UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI Date:__June 2005______

I, __I-Hsuan Hsieh______, hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of:

Doctor of Musical Arts in: Violoncello

It is entitled: Twentieth-century Arrangement for Cello and Piano: Igor Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne

This work and its defense approved by:

Chair: Lee Fiser______Yehuda Hanani______

Sandra Rivers______Twentieth-century Arrangement for Cello and Piano: Igor Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne

A document submitted to the

Division of Research and Advanced Studies of the University of Cincinnati

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Doctoral of Musical Arts

June, 2005

by

I-Hsuan Hsieh B.M., National Taiwan Normal University, 1998 M.M., University of Cincinnati, 2001

Committee Chair: Lee Fiser Abstract

Igor Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne for cello and piano is a frequently performed masterpiece of twentieth-century cello repertoire. It is not only famous for the beautiful and colorful writing, but also for its unique sound effects and technical difficulties. If we trace the compositional background of Suite Italienne, however, we will realize that this piece is a reworking based on the composer’s ballet suite Pulcinella completed in 1920. Suite Italienne is an excellent example of a skillful arrangement rather than a mere duplicate of the original composition. The purpose of this document is to provide, through the discussion of purposes and importance of the twentieth- century arrangements for cello and piano, a study of Igor Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne in terms of its arranging style and unique writings for cello.

Acknowledgements

I would like to give my sincere thanks to all my committes: Professor Fiser, Professor Hanani, and ProfessorRivers. Their generous encouragement and precious time have made this document come alive. A special thank you goes to Professor Fiser, my dearest cello teacher during my six-years at CCM, for his enthusiastic attitude toward every step on the way to my master and doctoral degrees.

A thank you also goes to Arturo, for his careful editing and consulting through the entire writing process. Without his help and friendship I might have never completed this, my first document of my professional life. Chung-Ha and Marcel, thank you for believing in this topic and providing all the useful information.

This document is dedicated to my parents who, through their efforts, have enabled me to get to where I am today. CONTENTS

Chapter Ⅰ: Introduction………………………………………………………………….3

Chapter Ⅱ: History of arrangements for cello and piano

A. General arranging purposes…………………………………………….....7

B. The inception and purpose of arrangements for cello and piano…………11

1. early arrangements

2. twentieth-century arrangements

C. Two arranging categories in twentieth-century cello repertoire………….19

1. arranging by abstracting the characters and musical styles

2. straightforward interpretation by transposing note for note

Chapter Ⅲ: The compositional background of Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne

A. The original version of Suite Italienne: Suite from ballet “Pulcinella”….23

B. Five arrangements………………………………………………………...27

1. Two arrangements for violin and piano written by the composer

2. Arrangement for cello and piano written by the composer

3. Two arrangements for violin and cello

Chapter Ⅳ: Creative arranging style in Suite Italienne

A. Ideas derived from Pulcinella…………………………………………….31

1 B. Idiomatic writing………………………………………………………….34

1. Diverse pizzicato techniques

2. Harmonics

3. Glissandi

4. Suggesting fingering indications

C. Virtuoso display and extraordinary techniques…………………………...... …45

1. Bowing techniques

2. String crossing

3. Left-hand techniques: huge leaps and multiple stops

Chapter Ⅴ: Conclusion………………………………………………………………….50

Musical Examples………………………………………………………………………..52

Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………...69

2 ChapterⅠ: Introduction

Igor Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne for cello and piano is a frequently performed masterpiece of twentieth-century cello repertoire. It is not only famous for the beautiful and colorful writing, but also for its unique effects and technical difficulties. If we trace the compositional background of Suite Italienne, however, we will realize that this piece is a reworking based on the composer’s ballet suite Pulcinella completed in 1920. Suite Italienne is an excellent example of a skillful arrangement rather than a similar composition derived from the original version. In this document, I will first present a discussion on the purposes of arrangements for cello and piano, the most popular instrumentation in the twentieth-century cello recital setting, later relate the arranging devices and special writings to those in Suite Italienne.

Arrangement, a compositional device begun as early as the fourteenth century, has been frequently used by composers, performers, and amateur musicians. As a word arrangement means, “the adaption of a composition for a medium different from that for which it was originally composed, usually with the intention of preserving the essentials of the musical substance.”1 Utilizing ideas from original compositions, arrangements are derived from pre- existing works and endowed with diversities in terms of new character and technical challenges.

Along with the development of compositional techniques over centuries, arranging style became a common compositional device to recognize the composers’ uniqueness. After the nineteenth century, the popularity of the public concerts encouraged both performers and composers seeking new repertoire to promote their artistic merit, especially for composer-performers. Arrangements’ revival rapidly expanded the repertoire for every instrument, and also created some benefits for

1 Don Michael Randel, ed. The New Harvard Dictionary of Music (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, Belknap Press, 2001), 53.

3 performers through the media change. First, performing orchestral works in a recital setting became possible. Second, arrangements created an optional choice for performers to play their favorite works in the instrumentation with which they are familiar, in so doing, avoid repeating the limited repertoire of pre-existing works. Also, performers obtained the opportunity to highlight techniques which bring out the most effective sound from their own instruments.

Composers, on the other hand, were able to show their compositional skills by arranging earlier works with their extraordinary writing styles, and turned old works into new compositions. Some famous composers, who were also talented arrangers, like Liszt and Busoni, wrote a huge amount of arrangements in their output. Moreover, another arranging device resulted from the growing interest of public concerts and orchestral music started from the nineteenth century. Composers’ reorchestrating master works for full size orchestra was a contemporary arranging technique, for showing composers’ writing skills and respect to former composers. No matter what other arranging devices composers used, this compositional technique already stood for its importance in music history.

Ever since the cello appeared in the violin family in the sixteenth-century, the number of compositions involving cello has expanded rapidly. Cello has been widely used in chamber music and orchestral works, and also performed as a solo instrument. In the twentieth century, the increasing number of solo cello recitals has inspired professional cellists to investigate more and more works written for cello and piano. Many composers in the twentieth-century did indeed write concert pieces and sonatas for cello and piano. However, many of the twentieth-century works for cello and piano were not as well-received as composers expected. Partially because of the conventional writing style used in the twentieth-century, repertoire for cello and piano contains extended techniques like playing strings behind the bridge, extremely wide vibrato, the

4 highest possible notes, snapping pizzicato on the cello, which are still not well-accepted by the general public, or even for a few cellists themselves. The most frequently performed works specifically written for cello and piano are those composed before the early twentieth-century, in late-Romantic style.2 Therefore both cellists and composers started finding ways to create new cello classics. To arrange works from other instrumentation seems to be the most efficient way to create new repertoire as well as satisfy the majority of the audience.

Since the nineteenth-century, professional cellists have arranged lots of works for cello and piano. Later in the twentieth-century, cellists inherited this and created even more arrangements than those in the previous century. Cellist-arrangers took advantage of the natural tone qualities of the cello, choosing popular works from diverse instrumentations, then reworking new compositions for cello and piano. They choose works that don’t require too much of compositional skills from their original version, usually from the repertoire of vocal or other stringed instruments, with slight modification such as adding some ornaments or making small changes. Cello writing has been adapted from many sources mostly because of its wide range; the common range of the cello is more than four octaves. Simply arranging the same pitches in a different register on the cello can strongly change the tone qualities of the same melodies from the powerful and expressive low registers, to the delicate and bright high registers.

Yet some cellist-arrangers are not satisfied to merely transcribe works form other instruments; they use other ways to show their familiarity of the cello by adding virtuosic features in their arrangements. They frequently utilize fundamental techniques like double stops, chords, and series of fast-moving figures or staccatos to raise the technical level. Many techniques or special effects may not be exclusive on the cello, but they always create more

2 Stephen Bonta et al., “Violoncello,” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed.

5 powerful and dramatic sound when performed on the cello, for instance huge slides, chordal pizzicatos, muted sound, and high registers. Besides these fundamental techniques, some extended techniques like muted sound, artificial harmonics, left hand pizzicato, glissando, sul ponticello, and col legno all enlarged the available vocabulary for composers’ writing for cello.

Although there are a lot of debates about the value of some arrangements, many works for cello and piano were arranged by the composer themselves or by the cellists, and many of them were well-received and considered as standard repertoire in cello literature. Through the abilities of professional arrangers, some arrangements work perfectly on the cello both musically and technically, and they are as important as those works originally written for cello and piano.

Twentieth-century cello arrangements, unlike the ones in the previous centuries, derived from any possible source: instrumental, orchestral, vocal, and piano works. They are not merely duplicates transcribed note for note from the original works; many of them have increased the capability of the cello playing both musically and technically. For this reason, this document will present Igor Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne as an example of one of the most significant arrangements in the twentieth-century cello repertoire. This piece integrates the composer’s explicit compositional devices and Piatigorsky’s proficient performing experience into an extraordinary arrangement. Due to their creative arranging processes, the cello part in Suite

Italienne is full of characteristic expression in each movement, and written with idiomatic effects and challenging techniques. The purpose of this document is to provide, through the discussion of purposes and importance of the twentieth-century arrangements for cello and piano, a study of

Igor Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne in terms of its arranging style and unique writings for cello.3

3 Throughout this document, especially in the fourth chapter, all the techniques will only cover the cello part in Suite Italienne.

6 Chapter Ⅱ: History of arrangements for cello and piano

A. General arranging purposes

Arrangement, a compositional device began as early as the fourteenth century, has been used by composers, performers, and amateur musicians. The word arrangement means, “the adaption of a composition for a medium different from that for which it was originally composed, usually with the intention of preserving the essentials of the musical substance.”4 In the Middle Ages the method of choosing different instruments for the same melody sprang up, and was first recognized as arranging technique, when the vocal part of medieval trope, clausula, and early motets was substituted by an instrumental one, or vice versa.5 This arranging technique was sometimes considered to be borrowing or transcription.6

Economic reasons perhaps first inspired composers to reuse the same composition for more publications. Composers were rewarded by the convenience of arranging works in different forms to promote their compositions in the most efficient way; publishers, on the other hand, benefited the most earnings from the multiple publications by selling different versions of a single work. John Dowland, an early Baroque English composer, wrote his popular lute song

Flow My Tears in about 100 manuscripts and prints for many different solo and ensemble arrangements, and published many works from his popular consort collection Lachrimae or

4 Don Michael Randel, ed. The New Harvard Dictionary of Music (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, Belknap Press, 2001), 53.

5 Malcolm Boyd, “Arrangement,” Grove Music Online, ed. Stanley Sadie, and John Tyrrell, available at http://www.grovemusic.com, accessed 13 September 2004.

6 Bernard Rogers, The Art of Orchestration (New York: Appleton Century Crofts Inc, 1951), 143.

7 Seaven Teares for solo lute and mixed consort ensembles.7

As instrumental music became more prominent in the Baroque period, arrangers took advantage of the tone qualities of the arrangements by similarly changing to new instrumentations. Some well-known arrangements may exist in numerous forms and instrument combinations, but they are always recognizable by their distinctive melodies derived from the original version. Flight of the Bumble Bee from Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera

The Tale of Tsar Saltan has already appeared in every conceivable instrument and instrumental combinations nowadays. No matter what arranging methods have been applied, the significant feature of constant half-step figures is always present and also the most challenging technique for all the instruments. Therefore, arrangers must be well-acquainted with the instruments they choose, to make the work playable and close to the tone color of its original version in content.

