 152-53). The second part of the

refrain, a folk-like melody first presented in E-flat,

now centers on the tonal area of B-flat (meas. 154-61).

The First Episode

The pitch class B-flat carries through as the tonic

of a return of the first episode, in which the melodic

ideas recur in a different order (meas. 162-93). The

last of the four motives in the first episode,

accompanied by rapid ascending scales, becomes the bridge

to the coda. The transition to the coda depends on the

function of three pitch classes, D-flat, E-flat, and G.

D-flat and E-flat, sounded simultaneously, act as the

upper and lower neighboring tones of D, the dominant of G

(Ex. 6.53) .

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 400

Ex. 6.53. Third movement, meas. 194-99.

poco i po#o p i t i r i M i l l U

^ - ’ •

... w— ^
i J \
" » , n l *

The pitch class G becomes the dominant of the upcoming

return to the tonal area of c. The cello plays scales

based on a symmetrical organization (major

tetrachord-minor tetrachord) alternating with scales in

the piano that include some references to a whole-tone

collection.

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 401

The Coda

A unison line spread out over four octaves announces

the start of the coda and the reappearance of the first

theme of the first movement (meas. 199; see Ex. 6.44).

The texture is thickened with densely scored chords in

the piano and double stops in the cello. Rapid scales

and material from the transition, the dyad E-flat— D-flat

in alternation with G, also contribute to the coda (meas.

202-03).

A digression from C major to B major in the coda

(meas. 208) seems to counterbalance the movement from C

major in the opening refrain to the tonal area of D-flat

in the first episode. The shift to B major functions in

the manner of a subdominant movement in functional

harmony— the subdominant tends to prolong the tonic

instead of depart from it, as would a dominant. The

theme of the coda, restated in B major, ascends toward a

climax through the dominant chord of B, F-sharp major

(meas. 211) , which is also the tritone of the overall

tonic of c. At the height of the climax (meas. 212),

Prokofiev introduces the greatest amount of dissonance

that is resolved only in the final measures (Ex. 6.54).

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 402

Ex. 6.54. Third movement, meas. 212.

Although all of the chords in the measures immediately

preceding the final cadence (meas. 212-18) can be

spelled as triads or seventh chords, the harmony is

completely nonfunctional— chromatic lines in contrary

motion control the harmonic flow. A harmonic reduction

of the concluding measures illustrates both the

chromaticism and the common tones that connect the chords

(Fig. 6.2) .

Fig. 6.2. Third movement, harmonic reduction of

meas. 212-19.

^ -ir#1■ ■■ hr
M ‘.\+ “

D9 b d°7 F D+ E G a0 B* E C
F#maj9

The final cadence is also nonfunctional, an E major

seventh chord resolving to the tonic C major chord (Ex,

6.55) .

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 403

Ex. 6.55. Third movement, meas. 218-21.

Three measures of a prolonged tonic chord disperses the

harmonic tension that had built up in the coda. The

conclusion of this movement provides a bravura finish to

the entire sonata.

The Middleground

The similarity among the various melodic ideas in

this movement can be traced to an underlying descending

conjunct pattern in each of them, as can be seen in the

following graph of the middleground (Graph 6.9). In

contrast to the middleground graphs of the other

movements, the cello is placed above the piano staves

because of the range of the cello and the number of

important pitch events. The graph is easier to read and

understand in this arrangement.

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 404

Graph 6.9. Middleground graph of the third movement.

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 405

Episode 1.4 Refrain 1

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 406

Refrain 2
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 407

19)
A A A
3 2 1

At the middleground level, chromaticism usually

takes the form of a leading-tone function to a primary

or secondary tonal area. The descending conjunct line

follows several different intervallic patterns, from

diatonic tones and semitones to chromatic semitones.

The second episode unveils an ascending conjunct line

spanning almost an octave, in contrast to the other

sections. Important registral changes are included in

this level of reduction, which becomes evidence of one

of the distinctive stylistic features of Prokofiev's

music.

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 The cello presents the first pitch of the fundamental

line, g, in the first measure. The g returns in the

third refrain and then begins a descent to large C in the

coda. The upper fundamental line does not follow the

major pentachord down to C; it unexpectedly descends

from G to F-sharp because of the tonal shift to B major.

