Abstract

This dissertation is a study of Schoenberg's published writings on the subject of tonal expression--the term tonal expression denoting the establishment of the sense of tonal centricity that characterizes tonality. The dissertation comprises four parts. In Part I, the foundations of Schoenberg's tonal system and his tonal principle are addressed--in particular the derivation of the system from the prototype of the overtone series, and the evolution of the system from what Schoenberg calls the "church modes." Part II treats the manner in which Schoenberg teaches a student to express a tonality through the IV-V-I cadence and a procedure called "neutralization," used for governing the introduction of chromatic pitches. The subject of Part III is the concept of tonal function, the role a given pitch, chord, or region plays in tonal expression. In Part IV, the concepts of tonal "balance" and tonal "problem," which provide models or paradigms for tonal expression over the entirety of a work, are addressed. The dissertation concludes with analyses of the first movement of Beethoven's Piano Sonata in F minor, op. 2, no. 1, and Schoenberg's song "Erwartung," op. 2, no. 1, which illustrate the topics covered in earlier parts of the dissertation