Through arranger’s extraordinary musicianship skills, even an excerpt from a complete work will be recognizable as a brand new work.

Subsequently composers arranged some popular works with their own compositional styles; in other ways, composers transformed famous pieces and regenerated them into new master works. Composers showed their appreciation of previous composers as well as their own compositional capacity in their arrangements. J. S. Bach, one of the greatest arrangers in musical history, arranged many of Antonio Vivaldi’s works, including a concerto for four harpsichords

(BWV 1065) from Vivaldi’s concerto for four violins op.3 no.10.8 Notwithstanding the popularity of Bach’s arrangement compared to the original version, this version lives with its meaning intact. Also, most of Bach’s keyboard concertos with accompaniment used similar

7 Peter Holman, “John Dowland, ” Grove Music Online, ed. Stanley Sadie, and John Tyrrell, available at http://www.grovemusic.com, accessed 11 April 2005.

8Alan Walker, “In Defense of Arrangements,” The Piano Quarterly 36, no.143: 26-28.

8 arranging techniques from works by others as well as himself.9

Besides arranging works of others, composers also rework their own compositions for

several reasons. First, the modern piano became popular in the household, so that many

composers composed on the piano, or they arranged their instrumental music to works with

piano. Beethoven’s string quartet Hess 34 is actually an arrangement of his piano sonata op.14

No.1. He also arranged string quartet op.133 Grosse Fuge to a two-piano work op.134. Johannes

Brahms wrote his op.34 originally for piano quintet, and later arranged the work for two pianos.

Also, he arranged his Piano Concerto op.15, Piano Quartets op25 and op.26, Requiem op.45,

Serenades op.11 and 16, String Sextets op.18 and op. 36, String Quartets op.51 nos.1and 2,

String Quartet op.67, and String Quintets op.88 and 111 to versions for two pianos.

Second, composers reproduced many versions on the same work because of the popularity

of the original version. Stravinsky arranged two versions of Suite Italienne from his ballet suite

Pulcinella, because those works featured the trend of neoclassicism in the 1920’s and made

Stravinsky an outstanding example of this compositional style. The last reason for composers to

arrange their own works is that they can attract more instrumentalists to play this piece for higher

reputation of a single composition. Rebecca Clarke indicated her sonata for viola and piano could

also be a sonata for cello and piano. With the same piano part, the cello version has only slight

modifications in the score in terms of register. Both works that I mentioned in this paragraph are

concerned with some level of economic interest for selling as many copies of the same music as

possible.

By way of different instrumentation, the arrangers take advantage of the sound qualities and

technical merits when reproducing a pre-existing work. Some works have been rewritten by

9 Malcolm Boyd, “Arrangement,” Grove Music Online, ed. Stanley Sadie, and John Tyrrell, available at http://www.grovemusic.com, accessed 13 September 2004.

9 many composers and performers in countless versions, for example, J.S. Bach’s Chaccone from

Partita No.2 for solo violin. Arrangements including versions for solo piano, for groups of the same instrument, and for mixed ensembles. In the original version, Chaconne from Partita No.2 for solo violin is famous for its remarkable virtuosic display, mainly due to the complex contrapuntal writing for a single instrument. Each section has its distinct character, although each section is based on the same harmonic pattern. Compared to most of J.S.Bach’s works for solo stringed instrument, the melodies in Chaconne are more flowing, with written out embellished figures. Arrangers produce their own versions by using different treatments on such complex contrapuntal texture. In the arrangement by Busoni for piano solo, he adds the texture by utilizing the wide range and eighty eight keys of the keyboard, and distinguishing different voices with more distinction between chords and melodies. Some passages originally written for a single line are adding an octave for the fullness of sound. For the versions of arrangements for two cellos or four violas, the sound quality is unified due to the sound production of the same instruments. The texture also sounds thicker by nature because of the increased volume created by multiple players. In addition, the chords played by multiple players can sustain longer and louder than when played by just one player to reinforce the harmonic progression better.

The last purpose of arranging works is to highlight the performer’s virtuoso display or to accommodate performers’ physical disabilities. Franz Liszt wrote about seven hundred arrangements, more than half of his entire output, on symphonic and vocal works mostly for piano solo.10 Liszt’s arrangements not only expanded his own repertoire, but also showed his appreciation to other composers by way of his compositional skills. His arrangements of

10Alan Walker, “Liszt and the Schubert Song Transcriptions,” The Musical Quarterly 75, no.4 (winter 1991): 249.

10 Beethoven’s nine symphonies and opera works made him a “symphonist of the keyboard.”11 His arrangements demonstrate the many possibilities of voicing multiple melodic and harmonic gestures on a single instrument. As for the arrangements for accommodating performers’ disabilities, the examples are those works for the one-hand pianist Paul Wittgenstein or for the three-handed piano duo, Cyril Smith and Phyllis Selick.12

B. The inception and purpose of arrangements for cello and piano

1. Early Arrangements

In addition to the increasing interest of arrangements, the rise of instrumental music in the

Baroque era also helped the development of diverse arranging techniques. The role of the cello in the instrumental works has changed drastically since its first appearance in the violin family in the sixteenth century, because of the improvements followed by the standardization of the instrument.13 At first composers used cellos primarily as bass accompaniment to support melodies in higher ranges;14 the cello frequently supplied sustained low notes of the basso continuo part in trio sonatas and other ensemble works. Indeed, cellos in the seventeenth century were not regarded as solo instruments at all. In the early eighteenth century changes were made to the instrument itself as string instrument makers gave the cello a separate identity from the

11Walden Hughes, “Franz Liszt: Symphonist of the Keyboard,” The Music Review 55, no.1 (February 1994): 1-12. 12 Malcolm Boyd, “Arrangement,” Grove Music Online, ed. Stanley Sadie, and John Tyrrell, available at http://www.grovemusic.com, accessed 13 September 2004.

13 Ibid.

14 David D. Boyden et al., The Violin Family, The New Grove Dictionary Musical Instruments Series, ed. Stanley Sadie (London: Macmillan Press Ltd, 1989), 175.

11 gamba family. Following the development of the instrument and bow, cellists during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries invented important techniques corresponding to the new designs. The most significant technique is the use of the thumb in the left hand which first appeared in the early eighteenth century, necessitated by the longer fingerboard.15 This allowed cellists to play higher positions with a complete octave across strings. Subsequently the wide acceptance of the adjustable endpin, introduced by cellist Adrien Servais in the mid-eighteenth century, provided stability while cellists played more difficult shifts in the left hand.16 These new changes of the instrument all influenced the techniques of the cello, further altering the image of the cello from a mere bass instrument to a solo instrument. Well-established and becoming one of the more popular instruments for solo performance, the cello was quite capable of greater range and virtuosity by the end of the nineteenth century.

With the cello becoming one of the important solo instruments, composers were encouraged to produce works with more flexible writings and demanding techniques on the cello. Not only composers but also cellists explored all the technical potential of the cello. Cellist-arrangers, in particular, took advantage of their own familiarity with their own instruments, incorporating technical virtuosity while also including the characteristic sounds of the instrument. They are acquainted with placing the melodies in specific registers to maximize the sound qualities of the cello, as well as expressing the phrasing better than the original version. Furthermore, cellist- arrangers were fond of raising the technical level and adding more powerful and dramatic sound when arranging works with extended range, using huge slides, artificial harmonics, and wider

15 Stephen Bonta et al., “Violoncello,” Grove Music Online, ed. Stanley Sadie, and John Tyrrell, available at http://www.grovemusic.com, accessed 12 November 2004.

16 John Dilworth et al., The Cambridge Companion to the Cello, trans. Robin Stowell (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 14-18.

12 vibrato. Those techniques may not be exclusive to the cello, but they often bring out particularly extraordinary effects on the cello as compared to other stringed instruments.

There are several techniques which create the most significant effects on the cello, particularly of benefit to arrangers. First is the extreme wide range of the cello. In general the cello has the broadest vocal range of all the stringed instruments. Even without artificial harmonics and scordatura, the common range of the cello is over four octaves, counting from bottom open string C2 to E-flat 6.17 The use of the thumb helps cellists utilize the higher register more often, therefore cellists can also play a fourth easily within a position and move with freer motion. In other words, the wide range is the key point for arrangers to rewrite works from any possible instrumentation to cello and piano, including piano works and orchestral works, which are the repertoire naturally written with a wide range. Also, the wide range benefits arrangers to manipulate every conceivable register on the cello, instead of transcribing works literally from the original instrumentation or narrowing the range for the capability of the instrument.

Another technique of arrangers is the use of huge slides. As it imitates the human voice, slides created by all stringed instruments sound more dramatic than on other instruments. On stringed instruments, slides generated from an individual string can last longer because of the continuous motions possible from both hands without any separation between two notes.

Compared to the slides consisting of chromatic figures on most wind instruments, scales consisting of single-color keys on the keyboard instruments, slides on stringed instruments sound more natural and characteristic. Among all the stringed instruments the slides are particularly dramatic on the cello, because of the distance created by the long fingerboard. Arrangers who arrange works for cello usually exploit this technique on the cello for exaggerating the slides.

17 Gardner Read, Orchestral Combinations: The Science and Art of Instrumental Tone- Color. (Lanham, Md.: The Scarecrow Press, 2004): 20-27.

13 Another technique, the artificial harmonics on the cello, creates an unusually high and floating sound, in contrast to the normal warm, deep, and rich sound on the cello. Also, the chordal pizzicatos on the cello sound more powerful, due to the longer ringing from the strings creating bigger volume as well as dramatic sound.

Besides the wide voice range and slides, several natural sound qualities of the cello also allow arrangers to produce the works from other repertoire. Because of the similarity to the range of the human voice and the continuous sound, the singing quality is one of the most distinct features exploited by arrangers for transcribing lyrical works and selected movements from various instrumentations for cello, including those originally written for ensembles of numerous combinations, solo instruments, and instrument or voice with piano accompaniment. The majority of these arrangements derive from the slow movement of a complete symphony or chamber music work, an aria from a famous opera, a slow movement from character pieces or an entire cycle. Arranging these works for cello and piano preserves the closest sound quality and instrumentation to the original versions. Works belonging to this arranging style include J. S.

Bach’s Bist Du bei Mir, originally written for soprano and piano and later arranged and published for cello and piano by Jane F. Hollander, and Debussy’s songs Beau Soir, Girl with the Flaxen

Hair, Rêverie, and Romance.18 Arrangers rework songs from a complete Lieder cycle for cello and piano usually highlighting the expressive singing quality of the cello. Besides, arrangers also choose concert works or character pieces from solo piano repertoire, such as slow movements from etudes by Chopin and Scriabin, and preludes by Rachmaninoff and Chopin.

For the past centuries, both composers and cellists arranged works from diverse sources, and then transformed them into works for solo cello, cello and piano, ensemble with a cello solo or

18 For an extended information of the published scores of arrangements for cello and piano, consult Shar online catalogue, available at http://www.sharmusic.com.