The third and second scale degrees, E and D, result from

the chromatic motion in the nonfunctional passage rather

than from a traditional harmonic progression, as in

Schenkerian analysis. The second scale degree D presents

itself most clearly in the bottom octave of the cello, an

event with some precedence in earlier movements.

The Background

The background graph illustrates the dominance of

nonfunctional relationships over functional ones (Graph

6.10) .

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 409

Graph 6.10. Structural background of the third

movement.

A „A A A A
(15)JH 3 2 1

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Even if Prokofiev intended to please the Soviet

authorities with a more obviously melodic style, his

harmonic style continues on the path he established for

himself before the 10 February 1948 Resolution.

Expanded Tonality in the Cello Sonata

The profusion of melodic ideas in the Cello Sonata is

a major factor in its appeal. In the first movement, the

motivic first theme generates much of the material for

the rest of the movement. Within movements, the melodic

ideas are often closely related, which contributes to

both a lack of development and successful superimposition

of melodies. Some of the themes have obvious folk-like

qualities, while others exhibit another noticeable trait

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 410

of Prokofiev's style"— wide, disjunct intervals.

Registral displacements also lend a disjunct sound. The

cyclic return of melodies in subsequent movements gives

coherence to the sonata as a whole.

Within a triadic context, Prokofiev adds distinctive

sonorities. In the second movement, a dominant chord

with a split third and an augmented dominant function as

chromatically altered substitutes for the traditional

dominant chord. The third movement contains a

progression of consonant, dissonant, and consonant

sonorities that determines the climax of the movement and

its resolution.

Chromaticism exists at all structural levels, from

chromatic voice leading and chromatic harmonic shifts to

tonal areas functioning as large chromatic leading or

neighboring tones. Ashley's "jolt function" describes a

particular type of chromatic harmonic motion found in

this sonata. Chromatically altered pitches occur within

phrases as chord roots or added tones. Nonfunctional

harmonic progressions, especially those involving

chromatic mediant relationships, arise from harmonic

chromaticism.

At the background level, functional relationships

dominate over nonfunctional ones in the first and second

movements, although the second movement emphasizes the

subdominant over the dominant. The reverse is true in

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 411

the third movement, where functional relationships do not

account for any of the secondary tonal areas. In all of

the movements, secondary tonal areas are most frequently

large neighboring tones to primary tonal areas or related

by root movement of a third or a tritone. The elements

of an expanded tonal system occur frequently within

phrases or sections; e.g., nonfunctional tertian root

movement, sometimes outlining an augmented triad.

As further example of an expanded tonality, none of

the movements conform to Schenker's patterns for

descending upper fundamental lines. The first movement

descends from scale degree five, but without a third

scale degree present. A direct descent from scale degree

five to one without intervening scale degrees

characterizes the background of the second movement; the

third movement contains an altered scale degree— a raised

fourth scale degree in a descent from scale degree five.

The integration of diatonic and chromatic pitch

systems and functional and nonfunctional harmony within a

single tonal system becomes an identifiable style

characteristic of Prokofiev's music, particularly as

heard in the Cello Sonata.

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 CHAPTER VII

SUMMARY

Our perception of a musical work's structure depends

on our ability to organize sound over time. If a piece

contains at least a few familiar elements, such as

triadic harmonies, a clear melody, or a tonal center, the

listener finds it easier to assimilate unfamiliar events.

In music of the twentieth century, one may experience

more confusion than comprehension because of the

diversity of styles and compositional techniques.

Without sufficient background, a novice listener may

conclude that twentieth-century music lacks substance and

meaning.

Tonal music, or music that gives preference to a

central pitch or pitch complex, offers an aural advantage

to ready comprehension. A composition with a tonal

center furnishes a point of reference for the listener.

Tonality in twentieth-century music can take many forms,

but the degree to which a piece is perceived as tonal is

relative to the number of elements it has in common with

common-practice tonality.

412

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 413

Prokofiev's tonal language connects features of the

major-minor system with features of other twentieth-

century tonal systems. Tonality as a means of pitch

organization provides the cornerstone for Prokofiev's

style and musical language. In his reply to Soviet

authorities after the 10 February 1948 Resolution,

Prokofiev wrote, •'. . . the construction of a musical

work tonally is like erecting a building on a solid

foundation, while a construction without tonality is like

building on sand."1 In Prokofiev's music, the tonic is

accentuated, not obscured, suspended, or evaded.

