A Holistic Analysis of Johannes Brahms’s Op. 117 No. 2 ~ Marjorie Rahima Steiner

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts.

This study examines Op. 117, No. 2 by Johannes Brahms. Not only does it consider the work from a conventional, analytical viewpoint, but also it explores the piece from a hermeneutic and phenomenological perspective. The hermeneutic analysis is based on the writings of Martin Heidegger and the phenomenological analysis is based on the writings of Edmund Husserl. Various theories of musical meaning throughout history are explored. Also, Brahms’s personal library is examined in an effort to discover his aesthetics and how he might have appreciated this form of holistic analysis. Finally, the study integrates the three analyses into a performance guide.