14 multiple cellos. A large portion of cello arrangements have been written for cello and piano, and many of them are published as music scores or sound recordings. The main reason is that the combination of cello and piano is the most popular instrumentation for cello recitals, as well as the best one to highlight the cello as the solo instrument. For this reason both composers and cellists are interested in producing works for cello and piano. Cellists in the nineteenth century already composed many works for cello and piano with virtuosic techniques, and arranged works from their favorite contemporary compositions with idiomatic writing. Alfredo Piatti, one of the best nineteenth-century figures in cello history, arranged and published many famous works from previous composers, like Boccherini and Valentini, for cello and piano. He also arranged works by his contemporaries. The most famous of his cello arrangements are Brahms’s Ten Hungarian

Dances for orchestra, and Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words. They are all well-written for cello, and also maintain the characteristic sound from their original versions.

Some compositions published in several instrumentations were a popular way to arrange works indicating the composers’ proper modification of the range of the cello, especially for several instruments that are not used or are less popular nowadays. Three J.S. Bach’s sonatas for cello and piano, which are originally written for viola da gamba and keyboard, are arranged not only the string part but also the keyboard part to conform to the modern instruments. Schubert’s

Arpeggione Sonata, which was originally written for the six-string instrument in the nineteenth- century, was arranged for cello (or viola, or double bass) because of the short appearance and not very pleasant sound of the original instrument. Due to the similar range between viola da gamba or arpeggione and cello, transcribing these sonatas for cello is the best choice without question.

These kinds of arrangements resemble the idea of playing Baroque music on modern instruments; the main idea doesn’t exist in the instrumentation issue but rather the value of the

15 arrangements for multiple combinations of instruments.19 Arrangements within this compositional technique demonstrate that some arrangements can survive longer and better than their original versions with appropriate choices of new instrumentation.

2. Twentieth-century arrangements

Arrangers’ preoccupation with reworking popular works for cello and piano rapidly increased the cello repertoire in the twentieth century. Some works are frequently performed and recognized as standard repertoire in the cello literature, such as J.S Bach’s Three Sonatas for da gamba and Keyboard, Franz Schubert’s Sonata for Arpeggione and Keyboard, Cesar Franck’s

Sonata for Violin and Piano, and Igor Stravinsky’s Italian Suite. The quantity of the twentieth- century arrangements has expanded the cello literature, showing that the arrangements are getting more and more important in the cello repertoire. Many of them are well-written for cello, in terms of its idiomatic writing and technical challenges, and are performed as standard repertoire in the twentieth-century cello recitals.

The increasing number of cello recitals in the twentieth century inspired composers writing works for cello and piano. The bulk of twentieth-century repertoire for cello and piano already showed the growing interest in this instrumental combination. However, many new writing styles and extended techniques didn’t satisfy the majority of the audience, or even the cellists themselves. To avoid being bored by repeating limited repertoire, twentieth-century cellists arranged works from other instrumentations for themselves in order to extend the repertoire. The most popular sources of their arrangements are the sonatas and concert pieces for other stringed instruments and piano, and selected vocal works from famous arias of operas and Lieder

19 Hans Keller, “Arrangement For Or Against?” The Musical Times 110 (1969): 22-25.

16 collections. The main reason is efficiency; these arrangements don’t require too much of any compositional techniques. The instrumental or vocal part is simply transformed to cello especially if these original versions already have a separate piano part. Other repertoire that is frequently selected is solo piano works. Those which have distinctive melodies and clear accompanying figures are the most favored original sources for arrangers to transcribe works for cello and piano, because they essentially contain two individual parts, resembling the combination of cello – or other solo instrument, or voice – and piano accompaniment.

At the turn of the century, it was difficult to define the authenticity or claim the first performance of certain works, and the copyright was also obscure at the time.20 In the modern publication, some arrangement versions are published along with the original ones, and are as well-received as the original version. Within this simple arranging method, composers indicate multiple instrumentation for various instruments and piano.

Twentieth-century cellists published their arrangements for cello and piano not only to expand the cello repertoire but also to increase the technical challenges. To show their virtuosic performance, cellists select technical-demanding works from other instruments. Several outstanding cellists arrange virtuosic works from the previous century, including Leonard Rose’s arrangements of Flight of the Bumble-Bee from the opera Tsar Saltan, Piatigorsky’s Variations on a Theme of Paganini based on Paganini’s Capricio for solo violin, and Luigi Silva’s arrangement of Paganini’s Variations on a Theme from Rossini’s Moses (originally played on the violin’s G string, arranged to the cello’s A string by Fournier). For some works that are not originally written for virtuosic display, cellist-arrangers intentionally add technical difficulties in their arrangement through their familiarity with the instrument. They exploit higher range more

20 Michael Oliver, ed. Settling the Score: A Journey Through the Music of the Twentieth Century (London: Faber and Faber, 1999): 10-13.

17 often, embellish the melodies with written out ornaments, and use staccato more frequently.

Famous arrangements written by skillful cellists with this style are Franz Josef Haydn’s

Divertimento arranged by Piatigorsky, Manuel de Falla’s Ritual Fire Dance ( El Amor Brujo) arranged by Piatigorsky, Bėla Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances arranged by Luigi Silva, and

Marin Marais’s La Folia possibly arranged by Gendron.

As is prevalent in the twentieth-century publishing industry, most arrangements for cello and piano have been published as music scores. Arrangements for cello and piano have been published under major publishers, such as International Music Company, Medici Music Press,

C.F. Peters, Boosey and Hawkes, Theodore Presser, Masters Music, G. Schirmer, and Schott

Editions. Those arrangements are easy to obtain through the music store and public libraries, or to download with a membership of major sheet music websites. On the other hand, some arrangers, like Laszlo Varga, publish their works themselves. Through the search engine, those arrangements are also easy to obtain as well as those published by major publishers.

Except for the published music scores, some arrangements for cello and piano have been recorded but remain unpublished. Perhaps cellists hold the copyrights of their arrangements, so we can only hear their works through the recording instead of buying the music scores. As

Mischa Maisky publishes a collection of arrangements for cello and piano, including Meditation,

Adagio, and Cellissimo, and Yo-Yo Ma adapts Paganini’s transcriptions from arias and materials from other popular music sources in his Kreisler-Paganini. The purpose of recording arrangements is a way of creating the uniqueness from other performers, other than publishing their arrangements in music score. Not only arranging their favorite works and expanding repertoire, performers also express their own interpretations by playing their own arrangements.

This recording fashion results in some individual arrangements being played and recorded by

18 more than two cellist-arrangers each with their own writing styles.

The burst of performances and recording publications in the twentieth-century encourage arrangers to produce arrangements for assorted instrumentations including cello. Some arrangers only revise works exclusively for cello choir or professional ensembles with cello. For example,

Whilhelm Kaiser-Lindemann arranges works from classical music, theater music, movie soundtrack, and popular music for the latest albums of the Twelve Cellists of Berlin

Philharmonic for the leading cello choir. Also, the director of Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Ton

Koopman, arranges Baroque repertoire to works for solo cello and Baroque ensemble for the series of Simply Baroque, Simply Baroque and Vivaldi, performed with Yo-Yo Ma and the

Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. Although those arrangements are not published in music score yet, they are remarkable as representative works of these unique performing groups.

C. Two arranging categories in twentieth-century cello repertoire

Since the Baroque period, arranging technique expanded to reorchestration, changing the accompaniment part, or just transcribing the music with similar instrumentation. The growing interest in instrumental music brought new kinds of arrangements, where for the first time vocal music was not involved.21 Since then, arrangements are most easily grouped into two categories.

The first one is arranging by abstracting the characters, by keeping the main melodies or harmonic progression intact. The other is a more straightforward interpretation by transposing note for note the whole work into the proper range for a similar group of instruments.22

21 Malcolm Boyd, “Arrangement”, Grove Music Online, ed. Stanley Sadie, and John Tyrrell, available at http://www.grovemusic.com, accessed 13 September 2004.

22 Malcolm Boyd, “Arrangement”, Grove Music Online, ed. Stanley Sadie, and John Tyrrell, available at http://www.grovemusic.com, accessed 13 September 2004.

19 1. Arranging by abstracting the characters and musical styles

In the first category, most arrangements were originally written for different instrumentations; arrangers had more flexibility to rework the pre-existing pieces to any instrumentation they prefer. Arrangers who desire to rewrite works with this arranging manner require more compositional knowledge. They arrange works by keeping the melodic lines and harmonic progression intact, and preserving the characters and articulations as close as possible to the original version. Arrangements within this category are more often selected from solo piano, chamber music, and orchestral works.

Many of the pre-existing twentieth-century arrangements are derived from the nineteenth- century popular works and arranged by cellists. Through the media change, cellist-arrangers transformed their favorites to technical-challenging works. For instance, Chopin’s Polonaise brillante, arranged by Emanual Feuermann, preserves the distinguishing characteristics from the original piano version, with constant grace notes and flamboyant ornaments crossing from the lowest to the highest registers. In this work, Feuermann also places many melodic lines in higher register to create a brighter sound, where this writing style also enhances the technical level, and takes many passages from the piano part itself and transfers them to the cello.

Besides cellists, some composers arranged their own compositions, especially from orchestral works, for cello and piano. Selected twentieth-century arrangements for cello and piano which belong to this category include: Igor Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne, based on his ballet suite Pulcinella and arranged by Stravinsky in collaboration with Piatigorsly; Bela Bartok’s

Rhapsody No.1, originally written for full orchestra and arranged by the composer; John

Corigliano’s Phantasmagoria, based on his opera The Ghosts of Versailles.

In the fourth chapter, I will provide a detailed analysis on Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne as an

20 example of the first arranging category. The analysis will focus on Stravinsky’s arranging style, the relation of the arrangement and original version in selected passages, and technical challenges as a consequence of Piatigorsky’s idiomatic writing.

2. Straightforward interpretation by transposing note for note

In the second category, however, much compositional experience is necessary for arrangers to create new works. Works with distinctive melodies and functional harmonies are arrangers’ top priorities for choosing works for this kind of cello arrangements. Often arrangers using this style are amateur musicians as well as professional performers, who desire to play their favorite works on their own instrument, or to accommodate their technical level or to incorporate virtuosic display. Composers of higher caliber also take advantage of this arranging method. In the modern definition, this arranging technique is also called transcription, although most publications indicate “arranger” to refer to the people who use this compositional device. Like their counterparts in the Middle Ages, current arrangers are able to promote and republish with slight modification.23 It is also an efficient way to renovate popular classics by both players and composers. As for arrangements for cello and piano, arrangers choose the repertoire mostly from sonatas or concert pieces originally written for other stringed instruments, later transforming them into arrangements in recital setting. Other frequently-used sources are works for solo voice and piano, and character pieces originally written for piano solo.

In general, arrangers employ two ways to transcribe works from other instrumentation, especially from other stringed instruments, note for note to the cello. The first one is transposing

23 Calum MacDonald, “Rebecca Clarkes’ Chamber Music (I),” Tempo: A Quarterly Review of Modern Music 160 (Mar. 1987): 19.

21 some passages an octave lower to match the natural range of the cello, so arrangers merely modify several small changes of the cello part and keep the original piano part intact. Selected arranged sonatas for cello and piano which belong to this arranging technique are: J.S. Bach

Sonatas for viola da gamba and keyboard, Franz Schubert Sonata for Arpeggione and Keyboard,

Cėsar Franck Sonata for violin and piano, Rebecca Clarke Sonata for viola and piano, etc. Other instrumentation that is often arranged with this technique is voice and piano. This combination is also efficient of being arranged, in particular for those which are originally written for tenor or bass and piano. As the arrangements that are derived from other stringed instruments and piano, vocal works feature a clear vocal line and a piano part. Selected vocal works arranged for cello and piano are: Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise, Debussy’s Rêverie and Beau Soir.

