The Influence of Linear Thinking on the Harmonic Language of Mahler’s Third Symphony—An Analytical Practice Based on the Theory of Linear Thinking
As the nineteenth century gave way to the twentieth, the boundary between homophonic and polyphonic writing was increasingly dissolved, and linear progression emerged as a means of weakening tonal function. Drawing on linear thinking, Mahler cultivated idiosyncratic devices—characteristic harmonic motives and composite harmony—to propel tonal music toward the new idioms of the twentieth century. His Third Symphony employs linear progressions to grow from a core motive into an organism unified by tonal coherence. Combining Réti’s thematic-motivic analysis with Salzer’s post-Schenkerian approach, this article elucidates the constitutive features of Mahler’s harmonic language through multiple thematic layers and the linear prolongation of contrapuntal voices.
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