Neo-Riemannian Theory and Tonal Music

Question

I can't tell if transformational theories are supposed to be generalizations of traditional harmonic theory to apply to all tertian harmonies or an alternative that only works in the case of certain stereotypically chromatic progressions.

To that end, I would be very interested to see how neo-Riemannian analysis could be applied to music that IS straightforwardly tonal. Obviously we'd lose some structure without taking into account all that we know about the particular hierarchies inherent to most, say, Mozartian music, but what information would be obtained from such an analysis, and how would it overlap/be different than what we'd get from something like a Schenkerian analysis?

Any relevant articles/books would be much appreciated!

Answer 1

This is a good question, and it shows the main argument among the neo-Riemannian and Schenkerian camps: that neo-Riemannian theory only shows local chromatic events, whereas Schenkerian theory shows global events.

I think the first thing you should consult would be Volume 2 of the Journal of Schenkerian Studies; this volume was dedicated to integrating NRT with Schenkerian theory. You can read abstracts for that volume here. (Normally we try to summarize what links point to, but it's pretty much impossible to summarize an entire scholarly volume of 5 articles.)