The other way to arrange works for cello and piano with few modifications is to literally transpose the whole piece to a new key for both the cello and piano parts for modifying the local techniques on the cello. In particular, arrangers transpose violin sonata to cello sonata for a fifth or fourth lower, to adjust the intervallic distance between the cello and the violin. The cello version of Brahms Sonata op.78 is one of the examples of transposing works down a fourth lower, from G Major to D Major. The benefit of arranging works for cello with this style is that arrangers are able to keep the same melodic lines intact and keep the same melodic gestures as the original version. This arranging manner works especially well for those works that have already been written with a wide range as the most characteristic feature of its original version.

22 Chapter Ⅲ: The compositional background of Stravinsky's Suite Italienne

A. The original version of Suite Italienne: Suite from ballet “Pulcinella”

After nearly ten years of using extremely large orchestra following his Le Sacre du

Printemps, Stravinsky turned to smaller-scale ensembles for his neo-classic compositions at the turn of the 1920’s.24 The remarkable success of his ballet suite Pulcinella, a set for Diaghilev’s

Ballets Russes, brought Stravinsky to the vanguard of the contemporary trend. Completed in

1920, Pulcinella is the first of Stravinsky’s neo-classical works, with another two revised versions in 1947 and 1965.

The 1920 version contains twenty-two movements. Two years later Stravinsky selected eleven movements and arranged them into a concert suite. Stravinsky eventually wrote three pieces of Italienne Suite for instrumentalist and piano based on this ballet suite under the title

Suite Italienne; two for violin and piano,25 and another for cello and piano. Two more arrangements, which remain unpublished, are Suite Italienne for violin and cello by Heifetz and

Piatigorsky,26 and one by Katherine Rife.27 Pulcinella and its arrangements exemplify the

24 Scott Lubaroff, An Examination of the Neo-Classical Wind Works of Igor Stravinsky: The Octet for Winds and Concerto for Piano and Winds. (New York: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2004): 4.

25 Pauline Fairclough, liner notes for Mischa Maisky- Martha Argerich in Concert. DG B0004047-02, 2005, CD.

26 Boris Schwarz, liner notes for The Heifets-Piatigorsky Concerts. Columbia, M33447, 1976, LP.

27 Gerald Larner, liner notes for Russian Music for String Duo. Chandos CHAN 8652, 1988, CD.

23 twentieth-century composer’s profound ingenuity in their reworkings, and the individuality of each arrangement as a result of the arranger’s idiomatic writing for specific instrumentations.

Pulcinella is a ballet suite in one act for chamber ensemble and three solo voices. The idea of using smaller-sized orchestras came up due to a shortage of musicians during World WarⅠ, but later became a stylistic feature of Stravinsky’s previous ballet works.28 He divided the whole ensemble into a group of solo instruments and a tutti section, reminiscent of the ripieno29 and concertino30 fashions in the Baroque period. Each movement of Pulcinella is scored with different instrumentation, which is unusual among his orchestral output.

Pulcinella itself is an arrangement, incorporating ten pieces from vocal works by the eighteenth-century composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi,31 including an aria in Pergolesi’s opera

Il Faminio (the original source of the tenor aria in Serenata of Stravinsky’s Pulcinella).

Stravinsky preserved many characteristic features of earlier styles in Pulcinella, including adapting earlier forms, employing drier timbre and no percussion in imitation of the eighteenth- century orchestra,32 using the bass voice more frequently and prominently in the style of eighteenth-century buffa opera composers, and writing with clearer melodic structure and comparatively straightforward harmony.

28 Kenneth Chalmers, liner notes for Stravinsky: Petrushka, Pulcinella. DECCA 443 774-2, 1995. CD

29 A term used for the tutti section in the orchestral music of the Baroque period, in particular for the Baroque concertos.

30 The group of soloists in the Baroque concertos, in distinction to the ripieno (tutti) group.

31 David Carson Berry, Stravinksy’s “Skeletons” (Ann Arbor, Mich.: ProQuest Information and Learning Company): 1.

32 Kristen M. Schultz, “The Commedia Dell’Arte in the Twentieth Century: A Story of Igor Stravinsky’s Pulcinella” (Ph. D. diss., Kent State University, 1992): 52-53.

24 By the time Pulcinella was composed, the classicism in the 1920’s relates to the counter- modernism prevalent in the Latin countries. This cultural trend influenced Pulcinella in the artistic interest in the form, mixing with the content of classical antiquity and a modernity of innovation opposite to the past.33 The practice of classicism is as Stravinsky innovation in

Pulcinella by blending old-fashioned and contemporary styles simultaneously. In terms of using earlier forms, Stravinsky entitled some movements in Pulcinella after the Baroque dance or eighteenth-century musical styles, such as Serenata, Tarantella, and Minuetto. To capture the essence of these earlier styles, Stravinsky preserved the characteristic rhythmic and melodic figures. For example, the second movement Serenata exhibits many of the features of a

Sicilienne, an aria or instrumental movement dating to the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.34 It is noted in 12/8 meter, with clear two-measure phrases. Composed with extremely lyrical style, this movement conveys an elegant flow with a hint of melancholy. The Tarantella movement also features the character of the typical tarantella. Written in 6/8 with fast tempo, the constant moving figures with repeated notes suggest virtuosic style by its natural form.

In addition to the neo-classical writing, Stravinsky also used buffa characteristics of the eighteenth century in Pulcinella. One of the main characteristics of this comic style is the prevalence of the bass voice as a main character. This is in marked contrast to the use of the higher voices in dramatic and lyrical operas. To emphasize more on vocal sound, operas in buffa style are usually written with simple melodies, accompanied by constant harmonic rhythm to highlight the main voices. Special techniques sometimes exaggerate the vocal melodies of the

33 Gottfried Boehm, Ulrich Mosch, and Katharina Schimidt eds., Canto d’Amore: Classicism in Modern Art and Music 1914-1935. (Basel/Kunstmuseum: Paul Sacher Foundation in Association with Merrel Holberton Publishers, 1996): 15.

34 Meredith Ellis Little, “Siciliana (Siciliano),” Grove Music Online, ed. Stanley Sadie, and John Tyrrell, available at http://www.grovemusic.com, accessed 27 April 2005.

25 buffa operas in order to increase the comic elements, such as the use of glissando and patter style in the bass voice. In Pulcinella, Stravinsky’s use of more active figurations in the lower instruments emulates this feature of buffa writing.35

Besides using the old elements, Stravinsky also incorporates twentieth-century elements for creating some contradictory effects. Within the relatively regular structure, he occasionally adds an extra measure at the end of a symmetrical two-plus-two phrase unit, misplaces accents on pick-ups of weak beats, uses hemiola in 4/4 meter, and inserts extra measures with different meter in order to connect two individual sections. As for harmonic innovation, Stravinsky utilizes dissonance in passing tones and auxiliaries, but in an exaggerated fashion. For example, he accents the neighboring tone C-sharp in the fundamental bass and repeats this dissonant harmony three times in measure 10 of the Introduzione (Ex.1), so that the dissonance makes a larger impact acoustically.

The relationship between Pulcinella, Suite Italienne, and the arrangements for other instruments they spawned, shows some of the most efficient writing of the repertoire, given the high degree of recycling of materials that is evident in these works. Perhaps this is what makes these later arrangements so popular. Although this reworking has generated some debate on its authenticity, the new materials, such as metric displacement, unusual orchestration, special treatment of effects and articulations, already proved Stravinsky’s personal charm in this arrangement. Through Stravinsky’s creative arranging skills, Suite Italienne is now recognized as a new work rather than just a recomposition of an earlier work. In the following section, I will introduce five versions of Suite Italienne, how they compare to the original Pulcinella, and the similarities and differences among these arrangements.

35 Kristen M Schultz, “The Commedia Dell’Arte in The Twentieth-Century: A Story of Igor Stravinsky’s Pulcinella” (Ph. D. diss., Kent State University, 1992): 64-65.

26 B. Five arrangements

As Stravinsky’s increasing interest in wind instruments for their mechanic-like sound,

Pulcinella is an extraordinary exception. By the time Stravinsky composed this work, he was acquainted with Dushkin, an outstanding violinist of the time.36 He treated the violin as a solo instrument with demanding techniques in numerous passages in Pulcinella, as he did in his string quartet of the same compositional period.37

1. Two arrangements for violin and piano written by the composer

In 1925, Straginsky produced his first arrangements from his Pulcinella Suite for the violinist Paul Kochanski, entitled Suite for violin and piano, after themes, fragments and pieces by Giambattista Pergolesi. Later Stravinsky wrote Suite Italienne for violin and piano based on the same ballet suite, in collaboration with Samuel Dushkin in 1934. The latter version is now more commonly heard in the violin repertoire. It contains six movements, derived from numbers

1,2, 12, 15, 17, and 18 of the 1920 version of Pulcinella.

The violin version of Suite Italienne was perhaps the most convenient one to arrange.

According to the original writing in Pulcinella, most main melodies in orchestral tutti movements are played by two sections of violins. Stravinsky kept those violin melodies intact, and simply moved them to different registers from the original version. For those melodies that were originally written for other instruments or voices, Stravinsky arranged them in the registers close to the original. Compared to the virtuosic cello version of Suite Italienne, the violin version is not as technically demanding. Without adding too many dramatic effects and extended

36 Igor Stravinsky, An Autobiography. (New York: W. W. Norton, 1962): 168.

37 Ibid.

27 techniques, the violin version is loyal to the original orchestral version, and sounds more moderate and less adventurous.

The choice of movements of the violin version of Suite Italienne is quite different from the cello version. The order of movements is: Introduzione, Serenata, Tarantella, Gavotta on due

Variazioni, Scherzino, Minuetto e Finale. Aside from the middle Gavotta on due Variazioni and

Scherzino movements, the other movements are the same as the cello version. Though he arranged the same work for two string instruments, Stravinsky distinguishes these two arrangements from each other by placing the same materials in different parts. For example, the last section of the Serenata beginning in the third beat of measure 23, the lyrical melody is played by the violin in the violin version, while the piano part imitates the jète figure from the orchestral version. In the cello version, however, the piano part takes over the singing melody, with the cello’s jeté figure accompanying.

2. Arrangement for cello and piano written by the composer

The arrangement of Pulcinella for cello and piano was written by Stravinsky, with the collaboration of one of the most outstanding figures in twentieth-century cello history – Gregor

Piatigorsky. Ever since it was composed, this cello version has been favored by cellists and considered in the standard repertoire among cello recitals in present times. Combining

Stravinsky’s contribution of creative arranging skills and Piatigorsky’s preoccupation with virtuosic performing style, the cello version of Suite Italienne quickly became one of the most influential compositions among twentieth-century arrangements.

