Sonoristic Space in Mahler’s First Symphony

Authors

Laura Dolp, Montclair State UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2008

Journal / Book Title

Muzyka

Abstract

While sonorism is generally considered to be a practice of twentieth-century composition, some turn-of-the-century composers like Mahler pursued what could be characterized as an early type of sonoristic project. Critical reception of Mahler’s First Symphony has often concluded that the beginning of the first movement undermines the teleological premise of its symphonic principles. Re-thinking this historiographic precedent, I argue that Mahler’s “failure” to achieve a clear syntactic process shows instead a proactive engagement with the potential of sonorities to create a meaningful, multi-dimensional space. I trace the ways that Mahler’s spatial music facilitates a phenomenological pivot from a lateral orientation toward one of depth.

Comments

Identifiers: CEJSH db identifier09PLAAAA057721 YADDA identifier: bwmeta1.element.2e95fdce-e823-36b9-965f-e0eef4495984

MSU Digital Commons Citation

Dolp, Laura, "Sonoristic Space in Mahler’s First Symphony" (2008). John J. Cali School of Music Scholarship and Creative Works. 30.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/cali-facpubs/30

Published Citation

Dolp, Laura. “Sonoristic Space in Mahler’s First Symphony.” Muzyka 1, (2008): 119-130.