Analysis and Performance: Webern's Concerto Op.

24/II
Author(s): Christopher Wintle
Source: Music Analysis, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Mar., 1982), pp. 73-99
Published by: Blackwell Publishing
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/853992
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CHRISTOPHER WINTLE

ANALYSIS AND PERFORMANCE:

WEBERN'S CONCERTO OP.24/II

Introducing his Second Symphony recently to a London audience, Peter

Maxwell Davies accountedfor the broadmovementof pitches at the open-
ing of the Sonata-Allegroin terms derived from Heinrich Schenker: a
principalpitch (Kopfton)was reachedby way of an ascent (Anstieg),and,
later in the work, was led to a full closure of the line, in the mannerof an
Urlinie.This renewed interest in tonal procedures - and especially in
those enveloped in a 'hierarchic'mystique - is, of course, rapidly becom-
ing the fashion. But if it answers to a widely-felt need to offer listeners
clearly-articulatedauralsignposts once again,then it raises other questions
that, for the time being at least, are less easy to answer: how do these tonal
featuresintegratewith the serially-derivedtransformationalprocesses that
generateso much of the music's surface?Is there a dichotomyhere? If so,
should it worry us? But even these are familiarquestions, as may be seen
from a recent issue of the 3'ournalof the ArnoldSchoenberg Institute.
Challenging Hans Keller's identification of tonalities in Schoenberg's
twelve-note music- tonalities that others have seen amplified through
step-wisevoice-leading- ArnoldWhittallhas asked: 'If "the foregroundis
atonal" but "the backgroundisn't", where are the demonstrationsof the
nature of those backgrounds,and of the precise relationshipbetween fore-
ground and background?'1
There is another side to this matter too. In a well-known polemic pub-
lished in 1958,2 Peter Stadlen directed his attack against twelve-note
music, not primarily from a composer's viewpoint, but from a per-
former's.What was the point, he asked, of invokingtraditionalperforming
practices, when the language of Webern's music did not seem to suggest
intrinsically - as tonal language had certainly done- the shaping de-
manded of it? But how fair was the criticism? Certainly,diagnosesof just
this kind of dichotomy in the music of the Second Viennese School were a
hallmarkof the time. And insofar as the purging of traditionalfeatures
from 'advanced'serial music of the day led to no new body of literature
concerned with interpretative(as opposed to executive) issues, Stadlen's
scepticism touched upon real difficulties. On the other hand, was it really

(B) MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: l, 1982 73

 CHRISTOPHERWINTLE

true to claim that there was nothing traditionalto respondto in the

languageof Webern'smusic?Or wouldthe demonstration of a prolonged
'background'of the kind that Whittallhas calledfor - whetherwith a
tonal or twelve-notebasis - vindicatethe applicationof traditionalin-
terpretativemeans, at the same time easing the sense of internaldis-
continuitiesthat has alwaysattacheditself criticallyto the laterworkof
theseViennesecomposers ?
It is the last of these questionsthat I shall attemptto answerin this
paper,3not leastbecauseit is once againso topical.And to do so, I shall
turnbackto the veryworkthatprovedso seminalfor serialcomposersof
the Fortiesand Fifties,Webern'sConcertofor Nine Instruments,Op.24.
Here, however,I shall be concentrating,not on the first, but on the
secondmovement,which has attractedso much less attention(the third
has been almostentirelyignored),even thoughof the threemovementsit
is muchthe most engagingexpressively.I shallprefacemy analysiswith
an accountof Vienneseperformingpracticesas they were interpretedin
the first part of this century.These will be shownto determinein part
someof the large-scalefeaturesof the music,as well as someof the min-
utiae. In turningto the pitch-structureof the work, I shall necessarily
invokemorecomplexideasof syntaxthanhas often been the case in dis-
cussing serial music, in order to separate'foregrounds'from 'back-
grounds',and to describepreciselythe mechanismby which these are
linked.
I hope that this paper,which addressesitself to two issues, will have
two kindsof usefulness:on the one hand,in helpingconductorsto shape
performances of the movement;and,on the other,in pointingto a 'classic'
sourcefor the kindof integrated,hierarchictwelve-notemusicthatis now
of such concernto composers,theorists,and, not least of all perhaps,to
listeners.

1: Performing
In his Handbookof Conducting,4HermannScherchen,whomWeberncon-
sidered'the best conductorfor his works',5defined'the alphaand omega
of conducting'as 'thecapacityto conceivean absolutelyidealperformance
in the imagination'.Everything,he declared,was to be subordinateto
this: 'the executivetechnique... must obey the preconceptionwhichthe
conductorhas formedof the work'.And the preparationfor this 'ideal
performance', he went on to explain,lay throughanalysis:the conductor
'must learnto determinein each workthe inner dynamicsaccordingto
whichmelody,harmony,rhythmandarchitecture From
areco-ordinated'.
one point of view, Webern'sattitudeswerevery similar:as the foremost
Austriancomposer-conductor of his day, he also preparedhimself'in the
most carefulmanner,throughminute,but also time-consumingstudyof
the text andstructureof eachsinglework',insistingalongwith Scherchen

MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: 1, 1982

74
 WEBERN'S CONCERTOOP.241II

thatthesepreparations wereonlymeansto an end, andthatthe important

goalwas the senseof occasionand enhanced'spirituality'thatthe concert
was to generate:reports of Webern'sconcerts, indeed, allude to an
emotionalintensityborderingon fanaticism.
Fromanotherpointof view, Webem'sinsistencethat, at leastas far as
his own music was concerned,'audiencesand even performersdid not
need to knowthe technicalprocessesby whichtwelve-tonemusicis con-
structed'has suggestedto some musiciansa separationof means and
ends,an implicationof doublestandardsin the music.This is ratherwhat
Stadlenhad in mind, in writingof Webern's'dualattitudeto music: on
the one hand his urge to expressextra-musicalcontentswas carriedto
such extremesthatthe noteshadbecomealmostincidentalandwereonly
regardedas carriersof expression;at the sametimehe stroveto freemusic
fromthis bondageand so restoreit to thatautonomousstructuralsenseit
had tended to lose during the romanticperiod'.6 This account of
Webern'sexpressiveflexibility,furthermore, is corroboratedby otherre-
ports. SteuermannrecordedthatWebern'played[Op.24,No.1] so freely
that I couldhardlyfollowthe music,but it was extraordinary' (adding,it
must also be said, that when he conductedhe 'was not so free'); and
KlempererrememberedWebernplaying'everynote [of the Symphony,
Op.21]withenormousintensityandfanaticism'.But for all thatthe music
wasto be 'shapedwithan enormousamountof rubato',with (in the Piano
Variations,Op.27)definitechangesof tempoeveryfew barsto markthe
start of 'new sentences',other accountshave suggestedthat there was
nothingarbitraryin this flexibility,and, indeed,that it emanatedfroma
single, unified interpretativevision. Accordingto Lehrigstein,Webern
'felt so surethattherealwayswas,at leastin music,justone wayof doing
things.He couldmakeno concessionsof anykindandhe felt quitecertain
that only the Schoenbergschool knew the right way of understanding,
performing, andperhapsevencomposingmusic.'
The sourceof the vision- andone centralto the understanding of both
the performanceand the compositionof this music - lay in the late-
Romanticview of Beethoven,which Scherchendescribedin termsredo-
lentof all the grandiosefervourof a RomainRolland:Beethovenwastorn,
he said,between'his own creativeautocracyandhis desireto sinkhimself
in universalhumanity'.7Webernsharedthis view: 'everysolutionto a
problemwas supportedby the ethic of an artisticattitudethat had its
deepestrootsin Beethoven'sidealof humanity'.This madeitselfmanifest
in his teachingof composition('no matterwherewe mightwanderin our
analysesanddiscussions,we alwaysreturnedto the sonatasandsymphon-
ies of Beethoven')andin his teachingof conducting(justas in Scherchen's
Handbook, the principalanalysiswas of the First Symphony,so too
Webern'scourse'beganwith the First Symphonyand culminatedin Fi-
delio').
But if the compositionaleffects of Webern's Beethovenianneo-

MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: l, 1982 75

 CHRISTOPHERWINTLE

classicismhave alreadybeen aired by analysts- and will certainlybe con-

sidered afresh later in this paper- then the influenceupon the music of an
implicit Beethovenianperformingpractice can also be demonstratedin a
numberof ways.
First of all, Ex. 1 shows the Concerto movement reproducedas a short
EX.1
SehrlangsamJ-ca.lO 3) Fl.
rp Va un -L Cl. + Ob >

Ob. Fl. ( calando tempo

i rnpr t z uf t 4,<
p mp
D+9
} p f
r
4 e t t> t 9sS\ > v/Tb.

