Conflict and Meaning in Carl Nielsen’s “Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, Op. 57 (1928)”

Conflict and Meaning in Carl Nielsen’s “Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, Op. 57 (1928)”

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Monroe, Douglas Charles
Language:English
Published: The Ohio State University / OhioLINK 2008
Subjects:
Music
Carl Nielsen
Clarinet
Aage Oxenvad
Referential Music
Online Access:http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1211657191
id ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-osu1211657191
record_format oai_dc
spelling ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-osu12116571912021-08-03T05:53:49Z Conflict and Meaning in Carl Nielsen’s “Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, Op. 57 (1928)” Monroe, Douglas Charles Music Carl Nielsen Clarinet Aage Oxenvad Referential Music <p>Carl Nielsen wrote his Concerto for Clarinet in 1928 for clarinetist Aage Oxenvad. Most Nielsen authorities describe it as a caricature of Oxenvad. Certainly Oxenvad had influence on Nielsen, and aspects of Oxenvad’s personality are captured in the Concerto. Nonetheless, the music has more to do with Nielsen’s life.</p><p>In 1926, Nielsen suffered a heart attack. Until the time of his death in 1931, he suffered many more. By 1928, Nielsen was facing the last few years of his life without promise of a successful remedy for his heart disease. Nielsen’s Concerto for Clarinet and its inherent conflict have more to do with his internal struggles than with any external influence. The Concerto is the only large-scale work Nielsen composed during the last five years of his life and it is filled with conflict that never resolves.</p><p>After the introductory chapter, the five chapters that follow document five elements of conflict within the Concerto. Tonal conflict concerns the struggle between the piece’s two main key centers, F and E and the absence of Nielsen’s lifelong practice of “progressive tonality.” There is also conflict in the interplay between the clarinet and the snare drum. Both instruments take on characters which are in direct opposition to one another. The clarinet is also set apart from the orchestra by means of its many cadenzas as well as its stylistic and range differences. Nielsen uses counterpoint as a metaphor for conflict; it presents conflict which never resolves. The final aspect of conflict is the short coda which dramatically ends the music by abruptly returning to the original key, signifying a failure to reach a new arrival.</p><p>Though Nielsen rejected music’s power to communicate directly about life events, the conflict and dark emotions of this work strongly suggest a link to his own inner battle with a mortal disease. As Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross documented in 1969, people who are terminally ill pass through five different stages of grief; anger is the stage most prevalent in the Concerto. Together, these aspects mirror the emotions of a man coming to grips with the end of his life.</p> 2008-06-24 English text The Ohio State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1211657191 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1211657191 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.
collection NDLTD
language English
sources NDLTD
topic Music
Carl Nielsen
Clarinet
Aage Oxenvad
Referential Music
spellingShingle Music
Carl Nielsen
Clarinet
Aage Oxenvad
Referential Music
Monroe, Douglas Charles
Conflict and Meaning in Carl Nielsen’s “Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, Op. 57 (1928)”
author Monroe, Douglas Charles
author_facet Monroe, Douglas Charles
author_sort Monroe, Douglas Charles
title Conflict and Meaning in Carl Nielsen’s “Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, Op. 57 (1928)”
title_short Conflict and Meaning in Carl Nielsen’s “Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, Op. 57 (1928)”
title_full Conflict and Meaning in Carl Nielsen’s “Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, Op. 57 (1928)”
title_fullStr Conflict and Meaning in Carl Nielsen’s “Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, Op. 57 (1928)”
title_full_unstemmed Conflict and Meaning in Carl Nielsen’s “Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, Op. 57 (1928)”
title_sort conflict and meaning in carl nielsen’s “concerto for clarinet and orchestra, op. 57 (1928)”
publisher The Ohio State University / OhioLINK
publishDate 2008
url http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1211657191
work_keys_str_mv AT monroedouglascharles conflictandmeaningincarlnielsensconcertoforclarinetandorchestraop571928
_version_ 1719427334583353344

Similar Items