Looking back and reconstructing: dialogical voices in Hugo Riemann's Theories on phrasing and rests

Abstract

Hugo Riemann's 1916 article on the theory of Tonvorstellungen has been considered the “best rehearsal” of his mature thinking. Less attended to are his writings published thereafter, including two essays also featuring 'Tonvorstellungen' in the title (1917; 1918–1919) and a three-volume analysis of Beethoven’s piano sonatas (1918–1019). Written near the end of his life, these works exhibit the Saidian late style. “Time is converted into space” when Riemann keeps referring back to his earlier works, underlining the continuity of his oeuvre while simultaneously highlighting the thrilling revelation of the new insight. In addition, signs of “unresolved contradiction” are found, especially regarding the discussions of phrasing and rests (Pausen). The latter becomes particularly relevant here: The premise that we are hearing (or imagining) something during the interim directly points to the very notion of Tonvorstellungen that everything starts with imagined music, not actual sounding music. Taking the references to his earlier works as a lead, the current paper revisits these notions that are featured significantly in Riemann’s late works. The conflicting and dialogical 'voices' representing different models of musical mind are identified and analyzed against the background of the intertextual and interdisciplinary discourse of contemporary psychology and aesthetics.