On Duration and Developing Variation

Abstract

This article takes a close look at the concept of duration (durée), an idea that is central to Henri Bergson’s philosophy of subjective time. It argues that Schoenberg’s early concept of developing variation resonates with Bergson’s duration in a way that enables us to shift the locus of developing variation from a musical object to a participant subject. It presents analytical readings of three pieces from Schoenberg’sSechs kleine Klavierstücke, op. 19, a collection of miniatures written when German translations of Bergson’s works were published for the first time and when Bergson’s popularity was especially high.