Highpoints: A Study of Melodic Peaks

In Highpoints Zoltan Eitan investigates a universal melodic phenomenon—the melodic peak—in Western repertories ranging from eighteenth-century Galant music to twentieth-century Expressionism. Using "hard" statistical analysis, Eitan examines the rhythmic, melodic, harmonic, and dynamic configurations associated with contour peaks in the music of Haydn, Chopin, and Berg, three composers of decidedly different t musical casts. This empirical examination serves as a starting point in Eitan's e...