Ob. catando geethragen tempo

4gf Si t t 7 bt Hrn, (;@) ?

f mp P Pk pk mp / P

9 t fmp t Xf
p
4T+ Zj ' 71 6 ctl h
__ _

wigder catando_______ tempo

lando getroger 3 tempo Hrn. j Ob. t f. f

pp - m p mp P p

_@ t 4] > #J t 4>;L t'';1 t 2 <4

Reproducedby kind permissionof Universal Edition (Alfred A. Kalmus Ltd.).

This arrangementhas been made for study purposes only and may not be
performedpublicly.

76 MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: 1, 1982

 2 4S 9 t 9< t wt-jU t rgj

WEBERNS CONCERTOOP.24/ II

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ternpo
sehrgetragen Fl. calando________ __ _sehrgetragen
; *= Trp. ( t ,_>: Va. r ,_+ Hrn.

mp mp p pp =

Trb. Cl.

Originalinstrumentation: flute, oboe, clarinet; horn, trurnpet,trombone; violin, wiola; piano.

score in a piano performingversion.This is not simply a practicalor

pedagogicconvenience,as might be the case, for example,with a Karl
Klindworthreductionof a WagnerMusic Drama,but revealssomething
intrinsicto the music. The piece fits perfectlyunderthe fingersof two
handswithoutalterationor omissionof anykind(thesameis - just! - true
of the othertwo movements),and couldwell be playedas a pianointer-

Musrc ANALYSIS 1: l, 1982 77

 CHRISTOPHERWINTLE

mezzo (although the keyboardrange might feel a bit limited). It is a re-

striction, furthermore,that affects the strategy of the composition. Here
the simple homophonic circumstance of tune and accompaniment,col-
oured by what Wildgans has describedas a 'pointilliste' instrumentation8
(a more appropriateterm than Klangfarbenmelodie), is adheredto through-
out: in the hands of another composer, the situation whereby several in-
strumentsarticulatea single line might well have given way to one where
several lines are each articulatedby single instrumentswith a consequent
contrapuntalelaborationof texture.
There are plenty of biographicalaccounts of Webern's own use of the
piano to suggest reasonsfor this restriction.Throughout his life, he made
piano reductionsof his own music (Opp.1, 8, 13, 14, 15, 19, 29 and 31) as
well as that of Schoenberg,Wagner-Regeny,Schoeck, Casellaand others.
That some of this was enforced labour should not disguise the fact that
these reductionsmet the demandsof the times, not only for rehearsalpur-
poses, but also for concert ones (in our own timbre-conscioustimes, the
arrangementper se has fared extraordinarilybadly). Apart from this, he
introduced new works to his friends at the piano, taught analysis at the
piano, played student exercises at the piano, and- most pertinently per-
haps - coached conductors from the piano. To meet the last of these
needs, therefore,the layout of the Concertocould hardly be more suitably
arranged.
On the other hand, the caveatsthat Scherchenissued regardingthe in-
terpretativelimitationsinherent in a keyboardtrainingraise another, and
important, practical consideration: that of the articulation of line. He
writes in the Handbook:
The piano as an instrumentused in the home has acted on music as a
plague and wrought terrible havoc. Even in orchestras,people are to
be encounteredwhose musical traininghas taught them to decompose
melodic relationshipsinto small parts. Just as the guileless pianist con-
ceives a bass which merely signifies a harmonicdisplacementas a div-
ision of structuralarticulation,so do other players hack periods in 4
into half bars, and partition live melodic entities into metric
fragments.9
In his book, this issue is pursued in more detail than can be entered into
here, though one comparisonwill demonstratewhat it is that Scherchen
has in mind. Ex. 2 shows the famous melody from Weber's DerFreischutz
Ex.2
a.

4t1Jr .sl f S lf .> 1r r g

b.

4 f w1F 21 21f v
tension-crescendo

78 MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: l, 1982

 WEBERN S CONCERTOOP. 241 II

overture,first in the 'hack'version (a), and then in the preferredform (b):

the term tension-crescendo is one of Scherchen's central concepts, used to
with little or no 'real increase in
indicate 'only the illusion' of a crescendo,
the loudness of the tone':
The harmonicmotion is effected in the fourth bar. In the first three,
the Eb-majorchord rises in a melodic pattern consisting of turns and
of real notes; and then - when the dominant harmonyhas entered -
sinks with the suspensionC-Bb, backto its startingpoint.10
Just how importantthis sense of the shaping of line was to Webern also is
conveyed by Steuermann's description of his conducting of Bach: 'he
combined a projection of the motivic structure, which made the music
vibrant with inner life, witha senseof thegreatline,always supported by
simple and clear dynamics' (my italics). However much Baroque per-
forming practice may have evolved over the last forty years or so, these
remarks are especially illuminating about Webern's compositional pri-
orities. Ex. 3 shows, through a basic formal analysis, how the various sec-
tions of the Concertomovement are all in effect articulationsof the great
line spanning the entire 78 bars, and how each section is itself delineated
by 'simple and clear dynamics'.
The formal partitioning shows, within the context of a binary-ternay
form, the 'Beethovenian',classical scheme. The divisions of Part 1 follow
those of Leopold Skinner11 (who in turn respondedto the teaching in this
matter of Webern and Schoenberg)in describinga period, comprisingan
antecedent (in two sections), a consequent (in two sections with an exten-
sion), and a prolongationof the consequent which leads the period from
its climax to its conclusion. Each of these three parts concludes with, and
is articulatedby, a tapering, calandophrase. For Part 2, Webern invokes
the classical Model and Sequence principal,offering seven versions of the
Model, which itself comprises three elements: a sehrgetragenopening,
invariably marked pp; a temposection; and - as in Part 1 - a calando
conclusion, articulatedhere, as there, by a fall in dynamics.Three of these
models are allotted to the Durchfuhrung (Schoenberg'spreferredterm for
the Development), whose 28 bars balance the 28 bars of Part 1: three to
the Recapitulation(which, as will be explained in due course, is not seen
as synonymous with the recapitulationof the sets of Part 1, which return
at b. 452); and one to the Coda, where the calandoconclusion is replaced
by the more all-embracinginstruction,morendo.
As far as the dynamics are concerned, it is striking that the scale on
which they range,f-mp-p-pp-ppp, excludes the degree mf. This is also the
case in the other movements (both of which include the only other dyna-
mic degree X). The reason for this exclusion is probably as much bio-
graphicalas it is musical. Webern, always so anxious to please his teacher,
would have been only too aware that Schoenberg (the dedicatee of the
work) discouragedstudents from using this indication,on the groundsthat

MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: 1, 1982 79

 CHRISTOPHERWINTLE

Ex. 3
FORM D YNAMICS BARS
Part 1 (a) (b) (c)
Exposition
Antecedent
of the Period: 1. pp p pp
-5
1
of the Period: 2. mp p pp
6
Consequent
of the Period: 1. p mp p PP ll2_ 16
OfthePeriod: 2. mp p >) 17 - 211
(extended:) 3. {

mp p
* ^
212 _ 231
Prolongation
of the
ppo
Consequent: 1. f mpp 232 _ 28
Part 2
Durchfuhrung
Model 1: p* 29 - 33
Model 2: PP+ mp p* 34 _ 39
(extended:) PP+ mp p* 392 _
Model 3: mp p* 432 _ 56
pp+ f mp
Recapitulation
Model 4: pp+ mp p* 57 - 63
Model 5: pp+ p pp* 64 - 68
Model 6: pp+ p
pp(-) 69 - 73
Coda
Model 7: pp+ pp/m ppp/m 74 - 78
Key
* denotes a phraseending calando
+ denotes a phraseplayedsehrgetragen
m indicatesa generalinstructionmorendo
(-) indicatesthat there is no calandoat the close of Model 6, i.e. in column
(c). This may be an omission, but it probablyreflectsthe attenuationof the
music at this point, where only a single piano chord would be subsumed
underthis indication.
In line 3 of the consequentof the period, the two dynamicvalues subsume
and replacethe expecteddynamicvalue in column (c) of line 2.

it lackedidentity.A progression,therefore,suchas occursbetweenbs 232

and 28, f-mp-p-pp, would seem to representa regularlyterraceddimin-
uendo,withouta sharpdropfromf to mp.
The shapingof the firstfive barsof the movementoffersa paradigmfor
every subsequentsection. A pp opening(only at the beginningof the

80 MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: 1, 1982

 WEBERN S CONCERTOOP.24/II

consequent is this p): a move to a higher dynamic (here, p); with a falling
away to a lesser one, sometimes (as here, with the pp) to that with which
the phrase opened. As we have already seen, it is this paradigmthat as-
sumes an even more concrete form in the Models of Part 2 of the piece.
Subsidiary phrases (the second parts of the antecedent and consequent,
the extensions and prolongations)use only the second and third elements
of this paradigm.And the general shape of the movement can be observed
by comparingthe second elements of each line of the example (in other,
words, by reading down column (b)): a growth in Part 1 from p through
mp to a brief moment of f at the beginning of the prolongation of the
consequent,with an immediatefall back to mpand p before the calandopp
close. In the Durchfuhrung of Part 2, the central column shows a growth
from mpin Models 1 and 2, to an extended climacticf in Model 3. This
'works out' the f dynamic level, and in the recapitulation and coda,
Models 4 to 7 show a gradualfall in the column: mpto p and finally pp,
mirroringthe gradual dispersal of energy and increasedfragmentationof
ne 1nt l1S SeCtlOn.
* * * t

Indeed, the compositionaltension in the work resides in the opposition

between extended linear arches on the one hand, and the fragmentationof
the instrumentationthrough which the arches reveal themselves on the
other. These kinds of melody, Scherchen said, 'cannot be performedcor-
rectly unless each player mentally sings the whole of them as they are
played, and contributeshis share in accordancewith the conceptionof the
whole thus formed'. 'To sing', he explained, 'is the life function of
music... all singing is concentration and release.'12 A singing quality
could be achieved not merely through the use of surreptitiouscrescendi
and diminuendi, and by sustaining notes with tension-crescendi,
but by in-
troducinga sense of the 'onwardurge' - for 'the correctdeterminationand
achievement of this onward impetus is the whole secret of good per-
formance'.But if the general shaping of each section, and, indeed, of the
whole piece, is indicated by the dynamics, an 'onwardurge' presupposes
motion to and from specificmusical goals. What are these goals? And how
are they articulated?These questions bring us back to our opening ones,
and demand that the issues of performance now become those of
analysis.13 But first, some preliminaries.

2: Analyticpreliminaries
Accordingto Hans Moldenhauer,this movementwas composedat the end
of July 1934, in 'less than one week'.14In March of that year, Webernhad
completedthe Three Songs, Op.23, for voice and piano to texts of Hilde-
garde Jone. These texts show how a sense of grace may be achieved in a
number of ways: through contemplating the dependence of life upon
death; by arrivingat a self-denying awarenessof nature; and through rec-
ognising what it is that nature has to offer man. That he was still involved

MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: 1, 1982

81
 CHRISTOPHERWINTLE

in Jone's imaginativeworld during the composition of Op.24 - much of

which was concurrentwith that of Op.23 - is shown not only by his inten-
tion at one stage to include a text of Jone in the first movement, but also
by his likening of the second movement to one of her paintings of a
'harvest-wagon'(in one of the earliest sketches, furthermore,this move-
ment was inscribedwith the name Schwabegg,the burial ground of one of
his parents).
These, of course, are private, biographicalobservations.But in its clar-
ity of diction, Webern's music retains something of the straightforward,
unashamedpiety of Jone's writing. Indeed, his is a studied simplicity: the
tempo (minim=40) is sehr langsam(originally ruXig,but now perhaps a
little too slow to prevent the central section, bs 29-56, from sounding
slightly strainedif there is not a fairly marked'onwardrush' at this point);
the durationalvalues are limited to crotchets and minims, an austere re-
striction that neverthelesspermits a suppleness of motion, as well as pro-
viding a striking contrast with the mixed rationaland irrationalvalues of
the first movement; there are only two forms of attack- the slurred note
and the weighted note- both being articulationswithin an implicit, overall
legato (and both being linked in the sehrgetragensections, where weighted
crotchets are slurred together over an intervening rest); the 'pointilliste'
instrumentation,as we have alreadyobserved, is maintainedwithout vari-
ation or contrast; and the eight melody instrumentsplay well within their
compasses, with no exploitationof their individual characteristicsbeyond
the use of mutes by the brassand strings.
However, it is not so much these kinds of featurethat have attractedthe
attentionof previous commentators,but rathersome of the distinctive op-
erationswith the pitch sets. In what was, by the standardsof Webern criti-
cism generally,a relativelyearly article,15Leopold Skinner describedand
designatedthe row forms in the first 28 bars, demonstratinghow some of
the more unusualmanipulationsserved to articulatethe broaderaspects of
the period structure. He did not, however, offer a sustained rationaleto
account for the successions of the sets, nor did he pursue the issue into
Part 2 of the movement. On the other hand, some of his remarksabout
motivic continuities are attractiveand suggestive, although his failure to
take account of the dynamicarticulationsled him to designatefive phrases
in the antecedent, rather than two larger ones, which in turn led him to
overlook the pervasively paradigmaticnature of the 5-bar unit in the
movement as a whole. Just how one unit - or a pair of units - leads from
one to another is shown in Exs 4(a) to (c). These substantiate Skinner's
general point, that it is an important aspect of Webern's classical legacy
that the rhythmic profile of these units primarilydetermines the recom-
position - whether varied or unchanging - and that to a considerable
extent the recurrencesare independentof pitch repetitions.
In Ex. 4(a), the division of the antecedentinto 5-bar units (the second is
extended by half a bar) shows an importantinternal development. In the

82 MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: 1, 1982

 A L - t = {fol

WEBERN S CONCERTOOP. 241 II

Ex.4a EXPOSITION
I. .

