Kurth, Ernst (EN)

Kurth Ernst, *1 June 1886 Vienna, †2 August 1946 Berno, Swiss musicologist. In 1904–08, he studied musicology (with G. Adler), philosophy and psychology at the University of Vienna; he obtained his doctorate there in 1908 based on a thesis on Gluck’s opera. He was a pianist-repétiteur and conductor in Leipzig, Bamberg and Barmen in 1908–11. In 1911–12, he taught music at the experimental Freie Schulgemeinde of G. Wyneken in Wickersdorf (near Leipzig), where he met A. Halm. He settled in Bern and became associated with the university there in 1912; he was an associate professor from 1912 (habilitation) and a professor of musicology from 1920; he led to the foundation of the Musicological Seminary (Institut für Musikwissenschaft) at the University of Bern in 1920/21. He founded and published “Berner Veröffentlichungen zur Musikforschung” from 1927. From the 1930s, despite Parkinson’s disease, he continued his university activities. Kurth’s students included W. Schuh and K. v. Fischer.

Kurth was one of the most important musicologists of the first half of the 20^th century. The novelty of his theoretical concepts consisted of treating musical form as an energetic process, taking into account auditory experience in the analysis of a musical work, and exposing the horizontal dimension of the sound course. Kurth opposed the theory of static form presented by H. Riemann, which was based on the concept of schematic periodic structure and functional harmonics. Under the influence of Schopenhauer’s philosophy, Kurth propagated the thesis that music is a dynamic manifestation of the creative will of “psychic energy” and “movement” manifested in a particularly expressive way in the music of the Baroque and Romanticism. By exposing the importance of auditory experience in the analysis of dynamic form, he initiated a connection between music theory and psychology. He adopted Newtonian terminology (energy, force, mass, gravity), modifying the meaning of traditional concepts in music theory; he considered melody as a manifestation of “psychic kinetic energy,” and treated consonance as an expression of “psychic potential energy.” According to Kurth, the horizontal dimension is fundamental in music and related to the processual nature of a musical work, which is why he questioned the then-common opinion that melody can be treated as a derivative of harmony. He supported his concepts by analysing melody, harmony and form.

In Grundlagen… Kurth presented the problem of “single-line polyphony”: i.e. the auditory impression (illusion) of two seemingly simultaneous sound lines shaped (under certain conditions) in a monodic sound progression. He distinguished two types of linear “continuity” – a single melodic line noted in the score, taking into account, among other things, large interval jumps between successive sounds, and two melodic lines noticeable in its performance (auditively) made up of sounds that do not directly follow (and sometimes are even distant in time), but together create one “stream of sounds,” as “steps” along the degrees of a given scale (in accordance with the so-called “grouping” mechanism according to pitch, later recognised by cognitive psychologists). This was a completely different perspective on the problem of polyphony in Bach’s music, previously analysed using concepts from the theory of harmony. Kurth also distinguished two types of melody construction: grouping (regular metrorhythmic division) and continuous spinning (Fortspinnung) giving the impression of a continuation (up or down) of the sound progression, the essence of which is a dynamic movement sequence (Bewegungszug). In the analysis of Bach’s works, he focused on non-thematic fragments (episodes and links), isolating the so-called developmental motifs (according to Kurth, they constitute the quintessence of melodic movement).

In Romantische Harmonik… Kurth emphasised the energetic and colouristic value of vertical sound phenomena, treating them as independent wholes. Referring to C. Stumpf’s psychological concept of the “meldability” of simultaneously sounding sounds, he introduced various terms to describe the ways of modifying (colouring) traditional triads. He treated the first chords of the introduction to Tristan as a microcosm of the entire romantic “altered style” leading to impressionism. He emphasised the colouristic values ​​of consonances and the significance of the chord as a harmonic-dramatic accent. By the twilight of harmonic tonality, he understood the process of levelling out distinct cadential relations, chromatisation influencing the intensification of the “energy” of multi-notes and exposing the colours of isolated consonances; hence, he did not oppose Debussy to Wagner, but placed both in one developmental trend. Kurth suggested the existence of harmonic “constructive forces” (traditional cadential scheme) and “destructive forces” (extended sound combinations and altered chords arranged progressively). He wrote about the “feeling of tonality” and the “feeling of the tonic,” about the auditory impression of the presence of functional relations despite the absence of the tonic (e.g. in the introduction to Tristan). He interpreted Wagnerian “endless melody” and developmental motifs as symbols of psychic activity, changeability and movement, contrasting them with leading motifs, which he considered a manifestation of stability (situation, concept, mood).

