Even Kerman is cowed. This is a reasonable point, one that might help beginners understand what a large-scale classical piece might be about. But as soon as he makes it, Kerman backs away. Such a statement may seem distressingly untechnical. Soon he returns to his point.
Musical structures seem to be structures of notes.
But the notes themselves have character. The two moments are linked by the C-sharps, in ways that are crucial for the structure of the piece. Maybe the structure of the piece is articulated by drama as well as C-sharps. Exactly my point. Rosen would surely agree that the technical audacity he describes must have been linked to that.