Musical Forces and Interpretation

Abstract

Steve Larson’s theory of musical forces offers a powerful framework for analyzing music, especially when paired with the concept of agency. This article focuses on a brief passage from Mahler’s “Nun will die Sonn’ so hell aufgeh’n” to show how an emphasis on agency and musical forces can open up a variety of interpretive possibilities. The article distinguishes between three categories of musical forces, offers a simple interpretive method, and emphasizes the importance of two critical binaries: active vs. passive and push vs. pull.

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