In his work on Bruckner’s symphonies (Bruckner), Kurth addressed issues related to the concept of dynamic form. In his analysis of the dynamics of form, he introduced a hierarchical classification of the concept of “dynamic wave” (partial, developmental, symphonic). He also drew attention to the fact that the impression of a specific quality of sound is related to both the vertical structure of the chords and the instrumentation. In Musikpsychologie, a pioneering attempt to combine musical theory and aesthetics with psychology, Kurth emphasised the difference between the acoustic psychology of sound (Tonpsychologie), which focuses on an isolated phenomenon, and the psychology of music, which deals with the perception of the sound and structural properties of musical works. Kurth’s concepts were related to the ideas of Gestalt psychologists but also used the ideas of Schopenhauer (the concept of “will”) and Freud (the “subconscious mind”). Kurth’s Musikpsychologie was considered the foundation of a new “systematic” psychology of music and is a source of testable hypotheses for those concerned with the perception and mechanisms of music cognition.

Kurth did not create a coherent theoretical system, but his original methodological approach and inspiring analytical proposals are worth noting. In the interwar period, his works enjoyed great interest, were received enthusiastically by some musicologists, severely criticised by others, especially H. Schenker and supporters of his theory. Although both Kurth and Schenker emphasised the horizontal dimension in the analysis of a musical work and used the concept of Zug, Schenker’s Zug derives from the concept of an abstract primordial basis, while Kurth’s Energienzug stems from the auditory impression of the logical continuity of musical action and the confrontation of this impression with the musical notation. Kurth’s concept – a musical work as a dynamic process – influenced the formation of B. Assafjev’s theory of musical form, as well as the problem of “dynamic symphonism” emphasised in Russian musicology. Kurth’s works, drawing attention to the colour of the sound of musical works, inspired the theoretical thought of J. Chomiński and other Polish musicologists. In the English-speaking world, Kurth’s views were relatively little known; it was not until the 1980s that the first monograph on Kurth’s theory in musicological literature appeared (L.A. Rothfarb, 1988) and fragments of his musicological works, and more recently also Music Psychology (Abingdon, 2022), were translated.

Kurth’s theory of music, which draws on the psychological concept of Ch. v. Ehrenfels, anticipated the concepts formulated a few years later by character psychologists (W. Kühler, K. Koffka). Kurth’s pioneering psychoacoustic observations, based on introspection and direct contact with the sound of a musical piece, suggesting the existence of general laws of auditory perception and memory, have recently been confirmed by experimental studies in the field of cognitive psychology. In light of the discussion on the future of contemporary music theory, Kurth’s concept of music theory – taking into account the laws of auditory perception and memory as well as aesthetic issues – is particularly inspiring. In 2002, Hans Kurth donated his father’s archive to the Institute of Musicology at the University of Bern. This diverse collection of documents includes numerous letters, lecture notes and reviews of Ernst Kurth’s concerts and opera performances. In addition, there are numerous reviews of his writings, as well as books and sheet music of piano pieces and scores from Kurth’s library collections. Kurth’s Nachlass became the inspiration for new research into his theoretical thought and into the history of music theory and psychology.