Stravinsky chose five movements from Pulcinella for the arrangement of Suite Italienne for cello and piano: Introduzione, Serenata, Aria, Tarantella, Minuetto e Finale. Although the choice

28 of movements is similar to that of the violin version, the writings of both versions are very different, especially in the instrumental parts. In general, the cello version has less repetition in motivic and thematic structures than those of the violin version. For the movement written in

ABA structure, the motives and themes are never exactly the same in the returning A section of the cello version. In the Introduzione movement, the melodic materials of the returning A section starting in measure 34 of the violin version are exactly the same as the beginning A section; however, the second themes of the outer A sections in the cello version are different. The main theme in measure 7 is played by the piano part, with the cello part taking the counter melody from the first bassoon of Pulcinella (Ex. 2a). In the last second theme in measure 34, the cello part plays the main melody of the first solo violin part in Pulcinella, and appears as the solo voice accompanied by a simple piano part (Ex 2b). A similar situation develops in the Serenata movement. While Stravinsky places the same melody for the outer A sections for the violin version, the theme is taken in the piano part in the cello version. Starting from measure 23, the cello plays the accompanying figure along with the recurring melody switched to the piano part.

In terms of technical challenges, Suite Italienne is a remarkable example of virtuosic writing for the cello. Like all published scores edited by Piatigorsky, Suite Italienne is an outstanding work for its technical display. Techniques like double stops, octaves, large leaps, fast figures, and the constant use of high register shows Piatigorsky’s typical flamboyant style. This arrangement also decorates the original materials with several techniques like various types of pizzicatos, natural and artificial harmonics, and glissandos. These techniques match the spirit of the original writing perfectly, for its unique effects that imitate the colorful orchestration of the original version.

29 3. Two arrangements for violin and cello

Two arrangements of Suite Italienne for violin and cello are rare versions remained unpublished. The first one is a reworking by Heifetz and Piatigorsky, two of the most outstanding performers in modern performance history, this version is a skillful arrangement full of technical challenges. To maintain the rich texture as close to the original as possible, it treats both instruments equally important to make it sound like a full orchestra. For example, it breaks the range limits by placing the cello in the extreme high end of its register as the other high string instruments. Also, it frequently utilizes double stops, octaves, and chords in order to add extra volume. Through their familiarity with both instruments, these two prestigious performers are eager not only for technical virtuosity but also for characteristic sounds, which is evident in this arrangement.

The other arrangement of Suite Italienne for violin and cello was written by Katherine Rife.

Like the Suite Italienne written by Heifetz and Piatigorsky, this version also remains unpublished. By comparing the writing style through the recording, one notices that this version focuses more on harmonic foundations than the Heifetz-Piatigorky version. For the performance presentation, some passages in this recording are much slower than other recordings of either

Pulcinella or Suite Italienne, so that the excitement and contrary styles found in the original are unrecognizable in this arrangement.

30 Chapter Ⅳ: Creative arranging style in Suite Italienne

A. Idea derived from Pulcinella

Suite Italienne for cello and piano contains five movements; each of them displays a characteristic musical style, resulting in different arranging methods. The texture of the first two movements is simple compared to the last three movements. The difference in the arranging styles can be seen in the lyrical and melody-oriented settings of the first two movements and the faster and more rhythmic settings of the remaining three. Furthermore, to emphasize the buffa character, three movements are chosen from those that were originally written for bass-voice solo. For the first two movements, most parts besides the main melodies are homophonic with regular harmonic progressions and occasional ostinatos, so Stravinsky arranges the main melodies with only slight modification in the cello part, with harmonic support in the piano part.

In Pulcinella, the first movement Introduzione is majestic and brilliant, featuring solo melodies played by the entire violin section, in alternation with the conversation of oboe and bassoon solos (Ex. 1a and 1b). The orchestration of this entire movement alternates between orchestral tuttis with solos accompanied by simple harmonies, resembling the reduced form of the eighteenth-century ritornello. In Suite Italienne, Stravinsky gives these bassoon and oboe solos to the cello and the right hand of the piano part, with the melody in the cello and the counter melody in the piano. Melodic materials from both tutti and solo passages come in turns as a continuous unity, with distinct declamatory tutti melodies and more repetitive solo melodies

(Ex. 2a and 2b).

The second movement Serenata adapted the ideas of Sicilienne, featuring simple and

31 melancholy melodies with clear and direct harmonies. In Pulcinella, the jeté figures only exist in the upper string parts, with the cello part playing the same rhythmic pattern with separate bows

(Ex.3). However, in Suite Italienne, the jeté is played in both piano and cello parts. When it is arranged to the piano part, the thirty-second notes are played with the tremolos of a fifth or an octave (Ex.4a). When this jeté figure appears in the cello part, it ends with and artificial harmonic of an above fifth (Ex.4b).

In contrast to the simpler arranging style in the first two movements, Stravinsky adds more challenging techniques for the cello in the subsequent movements to maintain the fuller texture and colorful orchestration found in Pulcinella, such as a series of consecutive double stops, chords, artificial harmonics, and large melodic leaps with difficult shifts. Among these techniques, some work perfectly for string instruments, providing unique effects while resembling the instrumentation of the orchestral version.

Formwise, the third movement Aria is fragmented and random, except for the last Largo section, which is written in a more flowing style, with more traditional and predictable melodic structures. This Aria exhibits Stravinsky’s virtuosic ability to create kaleidoscopic music through the use of constantly changing musical textures. Stravinsky employs constant changes in every conceivable way to create a kaleidoscopic style in this movement. By using complicated bow strokes, different pizzicato techniques, frequent dynamic changes, changing motivic and thematic structures, various articulations, and special techniques like glissandi, this movement demonstrates the composer’s extensive creativity. Compared to other movements in Suite

Italienne, this movement contains several unusual effects and techniques. I will present a detailed analysis of these techniques in the next section.

The fourth movement is comparatively straightforward. Throughout the entire movement,

32 the lively eighth-note figure of the beginning is the fundamental unit of this energetic movement.

Only a few places, such as measure 31 to 32 and 51 to 53 have calmer writing that contrast with the non-stop passages. The most salient feature of this movement is the use of high register.

Melodies derived from the violin section in Pulcinella result in the high notes in Suite Italienne.

The combination of all the arranging devices makes this movement the most difficult to play in

Suite Italienne and, as a result, the most virtuosic movement showing off a cellist’s technical potential.

The last movement contains two individual sections, the Minuetto and the Finale, played without a break. In Pulcinella, the Minuetto starts with a peaceful and relaxed vocal line accompanied by simple harmonic rhythms. Later the tension gradually builds by adding more instruments until it reaches the climax at the beginning of the Finale. The energetic trumpet dominates the Finale by repeating the scalar fanfare motive, which makes this Finale sound like the grand finale found in eighteenth-century comic operas. In Suite Italienne, the cello starts with graceful and beautiful melodies, which resemble the vocal line in Pulcinella. As the texture gets thicker, the cello part switches to a series of double stops derived from two of the three vocal voices in the transition between the Minuetto and the Finale in Pulcinella. In the Finale, the cello part makes the loudest sound by playing all the fast scales, double stops, chords, and octaves.

Some might think this Finale would cause balance problems. The cello does not have the penetrating sound of the trumpet in the orchestral version, and the uneven texture in both the cello and piano parts makes this situation even worse. As a cellist, however, I believe that creating an acoustic impact is more important than just playing against the piano part when we play the music like this.

As for using the original materials, the subtle dynamic changes in Suite Italienne are the

33 most faithfully preserved. In both works, there are many dynamic indications referring to crescendo, diminuendo, subito piano, subito forte or fortissimo, and hairpins. In the first movement Introduzione, Stravinsky’s preoccupation with setting up dynamic plans is obvious.

He emphasizes upbeat accents, contrasts the dynamic levels, uses subito piano after crescendos, and abruptly changes the dynamic level in the middle of phrases. In the Tarantella, the first half does not have any dynamic indication, which is rare in Suite Italienne. In the second half, however, Stravinsky adds occasional loud measures in mm. 43-46 and 57-62, and further reinforces the contrasting figures for the last subito fortissimo ending with additional accents on each eighth-note. These sudden dynamic changes show Stravinsky’s charming wit for making differences within a repetitive passage.

In addition to the careful dynamic markings, Stravinsky also pays careful attention to details in Suite Italienne, by including the phrase structure and stylistic markings (dolce, marcato, marcatiss, etc.), and by including written-out ornaments like trills, grace notes, and auxiliaries.

Also, Stravinsky provides constant slur, staccato, and bowing markings on the score, to imitate the sound gracefully and effects of the original version.

B. Idiomatic writing

1. Diverse pizzicato techniques

Pizzicato is the technique of plucking one or multiple strings on stringed instruments. By the nature pizzicatos don’t last as long as bowed sounds, even if they are sustained by vibratos or ringing tones. Generally the upper range of the cello is reduced or is lowered by pizzicato, because higher pitched pizzicato require higher position of the hand, and they sound thicker and

34 weaker.38 Higher-pitched pizzicatos are impractical due to the tension generated by the shorter string.

Pizzicatos on the cello are played mostly with index or middle fingers; the thumb is used less frequently for single-note pizzicatos, unless a warmer and bigger sound is needed. Multiple- note pizzicatos or chords can be played in two directions: rolling from the bottom string to the upper string with the thumb, or pulling downward with the fleshy inside part of fingers other than the thumb (usually the index finger). Due to the playing position, thumb pizzicato can only be played on the cello and the double bass.39 The pizzicato chords produced by arpeggiating from the lower note to the higher note with the thumb can create a more powerful effect for the longer and more sustained fundamental notes. Besides playing one note after another, pizzicato chords can also be performed for up to four notes simultaneously. The late nineteenth-century cellist

Romberg plucked four strings at the same time; he played lower two strings with the thumb, the

D string with the index finger, and the A string with the middle finger.40

On stringed instruments, plucking motion is not only executable by right hand. Sometimes, left-hand pizzicatos are as important as right-hand pizzicatos. Compared with the right-hand pizzicatos, left-hand pizzicatos normally don’t project as clear as right-hand ones, because the place where the string is plucked is too close to the stopped pitch, especially when left-finger is pressing while plucking. Playing an open string with the left hand is the only exception to this problem. The main benefit of left-hand pizzicatos is their convenience. Left-hand pizzicatos

38Gardner Read, Orchestral Combinations: The Science and Art of Instrumental Tone-Color (Lanham, Md: The Scarecrow Press): 21.

39Walter Piston, Orchestration (New York: W. W. Norton, 1955): 23.

40 Robin Stowell, ed. The Cambridge Companion to the Cello (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999): 193.

35 require no extra time for adjusting the bow to vertical position; they are helpful when a single pizzicato is inserted within a passage in fast tempo. Also, left-hand pizzicato allow cellists to play both arco and pizzicato notes at the same time. Pizzicato technique is used mostly as a color effect,41 especially in the twentieth century, where various pizzicato techniques have been explored for new possibilities of unique sounds.42

There are several ways one can change the sound quality of pizzicatos. For example, the dynamic level of pizzicatos can be controlled by adjusting the weight of performing pizzicatos, by arranging the distance between the finger stop and plucking point, and by choosing a certain finger and manner for specific effect. In addition, the color of pizzicatos can be changed simply by making careful choices of fingers and parts of fingertip to use. For example, thumb pizzicatos normally create a warmer and deeper sound because the thumb is fleshier than other fingers. In combination with wide vibratos, thumb pizzicatos can create an even bigger sound than normal pizzicatos. By contrast, the very tip of the index finger and middle finger can generate short, sharp, dryer sounds.

