Tonality in the Symphony Flashcards
What is the main idea behind the concept of tonal unity?
A piece of music is governed by an overarching tonic, which acts as a point of reference to which everything else is related.
How do pieces of tonal music typically structure their keys?
They tend to begin and end in the tonic and visit related keys in the middle.
What is a ‘tonal plan’?
It refers to the expected keys of each movement in a symphony.
What is common for a symphony’s movements regarding the tonic?
It commonly begins and ends in the tonic, with inner movements often in a related key.
What adaptations did traditional composers make to tonal plans in the Romantic period?
They often included contrasting movements in unexpected keys and changed the tonal plan if middle movements were swapped.
What are tonal regions?
They explore the way key centres are presented within a specific movement, often referring to sonata form.
What is tonal antagonism?
It involves breaking down the tonic-dominant relationship, particularly in sonata form movements.
Who is commonly associated with tonal antagonism?
Beethoven.
What is tonal escapism?
A technique associated with Schubert, where distant tonal regions are treated as a form of musical escapism.
How did Beethoven and Schubert differ in their approach to distant tonal regions?
Beethoven treated them as problems to be solved, while Schubert viewed them as relaxed states paired with lyrical music.
What changes occurred in tonality during the late Romantic period?
A wider palette of tonal colours became available due to groundwork laid by earlier composers and challenges to symphonic traditions.