Literature: E. Bücken Kurth als Musiktheoretiker, “Melos” IV 1924/25; A. Lorenz Ernst Kurth. Romantische Harmonik und ihre Krise in Wagners „Tristan”, “Die Musik” XVI, 1924; P.W. Akimov Wwiedienije w polifoniju na osnowie energieticzeskich uczenii (Ernst Kurth), Leningrad 1928; J. Handschin De différentes conceptions de Bach, “Schweizerisches Jahrbuch für Musikwissenschaft” IV, 1929; K. Herbst Musikpsychologie und Musikwissenschaft. Eine grundsätzliche Betrachtung über Ernst Kurths „Musikpsychologie”, “Acta Musicologica” III 1931; L. Mazel Koncepcja Ernsta Kurtha, in: L. Mazel, L. Ryzhkin Oczerki po istorii tieoreticzeskogo muzykoznanija, Moscow 1939; K. v. Fischer In memoriam Ernst Kurth, “Der Musikalmanach” VIII, Munich 1948; D. M. Hsu  Ernst Kurth and His Concept of Music as Motion, “Journal of Music Theory” 1, 1966; I. Liberemann Some representative works from Beethoven’s early period analyzed in light of the theories of Ernst Kurth and Kurt von Fischer, doctoral thesis, Columbia University, New York  1968; C. Dahlhaus Ernst Kurth. Romantische Harmonik und ihre Krise in Wagners „Tristan”, “Die Musikforschung” XXV, 1972; H. Federhofer Akkord und Stimmführung in den Musiktheoretischen Systemen von H Riemann, Ernst Kurth und H. Schenker, Vienna 1981; P. McCreless Ernst Kurth and the Analysis of the Chromatic Music of the Late 19th Century, “Music Theory Spectrum” V, 1983; B.  Billeter, Der Briefwechsel A. Schweitzer – E. Kurth, in: Festschrift Hans Conradin zum 70. Geburtstag, ed. Volker Kalisch, Berno-Stuttgart 1983; T.H. Stoffer Parallelen zwischen Ernst Kurths Konzeption der Musikpsychologie und der gegenwärtigen Entwicklung einer kognitiven Musikpsychologie, “Musikpsychologie: Empirische Forschung–Ästhetische Experimente – Jahrbuch der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Musikpsychologie” (2) 1985; G.I. Pavlij Voprosy ispolnitel’skogo stilâ melodiki D.D. Šostakoviča: V svete teorii È. Kurta, in: Voprosy żanrowogo i stilewogo mnogoobrazija sowietskoj muzyki. Sbornik naucznych trudow, Moscow 1986; Z. Skowron Hellmut Federhofer. Akkord und Stimmführung in den musiktheoretischen Systemen von Hugo Riemann, Ernst Kurth and Heinrich Schenker (Vienna 1981), “Muzyka”, IV, 1986; P. Rummenhöller Hellmut Federhofer: Akkord und Stimmführung in den musiktheoretischen Systemen von Hugo Riemann, Ernst Kurth and Heinrich Schenker, “Die Musikforschung” IV, 1986; C. Dahlhaus Absolute Melodik. Ernst Kurth „Die Voraussetzungen der theoretischen Harmonik und der tonalen Darstellungssysteme” “Schweizer Jahrbuch für Musikwissenschaft”, 1986/87; K. von Fischer Ernst Kurth (1886–1946). Persönlichkeit, Lehrer und Musikdenker and Ernst Kurth. Bibliographie, “Schweizer Jahrbuch für Musikwissenschaft” 1986/87; H. de la Motte-Haber Die Musikpsychologie von Ernst Kurth: Tonpsychologie und Musikpsychologie, “Schweizer Jahrbuch für Musikwissenschaft” 1986/1987; L.A. Rothfarb, Ernst Kurth in Historical Perspective: His Intellectual Inheritance and Music-Theoretical Legacy, “Schweizer Jahrbuch für Musikwissenschaft” 1986/1987; M. Angerer Methodenprobleme der musikalischen Stilgeschichte: Guido Adler und Ernst Kurth, “Schweizer Jahrbuch für Musikwissenschaft” 1986/1987; H.