When writing pizzicatos in passages mostly for arco melodies, a certain amount of time for switching from arco to pizzicato is necessary. The amount of time needed depends on the position of the bow while performing pizzicato. Unless the pizzicato note can be played by the left hand, particularly in open-string pizzicato, composers are aware of allowing time between arco and pizzicato notes.43 This kind of special writing is used in measure 15 of Introduzione movement (Ex.5), where Stravinsky places a coma before the first pizzicato note. For this open

41 Rimsky-Korsakov, Principle of Orchestration, ( London: The Russian Music Agency, 1922): 27.

42 Robin Stowell, ed. The Cambridge Companion to the Cello (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999): 211.

43 Walter Piston, Orchestration (New York: W. W. Norton, 1955), 24.

36 string pizzicato, the plucking motion can be performed either by the right hand or the left hand.

In Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne, various kinds of pizzicatos are used for color. As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, left hand pizzicato is a very convenient technique when playing arco with alternating pizzicato. This technique appears twice in Aria, a movement mostly written in fast tempo. The first passage using this technique is measure 4 to 10 (Ex 6a), written for multiple pizzicato consisting of lower three open strings in alternation with arco chord. The other passage is measure 89 to 92 (Ex. 6b), written for open D string pizzicato in alternation with harmonic D.

As for the first passage, the pizzicatos can be easily played with the left index finger, even when the left pinky is pressing on the position. In the second passage, the pizzicato D doesn’t disrupt the continuous motion, because both the D harmonic and pizzicato can be played on the same string.

In Suite Italienne, there are some unusual types of pizzicatos that are perfectly written for cello playing. The first one is the harmonic pizzicato alternating with open string pizzicato in the last measure of Serenata (Ex.7a). The cello part of this measure is a combination of pick-up pizzicato figures of solo cello and an octave C of tutti cello part in the orchestral version (Ex.

7b). In Suite Italienne, Stravinsky mixes two kinds of pizzicato -- open C string and harmonic C for an octave higher – make the sound more interesting with just a slight modification. This kind of harmonic pizzicato is not as complicated as it looks but it produces the echoing effect in contrast to the lower open string pizzicato. Furthermore, the open C string pizzicato creates the most effective ringing tone, by its natural vibration coming from the lower string and the longest distance between the bridge and the node.

The second unusual type of pizzicato is the constant pizzicato chord in fast tempo. In the beginning of Aria (Ex. 8 a), twelve chordal pizzicatos crossing four strings are derived from the

37 loud pizzicatos played by the entire string section in Pulcinella (Ex. 8b). To maintain the fuller texture, Stravinsky transcribes this passage to this special pizzicato manner. Playing pizzicatos with a fast back-and-forth motion – from the bottom string to the upper string, and vice versa – is the only way to produce loud pizzicato with only one cello. This kind of pizzicato is not frequently used because it usually appears in the passages with louder volume. Performing this technique on the cello, however, sounds more dramatic than on any other stringed instrument.

The last unusual type of pizzicato is the left-hand pizzicato playing with arco notes at the same time. Both Aria and Tarantella movements contain pizzicato double stops that double the sound of arco pitches. In measure 107 of Aria (Ex.9a), the fifth consisting of D and A is played by arco and pizzicato at the same time, followed by a slide right after. This pizzicato is played by plucking the pitches with pinky while playing. In measure 57 of the Tarantella (Ex.9b), these double stops are easy to apply, because they consist of two open strings. By adding pizzicatos to arco notes in this manner, Stravinsky continues his practice of adding musical character to his pieces through interesting or unusual techniques.

38 2. Harmonics

In his book The Cambridge Companion to the Cello, Robin Stowell defines harmonics as,

“modes of vibration which have natural frequencies related by integral multiples of the fundamental.”44 The sound quality of harmonics is difficult to describe, but listeners have described it as pure, cold, piercing, or eerie. On stringed instruments there are two kinds of harmonics: natural harmonics, and artificial harmonics. Natural harmonics are tones produced by lightly touching nodal points on the string. Artificial harmonics are produced by stopping the fundamental note firmly with a single finger, while another finger touches a fourth, a fifth, or even a third above.45 To execute both types of harmonics, especially artificial harmonics, longer and heavier bow and faster bow speed are necessary for the best acoustic result. The sounding pitch created by artificial harmonics is usually two octaves higher than the fundamental pitch.

This fact illustrates one of the benefits of artificial harmonics, which can create a unique sound and raise the voice range to an extended level.

Harmonics are used frequently in both Pulcinella and Suite Italienne. In Pulcinella, harmonics are written for special sound effect. For the jeté figures in the entire Serenata movement (Ex. 10), Stravinsky utilized harmonics as the floating background sound to highlight the singing melodies. In Suite Italienne, the harmonics have two functions: the first is to copy the characteristic sound from the harmonics in the original orchestral version, and the other is to

44 Robin Stowell, ed. The Cambridge Companion to the Cello (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999): 231. For an extended definition and discussion of harmonics, consult “Harmonics,” Grove Music Online, ed. Stanley Sadie, and John Tyrell , available at http://www.grovemusic.com, accessed 18 April 2004; Walter Piston, Orchestration (New York: W. W. Norton, 1955); Nicolas Rimsky-Korsakov, Principles of Orchestration. London: The Russian Music Agency, 1922.

45 Robin Stowell, ed. The Cambridge Companion to the Cello (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999): 231.

39 make the passage easier to play.

Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne contains both natural and artificial harmonics. Most of them are written as natural harmonics, except for the artificial harmonic in measure 23 to 26 in the

Serenata (Ex.11). The harmonic G comes from the harmonic played by double bass in the orchestral version. Technically speaking, this artificial harmonic is perfectly written for cello. The extended position not only addresses the fingering problem, but also allows players to keep the same position for an extended period of time. Also, by writing a harmonic on the last note of the jete figure in measure 23, Stravinsky makes use of the fact harmonics require a faster bow speed, which allows the bow to reach the frog in time for the next jete figure.

In addition to the artificial harmonics, many of the harmonic markings seem written to make high pitched notes easier to perform. Especially when performing a huge leap, shifts will become less complicated if cellists aim for the harmonics. For instance, many harmonics in the Aria in measure 48 to 50 (Ex.12a), 52 to 54 (Ex.12b), 62(Ex.12c), and 89 (Ex.12d) help connect the notes within the phrase in fast tempo. The other place using the harmonics for the same purpose is measure 60 in the Finale. The E harmonic in the eleventh position followed by the chord in the second position necessitates extra time for shifting and finding the right position. With this harmonic marking, cellists can rapidly shift to the high E without hesitation.

Perhaps Stravinsky also plans to add some special effect with this simple modification since this technique does not match the writing of the original orchestral version. In fact, there are several places in his Suite Italienne where he uses harmonics to deviate from the original material in Pulcinella. This arranging technique also appears in measure 43 of the Minuetto (Ex.13a) and measure 7 to 10 of the Finale (Ex.13b). The harmonics in these passages don’t show any connection to the articulation or effect of the original orchestral version, but they provide

40 convenient options for cellists to play these passages effortlessly.

On the other hand, some passages contain harmonics which do relate to the original version, thus those harmonics are close to the sound the composer desires. In Suite Italienne, each measure of 21 to 23 in Tarantella (Ex.14) contains three double-stops consisting of two harmonics; in Pulcinella, those harmonics are originally written for open strings played by two solo violins. The way playing double harmonics is for better connection within this phrase, in terms of the proper register and fingering. Also, the double harmonics are as high as the pitches written for violins in the orchestral version.

3. Glissandi

Glissando is a sliding motion moving with the finger upward or downward on a string.

Glissando markings on string instruments imply two practices; one is the natural slide with continuous motion on the left-hand finger, and the other is the so-called portamento. Portamento is the chromatic scale connecting two main pitches, as the woodwind instruments playing the glissando. Normally for the scoring of stringed music, glissando indicates the sliding motion shifting from one pitch toward the other, unless a special effect is requested.46

On stringed instruments, Glissandi are more effective in their natural form. Compared to the glissandi on keyboard instruments, the descending and ascending gestures produced on stringed instruments are not disrupted by the separation of single-pitched key. Unlike the glissandi formed of chromatic scales on some woodwind instruments like the flute and oboe, glissando on stringed instruments are more dramatic because there are no definite notes in the glissandi, as in the

46 David D. Boyden, and Robin Stowell, “Glissando,” Grove Music Online, ed. Stanley Sadie, and John Tyrell, available at http://www.grovemusic.com, accessed 18 April 2005.

41 chromatic scale that results from a glissando in a woodwind. The salient characteristic of glissandi on the stringed instruments is that string players can control the speed of the slide freely. For other instruments, the speed of the slide might be fixed because players have a certain number of notes to play in a glissando. Glissandi on the cello, in particular, are more powerful and dramatic than on most stringed instruments. The long strings on the cello can prolong the sliding motion more than on the violin and viola. Therefore, adjusting the sliding speeds on the cello is practical and can be used to create a wide variety of sounds.

In Suite Italienne, all the glissandi are of the natural type. Among those glissandi, the only one related to the original writing from Pulcinella is in measure 47 to 48 in the Aria. This long slide comes from the bass solo connecting two different sections in Pulcinella (Ex.15a). In the cello arrangement, the slide has been exaggerated from an octave to two octaves (Ex.15b). With the fermata marking, this glissando figure adds dramatic effect by prolonging the slide and by adjusting the speed as the performer wishes.

In addition to the slide adapted from the original writing, several glissandi in Pulcinella are written in order to create a decorated style between sections or within a phrase. For example, in measure 107 to 108 in the Aria (Ex.16), the A and D double stop disrupts the soft transition before the Largo section with a sudden fortissimo marking. This glissando connecting the upper fifth G and D anticipates the following section by foreshadowing the first pitch G. Other glissandi in measure 16 to 17 and measure 41 to 43 in the Minuetto are there simply for coloring purposes. The glissandi in measure 16 and 17 were originally written for the C played by the horn and the D-flat played by the oboe (Ex 17a). In Suite Italienne, Stravinsky links the minor ninth with an exaggerated glissando to intensify the tension of the dissonant D-flat (Ex.17b). The

Glissandi in 41 to 43 come from the repeated figures from the first bassoon and tenor in

42 Pulcinella (Ex.17c), which also consist of C and D-flat as in measure 16 and 17. Stravinsky then unifies measure 41 to 43 with the previous passage by adapting the same glissando from measure

16 and 17 (Ex.17d).

4. Suggesting fingering indications

Like many other published cello scores in the twentieth-century, Suite Italienne also includes string and fingering indications. The difference from other cello scores in Suite Italienne is that this cello arrangement has some of the most detailed indications. This cello version is not only virtuosically demanding but also ideally written for cello, in terms of its careful fingering editing, as it was written with the collaboration of Gregor Piatigorsky. Some of the fingerings might show the composer’s desire for certain tone colors and phrasings. In this section, selected passages regarding specific string requirements and suggested fingerings will be discussed in terms of their practicality and artistic value.