, ANT. L- t *_

i+SSlf B 1 1f | If r| 2 r I 1( rr lf I J

9 J i' b: 14 r 1; t 1 t: 1^t !Aw1 t rt tf r V 2 J t t

- -
- #

PROL. -
- + * ff - ]

iD: | >: l | |ir ) 1t r |ll r g

(So10t Jk 1 )
zy - -

firstof these,eachtrichordspansa totaldurationof fourcrotchets,andis

dividedinto 1 + 2 pitches(or 2 + 1 in the case of the second).Two tri-
chordsare also presentin the next unit, but dividedinto threetwo-note
units,eachspanningthreebeats,creatinga sub-metriceffect.These three
units total nine, and not ten beats.The unit thereforeis completed,and
extendedby a beat,througha pianoecho (we shallsee in due coursehow
importantthese echoesare). All these observationsput into perspective
Ex.4b DURCHFUHRUNG
M1.a) b) c)

4 tj It1 1 t ,[ ItJ,/ 1ir im

M2.a) b) c)

'9l Z 14 (t +, ]J IJ j Ir e

41 t f tt U 4: i-
B a) b) ,

bs t J 1t b; ,J b: 1iMJ Itry J
,,

, ,

ji l''l< I$Jij (t u

& (rk 1-]]Wj 1: $

v
f1 1
c) -

IJ ,: I I

MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: l, 1982 83

 M5 a) b) c)

CHRISTOPHERWINTLE

Skinner's observation about the opening of the consequent. This opens

with a two-note unit, spanningthree beats (as in part ii of the antecedent),
and continues with two three-note groups (not this time subdivided)each
spanningfour beats (as in part i of the antecendent).
The prolongationof the consequentin Ex. 4(a) shows a further import-
ant connection. The second and third pitches of the second trichord (A
and F) are placed on the weak beats of the bar, and are presented regist-
rally as a falling 'major third'. By invoking the classical rhetoricalprin-
ciple of anadiplosis, this close becomes the opening of the model that forms
the paradigmfor the remainderof the piece, as may be seen from Ex. 4(b).
(In Ex. 4(a), it is also worth noting that the first trichordof the prolonga-
tion section, Eb-B-C, derives both its rhythm and pitches from bs 7-9 of
the antecedent, as well as comprising, climactically, a span of five crot-
chets).
The expansion of the (b) sections of the models in Ex. 4(b) answers
proportionaldemands.The 28 bars are first divided into two groups of 14
(M1/M2 + M3), which are then furthersubdivided5(M1)/5 + 4(M2)/5 + 4
+3 + 2(M3). Some of these divisions are blurredby the shifting of strong-
beat configurationsonto weak beats and vice-versa(indicatedin the exam-
ple). These shifts, which are most readilyapparentin the (a) column, have
their own significance,which will be discussed later. The dissolution of
musical momentumin the Recapitulationis effectedthrough a more intri-
cate pattern of cross-referencewith respect to the various rhythmic cells,
as is shown in Ex. 4(c). Here the cells in the piano part (enclosed in brack-
ex.4c RECAPITULATION
M4 a) [b b) $ji | *- ^
r7Jlwrlit trJ4Is It | 11 / ; 1r?e

19t t it : 41t t it t I I
t( ] t [ 7 rr )
M6 a) 5 b; = c)

[) t $r 1t r t Je<_J ,J, g I
Q b/c) {' ('
4t J 12 w; It.9,> 12 , ,1
K k l - ' - l J

ets throughout the examples) participatemore prominently than before,

whilst the individuality of the three parts of the model (a, b and c) is
dissolved as the 'falling majorthird' figure characterisesnot only column
(a), but, increasingly,columns (b) and (c) too.
In showing how the structureof these lines integrateswith that of the
piece's source set, analysts16have designatedWebern'suse of melodic 'ex-

84 MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: l , 1 982

 |A, S _W -1 b AS =t h =, S $ 1 X 1e -- 11

WEBERN S CONCERTOOP.24/ II

Ex.5 (014)

PO (014)

yOl4): P RI ' R I

p.c. (jil=
content hexachord 1 k tritone , hexachord 2
\ related/
( PRIMARY) (SECONDARY)

traction'as their startingpoint. Ex. 5 shows the familiaranalysisof the PO

form of the set (with respect to this movement) in terms of its generating
(014) trichord,which is deployed in four versions, P-RI-R-I to form what
Milton Babbitt has described as a trichordally-derivedset.17 This (014)
trichordis also matchedby the first, fourth and seventh pitches of the set,
as well as by the fourth, seventh and eleventh. The two principles of con-
struction invoked here have both been developed independently in a
number of compositions, notably by Babbitt himself (derivation)and by
Peter Westergaard(extraction).Yet how they are integratedin this com-
position, and especiallyhow they are 'developed'- for regularextractionis
not maintainedbeyond the first 28 bars - has not yet been demonstrated,
any more than has been shown their integrationinto a largeridea of form
within the music.
As far as this last point is concerned,it is worth recallingWebern'sown
thoughts, outlined during the course of the lectures he gave at the time of
the Concerto'scomposition:
Considerationsof symmetryare now to the fore, as againstthe empha-
sis formerly laid on the principal intervals- dominant, subdominant,
mediant, etc. For this reason, the middle of the octave - the dimin-
ished fifth- is now the most important. For the rest one works as
before. The original form and pitch of the row occupy a position akin
to that of the 'main key' in earlier music; the recapitulationwill nat-
urally returnto it. We 'end in the same key' ! This analogywith earlier
formal construction is quite consciously fostered; here we find the
path that will leadus againto extendedforms.18
Of course, it is very easy to demonstratejust these features in Webern's
later music. One need look no furtherthan the last movement of the Piano
Variations,Op.27 to see how the Eb that opens the antecedentand conse-
quent of the period, and which also closes the prolongationof the conse-
quent, cedes, in the penultimatevariation,to the climactic reiteratedA's,
only to return as a 'tonic' pedal-point in the concluding variation.And in
the movement from the Concerto, Op.24 under discussion, the opening
form of the row (PO) returns with the recapitulationof the sets at b. 46,
and comprises the coda at b. 74. These observations may seem self-
evident. But the points of contentionthat Webern's statementhas raised-

MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: l, 1982 85

 CHRISTOPHERWINTLE

whether contextual emphasis on a single pitch can create an equivalence

for a tonal centre, whether the return of an original set form carries the
same aural conviction as the return of a tonic, or whether, indeed, the
status of comparisonsbetween twelve-note and tonal languagesis anything
other than that of a metaphor- have not themselves been adequatelyan-
swered. Webern is, after all, proposinga kind of hierarchicview of pitch
organization.How extensive are the ramificationsof this hierarchy?How
does it help us to listen to and perform this music? And how may we
formalizethe pitch-syntaxof this music?
It is these questionswhich we must now attemptto answer.

3: Analysis
We have seen so far how the large-scalemelody, or great line, of the music
may be brokendown into smallerphrases, each with its own rhythmicand
dynamiccontour.We have now to demonstratehow, both on the largeand
the small scale, these divisions are articulatedby the pitch material, and
how Webern's hierarchisationof pitches, especially at the openings of
phrases, creates the sense of directed motion which can, in turnnform an
interpretativefoundationfor the performer.

(a) Theantecedentof theperiod.

Webern's terms of analyticreferenceare all essentiallypresent in the first
11 bars of the movement. The sets for the passageare laid out in Ex. 6(a),
with the melodically extractedtrichords that overlap successive set forms
indicated by the beams. The underlyingstructure,by which the four sets
move through an augmentedtriad, is shown in Ex. 6(b). Ex. 6(c) explains
how, in an abstractway, transpositionthrough an augmentedtriad reveals
properties intrinsic to the set: with each successive transpositionby four
semitones, the pitch content of each hexacordof the set is preserved.This
is due to the fact, as Ex. 6(d) demonstrates,that each hexachordis divis-
ible into two augmentedtriads. The cycle of transpositionpresentedin (c)
- so familiarin kind to analysts of the String Quartet,Op.28 - creates its
own functional area within a composition, and may obviously be comp-
lementedby three other such cycles beginning on P1, P2 and P3.
Of course, the actual succession of sets in Ex. 6(a) differsfrom its 'back-
ground' representation in (c). Webern does not write PO-PSP8-PO
(where O=G, 1 =Gt etc. throughout the movement), but PO-ISP8-
RI9. Both I4 and RI9, however, can be shown to be substitutions. I4
replaces P4, since, as Ex. 6(e) demonstrates,the succession POP4 would
have led to an over!appingextracted (015) trichord, rather an (014) one.
RI9 in effect reverses the order of hexachords in PO (thereby invoking
Milton Babbitt'ssecondaryset property,henceforth designated as (s)), an
interpretationupheld by the musical context, where the consequentbegins
only with its second hexachord.