-P. Rösler Bermerkungen zu Ernst Kurths Begriff der „Synthetischen Verschmelzung”, “Schweizer Jahrbuch für Musikwissenschaft”, 1986/1987; H. Danuser, „Energie” als musiktheoretische Kategorie bei Ernst Kurth und Boris Assafjew, “Schweizer Jahrbuch für Musikwissenschaft”, 1986–1987; S. Parkany Kurth’s „Bruckner” and the Adagio of the Seventh Symphony, “19^th-Century Music” III, 1988; L.A. Rothfarb Ernst Kurth as Theorist and Analyst, Philadelphia 1988; L.A. Rothfarb Ernst Kurth’s „Die Voraussetzungen der theoretischen Harmonik” and the Beginnings of Music Psychology, “Theoria” IV, 1989; L.A. Rothfarb, Ernst Kurth’s „Die Voraussetzungen der theoretischen Harmonik” and the Beginnings of Music Psychology, “Theoria” IV, 1989; K. von Fischer E. Kurths Zusammenfassungen seiner ersten vier Buchpublikationen aus dem Nachlaß, in: E. Kurth (1886–1946), Persönlichkeit, Lehrer und Musikdenker, Gedenkschrift. E. Kurth, ed. H.E. Lück, R. Miller, Berno Stuttgart. 1989; B. Hyer Musical Hysteria: Review of Ernst Kurth as Theorist and Analyst by Lee A. Rothfarb, “19^th-Century Music” I, 1990; L.A. Rothfarb, introduction to Ernst Kurth. Selected Readings, Cambridge 1991; S. Parkany Review of Ernst Kurth as Theorist and Analyst by Lee Rothfarb, “Journal of Music Theory”, I/II, 1991; P. McCreless, Review of Ernst Kurth as Theorist and Analyst by Lee A. Rothfarb, “Music Theory Spectrum” I, 1991; G. Chew Ernst Kurth; Music as Psychic Motion, and „Tristan und Isolde”: Towards a Model for Analysing Musical Instability, “Music Analysis” I/II, 1991; A. Rehding (Mis)Interpreting Ernst Kurth, doctoral thesis, Cambridge University 1995; H.-P. Rösler Die Musiktheorie von Ernst Kurth und ihr psychologischer Hintergrund, Hamburg 1998; E. Ungeheuer, P. Decroupet Die Drachen spielen mit dem Ball: Energetische Bewegungen bei Ernst Kurth, Popmusik und experimenteller Avantgarde, in: Musikwissenschaft zwischen Kunst, Ästhetik und Experiment, Festschrift Helga de la Motte-Haber zum 60. Geburtstag, Würzburg 1998; W. Krebs Innere Dynamik und Energetik in Kurths Musik-Theorie: Voraussetzungen, Grundzuge, analytische Perspektiven, Frankfurt 1998; L. Schader »Alle Welt erkennt bereits unsere Zusammengehörigkeit«. Die Briefe Ernst Kurths an August Halm, “Musiktheorie” XIII, 1998; R. Köhler Mozart und der „Klassizismus”: Zur Vermittlung von Geschichte, Ästhetik und musikalischer Analyse im Mozart-Bild Ernst Kurths, in: Mozartanalyse im 19. und frühen 20. Jahrhundert. ed. G. Gruber, S. Mauser, Laaber 1999; L. Schader Ernst Kurth und die Gestaltpsychologie. Oder von der Prägung eines Außenseiters in der deutschsprachigen Musikwissenschaft der 1920er Jahre, in: A. Gerhard (ed.) Musikwissenschaft – eine verspätete Disziplin?, Stuttgart 2000; L. Schader Ernst Kurths Grundlagen des linearen Kontrapunkts: Ursprung und Wirkung eines musikpsychologischen Standardwerkes, Stuttgart 2001; L. Schader Der Briefwechsel zwischen E. Kurth und P. Bekker, in: Luitgard Schader, E. Kurths „Grundlagen des linearen Kontrapunkts”. Ursprung und Wirkung eines musikpsychologischen Standardwerkes, Stuttgart 2001; W. Krebs, H.