In Suite Italienne, frequent fingering indications provide convenient access for cellists to perform this virtuosic work. Some of the fingering markings also imply specific string requirements, without written-out string markings. For example, measure 52 to 53 in the Aria

(Ex. 18) has fingerings that distinguish between harmonics and non-harmonics, and also imply the use of specific strings for producing them. In measure 44 to 45 of the Tarantella (Ex.19), the written-out music consists of a moving line with an open-string A drone underneath. However, to perform this passage, the moving line should be played in the lower string while the upper string plays the open A notes. This fingering clearly suggests the moving melody on a higher position on the D string, even without written-out string requirements.

43 To imply half position, measures 29 to 30 in the Serenata (Ex.20) provide fingerings with 3 and 1—2 and o—and 3 and 1. This fingering gives cellists a quicker way of finding a practical and efficient fingering within this complicated passage consisting of a series of double stops.

In the Tarantella, thumb position is necessary due to the higher register used for almost the entire movement. In measure 14 (Ex.21), the G played with the thumb not only suggests a better fingering but also anticipates the fixed position for the following three measures. The same situation also happens in measure 21-25 (Ex.22). When the thumb reaches the position of harmonic A on the D string and harmonic E on the A string, the performer keeps this left-hand position for five measures. Other passages that indicate thumb position with similar purposes are in measures 10 (Ex.23a) and 29 (Ex.23b) in the Introduzione. The thumb position in these two measures all suggest the most practical fingering available yet also imply maintaining the position for the next few measures.

The fingerings in Suite Italienne are basically practical and work well for cellists. As a small-handed person, however, I find there are fingerings that work better for two passages in particular. The first is in measure 44 of the Introduzione (Ex.24). According to the fingerings in the score, the first two double-stops should be played on the D and G strings. However, the position in this register is notorious for intonation issues, and it also results in unnecessary stretching for playing double-stops in fifth position with the first and third fingers. As a cellist, I would suggest playing these two double stops on the A and D strings in the first and second positions. It is much easier to play double stops in tune within the neck than in fifth position.

The other passage is measure 19 to 20 of the Tarantella (Ex.25). The suggested fingering in this series of fifths was written to reduce the number of position changes. Playing this passage by pressing two strings at once, however, is much harder for small-handed people, especially those

44 who have short and less-fleshy fingers. My suggestion is that cellists treat this passage as a portamento passage, pressing two strings simultaneously with the second finger or the thumb with a sliding motion and adding gentle separation between each double-stop. This fingering might be complex for some cellists, but for those who cannot perform the original fingering, this fingering is worth trying.

C. Virtuoso display and extraordinary techniques

Besides the idiomatic writing, the technical challenges also present in Suite Italienne make it different from ordinary cello arrangements. Most of the difficult techniques are used to maintain the fuller texture and colorful orchestration in Pulcinella. These techniques include varying bow strokes, double stops, chords, large leaps, and string crossings. Due to the confusing terminology of bowstrokes, I will adapt selected bowing technique terms from One Hundred

Years of Violoncello, edited by Valerie Walden, and “Bow” from Grovemusic Online, written by

Werner Bachmann and others.

1. Bowing techniques

Bowing techniques are often used for coloring purpose, especially in Suite Italienne. The first challenging bowing technique is the slurred staccato hooking two separate notes. Some also call this technique sautillé, for its bouncing movement in fast passages. According to the late nineteenth-century cellist Vaslin’s opinion, the middle of the bow can articulate every note in a single bow stroke for performing sautillé off-string. Therefore, this bowing technique works

45 better on the upper three strings on the cello.47 In addition to several measures that use this bowing in the Introduzione and the Aria, this bowing is frequently used in the Tarantella.

Throughout the movement, the constant eighth-note figure is divided into two parts, with one bowstroke plays an eighth-note and the other one plays two separate eighth-notes. The pattern of slurred staccato differs depending on the motivic features. Usually the repeated notes share the same bow stroke with clear separation in between, unless the patterns resemble an appoggiatura effect. When the music has an appoggiatura pattern, the bowing switches to two eighth-notes connected with a tie, and another bowstroke for one eighth-note. In the passage from measure 6 to 18 (Ex.26), the bowing changes frequently from two down-bows and one up-bow to one down-bow and two up-bows. This passage challenges cellists to change bowing patterns quickly and to make distinctions between the regular slurred staccato and the regular hooked bowing.

The next challenging bowing is the jeté. It is a bowstroke of bouncing the bow off the string in a single bowstroke. This technique is also called staccato à ricochet.48 The general number of rebounds is two to six; the more bounces needed, the harder to execute the jeté. In the last part of the Serenata (Ex.27), Stravinsky wrote a series of jeté figures, for eight bounces in a single bowstroke. The jeté stroke is more difficult on the cello because the slow response from the thicker strings results in tardy rebounds. Also, the horizontal playing position makes the smooth initial attack more complicated to play, especially when executing jeté on the A string.

In addition to the slurred staccato and the jeté, two variations of the double-stop technique are also technically demanding. The first one is the bowing of double stops while sustaining only

47 Valerie Walden, ed. One Hundred Years of Violoncello: A History of Technique and Performance Practice, 1740-1840 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998): 174.

48 David D. Boyden et al, “Jeté,” Grove Music Online, ed. Stanley Sadie, and John Tyrrell, available at http://www/grovemusic.com, accessed 25 May, 2005.

46 one string. To execute this special bowing, lots of adjustments of the bow angles are necessary. In measure 35 to 38 in the Aria (Ex.28), for instance, two independent lines play legato within slurred groupings. In the top line, the melody is played on the D string, while the lower line features a drone that is rearticulated on the first and third beats of the measure. The performer is supposed to execute both lines simultaneously and in a single bow stroke. What makes this so difficult to execute is that to rearticulate the drone every other beat while keeping the melody line flowing smoothly requires a great deal of bow control. The other type is the variation of tremolo rolling between two strings, such as the octave tremolo in measure 59 and 60 in the Aria (Ex.29).

This bowing tasks cellists’ nimble movement of balancing the bow in between two strings, and smoothly switching between strings as quickly as possible.

2. String crossing

String crossing is another type of bowing technique that can be used to great effect in virtuosic writing. To execute this technique with clear articulation, cellists should be familiar with the arm position of each individual string. In Suite Italienne, there are two passages that use highly virtuosic string crossings. The first one comes from measure 18 to 25 in the Aria (Ex.30).

The mixed bowing in this passage divides into two ways of string crossing; one is the double stop string crossing combining with double stops, and the other is the large motion from the lowest string to the highest. This kind of string crossing in a fast tempo is even harder than in a moderate tempo, especially for passages written with constant distant crossing movements. To perform the string crossing consisting of two double-stops, in particular, cellists have to pay much more attention to the moving angles, unlike the way they play normal string crossings.

The other kind of complicated string crossing can be found in the beginning of the

47 Tarantella (Ex.31a). This irregular five-note pattern makes the bowing change in turns, therefore cellists can easily lose the concentration of playing on the right string. Another place with similar problems is in measure 50 in the same movement (Ex.31b). To play these six eighth-notes on three different strings with four string crossings, followed by another one linking to the next measure, cellists have to be aware of where their bow is located when playing each single eighth- note.

3. Left-hand techniques: huge leaps and multiple stops

In general, the available left-hand techniques on stringed instruments relate to the accuracy of intonation. Since intonation problems are related to playing within a position, high registers played with thumb position, and multiple stops cause more intonation difficulties than playing single notes in the lower register. Large positional leaps, where the hand has to travel a great distance up or down the fingerboard, are another challenging technique for the performer since they often involve the use of higher registers. This frequently results in intonation problems if it is not executed correctly.

Due to the multiple voicing and rich orchestration of the original version, many of the double stops, octaves, and chords are used to maintain the fuller texture. These left hand techniques are often difficult to do well, however, and therefore result in passages being out of tune. Throughout the entire work, Stravinsky frequently employs multiple stops, in both melodic and rhythmic passages. The unusual use of passages consisting of a series of double stops appears in every movement of the suite. Among those double-stop passages, the thirds and the sixths are more difficult because of the different distance between the minor and the major intervals. Measure 14 in the Introduzione (Ex.32), double-stops consisting of four sixths and four

48 thirds, cellists have to pay extra attention on the interval changes. This especially live in faster tempo, where the stretch on the position of the minor third of E and G is likely to be underestimated, resulting in an out-of-tune passage.

In Suite Italienne, some passages written for two independent lines result in the extended use of double stops. This technique is derived from the polyphonic writing found in Pulcinella, as in the last twelve measures of the Minuetto (Ex.33). This passage comes from the voice trio in

Pulcinella. Here, Stravinsky recombines the voicing into two melodic lines. As the tension builds, Stravinsky adds open strings to the bottom in order to increase the volume and excitement. To sustain two different lines, cellists must constantly change the hand gestures and fingering patterns, including several stretching positions, to perform all the busy double stops.

Beside double stops, chords are another challenging technique related to the use of multiple stops. In Suite Italienne, some chords result in awkward fingering, which increase the technical level compared with playing the chords with normal fingering. For instance, each middle chord in measure 29 to 31 of the Mineutto (Ex.34) needs unusual fingering in order to press four notes at the same time. The first one is F-E-A-A in measure 29, played with the fingering 1-4-2-0 in the third position. To place the fourth finger (the shortest one) in a lower string (the G-string) and the second finger (the longest finger) in a higher string (the D-string), the hand is not in its natural palm shape. Chordal progression in this passage challenges cellists playing chords with both changing positions and abnormal hand gestures.

49 Chapter Ⅴ: Conclusion

Igor Stravinsky was a prolific composer of instrumental and orchestral music. His extraordinary use of instrumentation and orchestration has made him one of the most outstanding figures in twentieth-century western music. Because of his creative and stylistic writings,

Stravinsky’s works are the most influential and the most widely performed. His first neo-classic composition, Ballet Suite Pulcinella, demonstrates his ingenuity in assembling fragments from eighteenth-century vocal works blending the earlier stylistic features of these fragments in a twentieth-century orchestral work. He also enlarges the possibilities of arranging works by using his own musical vocabulary in the works originally written by others or on his own.

Suite Italienne for cello and piano, an arrangement derived from Stravinsky’s Pulcinella, is a stunning work featuring many technical challenges for the cello, which, while largely idiomatic, extend the range of technical playing on the instrument. By preserving the musical style of the work on which it is based, elements such as coloristic effects and orchestration, and through knowledgeable and extensive use of techniques common to string instruments, this arrangement remains distinct within the genre of works originally written for cello and piano, be they in a later

Romantic style, or a more progressive, contemporary style.

Through Stravinsky’s skillful arranging techniques, Suite Italienne is now recognized as a virtuosic cello work rather than merely an arrangement literally transcribed from its original. This work also demonstrates how arrangements influence the twentieth-century cello repertoire. Due to the limited amount of repertoire originally written for cello and piano, the most frequently used combination in the twentieth-century recital setting, cellists craved for new repertoire for the

50 increasing number of performances and publications. Along with the standardization of the instrument at the turn of the twentieth century, the cello is capable of producing various sounds and challenging techniques. The twentieth-century cello is, without question, a popular solo instrument, and presents itself as a qualified virtuosic instrument.

