Musicology graduate student Matthew Zeller to present a paper at the national conference of the American Musicological Society/Society for Music Theory

Zeller's paper is part of his dissertation, "The Emancipation of Timbre: From Mahler to Varèse; Functional Orchestration, Syntax, and Planal Analysis." The dissertation focuses on timbre's functional role in musical logic in late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century music.

This talk he will deliver at AMS/SMT, "Timbral function in Klangfläche Technique," focuses on how timbre contributes to musical logic in works by Gustav Mahler and Arnold Schoenberg, focusing on moments where two musical planes emerge (Klangfläche technique). He shows that in these moments timbre is often treated as developmental material, providing for the musical progress of the work.