Krenek - Suite for Violoncello Solo
Advanced Analysis Project:
Ernst Krenek’s
Suite for Violoncello Solo
Op. 84 (1939), first movement
Op. 84 (1939), first movement
Ernst Krenek (1900-1991)
Ernst Krenek was born in Vienna, Austria on 23 August 1900 and died in Palm
Springs, California on 22 December 1991. Throughout his life, he insisted that his name be written and pronounced as a German word. In 1918, near the end of World War I
(1914-1918), Krenek was drafted into the Austrian Army, but his assignment to Vienna allowed him to continue studying music. From 1920-1923, studied with Franz Schreker at the State School for Music in Berlin; during this time, he also met Eduard Erdmann ,
Ferruccio Busoni, Artur Schnabel and Hermann Scherchen. In 1922, he met Anna
Mahler who was the daughter of famous, Bohemian-Austrian composer Gustav Mahler who had died just 11 years prior. In 1924, he and Anna married only to be divorced less than a year later. In 1938, Krenek moved to the United States just one year prior to the onset of World War II. Krenek’s music had been banned by the Nazi Party and repressed in Austria during the Anschluss. Suite for Violoncello Solo was composed in 1939, near the beginning of a three-year-tenure as a professor of music at the Vassar College in
Poughkeepsie, N.Y. During his time at Vassar College, he also guest lectured at the
1
Universities of Michigan and Wisconsin. He became a United States citizen in 1945 while teaching at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota (1942-1947).1
Suite for Violoncello Solo is a five-movement work using a single twelve-tone series. Of the possible 48 forms of this series, Krenek uses on 1 in the first movement.2
By definition, the row does not appear until measures 18-20 as pitches 2, 6, 5, 1, 0, 11, 3,
9, 4, 10, 8, 7. However, simple variations of this row appear throughout the entire piece in quite the predictable manner as 2, 6, 5, 1, 0, 11, 3, 9, 10, 8, 4, 7. Notice the alteration in the last four pitches in
Ernst Krenek’s
Suite for Violoncello Solo
Op. 84 (1939), first movement
Op. 84 (1939), first movement
Ernst Krenek (1900-1991)
Ernst Krenek was born in Vienna, Austria on 23 August 1900 and died in Palm
Springs, California on 22 December 1991. Throughout his life, he insisted that his name be written and pronounced as a German word. In 1918, near the end of World War I
(1914-1918), Krenek was drafted into the Austrian Army, but his assignment to Vienna allowed him to continue studying music. From 1920-1923, studied with Franz Schreker at the State School for Music in Berlin; during this time, he also met Eduard Erdmann ,
Ferruccio Busoni, Artur Schnabel and Hermann Scherchen. In 1922, he met Anna
Mahler who was the daughter of famous, Bohemian-Austrian composer Gustav Mahler who had died just 11 years prior. In 1924, he and Anna married only to be divorced less than a year later. In 1938, Krenek moved to the United States just one year prior to the onset of World War II. Krenek’s music had been banned by the Nazi Party and repressed in Austria during the Anschluss. Suite for Violoncello Solo was composed in 1939, near the beginning of a three-year-tenure as a professor of music at the Vassar College in
Poughkeepsie, N.Y. During his time at Vassar College, he also guest lectured at the
1
Universities of Michigan and Wisconsin. He became a United States citizen in 1945 while teaching at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota (1942-1947).1
Suite for Violoncello Solo is a five-movement work using a single twelve-tone series. Of the possible 48 forms of this series, Krenek uses on 1 in the first movement.2
By definition, the row does not appear until measures 18-20 as pitches 2, 6, 5, 1, 0, 11, 3,
9, 4, 10, 8, 7. However, simple variations of this row appear throughout the entire piece in quite the predictable manner as 2, 6, 5, 1, 0, 11, 3, 9, 10, 8, 4, 7. Notice the alteration in the last four pitches in
Cited: Burkhart, Charles. Anthology for Musical Analysis. Belmont: Schirmer/Thompson, 2004. Ernst Krenek Institute Private Foundation. Biogprahie (www.krenek.com). DonauUniversität-Krems: Austria, 2004.