Annotation for Epstein, David

Beyond Orpheus: Studies in Musical Structure

Annotation (by Erick Carballo):

The author's main concern in this book is unity in music. Epstein wants to determine how musical coherence is accomplished, that is, what makes a piece of music "work." In order to do this, he amalgamates Schenkerian analytical apparatus with Schoenberg's concept of Grundgestalt (basic shape), a concept usually associated with pitch serialism but equally applicable to tonal music.
Epstein postulates three basic domains in classic-romantic music: pitch, duration, and phrase and nuance. The first domain encompasses vertical and horizontal aspects of pitch, such as thematic shape, aspects of harmony and tonal relations. The second domain involves temporal aspects of music which he explains through five topics: 1) the dual aspect of musical time, that is, chronometric time (metric, clockwise) vs. integral time (rhythmic, flexible) ; 2) the intangible character of time: there is not a human sense that perceives or measure it; 3) levels of temporal structure; 4) the differentiation between structu ral (accent) and non-structural (stress, dynamics, articulations ...) emphases; and 5) tempo as a unifying element in music. The third musical domain that Epstein addresses is phrase and nuance, "secondary" aspects of music such as dynamics, timbre, and register that coexist and interrelate with the previous two domains.
Epstein put his theory into practice analyzing numerous pieces, among them the opening movements of Beethoven's Eroica, and Brahms's second symphony. The analysis of the Eroica demonstrates how the opening theme is the organizing and germinal element of t he movement. He uses Brahms's second symphony to exemplify how events of an ambiguous nature may function as a compositional premise affecting the overall structure of the piece.
Finally, Epstein addresses the problem of devising proper systems to deal with the more subjective aspects of music, something that, he believes, music theory has not been able to do. He suggests that an interdisciplinary approach would be quite benefici al in clarifying those musical spheres situated beyond our intuition.
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