1996 Publication Award Winners

The 1996 SMT Publication Award winners are Scott Burnham, Joel Galand, Brian Hyer, and Carl Schachter. The recipients were announced and the following citations read at the Society's annual meeting in Baton Rouge on Saturday, November 1, immediately preceding the keynote address.

The Wallace Berry Award, granted to a distinguished music theory book published during the last three years, was given to Scott Burnham for Beethoven Hero (Princeton University Press, 1995). "In an eloquent and imaginative synthesis of theory, analysis, history, and criticism Burnham explores Beethoven's Heroic style and the legacy of that style and its reception for current thinking about music. Questions of musical expression, canon formation, and ethical and aesthetic valuation are brought into remarkably sharp focus as Burnham considers the variety of ways in which Beethoven's influence has been and continues to be felt. In this wide-ranging study Burnham shows us how much we can expect from theoretical reflection if we are not afraid to ask difficult questions." Scott Burnham is an Associate Professor of Music at Princeton University.

The Outstanding Publication Award, granted to a distinguished music theory article published during the last three years, went to Carl Schachter for "The Triad as Place and Action" (Music Theory Spectrum 17.2, 1995). "Schachter's article presents the tonic triad as an originating force in tonal music, finding its ultimate expression in a background that is not a mere final level of analytic reduction, but a generative impulse and field of play for the musical artwork. Unifying graph and prose in an artful analytic narrative, Schachter connects structural analysis to programmatic and affective aspects of the music he engages through brilliantly conceived metaphors and images. The well-known pieces Schachter presents to us--a Chopin Prelude, a Mendelssohn Song Without Words, and a movement from Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony--receive a fresh and deeply compelling reading as places where tonic triads unfold not only structure, but also meaning." Schachter is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Queens College and the CUNY Graduate Center, and is currently a faculty member at Mannes College.

The Young Scholar Award, granted to a scholar or scholars for the quality of a book or article published before the author has reached the age of forty, is shared this year by Joel Galand, for "Form, Genre, and Style in the Eighteenth-Century Rondo" (Music Theory Spectrum 17.1, 1995) and Brian Hyer, for "Reimag(in)ing Riemann" (Journal of Music Theory 39.1, 1995).

"In a thoughtful fusion of analytic and historical methodologies, Joel Galand lays the groundwork for a promising re-evaluation of late eighteenth-century formal paradigms. Without denying a certain rigidity in Schenker's approach to questions of form and genre, Galand offers suggestions for ways in which Schenkerian analytic technique might make important contributions to style-historical studies. Reciprocally, Galand's sensitivity to questions of style and genre suggest ways of opening Schenkerian analysis to a wide range of issues concerning musical form." Galand is an Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Rochester, and an Assistant Professor of Music Theory at the Eastman School of Music.

"Interpreting and extending previous contributions by Alfred Lorenz and David Lewin, Brian Hyer explores a group of transformations on the consonant triads, grounded in Riemannian theory. Hyer's construction unburdens the concept of tonic, thereby favoring construal of tonal plans as sets of relations. Surprisingly, the construction also leads to a unified view of diatonic and chromatic realms. Hyer's approach applies immediately in the analysis of Wagner and other chromatic repertories and holds deep implications for tonal music in general. His exposition links conceptual and representational worlds in a theory rich with potential for application and future development." Hyer is an Associate Professor of Music at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The 1996 Awards Committee was chaired by Christopher Hasty, and was comprised of Michael Cherlin, John Clough, Judy Lochhead, Warren Darcy, and Daniel Harrison. Nominations for next year's SMT Publication Awards are strongly encouraged from all members of SMT, and should be directed to Judy Lochhead, chair, 1997 Awards Committee, Department of Music, SUNY, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5475, on or before April 1. Books and articles in English (excluding unpublished dissertations) published between 1994 and 1996 are eligible. A nomination form is available in the printed SMT Newsletter. You can make nominations online using a link from the main menu on the SMT homepage, or directly at
<http://boethius.music.ucsb.edu/smt-list/nominate.html>.

Publication Awards INDEX