Similarly, his excursions to other tonal areas are

clearly presented without ambiguity. Tertian structures,

another link to common-practice tonality, represent most

of the harmonic sonorities in Prokofiev's music.

Prokofiev believed that music should be realistic in

intent instead of abstract. One might assume that

Prokofiev's emphasis on realism resulted from the Soviet"

doctrine of socialism realism, but this emphasis is

present in music prior to 1938. Even his abstract works

convey certain realistic elements, such as particular

emotions or contexts.

1Letter from Prokofiev in response to the Resolution

of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party
(Bolsheviks) of 10 February 1348, in Nicolas Sionimsky,
Music since 1900. 4th ed. (New York: Charles Scribner's
Sons, 1971), p. 1374.

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 414

To understand and appreciate Prokofiev's style, one

needs to hear the music. Prokofiev prided himself on

writing music that communicates to an audience without

extensive explanation. He believed in simplicity and

clarity, but not oversimplification to the point of

compromise.

Any attempt to "play down" to the listener is a

subconscious underestimation of his cultural maturity
and the development of his tastes; such an attempt
has an element of insincerity. And music that is
insincere cannot be enduring.
In my own work written in this fruitful year
[1937], I have striven for clarity and melodiousness.
At the same time I have scrupulously avoided palming
off familiar harmonies and tunes.
That is where the difficulty of composing clear,
straightforward music lies; the clarity must be new,
not old.2

The popularity of Prokofiev's music during his lifetime

and since attests to its accessibility.

Prokofiev's tonal system is the source of both unity

and variety. One tonal area controls and unifies the

large structure to a greater extent than merely a

presence only at the beginning and end. The strength of

the large tonal area allows for tonal changes without

disrupting the overall tonality. What appears to be a

sudden modulation on the written page is aurally less

surprising because of the smooth voice leading. The term

2Sergei Prokofiev, "Flourishing of Art," in SL.

Prokofiev: Autobiography. Articles. Reminiscences,
ed. Semyon Shlifstein, trans. Rose Prokofieva
(Moscow: Foreign Languages Publishing House, n.d.),
p. 106.

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 415

modulation, because it connotes a change in tonal area,

seems less appropriate in this context; the short tonal

excursions function within the larger tonality, a

phenomenon that might be better served by the term

tonicization.

Most writers on Prokofiev's music mention the

rhythmic vitality of his music, which, when combined with

the directness of his tonal system, gives a certain

freshness to his music. The energetic quality of his

music results from the prominence of fairly regular

strong beats. Because of their individual strength,

tonal and rhythmic elements tend to complement each

other.

Within Prokofiev's musical language, the element that

ties the music together is melody. In his autobiography,

Prokofiev explained his approach to melodic design:

The themes [of the "American" Overture, op. 42] were

almost entirely diatonic, and there was no complex
development. I purposely dwell on this point because
it was to affect a whole period of my work, beginning
roughly with that overture. I believe that the
trouble was this: having turned from the chaos of
chromaticism toward diatonism, I had begun to search
for new melodic designs. But novelty of design is
something that does not strike the attention. The
listener, unable to grasp it at once, will pass it by
without noticing it. It is the same with a melody:
if it follows a familiar pattern it will be easily
understood, but will soon as easily find its way into
the waste-basket. A melody of an unaccustomed design
is not accepted as a melody at all at first because
it consists of phrases hitherto not considered
melodious. But if the author is right, he will have
extended the range of melodic possibilities and the

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 416

listener is bound to follow him, if only at a

respectful distance.3

Unusual harmonic progressions and tonicizations are

connected and sustained by melody. The singing quality

of both his vocal and instrumental themes contributes to

his striking sense of lyricism, one of the four

characteristics Prokofiev cites in describing his own

music. The lyrical quality of his music increased in his

later years, becoming quite prominent in his late works.

Prokofiev also brings out the emotional possibilities in

music, primarily through melodic writing; the emotional

aspect of his music also contributes to its appeal.

Prokofiev's approach to harmony and harmonic

progression continues to be one of the most distinctive

features of his language. His harmony is essentially

diatonic, but with significant chromaticism. Prokofiev's

desire to go beyond traditional functional harmony

originated in a fateful meeting with Sergei Taneyev when

Prokofiev was only eleven years old. Following a summer

of study with Reinhold Gli&re, Prokofiev had the chance

to show some of his work to Sergei Taneyev. Prokofiev

relates the encounter:

In November I showed the symphony to Taneyev. We

played it in a four-hand arrangement, Taneyev playing
the accompaniment. He praised the counterpoint
(which Gliere had inserted in the development), but

3"The Years Abroad and After my Return Home," in

Shlifstein, p. 70.

