Text, Topics, and Formal Language: Musical Narrativity in Franz Liszt’s Prometheus and Tasso

Abstract

In his symphonic poems Franz Liszt integrated musical topics (conventional musical signs or gestures), literary programs, and innovative musical forms.Prometheus and Tasso exemplify Liszt's reliance on such programs and the "marked" gestures of musical topics.Through these hermeneutic aids, the listener is guided to imagine dramatic situations involving the figures of Prometheus and Tasso.In "musical" terms, however, Prometheus's "redemption" may be hardly distinguishable from Tasso's "victory," as each relies upon similar musical gestures.How then does Liszt distinguish the depiction of Prometheus's character from that of Tasso?This article examines the techniques Liszt used to create discrete plots and subjects by analyzing formal deviations from the symphonic tradition and the relationship among literary programs, musical topics, and narrativity.The distinctive plots of Prometheus and Tasso result from the appearance of "marked" musical gestures within displaced formal sections.Musical narrativity thus relies on both the correlation and tension between musical topics and innovative formal plans.In this sense Prometheus and Tasso illustrate a "linguistic model" of program music.

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