Abstract

Studies in musical symbolism are often interdisciplinary, with collaboration with areas to do with the literary and visual arts. My dissertation re-orients the focus to the non-representative function of symbols and engages with symbolist thought and the hermeneutics of Hans-Georg Gadamer in an effort to justify musical analysis of Symbolist music through identifying effects and atmospheres. In part one, I present a general overview of Symbolist aesthetics, drawing largely from Claude Debussy’s writing Monsieur Croche: the Dilettante Hater. In part two, I liken the total experience of piano performance to Gadamer’s concept of play and festival in order to explicate the mechanisms of symbols in musical symbolism. Part three features Symbolist piano pieces based on its effects—fluidity and stasis—and provides a closer look into interpretation and performance.