To expand the cello repertoire in the most efficient way, both composers and cellists have arranged works from a wide variety of sources. In fact, arrangements of other works for cello and piano already occupy a large portion of existing cello repertoire. Based on my research, more than one hundred scores and recordings of published arrangements for cello and piano in the twentieth century are available through the University of Cincinnati Music Library and

OhioLink, and many are available through other sources. Some of them, like Stravinsky’s Suite

Italienne, are frequently performed and recognized as standard repertoire. These well-written arrangements for cello and piano exemplify the extensive use of techniques common to these instruments, making them distinguishable from works originally written for this combination, thus playing an important role in the cello repertoire.

These twentieth-century arrangements for cello and piano not only extend the cello repertoire but also the techniques for cello playing. There are many arrangements, including

Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne, which are considered standard repertoire in the twentieth-century cello literature. As a performer, I enjoy playing arrangements for cello and piano. It is my hope that other cellists will be encouraged to take on more arrangements for cello in their own performances, and that my research will provide an overview and allow for easier access to and opportunities for exploring the arrangement literature.

51 Musical Examples

Chapter Three: Musical Examples

Ex. 1: Pulcinella, Introduzione, m. 10-12

52 Ex. 2a: Suite Italienne, Introduzione, m. 7-9

Ex. 2b: Suite Italienne, Introduzione, m. 34-36

53 Chapter Four: Musical Examples Ex.1a: Pulcinella, Ouverture, m.1-4

Ex. 1b: Pulcinella, Ouverture, m.7-9

Ex.2a: Suite Italienne, Introduzione, m. 1-4

54 Ex.2b: Suite Italienne, Introduzione, m.7-9

Ex.3: Pulcinella, Serenata, m. 1-2

Ex. 4a: Suite Italienne, Senenata, m. 1-2

Ex.4b: Suite Italienne, Senenata, m. 23

55 Ex. 5: Suite Italienne, Introduzione, m. 15

Ex. 6a: Suite Italienne, Aria, m.4-10

Ex. 6b: Suite Italienne, Aria, m.89-92

56 Ex. 7a: Suite Italienne, Serenata, m.32

Ex. 7b: Suite Italienne, Serenata, m.32

57 Ex. 8a: Suite Italienne, Aria, m. 1-3

Ex. 8b: Pulcinella, Aria, m.1-3

Ex. 9a: Suite Italienne, Aria, m.107

Ex. 9b: Suite Italienne, Tarantella, m.57

58 Ex.10: Pulcinella, Serenata, m. 1-2

Ex. 11: Suite Italienne, Serenata, m.23-26

59 Ex. 12a: Suite Italienne, Aria, m. 48-50

Ex. 12b: Suite Italienne, Aria, m. 52-54

Ex. 12c: Suite Italienne, Aria, m.62

Ex. 12d: Suite Italienne, Aria, m. 89

60 Ex.13a: Suite Italienne, Minuetto, m.43

Ex. 13b: Suite Italienne, Finale, m.7-10

Ex.14: Suite Italienne, Tarantella, m.21-23

61 Ex. 15a: Pulcinella, Aria, m. 47-48

Ex. 15b: Suite Italienne, Aria, m. 47-48

Ex.16: Suite Italienne, Aria, m.107-108

62 Ex. 17a: Pulcinella, Minuetto, m.16-17

Ex.17b: Suite Italienne, Minuetto, m.16-17

Ex.17c: Pulcinella, Minuetto, m.41-43

63 Ex.17d: Suite Italienne, Minuetto, m.41-43

Ex.18: Suite Italienne, Aria, m.52-53

Ex.19: Suite Italienne, Tarantella, m.44-45

Ex. 20: Suite Italienne, Serenata, m.29-30

Ex.21: Suite Italienne, Tarantella, m.14

Ex. 22: Suite Italienne, Tarantella, m. 21-25

64 Ex.23a: Suite Italienne, Introduzione, m.10

Ex.23b: Suite Italienne, Introduzione, m.29

Ex.24: Suite Italienne, Introduzione, m.44

Ex.25: Suite Italienne, Tarantella, m. 19-20

65 Ex. 26: Suite Italienne, Tarantella, m.6-18

Ex. 27: Suite Italienne, Serenata, m. 23-26

Ex. 28: Suite Italienne, Aria, m.35-38

66 Ex.29: Suite Italienne, Aria, m.59-60

Ex.30: Suite Italienne, Aria, m.18-25

Ex. 31a: Suite Italienne, Tarantella, m.1-5

Ex. 31b: Suite Italienne, Tarantella, m.50

67 Ex. 32: Suite Italienne, Introduzione, m.14

Ex.33: Suite Italienne, Minuetto, m. 50-61

Ex. 34: Suite Italienne, Minuetto, m.29-31

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Walden, Valerie, ed. One Hundred Years of Violoncello: A History of Technique and Performance Practice, 1740-1840. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Walsh, Stephen. The New Grove Stravinsky. London: Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2002.

White, Eric Walter. Stravinsky: A Critical Survey. New York: Philosophical Library, 1948.

Articles

Arias, Enrique Alberto. “Cabezon’s Ave Maria: Parody, Arrangement, or Fantasia?.” Revista de Musicologia 15, no.1 (January-June 1992): 87-95.

Bieber, Arnold B. “Arranging World Music for Instrumentalists.” Music Educators Journal 85, no.5 (March 1999): 17-20.

Broude, Ronald. “Arrangement, Transcription, Edition: Some Problems in Terminology.” Choral Journal 18, no.1 (September 1977): 25-29.

Bryan, Michael. “The Book of Changes and Music.” The Music Review 51, no.1 (February 1990): 1-10.

Clarke, Walter Aaron. “Luys de Narvaez and the Intabulation Tradition of Josquin’s Mille regretz.” Journal of the Lute Society of America 26 (1993): 17-52.

71 Cottle, Andrew. “Mozart’s Arrangement of Messiah.” The Choral Journal 31, no.9 (April 1991): 19-24.

Hartnett, Stephen. “Cultural Postmodernism and Bobby McFerrin: A Case Study of Musical Production as the Composition of Spectacle.” Cultural Critique, 16 (Fall, 1990): 61-85.

Hoorick, Reinhard van. “About Some Early Schubert Manuscripts.” The Music Review 30, no.2 (May 1969): 118-123.

Howard-Jones, Evlyn. “Arrangement and Transcription.” Music and Letters 16 (1935): 305-311.

Hughes, Walden. “Franz Liszt: Symphonist of the Keyboard.” The Music Review 55, no.1 (February 1994): 1-12.

Keller, Hans. “Arrangement for or Against?” The Musical Times 110 (1969):22-25.

Kroll, Mark. “Old Wine in New Wineskins.” Early Music America 9, no.2 (Summer 2003): 20- 26.

Miller, Malcolm. “From Liszt to Adams: The Black Gondola.” Tempo: A Quarterly Review of Modern Music 179 (December 1991): 17-20.

Minamino, Hiroyuki. “Transformation in Intabulation.” Journal of the Lute Society of America 17 (1984): 114-117.

Owens, Dewey. “Arrangement Versus Transcription and Other Consideration.” The American Harp Journal 18, no.4 (Winter 2002): 29-31.

Palmer, David Lee. “Virtuosity as Rhetoric: Agency and Transformation in Paganini’s Mastery of the Violin.” Quarterly Journal of Speech 84 (1998): 341-357.

Parks, Richard S. “A Viennese Arrangement of Debussy’s Prelude a l’apres-midi d’un faune: Orchestration and Musical Structure.” Music and Letters 80, no.1 (February 1999): 50-73.

Sachania, Millan. “‘Improving the Classics’: Some Thoughts on the ‘Ethics’ and Aesthetics of Musical Arrangement.” The Music Review 55, no.1 (February 1994): 58-75.

Schildkret, David. “On Mozart Contemplating a Work of Handel: Mozart’s Arrangement of Messial.” in Festa Musicologica: Essay in Honor of George J. Buelow. Stuyvesant, NY: Pendragon Press, 1995.

Scott, Mary-Grace. “Boccherini’s B-flat Cello Concerto.” Early Music 12, no.3 (August 1984): 229-41.

Sergeant, Desmond Charles. “Measurement of Pitch Discrimination.” Journal of Research in Music Education 21, no.1 (Spring 1973): 3-19.

72 Somfai, Laszlo. “Bartok’s Transcription of J. S. Bach.” in Studien zur Musikgeschichte: Eine Festschrift fur Ludwig Finscher Kassel. New York: Barenreiter, 1995.

Sterne, Jonathan. “Sounds Like the Mall of America: Programmed Music and the Architectonics of Commercial Space.” Ethnomusicology: Journal of the Society for Ethnomusicology 41 (1997): 22-50.

Walker, Alan. “In Defense of Arrangements.” Piano Quarterly 36, No.143 (Fall 1988): 26-28.

______. “Liszt and the Schubert Song Transcriptions.” The Musical Quarterly 75, no.4 (Winter 1991): 248-262.

Wood, Rupert. “Language As Will an Representation: Schopenhauer, Austin and Musicality.” Comperative Literature 48, no.4 (Autumn 1996): 302-325.

Yates, Stanley. “Bach’s Unaccompanied String Music: A New (Old) Approach to Stylistic and Idiomatic Arrangement for the Guitar, PartⅠ.” Classical Guitar 17, no.3 (November 1998): 24, 26, 28-29.

______. “Bach’s Unaccompanied String Music: A New (Old) Approach to Stylistic and Idiomatic Arrangement for the Guitar, Part Ⅱ.” Classical Guitar 17, no.4 (December 1998): 20, 22.

______. “Bach’s Unaccompanied String Music: A New (Old) Approach to Stylistic and Idiomatic Arrangement for the Guitar, Part Ⅲ.” Classical Guitar 17, no.5 (January 1999): 20, 22, 24, 26.

______. “Bach’s Unaccompanied String Music: A New (Old) Approach to Stylistic and Idiomatic Arrangement for the Guitar, Part Ⅳ.” Classical Guitar 17, no.6 (February 1999): 32, 34-35.

Recording Bibliography

Chalmers, Kenneth. Liner notes for Stravinsky: Petrushka, Pulcinella. DECCA 443 774-2, 1995. CD.

Dömlin, Wolfgang. Liner notes for Pulcinella (Revised 1965 Edition), Octet, Renard, Ragtime. Sony SK45965, 1991. CD.

Dommett, Kenneth. Liner notes for Stravinsky: Divertimento, Suite Italienne, Duo Concertant. EMI CDC 7 49322 2, 1987. CD.

Hoogen, Eckhardt van den. Liner notes for Shostakovitch/Prokofiev/Stravinsky: Works for cello and piano. KOCH 3-1436-2, 1995. LP.

73 Jacobsson, Stig. Liner notes for The Russian Cello. PolyGram BIS CD-336, 1986. CD.

Larner, Gerald. Liner notes for Russian Music for String Duo. Chandos CHAN 8652, 1988. CD.

Mercado, Mario. Liner notes for Cho-Liang Lin/ André-Michel Schub: Stravinsky. CBS MK 42101, 1986. CD.

Schwarz, Boris. Liner notes for The Heifetz-Piatigorsky Concerts. Columbia, M33447, 1976. LP.

Steinberg, Michael. Liner notes for Tashi Plays Stravinsky. RCA ARL 1-2449, 1978. CD.

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