The use of a musical quotation can create contrast that affects multiple levels of the music and creates multiple meanings. Although the meanings of a quotation can vary, the quotation carries in itself a wealth of connotations and associations. The categories of quotation usage can be divided up into: homage, illustration, commentary, and explication of the composer’s artistic intent. The semantic functions of a quotation reveal the work’s intent, depending on how the quotation is integrated into the piece. A quotation that begins a piece can function like an epigraph or the thematic nucleus of a work, while a quotation placed in a cumulative setting can create striking stylistic interplay. However, when a quotation is inserted suddenly, indicating an abrupt stylistic change, it could indicate satirical intent. A fascinating example that integrates quotations is Shostakovich’s song cycle Satires. Shostakovich uses quotations from Beethoven and Rachmaninoff in a stylized and farcical way prominently throughout the cycle, which almost conceals the composer’s individual style to create a “mask” of quotations.

Works: Strauss: Metamorphosen (93); Debussy: Children’s Corner (93); Britten: Albert Herring (93); Berg: Violin Concerto (94); Mikael Tervidiev: Music (94); Eugène Ysaÿe: Violin Sonata No. 2 (94); Rachmaninoff: Letter to Konstantin Stanislavsky (94); Shostakovich: Satires, Op. 109 (95, 96).

Sources: Beethoven: Symphony No. 3, Op. 55 (93), Violin Sonata No. 9, Op. 47 (96); Wagner: Tristan and Isolde (93); Chopin: Ballade No. 1, Op. 23; Johann Sebastian Bach: Violin Partita No. 3, BWV 1006 (94), Wir Danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir, BWV 29 (94); Ilya Satz: Blue Bird (94); Anonymous: Dies Irae (93, 94); Rachmaninoff: Spring Waters, Op. 14, No. 11 (96).

Index Classifications: General, 1900s

Contributed by: Maria Fokina