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 417

remarked that the harmony was a little too crude.

"Mostly the I, IV, & V," he said, and he laughed. I
was deeply offended. Not that I cried or lost any
sleep over it, but somewhere the thought that my
harmony was crude rankled. The seed had been planted
and a long period of germination began.4

From that time on, Prokofiev felt compelled to create a

unique harmonic language. He expanded the role of

altered tones within the diatonic system to the point

where they were at the same level as other diatonic notes

in a hierarchical ordering. The most conspicuous altered

tones in Prokofiev's music have roots in Russian

folksong— the raised subdominant, the lowered submediant,

and the lowered supertonic. Sonorities built on these

altered tones give added weight to the increased

importance of these pitch classes.

Prokofiev's sense of harmonic progression is based on

two factors: 1) traditional functional harmony; and 2)

unusual harmonic movement controlled by voice leading.

Even though functional harmony is weakened in Prokofiev's

music, it continues to be a foundation for his harmonic

language; within a tonal area, functional harmony

establishes and confirms a tonal center. The integration

of melody and harmony in Prokofiev's enriched system of

tonality is accomplished through voice leading.

Unconventional harmonic movement sounds plausible because

4"Early Years," in Shlifstein, p. 20.

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 418

of the conjunct voice leading, usually in more than one

part, connecting the vertical structures.

Several significant style characteristics can be

observed in the late chamber works. The functional

relationship between tonic and dominant provides the

framework for Prokofiev's style and musical language.

What makes Prokofiev's music unique is the way in which

he builds upon this tonic-dominant framework in his own

system of expanded tonality. The tonic-dominant

relationship can be heard in a variety of ways, from the

interval between large tonal areas to root movement

within a progression or cadential area. The presence of

these two chords effectively defines a new tonal area or

tonicization within a larger tonality. The perfect fifth

interval is also an integral part of a triadic sonority,

which is the most important vertical structure in

Prokofiev's music.

Second in importance to the tonic-dominant

relationship is the leading-tone function, a minor second

interval that has directional implications. Going a step

beyond the role of the leading-tone function in the

major-minor system, Prokofiev emphasizes the leading tone

by using it as the root of a major triad, a chord that is

not a part of the diatonic system. As an expansion of

the secondary dominant concept, leading tones to scale

degrees other than the tonic give extra emphasis to the

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 419

role of the chord of resolution in the progression. In

the works examined, the secondary leading tone,

particularly the raised subdominant scale degree, becomes

a part of the functional tonal system. The smoothness of

the harmonic movement between tonal areas stems from the

use of secondary leading tones.

Other manifestations of the minor second melodic

interval emerge as melodic chromaticism and chromatic

root movement. Chromatic voice leading connects

sonorities that might be closely or distantly related in

the major-minor system. Chromatic harmonic movement in

Prokofiev's works creates large-scale neighboring tones,

a quick means of modulation, and some surprising harmonic

effects. Both the Flute Sonata and Violin Sonata exhibit

a variety of ways in which the minor second controls the

interaction among pitch events.

Another significant interval, the perfect fourth, as

separate in function from the perfect fifth,

characterizes a number of primary pitch relationships,

from melodic ideas outlining a perfect fourth tetrachord

to an emphasis on the subdominant more than the dominant.

In particular, the perfect fourth is the primary

generative element in the Second String Quartet.

The melodic major third appears most noticeably as

root movement by major third. This type of root movement

creates chromatic dissonance in the inner parts, which

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 420

also relates to the minor second interval. Major third

root movement from the tonic in a major key creates two

nondiatonic chords, the lowered submediant and the major

mediant, with the lowered submediant being more

significant in the works studied. The minor third

interval plays a more limited role than the major third.

Prokofiev's strength as a melodic composer is quite

evident in the late chamber works. The succession of

melodic ideas determines the flow and structure of each

of the works. Through similar thematic ideas extended by

repetition, Prokofiev achieves continuity, even in

nonfunctional or chromatic progressions.

