Michael Kline
University of Texas, Austin
Recent criticism has adapted the work of Harold Bloom to a study of intertextuality in music (J. Straus, K. Korsyn). Such studies take as their point of departure Bloom's contention that the "meaning of a poem can only be another poem" (The Anxiety of Influence). Although a study of intertextuality may give us clues to meaning in music, I prefer to read "structure" for "meaning" when applying Bloom's theory to music analysis. Under such a reading, I contend that the the structure of a later composition is a transformation of the structure of a precursor composition. The precursor may be by the same composer, an earlier composer, or a rival composer.
Applying this reading of Bloom to the music of Bartók, I begin by considering the music that Bartók was studying and performing just prior to composing his Violin Sonata No. 1. Such precursor compositions include Debussy's Préludes, Szymanowski's Mythes, and Schoenberg's Klavierstücke, Op. 11. The paper illustrates how Bartók transformed structures in these earlier works to become central to the structure of his violin sonata. By defining clearly the nature of these transformations, the paper focuses on that which individuates the sonata from the precursor compositions.