"Attractor Tempi" in Brahms's Symphony No. 2/III. (2nd May 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gotham, Mark R H
• Is Part Of: Music theory spectrum. Volume 40:Number 1(2018:Spring)
• Page Start: 138
• Page End: 153
• Publication Date: 2018-05-02
• Subjects: tempo -- meter -- cognition -- Brahms -- performance; Music theory -- Periodicals; Music theory; Periodicals; 781.05
• DOI: 10.1093/mts/mty010
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0195-6167

Abstract

Abstract: This analysis assesses tempo choice in the third movement of Brahms's Second Symphony. It is shown that, at key moments of the movement, the average tempi used in a sample of commercial recordings align closely with those suggested by the "attractor" model of cognitively preferable (easiest) tempi (Gotham 2015 ). Between these stable checkpoints, the movement navigates through a variety of other metrical structures at (formally) the same tempo, each with their own attractor tempi. These necessarily align less well with the tempi used, thus providing a pattern of relative tension/relaxation, which the new model helps to elucidate.