Contrasts between conjunct and disjunct motion

characterize many melodic designs. Motives usually stay

within a limited range and follow primarily conjunct

motion. Disjunct motion, commonly as wide leaps

accompanied by a stable harmony at important points in a

phrase, often becomes the most memorable characteristic

of a melody. Other melodic principles present in the

late chamber works are motivic repetition, imitation,

registral displacement, and cyclic treatment of themes.

The influence of folksong, even direct borrowing, can be

heard in each of the four works, particularly the Second

String Quartet.

An increased emphasis on additions and substitutions

to the diatonic vocabulary elevate these chords to a

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 421

status higher than that of harmonic embellishments; they

become an integral part of Prokofiev's tonality. These

harmonies fall into two categories, tertian and

nontertian. Tertian sonorities constitute the backbone

of Prokofiev's language; the use of triads is a direct

link to common-practice tonality. Major and minor triads

built on nondiatonic pitch classes are second in

importance. Other nondiatonic but essentially tertian

sonorities found in these works are chords within a modal

pitch system, extended tertian structures, sonorities

with a split third or fifth, added-note chords, and

bichords. Nontertian sonorities, though used

infrequently, stand out because of their often dramatic

presence at significant moments in a work, e.g., the

climax of a movement. The category of nontertian

sonorities includes quartal and secundal harmonies and

dissonant tone clusters. In other instances, they are a

result of voice leading priorities.

Although many of the internal cadences are fairly

conventional, final cadences lean toward the

unconventional. Avoidance of the dominant chord,

inclusion of altered tones in both the penultimate and

final chords, and root movement by third are some of the

ways in which final cadences are nontraditional. The

lack of a dominant chord prevents a complete descent of

Schenker's upper fundamental line because the second

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 422

scale degree in such a pattern corresponds to a dominant

harmony.

Nonfunctional progressions often contribute to

important moments in a movement, such as the climax or

final cadential area. Frequently, these progressions

highlight root movement by minor second or major third.

Common tones and chromatic voice leading connect

nonfunctional harmonies so that they make aural sense.

In some cases, though, Prokofiev's intent is to

circumvent a listener's expectations; e.g., the "jolt

function."5 The "jolt function" identifies a specific

type of root movement and change of tonal area; a

dominant chord resolves up by semitone to a major chord

built on the lowered submediant scale degree, which, in

turn, becomes the tonic in a new tonal area. Other types

of harmonic movement in the late chamber works include

parallel harmonic motion, harmonic sequence, and

pandiatonicism.

As an example of tonal music in the twentieth

century, Prokofiev's music offers but one way in which

tonality can be defined and expressed. A major result of

this study has been a. means by which to account for tonal

music in contexts other than traditional major-minor

tonality. A mere tabulation of musical events or simple

5See p. 370n.

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 423

chronological description fails to account for the unique

interrelationships and hierarchical structure. An

adaptation of Schenkerian analysis provides a useful tool

by which to identify how a tonal system is structured.

The consideration of the structural strong points of a

work in relation to the whole closely identifies with the

way in which a listener perceives a work. In addition, a

discerning analysis forms the basis of a sensitive and

effective performance.

Although Schenkerian analysis contains some

problematic assertions, such as the three fixed tonal

patterns (Ursatz) and the limited role of dissonance, the

benefits of the approach, particularly in its capacity to

show hierarchical tonal functions, outweigh the obvious

difficulties. Schenkerian analysis was conceived as a

means to explain a somewhat limited body of music in the

major-minor tonal system. It follows that if twentieth-

century tonal music does not conform to all the

principles of traditional tonality, then the results of

such an analytic process will also differ. In the works

contained in this study, few of the structural

backgrounds correspond to Schenker's models. If one can

accept differences, Schenkerian analysis can provide

meaningful conclusions about a tonal work in the

twentieth century.

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 A few movements in the works studied follow most of

Schenker's premises; however, those that don't provide

the best glimpse of the ways in which Prokofiev develops

his own tonal system. Only four of the fourteen

movements have upper fundamental lines that resemble

Schenker's models, though some have altered scale degrees

or unusual harmonic support. Some of the movements

reveal incomplete or unsupported descending upper

fundamental lines (Second String Quartet, first movement;

Flute Sonata, fourth movement; Violin Sonata, first,

second, and third movements; Cello Sonata, first and

second movements). Other movements prolong the tonic for

the duration of the movement (Flute Sonata, second

movement; Violin Sonata, third movement). One movement

reflects a modal pitch system in its fundamental line

based on a lower neighboring-tone motion (Second String

Quartet, second movement). Many more variations of

Schenker's analytic results occur at the middleground

level.

