This dissertation presents a detailed study of harmony and voice leading at local levels of structure in the music of Gustav Mahler. The results are grouped into three domains: cadences, common-tone techniques, and the Mahlerian imaginary continuo. An investigation of Mahler’s cadences reveals an underlying simplicity in the diverse tonal progressions that Mahler uses to execute the tonal close of a phrase. Cadences are shown to derive from two basic types (authentic and plagal) and three basic transformations (tonic intrusion, Phrygian 2, and contrapuntal bass). In a study of common-tone techniques, this dissertation proposes a new system for identifying common-tone harmonies based on their voice-leading distance from a local reference harmony (“applied displacement”). The study then demonstrates how common-tone techniques generate new harmonies/voice-leadings, modulations, and non-structural (“associative”) relationships. A final essay on the Mahlerian imaginary continuo uses the concept of the imaginary continuo to help articulate the dissolution of classical tonality in Mahler’s music.
","abstract_html":"<p>This dissertation presents a detailed study of harmony and voice leading at local levels of structure in the music of Gustav Mahler. The results are grouped into three domains: cadences, common-tone techniques, and the Mahlerian imaginary continuo. An investigation of Mahler’s cadences reveals an underlying simplicity in the diverse tonal progressions that Mahler uses to execute the tonal close of a phrase. Cadences are shown to derive from two basic types (authentic and plagal) and three basic transformations (tonic intrusion, Phrygian 2, and contrapuntal bass). In a study of common-tone techniques, this dissertation proposes a new system for identifying common-tone harmonies based on their voice-leading distance from a local reference harmony (“applied displacement”). The study then demonstrates how common-tone techniques generate new harmonies/voice-leadings, modulations, and non-structural (“associative”) relationships. A final essay on the Mahlerian imaginary continuo uses the concept of the imaginary continuo to help articulate the dissolution of classical tonality in Mahler’s music.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Kosseff-Jones, Ryan"],"institution":"The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":"Music","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["William Rothstein"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Joseph Straus","Poundie Burstein","Kofi Agawu"],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017-02-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2017-02-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:00:13Z","subjects":["Music Theory","Music analysis","Gustav Mahler","Schenkerian theory","Cadence","Common-tone tonality","Imaginary continuo"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1919","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["William Rothstein"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Joseph Straus","Poundie Burstein","Kofi Agawu"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Kosseff-Jones, Ryan"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-01-30T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Music"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Music Theory","Music analysis","Gustav Mahler","Schenkerian theory","Cadence","Common-tone tonality","Imaginary continuo"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1919"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This dissertation presents a detailed study of harmony and voice leading at local levels of structure in the music of Gustav Mahler. The results are grouped into three domains: cadences, common-tone techniques, and the Mahlerian imaginary continuo. An investigation of Mahler’s cadences reveals an underlying simplicity in the diverse tonal progressions that Mahler uses to execute the tonal close of a phrase. Cadences are shown to derive from two basic types (authentic and plagal) and three basic transformations (tonic intrusion, Phrygian 2, and contrapuntal bass). In a study of common-tone techniques, this dissertation proposes a new system for identifying common-tone harmonies based on their voice-leading distance from a local reference harmony (“applied displacement”). The study then demonstrates how common-tone techniques generate new harmonies/voice-leadings, modulations, and non-structural (“associative”) relationships. A final essay on the Mahlerian imaginary continuo uses the concept of the imaginary continuo to help articulate the dissolution of classical tonality in Mahler’s music.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Mahlerian Tonality: Challenges to Classical Foreground Structures in the Music of Gustav Mahler"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["William Rothstein"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Joseph Straus","Poundie Burstein","Kofi Agawu"],"dc:creator":["Kosseff-Jones, Ryan"],"dc:date.available":["2017-01-30T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This dissertation presents a detailed study of harmony and voice leading at local levels of structure in the music of Gustav Mahler. The results are grouped into three domains: cadences, common-tone techniques, and the Mahlerian imaginary continuo. An investigation of Mahler’s cadences reveals an underlying simplicity in the diverse tonal progressions that Mahler uses to execute the tonal close of a phrase. Cadences are shown to derive from two basic types (authentic and plagal) and three basic transformations (tonic intrusion, Phrygian 2, and contrapuntal bass). In a study of common-tone techniques, this dissertation proposes a new system for identifying common-tone harmonies based on their voice-leading distance from a local reference harmony (“applied displacement”). The study then demonstrates how common-tone techniques generate new harmonies/voice-leadings, modulations, and non-structural (“associative”) relationships. A final essay on the Mahlerian imaginary continuo uses the concept of the imaginary continuo to help articulate the dissolution of classical tonality in Mahler’s music.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1919"],"dc:subject":["Music Theory","Music analysis","Gustav Mahler","Schenkerian theory","Cadence","Common-tone tonality","Imaginary continuo"],"dc:title":["Mahlerian Tonality: Challenges to Classical Foreground Structures in the Music of Gustav Mahler"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Music"],"thesis:degree_level":["Doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"thesis:institution_name":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:00:13Z"}