Universal Edition
6 Little Piano Pieces Op. 19
Op. 11 Still Preserves Indeed Emphasizes The Techniques Of Thematic Construction. Op. 19 Written Two Years Later Dispenses Even With The Thematic Gestures; "A Tonality" Here Also Means "A Thematicism." The First Five Of These Miniatures Seem To Have Been Written On A Single Day February 19 1911; The Last Was Added In June. Only The First Piece Has A Certain Scope And An Ongoing Developmental Quality In Its Suggestion Of Vocal Phrase Structure And Four Part Harmonic Texture. Yet In Spite Of Appearances There Is No Thematic Development At All; As In The Similar Case Of "Erwartung" (The Piece Is Like A Fragment From Some Unknown Music Drama) There Is Phrase Structure Without Themes; Only The Controlling Presence Of Certain Intervals Integrates The Free Intense Melodic And Harmonic Structures. (Eric Salzman)