86 MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: l, 1982

blt-r ,*-| X -443-}#=-t
e rtt. [t-$4 r- - - l0-- lf.-- - =:
'--W#- 1s, - 1ts :- 1---o- i, $ ,t - F 2-_-
-$# S t>-t - X - = -= =
-_-1 7 ------

WEBERN S CONCERTOOP.24/ II

Ex.6
(014) ANTECEDENT CONSEQUENT

h $+ tJ4,+|J$+,*J>,,0iJ*J>,,lls0J
0 , IJWJ- X-
0 PD I4 RB RIg= ftXts)

____________________

pO Plexachord 1 Hexachord 2
} _ I I I . I

P4
fi W _ # 1 . # I : f t _ . . v $* |

!, v 1-w_ v VS - -o--v-- v -1 *- : f-- A

tt--L' -w--1--W- -# t * -2-- zxe #

dl4JzJ i-fHlElfL--'*-FA F-F--4

NOT (014) (015)

NB

The augmented triads that lie, therefore, in the 'background'of the

music are also representedon the surface of the music in two ways. The
first is through registration.In Ex. 7(a), the four melodic (viz. extracted)
trichordsof the antecedentare shown as chords, each containedwithin the
span of the 'majorseventh'. This matchesthe arrangementof the figures in
the accompanimentin the first 28 bars (Ex. 7(b)). Ex. 7(c) shows these
trichordsdisposedregistrally,with notes commonto each trichordplacedat
the same level. The 'echo' phrase in the piano that rounds off the ante-
cedent (bs 10-11) lays out the first hexachordof RI9 as three pairsof 'major
seventh' dyads, with the uppermostpitches (E-C-G$) outlininga regularly
spaced augmented triad. This may be seen in Ex. 7(d) where the dotted
lines relate these pitches to those in the melody which they echo. Com-
parably, Ex. 7(e) shows how the other pitches may also be grouped into
regularlyspacedaugmentedchords (note that the Bb is only implied within
this scheme: it occurs, in fact, as the uppermostpitch of the octave band
within which all of the piano accompanimentis cast, with the exception of
the echo phrases at bs 10, 21 and 28, for the entire first section of the
movement:see Ex. 7(f)).
Secondly, and more importantly,the opening pitches of the antecedent
(G), the consequent(G and Eb) and the prolongationof the consequent(Eb

MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: l, 1982 87

 CHRISTOPHERWINTLE

Ex.7

S Is ,$ jiz D
b e.g.

1'9 t wqie; t-< -X-*

4 # IF | t--- I --- -- | "--' | --' 4 b

1+ r f D , r Y r f t

1<sH,'d
Ex.8
ANTECEDENT:CONSEQUENT: PROLONGATION:
Trp Trh Trp.
fJ 1>t J IbF 14t iSf I
, (, ( Q , (9 -,

jJ J j '
and B), all of which are (functionally)scored for brass instruments, also
spell out, not merely an augmentedtriad, but the same one that formedthe
structuralbasis of the antecedent (cf. Ex. 6(b)): notice, in Ex. 8, that a
differentpitch occupiesthe downbeatin eachcase.
All this showsthreeattributescentralto the pitch syntaxof the movement:
first,that (014) triochordsmust be seen in the broadercontext of augmented
(048) trichords;second,that the G-Eb-B trichordmarksout a 'tonic'areain
the exposition;and third, becausethe (04) dyad- in other words, the 'major
third'or 'minorsixth'- is commonto both (014) and (048) trichords,it may,
as is the caseat the openingof the consequentand its prolongation,partakein
both triadssimultaneously,though at differentstructurallevels in each case
(the G-Eb at bs 11-12 is locallypart of the (014) trichordG-Eb/E, as is the
Eb-B of bs 2>24 part of the (014) trichordEb-B-C).
The tension between slowly unfolding 'background'events and relatively
rapid, though different, 'foreground'events creates the sense of directed
motion in the music following b. 28. And ratherthan pursue any further
detailsof the Expositionat this stage, we shall at once follow the large-scale
events in the Durchfuhrung and Recapitulation.
(b) Thebackgroundto bs 2F56.
To arrive at the backgroundstrategy for the Durchfuhrungsection of this

88 MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: 1, 1982

 57 i L tiv)

WEBERN S CONCERTOOP.24/II

piece, Schoenberg'saccountof how themes 'whichhave not modulated

are now gefuhrt durch(led through)contrastingregionsin a modulatory
procedure'19 must be allied with Webern'saccountof tritone relation-
ships, as well as with my own accountof the backgroundimportanceof
augmentedtrichords,and the role that the (04) dyad has in mediating
between'foreground'and 'background'sets. The fruits of this alliance
point to a furtherpropertyof the set, thatthe pitch contentof its second
hexachordis relatedto that of the firsthexachordby transpositionat the
tritone(see Ex. 5). Webern'sidea of Durchfuhrungis to leadthroughthe
secondhexachord(disposedinto the two augmentedtrichordsE-C-G
and A-C$-F) back to the first, in which the augmentedtrichord
D-Bb-F$, has a secondarystatus,actingas an approachto the augmented
trichordG-Eb-B, which,as we havealreadyseen,actsas the 'tonic'of the
movement.The functionof the Recapitulationis to stabilizethe first
hexachordgenerally,andthe 'tonic'augmentedtrichordin particular;that
of the Codais to summarizethe entirecourseof the music.
All this is demonstratedsimplyin Ex. 9, whichreproducesthe openings
(the sehr getragen sections) of the three Models that comprise the
Ex.9 ..

DURCHFUHRUNG RECAPITULATION
Bars:29-30 (i)

(048) trichords

t S S (}d | v ,,, q |
PO L hexachord2 pitch content t hexachord1 pitch content t

W: i-, 15 t i-'11'-'':I, $: Ir"- 1i:-$-u:J1+: L11

(014) l l
trichords I n.b. tritone-related I

Durchfuhrung,
and of the first Model that establishes the Recapitulation.
The two systems below the music examples show how the 'major third'
figures (derived, it will be remembered,from the close of the exposition -
cf. Ex. 4(a)) have a presence both in the augmentedchords that comprise
the two hexachords of the source set (PO), and in the more immediate
(014)-based set-successions of the 'foreground'. It is important to see
that, whereasin the first three of these sections there are just four pitches,
in the fourth, the 'goal' of the directed motion, there are six, comprising
the first hexachordof PO, the 'source set'. The rhythmic articulationhere
is also significant. In the first three sections, the 'major third' figure is
placed alternatelyon weak, strong and weak beats. In the fourth section,

MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: l, 1982 89

 CHRISTOPHERWINTLE

there are two such figures:the SEb (from the 'primary'augmented

chord)on the strongbeats,the Bb-Ft on the weakbeats(completingthe
secondary augmentedtrichordbegunin the previoussectionwith D and
Bb).
Therearetwo furtherparallelshere.First,the A andCt placeclon the
strongbeatsof bs 34 and35 stand,as a dyad,in tritonerelationshipto the
G and Eb placedon the strongbeatsof bs 57 and 58. This is a juxtapo-
sition that will be crystallizedin the Coda.The registralpositioningof
both this A-Ct dyadand the E-C dyadthat opensthe Durchfuhrung (bs
29-30) havebeen foreshadowed in the Exposition(see Ex. 10), since the
extractedmelodicpitchesof the firstfull set of the consequentare E, C,
C andA.
Ex.10

i ] X s l - - - - -

,Lo,5'.> 'u' r w s_ i

(c) Thebackgroundto bs 5S78.

