Expressive Intersections in Brahms: Essays in Analysis and Meaning

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments The impetus for a volume of essays exploring intersections of consummate technical craft and profound expressivity in Brahms’s music arose from discussions with members of the Board of directors of the american Brahms Society. We are indebted to the society for its encouragement and for its generous subvention to defray expenses associated with the production of this book. The society has supported five other volumes: Brahms Studies: Analytical and Historical Perspectives, ed. George S. Bozarth (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990); Brahms Studies 1–3, ed. david Brodbeck (lincoln: University of nebraska Press in affiliation with the american Brahms Society, 1994, 1998, and 2001); and On Brahms and His Circle: Essays and Documentary Studies by Karl Geiringer, ed. George S. Bozarth (Sterling Heights, mich.: Harmonie Park Press in association with the american Brahms Society, 2006). Expressive Intersections in Brahms: Essays in Analysis and Meaning complements and extends these works by bringing together some of the most recent scholarly approaches to the analysis and hermeneutic interpretation of Brahms’s compositions. From the very early stages of the project, robert Hatten, series editor, and Jane Behnken, sponsoring editor, at indiana University Press have demonstrated their unflagging support. We are grateful for their guidance through the various stages of work on this volume and for their assistance in arranging for the illustrations that appear in chapters 3 and 4. robert gave generously of his time, perceptively reading each of the essays as they were completed; all our authors have benefited from his editorial acumen. a number of other scholars also offered advice at the very earliest stages, when the concept of the volume was only beginning to emerge: we are grateful for the counsel of richard Cohn, roe-min Kok, and Joseph n. Straus. We would also like to acknowledge the constructive criticisms of the anonymous scholars who reviewed our initial proposal for the press; in particular, we greatly appreciate l. Poundie Burstein’s advice and encouragement. We were fortunate to have contributors who immediately recognized the merits of the project. They conceived fascinating essays, each of which brings a unique voice to the volume, and they graciously participated in discussions throughout the editorial process. aside from the stimulating ideas offered by the authors, both in their essays and in e-mail exchanges, we greatly appreciated their unfailingly prompt responses to our queries and concerns. in particular, we acknowledge Steven rings, who read and commented on our first chapter, viii Acknowledgments “‘The Wondrous transformation of Thought into Sound’: Some Preliminary reflections on musical meaning in Brahms.” travis Jeffords set the musical examples in chapters 4, 5, 8, and 9. it was a pleasure to work with an engraver with such a superb eye for detail and who quickly attended to even the slightest correction or alteration. The examples in the other chapters were prepared by the respective authors; their ability to adapt their finely tuned design techniques to a uniform style greatly eased the burdens of production of the final volume. Finally, we are especially indebted to our families: Peter’s wife and son, lumi and manny, and Heather’s husband, mark Kaplan. They too gave their love, time, and patience to this project in far too many ways to enumerate here. ...