When Intra- and Interthematic Functions Collide: Conflation in Robert Schumann’s Orchestral Sonata Forms

Abstract

Abstract This article analyzes formal fusion in the first movements of Schumann’s Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2 and the finale of his Overture, Scherzo, and Finale. Within these pieces, fusion results from what Julian Horton (2015) calls “conflation”—that is, a process in which previously distinct formal levels collapse into each other—resulting in two new categories of sonata expositions I term bipartite and undivided. These categories help explain some of the unique features of Schumann’s orchestral music and provide new tools toward understanding nineteenth-century form.