Ex. 11 showshow, in the threemodelsof the Recapitulation (bs 57-73),
the dispersalof energy and increasedfragmentationof the line are
matchedby an evermoreemphaticstabilizationof the pitchesof the pri-
maryhexachordof PO, disposedinto the two augmentedtriadsSEb-B
(Ex. ll(b)) and D-Bb-F (Ex. ll(c)). Indeed, in the second and third
modelsof this section(frombs 64 and69 respectively),the melodyinstru-
mentsplay only pitchesfromthis hexachord.Since these pitchesare the
same melodic(extracted)pitchesas occurredin the expositionfrom bs
Ex.11

sehr Z
57getragebn W 64 gseet)rragen
tempo 'echo' SgeeVra> tempo

I9tJ tF lo$vitJ ltj lt l lt r il r jrisrlt r l er 1 ,

'b

if t f f 2t
Ic 1
f r r : *: C ccntE^t
9o MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: l, 1982
 ,

WEBERN'S CONCERTOOP.24/ II

2s24, and since, as we have alreadyseen, the pitches E, C, Ct and A at

bs 13-15 foreshadow the functionally more significant unfolding of the
secondaryhexachordof PO (at bs 29-30 and 3s35), we may, with hind-
sight, listen to the entire exposition afresh: the pitches either confirmthe
PO primaryhexachord(G-Eb-B/F$-D-Bb) or move away to the second-
ary hexachord(E-C-Ab/F-C$-A). In the light of the entire piece, as we
shall see, such a readingwould seem to articulatethe passageharmonically
n a s1gn1ncantway.
. * *

All this is summed up in the Coda (Ex. 12). The marcato pitches in the
Ex.12
(EA Po hexachord 1 heschckrd 2

(y t ,) 2 J 2 , r l t
,

Pf.

, t ; ' is if
, ,

lT S iS . hS
Ntritone-reLated /

trumpet (weak beats this time) are answered,ppp, by the marcatopitches

in the piano (also weak beats), with the Db-A now placed in the lowest
register, where, indeed, the A sounds the lowest point of the entire move-
ment. In the first hexachordthe piano accompanimentfigure lies, by com-
parison with the opening, at a lower octave level, thereby expanding the
idea of 'registral band' by an octave, and is rhythmically augmented,
thereby enhancingthe effect of a general dispersalof momentum; and the
second hexachord preserves the kind of division into three 'major sev-
enths', whose upper three - and hence, whose lower three - pitches out-
line the augmentedtrichord.

(d) Harmonyandextraction.
The three preceding sections of analysis have laid out the 'background'
structure of the music, indicating the goals that are being pursued, and
how, more locally, they are prefiguredand, in the Coda, summed up. An
awareness of these articulations is essential to a properly balanced in-
terpretationof the movement. But before turning to some of the minutiae
of the 'foreground', we must consider one other area in which form is
articulatedon the large-scale,that of harmony.
We have already designated b. 57 as the point at which the Recapitu-
lation begins, since this is the point at which the tonic augmentedtrichord
- and by extension, the first hexachordof the source set - is stabilized. It
is also the point where the process of extractingthe first, fourth, seventh

MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: l, 1982 91

5b&zit0i':t
* * t
a 159' tip9t 1-t- t- - i4t l -5 4iat1 ---

CHRISTOPHERWINTLE

and tenth pitches of each set to form the melodic trichords - a process
replaced by different principles in the Durchfahrung-is restored: this
means, of course, that the melodic pitches found between bs 57 and 73 are
the same as those found in the Exposition between bs 11 and 24. On the
other hand, we have also said that the Recapitulationof the set-forms of
the opening begins earlier than this, on the second beat of b. 46. These
two observationsare not necessarilyopposed. It is by no means an axiom
analyticallythat in Classicalmusic the return to the opening thematicma-
terial must at once be supported by a return to the tonic tonality, or vice
versa. Nevertheless, the return of PO at b. 46 does have its own articu-
lation, one that needs to be seen in the context of the harmonic or-
ganlzatlonot tne entlre movement.
Let us look at the figures found throughout in the piano accompani-
ment.
In the Exposition, all the figures connect a 'majorseventh' dyad with a
'majorthird' dyad by means of a slur (Ex. 13(a)). The only exceptions are
Ex.13
a b c d
1-28 etc. 29-46 etc. 46 48 etc.
t KIIe Dt 1lS- ti--[ lSt=$iDalft | t-fhf)|) t---l;E-9sI-X -l
C)1)-(04) (01) t_ (01) 64),(04) _

e f g

_f(04)-(01) _ (01) (01)/ (04) (01) (04)

the piano 'echo' phrases that terminate the antecedent, the consequent,
and the prolongationof the consequent, which comprise 'majorsevenths'
only.
In the Durchfuhrung, however, these two intervals - 'sevenths' and
'thirds' - are isolated and developed separately.From bs 29 to 46, there
are only 'major sevenths', which are presented either singly, or slurred
(Ex. 13(b)). The figure at b. 46 that heralds the return of PO (Ex. 13(c))
has a further function: as it unites a 'majorseventh' with a 'majorthird'
dyad, it connects the preceding 'major seventh' area (bs 2946) with the
succeeding 'majorthird' one (bs 47-51): see Ex. 13 (d). This is also the
function of the figure at bs 51-52, whose slurred 'majorthird'/'majorsev-
enth' (Ex. 13(e)) leads the music back from the 'major third' area to a
resume (bs 53-56) of the 'major sevenths' of bs 4143(Ex. 13 (f)). (Note
that the F-Db of b. 51 not only recalls the registrationof this dyad at b.
48, but confirms a position this dyad had taken at b. 17, and which it
resumesat b. 63, and takes againat b. 71.)
The Recapitulationdoes not simply reproducethe piano figures as they
were found in the Exposition, but, Classically,extends the processesof the

92 MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: 1, 1982

 o 1s i J o. t hJ S L- @tS 9

WEBERN S CONCERTOOP.24/ II

Durchfahrung.
Following the sehrgetragenof bs 57-58, the dyads are now
regrouped, so that, roughly speaking, pairs of 'majorthirds' and pairs of
'majorsevenths' alternate(Ex. 13(g)).
These means of articulatinglarger musical areas of the piece harmon-
ically - so simple, yet so telling - would seem to have determined the
patternof melodic extractionin the Durchfahrung. Ex. 14(b) from the next
section shows that this pattern differs from one set to the next, and that
with the melodically extracted pitches (stemmed notes) new intervals
emerge that had not been heard in the Exposition. This is redolent of
Set Ex.14a EXPOSITION
Forrns
1 ANT.

4 ;, J J + .
-1 r r E

s8 l<;j -tl--J-1=0

10 'Echo' CONS.

