An Analysis of Dvořák’s Symphony No. 6, II, Using Neo-Riemannian Transformation Techniques

Music theory is often used to analyze compositions and provide insight into the inner workings of the literature. Any new type of analysis provides a different view of the work and they can all be used to better understand the work, composer, and performance practice. This analysis uses Neo-Riemannian Transformation Theory to highlight some of the voice leading within Dvořák’s Sixth Symphony. The Sixth Symphony currently has never been analyzed using Neo-Riemannian Transformation Theory. The entire second movement was analyzed using a traditional harmonic analysis and then the author selected three excerpts, containing voice leading that could be classified using Neo-Riemannian Transformation Theory. This research provides further insight into the harmonic shifts within the second movement and highlights the importance of subtle voice leading. Usually, these voice changes could be considered non-chord tones or chromatic harmony. However, this analysis categorizes them as transformations, as found within Neo-Riemannian Transformation Theory. It also looks beyond the voice leading to show how the attention to voice leading can affect the available harmonies later in the work. As a result, this thesis provides a new analysis to the current research of Dvořák’s works as well as a new contribution to Neo-Riemannian research