Summary: | There is much that is traditional in the compositional style of Sergei Prokofiev,
invoking the stylistic spirit of the preceding two hundred years. One familiar element is the
harmonic vocabulary, as evidenced by the frequent use of simple triadic sonorities, but
these seemingly simple sonorities are frequently instilled with a sense of multiple meaning,
and help to facilitate a tonal style which differs from the classical norm. In this style, the
conditions of monotonality do not necessarily apply; there is often a sense of the
coexistence of several "tonical" possibilities. An examination of three pieces shows
varying applications of Prokofiev's ambiguous tonal style. In the Pensee, op. 62 no. 2,
tonical ambiguity pervades the entire piece. In the "Promenade," op. 59 no. 1, an initial
suggestion of monotonality leads to a state of multiple tonics. In the last movement of the
Sonata for Violin and Piano, op. 80, areas of ambiguous tonal focus are, in a more
traditional fashion, subservient to a strong overall tonic. Because Prokofiev does not
employ a classical tonal style, traditional methods of analysis only provide a limited basis
of understanding. In this thesis, Schoenberg's concepts of "fluctuating tonality," Peter
Deane Roberts's ideas about "polymodality," and Richard Bass's "chromatic shadows"
provide starting points for an examination of this music.
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