A look beyond the scope of this dissertation

suggests further study of the various ways in which

twentieth-century tonal music expands upon or differs

from major-minor tonality. Terminology appropriate to

description of pitch and tonal events and their functions

needs to be developed in order to account for the many

possible relationships. Since the perception of pitch

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 425

stability is crucial to any study of tonal music,

scholarship in each of these areas should influence the

other.

A study of one of Prokofiev's works gives one a

heightened awareness of his musical language. Continued

study of other works increases one's understanding of his

overall style. Because the type of expanded tonality

found in the late chamber works of Frokofiev is not

uncommon in the twentieth century, a understanding of

Prokofiev's musical style will contribute to an

understanding of twentieth-century tonal music.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Beach, David, ed. Aspects of Schenkerian Theory. New

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Salzer, Felix. Structural Hearing: Tonal Coherence in

Music. New York: Charles Boni, 1952; reprint ed.,
New York: Dover Publications, 1962.

_______ , and Carl Schachter. Counterpoint in

Composition: The Study of Voice Leading. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1969.

Samson, Jim. Music in Transition: A Study of Tonal

Expansion and Atonalitv. 1900-1920. London: J.M.
Dent & Sons, 1977.

Schenker, Heinrich. Free Composition (Per freie Satz).

Vol. 3 of New Musical Theories and Fantasies.
Translated and edited by Ernst Oster. New York:
Longman, 1979.

Shirlaw, Matthew. The Theory and Nature of Harmony.

London: Novello, 1917; 2nd reprint ed., Sarasota,
Florida: Birchard Coar, 1970.

Shumway, Stanley. Harmony and Ear Training at the

Keyboard. 4th ed. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown,
1984.

Siegmeister, Elie. Harmony and Melodv. Vol. 2:

Modulation, Chromatic and Modern Styles. Belmont,
California: Wadsworth, 1966.

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 429

Wittlich, Gary E., ed. Aspects of Twentieth-Centurv

Music. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall,
1975.

Articles

Beach, David. "A Schenker Bibliography." Journal of

Music Theory 13, no. 1 (Spring 1969): 2-27.

Benjamin, William E. "Models of Underlying Tonal

Structures: How Can They Be Abstract and How Should
They Be Abstract." Music Theory Spectrum 4 (1982):
28-50.

_______ . "Schenker's Theory and the Future of Music."

Journal of Music Theory 25, no. 1 (Spring 1981):
155=73.

Berger, Arthur. "Problems of Pitch Organization in

Stravinsky." In Perspectives on Schoenberg and
Stravinsky, rev. ed., pp. 123-54. Edited by Benjamin
Boretz and Edward T. Cone. New York: W.W. Norton,
1972.

Berry, Wallace. "On Structural Levels in Music." Music

Theory Spectrum 2 (1980): 19-45.

Brown, Matthew. "The Diatonic and the Chromatic in

Schenker's Theory of Harmonic Relations." Journal of
Music Theory 30, no. 1 (Spring 1986): 1-33.

Browne, Richmond. "Tonal Implications of the Diatonic

Set." In Theory Only 5, nos. 6-7 (1981): 3-21.

Clough, John. "Aspects of Diatonic Sets." Journal of

Music Theory 23, no. 1 (Spring 1979): 45-61.

Fay, Thomas. "Perceived Hierarchical Structure in

Language and Music." Journal of Music Theory 15,
nos. l and 2 (1971): 112-37.

Guck, Marion A. "The Functional Relations of Chords: A

Theory of Musical Intuitions." In Theory Only 4, no.
6 (November-December 1978): 29-42.

Lerdahl, Fred, and Ray Jackendoff. "Toward a Formal

Theory of Tonal Music." Journal of Music Theory 21,
no. l (Spring 1977): 111-71.

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 430

Lewin, David. "A Formal Theory of Generalized Tonal

Functions." Journal of Music Theory 26, no. 1
(Spring 1982): 23-60.

Meyer, Leonard BY* "Toward a Theory of Style." In The

Concept of Style, pp. 3-44. Edited by Berel Lang.
Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1974.

