Music in Motion: A Metaphoric Mapping of Forces in Piano Concertos by Mozart and Schumann

Abstract

In this thesis, I demonstrate the dynamic way in which musical processes can be described as metaphors. Using Steve Larson’s three main metaphors (gravity, inertia, and magnetism) as a starting point, I propose additional metaphors (friction, repulsion, momentum, wave, orbit, and oscillation) to analyze the first movements of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K 466 and Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor, op. 54. These metaphors provide a means to discuss points of convergence and divergence between the Classical style and the early-Romantic style. Additionally, most theorists of the energeticist tradition only discuss motion through prose; I introduce a way to represent these metaphors as musical examples. By focusing on the listener’s experience through musical motion, the model proposed in this thesis is useful, not only for the theorist, but for all who wish to communicate ideas about music in a dynamic way.