(=SsL4--,--,--l}9 l,X, . l-J---,, bJ o A

13- -^

eg L4--,
---a *=-1
j -? 1-*--d---
^-1--J
--4--2
15 +(015) extracted trichord.
! See footnote 20
C 1A--;- .--,-.-- , .--1-F ---, - *J -t--S, l =------

7 ^li-;-- t 8--1

21 'Echo' s E

(R18)
1+We t-.@-10*j-1J---
22 ,Ext. PRDL
L4--2t =J- -a---L-i-<l--;------=il

p W b il--=--^------l--q-h---l.9t
27 'Echo
-i6) 4i ,t | iF --,;110

hexachoF i

MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: l, 1982 93

 P8 ,Clj> - r6 4__-
b-S-
- oi.,-i-
- _=:' >, $j;-
E_ t4)
_
b=t1. . _ . . L(02)(04)
.=_ . . t_ .. t i - , t

CHRISTOPHERWINTLE

Set Ex.14b DURCHFUHRUNG Extracted dyads

cmd trichords
Piano
dyads
Forms
(04) (01)

f;bt5)>=r-i
hexachord 2
- itCE
- (ol)
I: : l

, f r s _ _ ,

-
s
E (016)(01)
. (05?
I6 1+9--[
?*---j -- j--'j - - 1 -
-1-------------
r E $
38 (ol)
_ __=_ _ r
r L I

_ . ____

--1--

E t-S,-n
I L
41 9 -* (01)
> 4 | E (02)
=- - t-

,9 1g ,$- --- -1--06;zX ;!t- -i Xr | - : 1-

43 1 E .(04)(04)(0m) (ol)

X . < LDS- t1 -bJ; I i - I 1-

Recapitulaticn (014)
d s#S 46 jE i t S ,q _ S | - - - -1- (01)/(04)

50 - (01)(014) (04)101)

4 4---i>C=i-?<r=-ll ---1L=--=<

CE (04)(04)(01) (01)

55w ', ' (01)(04) (01flN)

(ORo)l$--3-J-tt^---it9--!---;2>-lil-41 1 --=1- 1
"RECAPITULATION -

Key:
Unstemmed note-heads relate to the piano part; stemmed and beamed notes
relateto the melodicallyextractedpitches; double beams designatethe (04) dyads
that are part of the sehrgetragensections.
E denotes an elision between the terminal pitch(es) of one set and the initial
pitch(es)of the next.
* denotes those extracteddyads and trichordsthat do not belong to classes (01),
(04) or (014).
(s) denotes a secondaryset formation (e.g. PO(s) is equivalent to PO, with the
successionof the two hexachordsreversed:this form is equivalentto RI9).

MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: 1, 1982

94
 WEBERN S CONCERTOOP.24/II

Baroqueand Classicalbinary-ternaryforms, where the leading-throughof

tonalities in the second part of the composition is often accompaniedby
the introductionof new kinds of harmonicformation,notably diminished
harmonies.

(e) Theforeground sets,bs1-29.

In section (a) of the Analysis,the 'background'network of augmented
trichords was shown to derive in part from the 'cycle' of transpositions
PO-I4-P8-PO(s) which provided the structure of the antecedent, and in
part from the intrinsic propertiesof the set. In section (b), the sehrgetra-
gen dyads E-C (bs 29-30) and A-Ct (bs 34-35), themselves implicitly
members of augmented trichords, were then shown to derive registrally
from bs 13-15. Although these dyads were said to foreshadowthe 'modu-
lation' to the tritone area at the opening of the Durchfahrung, the overall
context of the Exposition was seen to be determined by the opening
pitches of the three principalphrases (G, SEb, Eb-B respectively)which
outlined the 'tonic' augmentedtrichord (see Ex. 4 (a)). We may now see
how this structure is reflected in, and supported by, the organizationof
the 'foreground'sets, which are laid out in Ex. 14(a).
The following plan shows the strategystandingbehind this Example:
ANTECEDENT CONSEQUENT PROLONGATION
(048): PO-I4-P8-PO(s)hi/hii-
(159) P9-P1- P5-P9(s)
(37.11): P7-P 11(s)hi-P 11-
By following the second hexachord of PO(s) by P9, Webern ensures, as
Skinner observes, that the first four melodically extracted pitches of the
antecedent (GEb-E-C) are reproduced at the beginning of the conse-
quent. He also effects a shift to a new 'cycle' of set transpositions,P9-P1-
P5-P(s). As before, this cycle (the first pitches of which are E-G$-C-E)
ends with a secondaryset form (equivalentto RI6). This means that the
first hexachordof P9, by following the second hexachord,comparablyin-
auguratesa new section, in this case the Durchfahrung. Ex. 15(b) shows
how this overlapping of the P9 cycle into the Durchfahrung gives sub-
stance to the assertionthat the E and C of b. 13 prefigurethe structurally
more significantE and C of bs 29-30: for both dyads stand at either end
of this cycle. (Cf. also the layout of the dyads Ab-G and SEb in bs 13-14
and 30-32.)
The plan also shows that the P9 cycle, unlike that of the antecedent, is
extended through the interpolationof elements of a third cycle, based on
the succession P3-P7-P11 (the first pitches of which are Bb, D and FS
respectively), though only the P7 and P11 forms are used. P11 in fact
occurs twice: first as a secondaryset, markingthe end of the consequent
with an 'echo phrase' in the piano; and then in its proper form, as a short

MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: l, 1982 95

, (3 7 ll) >CONDARY
t ,Issss ! _

CHRISTOPHERWINTLE

Ex.15
a

' PRIMARY
4048)'Tcnic augnented trichod': J -- -- vo
j HEXACHC8D

ct
18;244 Fl. vnf: P a 9 I
(CONSE()UENT)p : (PROLONGATION)
7 1t1

p Ju I
1

TJ j - - > S 2 ?o
|9' tJ 1 +' S u HEXACHCRD

13-30 _

19 r Is4IJi-1 1#W10 t8-24 1lt 1J-ld[J-1

structure:
UL f 1 1

extension of the consequent (its first hexachordis elided with the second
hexachordof P1 l(s), as shown in Ex. 14(a)).The significanceof this inter-
polation is shown in Ex. 15 (a). The Pll forms give a special emphasis to
the 'tonic' augmented trichord, GB-Eb, both in the 'echo phrase' of bs
21-22, which picks up the B-G in the violin of b. 20, and in the Eb-B of
the trumpet in bs 2924. (The extension to the consequent, in bs 22- 23,
which is based on the first hexachordof P11 proper brings the Ft and D
in the trombone: these pitches, which also belong to the primary hexa-
chord of the 'source set' PO, also preceded the Eb and B at b. 6.) All this,
then, serves to anchorand aff1rmtonic qualitiesat this point.
The corollary to this is shown in Ex. 15(b). The remaining extracted
pitches of bs 13-30 (which mark the beginning and end of the P9 cycle)
belong to the secondaryhexachordof the 'source set' PO. This is not for-
tuitous. Just as the primaryand secondaryhexachordsof PO are relatedat
the tritone, so too do the sets that are interpolatedinto the P9-P1-P5 cycle
stand in a tritone relation to the sets they adjoin. In other words, P7

96 MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: 1. 1982

 WEBERN S CONCERTOOP.24/II

standsin tritonerelationshipto P1, just as does P11 in relationto P5.

What is importanthere is that the interpolatedsets (P7 and P11) ensure,
through the surface articulation,that the prevailing ('tonic') augmented
trichord G-Eb-B emerges as prevalent with respect to the 'background,'
and that the pitches of the P9 'cycle', E-G$-C, are still at this stage subor-
dinate. Only at the beginning of the Durchfahrung,as the 'cycle' completes
itself, do they achievetheir own prominence.
The division of melodically extracted pitches into those that affirm
either the primary or the secondary hexachords of the 'source set' also
helps to explain the foreshorteningof the Recapitulation.For, from b. 46
onwards, all the sets of the Exposition recur, up to and including Pll
(affirmingthe 'primary'hexachord).But at b. 74. Webern does not move
from Pll to P5 (which would affirm the 'secondary'area), but goes at
once back to PO. This confirmsthe 'tonic area' in which Pll moves, by
virtue of its extractedpitches FS, D, Eb and B.