McAdams, Stephen, and Albert Bregman. "Hearing Musical

Streams." Computer Music Journal 3, no. 4 (December
1979): 26-43.

Mitchell, William J .; and Felix Salzer. "A Glossary of

the Elements of Graphic Analysis." Music Forum 1
(1967): 260-68.

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1980).

S.v. "Analysis," by Ian D. Bent. S.v. "Harmony," and
"Tonality," by Carl Dahlhaus.

Pozdro, John. "Resources for the Interpretation of

Nonfunctional Tertian Harmonic Progression."
American Music Teacher 32, no. 1 (September-October
1982): 22-23.

Rothgeb, John. -Design as a Key to Structure in Tonal

Music." Journal of Music Theory 15, nos. 1 and 2
(1971): 230-53.

Serafine, Mary Louise. "Cognition in Music." Cognition

14, no. 2 (September 1983): 119-83.

Simms, Bryan. "Choron, Fetis, and the Theory of

Tonality." Journal of Music Theory 19, no. 1 (Spring
1975): 112-38.

Straus, Joseph. "A Principle of Voice Leading in the

Music of Stravinsky." Music Theory Spectrum 4
(1982): 106-24.

_______. "Stravinsky's Tonal Axis." Journal of Music

Theory 26, no. 2 (1982): 261-90.

Travis, Roy. "Towards a New Concept of Tonality?"

Journal of Music Theory 3, no. 2 (November 1959):
257-84.

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 431

Dissertations

Chrisman, Richard. "A Theory of Axis Tonality for

Twentieth Century Music." Ph.D. dissertation, Yale
University, 1969.

DeBruyn, Randall Keith. "Contrapuntal Structure in

Contemporary Tonal Music: A Preliminary Study of
Tonality in the Twentieth Century." D.M.A. document,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1975.

Reid, Sarah Johnston. "Tonality's Changing Role: A

Survey of Non-Concentric Instrumental Works of the
Nineteenth Century." Ph.D. dissertation, University
of Texas at Austin, 1980.

Prokofiev

Books

Abraham, Gerald. On Russian Music. London: William

Reeves Bookseller, n.d.; reprint ed., New York:
Johnson Reprint Corporation, 1970.

_______ . "Sergey Prokofiev." In Eight Soviet

Composers. pp. 32=42. London: Oxford University
Press, 1944.

_______ . Studies in Russian Music. New York: Charles

Scribner's Sons, 193 6.

Bakst, James. A History of Russian-Soviet Music. New

York: Dodd and Mead, 1966.

Calvocoressi, M. D. A Survey of Russian Music.

Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1974.

Cobbett's Cyclopedic Survey of Chamber Music. Vol. 3.

2nd ed. London: Oxford University Press, 1963.

Hanson, Lawrence and Elisabeth, Prokofiev: The Prodigal

Son. London: Cassell, 1964.

Leonard, Richard Anthony. A History of Russian Music.

New York: Macmillan, 1957.

Krebs, Stanley Dale. Soviet Composers and the

Development of Soviet Music. London: George Allen
and Unwin, 1970.

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 432

Machlis, Joseph. Introduction to Contemporary Music.

2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 1979.

Nestyev, Israel V. Prokofiev. Translated by Florence

Jonas. Stanford, California: Stanford University
Press, 1960.

Prokofiev, Sergei. Prokofiev by Prokofiev: A Composer's

Memoir. Edited by David H. Appel. Translated by Guy
Daniels. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1979.

Samuel, Claude. Prokofiev. Translated by Miriam John.

London: Calder and Boyars, 1971.

Schuman, Frederick L. Russia since 191-7: Four Decades of

Soviet Politics. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1957.

Schwarz, Boris. Music and Musical Life in Soviet Russia.

Enlarged edition, 1917-1981. Bloomington: Indiana
University Press, 1983.

Seroff, Victor. Sergei Prokofiev: A Soviet Tragedy. New

York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1968.

Shlifstein, Semyon, ed. S . Prokofisv: Autobiograohv.

Articles. Reminiscences. Translated by Rose
Prokofieva. Moscow: Foreign Languages Publishing
House, n.d.

Slonimsky, Nicholas. Music since 1900. 3rd ed. New

York: Coleman-Ross, 1949. 4th ed. New York: Charles
Scribner's Sons, 1971.

