A motif-structured analytical view of A Tutti: Gershwin, F Major Piano Concerto, I

In music, the motif, which can be defined as the smallest building unit with the thematic identity of a work and repeated at many points of the work to which it is related, in the same or differentiated forms, is a vital element ensuring coherence in this aspect. Thus, motif-structured analysis emerges as a requirement for identifying the form of the work. Although there are many motif analyses in the literature, there is almost no motif-based analytical work when it comes to Western Classical Music works which intensively contain jazz elements. Just 50 meaures long, Tutti in the first movement of F Major Piano Concerto, which is considered as a masterpiece of George Gershwin, who is one of the most important names integrating jazz and serious symphonic music, draws attention with the intensity of the motific structure it has. In this study, a motif-structured analysis of the mentioned Tutti, which aims to reveal the characteristic of repetition and distribution of motifs throughout Tutti, is carried out. The analysis covering six different process steps shows that the Tutti is home to 552 motifs gathered under 6 main motif groups, that there is not even a single measure in the Tutti where motifs are not present, and that four of the motifs stem from swing feel and the Charleston rhythm in jazz. Keywords: Gershwin, Concerto in F, Allegro, Tutti, motific-structure analysis