(f) Theforegroundsets,bs 2F56.

We have alreadyseen how the strategy of the Durchfahrungis defined by
its 'background',whereby the pitches of the sehrgetragensections - the
'goals' of musical motion - lead us from the secondaryhexachordof PO,
i.e. E-C-(G$)/A-C$-(F), back to those of the primaryhexachord,which
is stabilizedat b. 57. Since these tsro hexachordsare related at the tritone
in the 'source set', the overall effect is of a 'modulation'back to the tonic
area from the tritone-relatedone. Once again, we can see how the 'fore-
ground' sets, laid out in Ex. 14(b), supportthis strategy.
The first full set, following the completion of P9(s), is the retrogradeof
P6 (so designatedbecause the extractedsehrgetragenpitches are uniquely
the last, and not the first, of their respective trichords, and because no-
where else in the movementdo retrogradeforms play a part). Through the
elision of terminalpitches, P6 leads at once to I6, establishingat this level
the tritone-relatedarea. The sets then move in pairs, I6/P4 and I9/P7.
Each pair is internally linked, as before, through the elision of terminal
pitches. If, however, this 'sequence'had been continued, the next set (fol-
lowing I6 and I9) would have been IO. But Webern adroitly substitutes
PO for IO. For, at the end of the first of these pairs, P4 links to the
beginning of the second of these pairs, I9, through the elision of terminal
trichords. But at the end of the second of these pairs, P7 elides its final
trichordnot with the first of the following set (which would then have had
to be IO), but with the first extractedtrichord of PO. This substitutioIl
defines the connection, central to so many aspects of the analysis of the
movement,between extractedpitches and foregroundsets.
There is a syntacticnicety here, too. The first pitches of the succession
I6-I9-PO define a diminished harmony, C$-E-G. Since each pitch of a
'diminishedseventh' belongs necessarilyto a differentaugmentedchord, a

MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: 1, 1982 97

 CHRISTOPHERWINTLE

further means of linking the augmented-trichord and tritone-related

worlds of this movementis pointed to.
Finally, and more concretely, it should be noticed that the recapitu-
lation of sets at b. 46 marksa furtherdivision, since the new formationsin
the melody - the (02) dyads and the (016) trichords, both of which occur
twice- arise only before this point, and not after. All other formationsare
(01) or (04) dyads, and (014) trichords.20

Conclusion
This analysis could, of course, be extended to take in further details of
melodic structure, registration and (especially) instrumentation. But it
should by now be clear that, while Webern deploys the twelve notes in
regularrotationto achieve a formalizedatonality,the twelve notes are not,
from a larger point of view, related equally to one another at all. On the
other hand, the designation of a tonal centre, of a 'tonic' augmented tri-
chord, and of primaryand secondaryhexachordswithin the 'source set,'
does not in itself imply that Schenkeriantonal operationsneed be invoked.
While there is a parallel here between the larger deployment of a single
hexachord to embrace an entire section, and the concept of Stufen,and
while there is also a pattern of (set-)substitutions, there is more signifi-
cantly no sense of motion towards a cadenceper se, no Auskomponierung,
and no voice-leadingby stepwise movement. And it is part of the aesthetic
of Webern's twelve-note music that the expressivepower is achieved pre-
cisely by denying the assurancesthat these conventionaltonalmeansoffer.
It may still be the case that a conductorneed not acquire all the infor-
mation assembled in this paper before lifting his baton. Nevetheless, it is
striking that in the available commercialrecordings of the Concerto, so
little comprehensionof structureis evinced. Dynamics are ignored, phras-
ing is under-articulated,tempo gradationsare over-ridden,and the whole
deprivedof the sense of directedmotion that alone can bring this music to
life. Instead, we are offered too often that which is chic, clean, inorganic
and dead. If this analysis can do anything to reverse this state of affairs,
then it will have achievedsomethingof its purpose.
It will have achieved another part of its purpose if it helps composers
and historians of contemporarymusic to re-assess their attitudes to the
neo-classical aspects of Viennese twelve-note music. It is quite apparent
from this account that the various dimensions of structure are all highly
integrated,and that there are no discontinuities: the trichords of the set,
the extractedtrichords,the pivotal natureof (04) dyads between (014) and
(048) trichords, the hexachordalstructure that embraces (014) and (048)
trichords alike, the tritone-relatednesswithin the sets, the deployment of
larger tritonally- related areas in the melodic dimension, the transpo-
sitions of sets either through 'cycles' of augmented chords, or from a
tritone area to a tonic area: all these things are extraordinarilyenmeshed.

98 MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: l, 1982

 WEBERN S CONCERTOOP.24/II

They find their differentiation,

and hierarchisation,on the other hand,
preciselythroughtheir formalarticulation.And it is the opportunityfor
differentiationand hierarchisationthat the traditionalformal context
offers,as much as the opportunityfor alternativekinds of repetitionof
material.Whatalso emergesfrom this is a differentlyconceivedidea of
whatthe universeof an atonalmusicallanguagemightcomprise.
Who knows,our currentlyfashionableretrenchmentmight well be a
caseof reculerpourmieuxsauter.... !

NOTES
1. Arnold Whittall, 'Schoenbergand the English',gournalof the ArnoldSchoen-
bergInstitute,Vol.4, No. 1,June 1980, p. 29.
2. Peter Stadlen,'SerialismReconsidered',TheScore,No.22, February1958.
3. The material for this paper was first presented to a colloquium at King's
College London, December7th, 1977.
4. Hermann Scherchen, Lehrbuchdes Dirigierens(Leipzig: 1929), translatedas
Handbookof Conductingby M. D. Calvocoressi(London: OUP, 1933).
5. Unless otherwise indicated, the accounts of Webern's attitudes to per-
formanceare takenfrom: Hans Moldenhauer,Anton von Webern:A Chron-
icle of his Life and Work(London: Gollancz, 1978).
6. Stadlen,op. cit.
7. Scherchen,op. cit., p. 19.
8. Friedrich Wildgans, Anton Webern,trans. E. T. Roberts and H. Searle
(London: Calder, 1966),p. 144.
9. Scherchen,op. cit., p. 28.
10. Scherchen,op. cit., pp. 29-30.
11. Leopold Skinner,'Analysisof a Period', Die ReWhe, Vol. 2, pp. 46-50.
12. Scherchen,op. cit., p. 29.
13. Mr Paul Bankshas drawnmy attentionto the fact that at the Vienna Conser-
vatoire in the late part of the nineteenth century the conductors' and com-
posers' courseswere one.
14. The points concerningthe genesis of Webern's Op.24 are taken from Mol-
denhauer,Op. Cit., pp. 431-438.
15. cf. note 11.
16. For example, Peter Westergaard,'Towards a Twelve-tone Polyphony', Per-
spectivesof New Music,Vol. 4, 1966, p. 90ff.
17. Milton Babbitt, 'Some Aspects of Twelve-tone Composition',The Score,No.
12, June 1955, pp. 55-61.
18. Anton Webern, The Path to the New Music (Vienna: Universal, 1960), trans.
Leo Black(Pennsylvania:Theodore Presser, 1963), p. 54.
19. Arnold Schoenberg, StructuralFunctionsof Harmony,rev. ed. by L. Stein
(New York: Norton, 1969),p. 145.
20. There is the exception of the maverick (015) trichord at bs 6(}62, which
parallelsa comparabletrichordat bs 15-16. In both cases, the trichordarises
by Webern'sfollowing of P9 by P1 (as opposed to I1, had the exampleof the
antecedentbeen followed, cf. Ex. 6(e)): this succession,however,was necess-
ary to ensure the tritone-relatedpairs of sets P1-P7, and P11-P5.

MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: l, 1982 99