Werth, Alexander. Musical Uproar in Moscow. London:

Turnstile Press, 1949.

Zhdanov, Andrei. Essays on Literature. Philosophy, and

Music. New York: International Publishers, 1950.

Articles and Jacket Notes

Abraham, Gerald. "Music in the Soviet Union." In New

Oxford History of Music. Vol. 10: The Modern Age
(1890-1960). Edited by Martin Cooper. London:
Oxford University Press, 1974.

Horeux, Serge. "Prokofieff: An Intimate Portrait."

Tempo, no. 11 (Spring 1949): 5-9.

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 433

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1980).

S.v. "Prokofiev, Sergey," by Rita McAllister.

Prokofiev, Sergei. "Prokofiev Explains." Musical Times

89 (August 1948): 233-34.

Roseberry, Eric. "Prokofiev's Piano Sonatas." Music and

Musicians 19, no. 7 (1971): 38-42.

Taneev, Sergei. "On the Music of the Mountain Tartars."

In In Memory of Sergei Ivanovich Taneev. 1856-1946: A
Collection of Articles and Materials on the 90th
Anniversary of His Birth. Edited by Vladimir
Protopopov. Moscow and Leningrad: Muzikal'noe
Gosudarstvennoe Izdatel'stvo, 1947, pp. 195-211.

Townsend, Douglas. Jacket notes for Sergei Prokofiev:

Two Sonatas for Violin and Piano. Musical
Heritage Society 1135, n.d.

Dissertations and Thesis

Ashley, Patricia Ruth. "Prokofiev's Piano Music: Line,

Chord, Key." Ph.D. dissertation, University of
Rochester, Eastman School of Music, 1963.

Brown, Malcolm H. "The Symphonies of Serge Prokofiev."

Ph.D. dissertation, Florida State University, 1967.

Dresser, Mary Anne. "Twentieth-Century Russian Cello

Sonatas." D.M.A. document, University of Texas at
Austin, 1983.

Foreman, George Calvin. "The Symphonies of Nikolai

Yakovlevich Miaskovsky." Ph.D. dissertation,
University of Kansas, 1981.

Martin, Rebecca Gena. "The Nine Piano Sonatas of Sergei

Prokofiev." D.M.A. project, University of Kentucky,
1982.

Rogerson, Virginia C. "Political Influences on

Twentieth-Century Russian Composers and Their
Compositions as Observed in the Literature of
Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Khachaturian." M.A.
thesis, California state University, Fullerton, 1980.

Vlahcevic, Sonia Klosek. "Thematic-Tonal Organization in

the Late Sonatas of Sergei Prokofiev." Ph.D.
dissertation, Catholic University, 1975.

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 434

Music

Prokofiev, Sergei. Collected Works of Sergei Prokofiev:

Sonata for Flute (or Violinf and Piano. Melville,
New York: Belwin Mills, n.d.

___. Collected Works of Sergei Prokofiev: Two

Piece’
s for Cello and Piano. Melville, New York:
Belwin Mills, n.d.

_______ . Collected Works of Sergei Prokofiev: Two

String Quartets. Melville, New York: Belwin Mills,
n.d.

_______ . Collected Works of Sergei Prokofiev: Violin

and Piano. Melville, New York: Belwin Mills, n.d.

_______ . Sonata for Violin and Piano. Op . 94. New

York: Leeds Music, 1946.

_______ . Sonata in D Major— O p u s 94. New York:

International Music, 1958.

. Sonata tin F Minor') for violin and Piano. New

York: Leeds Music, 1948.

Recordings

Prokofiev, Sergei. Quartet No. 2. O p u s 92. Recorded by

Fine A f c t s Quartet. Gasparo GS-203.

_______ . Sonata for Cello and Piano. Op . 119. Recorded

by Harry Clark and Sanda Schuldmann. Musical
Heritage Society 3829, n.d.

_______ . Sonatas for Violin and Piano. No. 1 in F

Minor. Op. 80. and No. 2 in D. O p . 94a. Recorded by
Itzhak Perlman and Vladimir Ashkenazy. RCA Gold Seal
AG11-3912, 1969.

_______ • Sonata in D Major for Flute and Piano.

Recorded by Jean-Pierre Rampal and Robert Veyron-
Lacroix. Odyssey Y 33905, 1976.

R ep ro d u ced with p erm ission o f the copyright ow ner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout p erm ission.