Music 3649A Final Project Elvis Wong

Arnold Schoenberg “Six Little Piano Pieces” Op. 19, No. 4

History

Arnold Schoenberg’s “Six Little Piano Pieces” is a post tonal work written in 1911. The

first five of the six pieces were written in the same day, and the sixth was written later, as a

tribute to Gustav Mahler after his death.1 The short piano piece was completed in between two

large scale works, both of which were big milestones in the development of Schoenberg’s post

tonal style. These pieces are the Erwartung in 1909, and the Pierrot Lunaire in 1912. By the

time that the Six Piano Pieces was written, Schoenberg had already been composing in the post

tonal style for quite a bit of time.2

This piece, along with the Ewartung and Pierrot Lunaire, were written well before

Schoenberg began to develop his serialism and twelve tone techniques. Schoenberg did not

start working with twelve tone rows until around 1920, nine years after the six piano pieces were

written.3

There are many ways that people have tried to analyze this work. Even though the piece

is highly atonal and uses all twelve tones of the chromatic scale, people have found ways to

discuss the piece with a sort of functional harmony, in a way similar to how we speak of tonal

music. Another way that people have discussed the piece is in a more motivic way, as post tonal

works that don’t rely as strongly on functional harmony rely on motives as development

instead.4

1
Eric Mckee, On the Death of Mahler: Schoenberg’s Op. 19, No. 6, (Theory and Practice 30, 2005), 121
2
Kenneth L. Hicken, Tonal Organization in Schoenberg’s Six Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19, (Canadian
University Music Review / Revue de musique des universités canadiennes, 1980), 130
3
Niel Newton, An Aspect of Functional Harmony in Schoenberg's Early Post-Tonal Music, (Music
Analysis 33, no. 1, 2014), 1
4
Martha M. Hyde, Musical Form and the Development of Schoenberg's "Twelve-Tone Method”, (Journal
of Music Theory 29, no. 1, 1985), 86
Analysis

In this analysis, interval classes between notes and contour of melodies will be used to

analyze the form and explain continuity throughout the piece. To understand how the different

sections of the piece are related to each other, the melodies in these sections will be compared

to each other in terms of the techniques just mentioned. In addition, trichords and tetrachords

found in the left hand accompaniment and their relation to the right hand melody will also be

looked at.

The form of the piece is in three sections, with each section including a statement of the

main melody. The sections of the piece are as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1
 The melody in each statement can be understood as being in two parts. In the first

statement, the first part would start at the beginning and end at the end of the slur marking, on

the A. The second part picks up from the next C# and goes until the fermata at the end of the

phrase.

These same two halves of the melody can also be found in the second statement. By

analyzing the interval classes between the notes, it is shown that the intervals at the beginning

of the second part of the first statement (3, 1, 11, 2, 1, starting on C#) can be found as an exact

copy in the second statement, starting on the F# in bar 7. (Fig. 2) Even though the pitches and

rhythm are different, the intervallic relationships between the notes are the same.

Fig. 2

The relationship between the first halves of statements one and two are less obvious, as

the intervals between notes are not common between the two. However, the contour of the

melodies is similar. In the first statement, the direction of notes in the melodic fragment “F A F

Bb Db C” is up, down, down, up, down. If the notes in the second statement starting from the C

were ordered “C D C F# G F”, it would contain the same melodic contour.

fact, it begins with the exact same notes as the first statement (F A F Bb Db), only an octave

lower, faster, and at a louder dynamic. Because this is a return of the main melody from the

beginning, it is possible to say that it bears some resemblance to an ABA form.

The second half of the third statement is less obvious, as again, the intervallic relations

don’t show much similarity. However, looking at the contour of the second half of the first

statement, we can see it in the groups of notes “C# E D# E F# G” and “F D C F# G# A#” that the

contour is up, down, down, up, up. (this grouping disrupts the slur between G and F) In the third

statement, the notes “Bb F# D# C D E” seem to be the same melody, containing the same

contour and even the same intervals at the end. (C D E and F# G# A#)

Through this analysis, the form of this piece is shown to be three statements of the same

melody, which is seen in two parts. Both parts of the melody can be found in each of the

statements, sometimes as exact copies of notes or intervals and sometimes only in contour.

The left hand in this piece contains several chords. These chords are not random, but

are instead derived from the melody. At the end of the first statement, the two tetrachords “D F

G C” and “Eb G B D” can be found. (ignoring the rhythmic difference on the C of D F G C)

These tetrachords are 4-22 (0247) and 4-19 (0148) respectively. 4-22 can be found in the

previous bar, in the second half of the first statement in the notes “G F D C”, and 4-19 is found

twice in the first half. First, it is found in the first five notes of the piece, “F A F Bb Db”. Then, in

the next five notes “C B F A C#”, if the B is disregarded, it forms another collection of tetrachord

4-19. (Fig. 3)
 Fig. 3

Moving on to the second statement, two collections of 3-10 (036) or diminished triads are

found, but the closest relation that was found in the melody is the interval class 6 found in the C

and F# of measure 6.

Near the end of the second statement, the trichord 3-2 (013), containing the notes “G A

F#” is found. A similar trichord is also found in the second to last measure, containing the notes

“A G# B” (This is part of a larger tetrachord containing “A G# B F”). This trichord is derived from

the melody in the same bar (as “G A F#”) with the notes “B C D”.

The last part of the left hand accompaniment to cover is trichord 3-9 (0 2 7) with the

notes “G C D” in the third to last measure. In the same bar, the right hand plays the notes “F# B

E”, which is another instance of trichord 3-9. Trichords 3-9, along with 3-2 are shown in figure 4.
 Fig. 4

Through the analysis of the left hand chords and its relation to the melody, we can see a

pattern in where Schoenberg decides to form these chords from. In the examples above, the

melodies that the chords are derived from are either found in the same phrase, similar to

tetrachords 4-22 and 4-19, or found in the same bar, similar to trichords 3-9 and 3-2. Even for

trichord 3-10, which I was unable to find a direct copy of, the melody which resembles it the

most is found in the same bar.

McKee, Eric. "On the Death of Mahler: Schoenberg's Op. 19, No. 6." Theory and Practice 30
(2005): 121-51.

Kicken, Kenneth L.. “Tonal Organization in Schoenberg’s Six Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19.”
Canadian University Music Review / Revue de musique des universités canadiennes (1980):
130-146.

Newton, Neil. "An Aspect of Functional Harmony in Schoenberg's Early Post-Tonal Music."
Music Analysis 33, no. 1 (2014): 1-31.

Hyde, Martha M., and Schoenberg. "Musical Form and the Development of Schoenberg's
"Twelve-Tone Method"." Journal of Music Theory 29, no. 1 (1985): 85-143.