-P. Rösler Die Musiktheorie von Ernst Kurth und ihr psychologischer Hintergrund, “Die Musikforschung”, IV, 2001; A. Jarzębska Dzieje myśli o muzyce, Kraków 2002; W. Drabkin Ernst Kurths „Grundlagen des linearen Kontrapunkts”: Ursprung und Wirkung eines musik-psychologischen Standardwerkes by Luitgard Schader, “Music & Letters”, III, 2002; F.M. Maier „Man weiß nicht, wozu es gut ist”: Jacques Handschin, Ernst Kurth und der Münchener Lehrstuhl für Musikwissenschaft, “Jahrbuch des Staatlichen Instituts für Musikforschung Preußischer Kulturbesitz”, 2002; L. Schader Ernst Kurths „Grundlagen des linearen Kontrapunkts”: Ursprung und Wirkung eines musikpsychologischen Standardwerkes, “Music & letters”, III, 2002; L. Schader Ernst Toch und Ernst Kurth, “Musiktheorie” I, 2003; L. Schader Das Verhältnis von Ernst Tochs „Melodielehre” zu Ernst Kurths .Grundlagen des linearen Kontrapunkts, “Musiktheorie”, XVIII, 2003; M. Riley Ernst Kurths’s Bach: Musical Linearity and Expressionist Aesthetics, “Theoria” X, 2003; Y. Kim Theories of musical hearing, 1863–1931: Helmholtz, Stumpf, Riemann and Kurth in historical context, doctoral thesis, Columbia University, New York 2003; L. Holtmeier Die Erfindung der romantischen Harmonik. Ernst Kurth und Georg Capellen, in: Zwischen Komposition und Hermeneutik. Festschrift für Hartmut Fladt, ed. von A. Jeßulat, A. Ickstadt, M. Ullrich, Würzburg 2005, also in: “Wagner Spectrum” II, 2005; H. de la Motte-Haber Kräfte im musikalischen Raum: Musikalische Energetik und das Werk von Ernst Kurth, “Musiktheorie” 2005; W. Krebs Zwischen Schopenhauer und Freud: Ernst Kurths Musiktheorie als hermeneutisches Potenzial, “Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Musiktheorie” II, 2006; L. Schmidt Bruckner, Ernst Kurth und die Moderne, in: Bruckner – Brahms: Urbanes Milieu als kompositorische Lebenswelt im Wien der Gründerzeit, ed. H.-J. Hinrichsen, L. Lütteken, Kassel 2006; N. Schmid Ernst Kurths Nachlass in Bern, “Die Musikforschung”, IV, 2006; Der Nachlass von Ernst Kurth, ed. N. Schmid, Berno, 2007, https://www.musik.unibe.ch/e155114/e160404/e188886/files188896/VolltextbriefeKurth_Vers40_ger.pdf; V. Fulka Ernst Kurth: Theory of music, psychology, phenomenology, “Musicologica slovaca et europaea”, XXVI, 2008; Ė. Anatol’evna Bessonova Intonaciâ i ènergetika: Shodstvo i protivostoânie – Eŝe raz ob asaf’evskom učenii i koncepcii Èrnsta Kurta, Metodologiczeskije problemy sowriemiennogo muzykalnogoobrazowanija, Petersburg 2009; E. Horn Erich Kinast und Ernst Kurth: Drei Briefe um Bruckner, “Bruckner-Jahrbuch”, 2006–2010; L. Haselböck Zur Aktualität der Musiktheorie Ernst Kurths, in: Musiktheorie als interdisziplinäres Fach/Music theory and interdisciplinarity, ed. Ch. Utz, Saarbrücken 2010; M. Bristiger Krytyka ogólnej koncepcji teoretycznej Ernsta Kurtha, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem przesłanek harmoniki teoretycznej, master’s thesis, Institute of Musicology, University of Warsaw, 1954, in: Michał Bristiger: Myśl muzyczna. Studia wybrane II, ed. H. Sieradz, Warsaw 2011; M. Kierszka Relacje pomiędzy psychologią, teorią i estetyką muzyki w ujęciu E. Kurtha, S. Łobaczewskiej, J. Slobody i R. Bergera, master’s thesis, Institute of Musicology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków 2011; M. Seidl Ernst Kurth: Rückwärts lesen vorwärts lesen weiterdenken, in: Musik–Raum–AkkordBild: Festschrift zum 65. Geburtstag von Dorothea Baumann, Berno 2012; A. Cecchi Verso una teoria della strumentazione romantica: Il rapport tra forma e timbro in Ernst Kurth, “Il saggiatore musicale: Rivista semestrale di musicologia” I, 2012; F. Wörner Constructive and deconstructive forces: Ernst Kurth’s concept of tonality, in: Tonality (1900–1950): Concept and practice, ed. F. Woerner, U. Scheideler, P. Rupprecht, Stuttgart 2012; R. Köhler Mozart und der „Klassizismus”: Zur Vermittlung von Geschichte, Ästhetik und musikalischer Analyse im Mozart-Bild Ernst Kurths, in: Mozart neu entdecken: Theoretische Interpretationen seines Werks, ed. G. Gruber, S. Mauser, Laaber 2012; D. Tan Ernst Kurth at the boundary of music theory and psychology, doctoral thesis, University of Rochester, 2013; G. Kampe „Misreading” Ernst Kurth: Der Einfluss der Schriften Ernst Kurths auf zeitgenössische Autoren, in: Musikalische Logik und musikalischer Zusammenhang: Vierzehn Beiträge zur Musiktheorie und Ästhetik im 19. Jahrhundert, ed. P. Boenke, Hildesheim, 2014; E. Meerovna Alkon Melos, modal ‘nost’ i muzykal’noe myšlenie mifologičeskogo tipa: K razvitiû idei È. Kurta, “Učenye zapiski Rossijskoj akademii muzyki imeni Gnesinyh” VIII, 2014; C. Bartsch Musikgeschichte als Urzeugung: Zur Metaphorik der musiktheoretischen Schriften Ernst Kurths, in: Biologische Metaphern: Zwischen Kunst, Kunstgeschichte und Wissenschaft in Neuzeit und Moderne, ed. A. Zimmermann. Berlin, 2014; M. Mastropasqua Rappresentazione sonora e ‘immagine energetica’ in Ernst Kurth, in: L’immagine musicale, ed. P. Gozza, Milan 2014; L. Schader Ernst Kurth und Hermann Grabner: Die Suche nach dem „Schlüssel für die Kunst Bachs”, “Die Musikforschung”, III, 2015; A. Cecchi Looking beyond the surface: Form, force and structure in Kurth and Schenker, “Rivista di analisi e teoria musicale” II, 2015; J.-L. Leleu Debussy selon Ernst Kurth: La mise en perspective du théoricien, in: La construction de l’idée musicale: Essais sur Webern, Debussy et Boulez, Geneva 2015; D. Tan Beyond energetics: Gestalt psychology in Ernst Kurth’s Musikpsychologie, “Theoria” XXII, 2015; D. Tan „As Forming Becomes Form”: Listening, Analogizing, and Analysis in Kurth’s Bruckner and Musikpsychologie, “Journal of Music Theory” I, 2017; A. Stollberg Fruchtbarer Wirkungskreis? Ernst Kurths „splendid isolation” und die Lage der Schweizer Musikwissenschaft nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg, in: Musikwissenschaft 1900–1930: Zur Institutionalisierung und Legitimierung einer jungen akademischen Disziplin. Hildesheim, 2017; D. Tan, ‘Dynamic dualism’: Kurth and Riemann on music theory and the mind, “Music theory spectrum” I, 2020.