Die Entwicklung der musikalischen Sprache in Wolfgang Rihms Klavierliedern

The author analyses numerous songs in order to examine the characteristics of Wolfgang Rihm's language and to present lines of development.
He begins by tracing the path from the models of the Second Viennese School to Rihm's own language, focusing on individual musical and linguistic building blocks, detached from the totality of a song or cycle. This is followed by a presentation of Rihm's choice of texts, his preferred authors and themes. The development of the treatment of language and the creation of melody in the vocal line is examined. Finally, the results are supported by further analyses, which reveal the significance of the music-historical tradition for Rihm's work.