Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2011 Gra#yna Bacewicz and Her Violin Compositions: From a Perspective of Music Performance Hui-Yun (Yi-Chen) Chung Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MUSIC GRAŻYNA BACEWICZ AND HER VIOLIN COMPOSITIONS- FROM A PERSPECTIVE OF MUSIC PERFORMANCE By HUI-YUN (YI-CHEN) CHUNG A Treatise submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Music Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2011 Hui‐Yun Chung defended this treatise on November 3, 2011. The members of the supervisory committee were: Eliot Chapo Professor Directing Treatise James Mathes University Representative Melanie Punter Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above‐named committee members, and certifies that the treatise has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii To my beloved family iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my deep gratitude and thanks to Professor Eliot Chapo for his support and guidance in the completion of my treatise. I also thank my committee members, Dr. James Mathes and Professor Melanie Punter, for their time, support and collective wisdom throughout this process. I would like to give special thanks to my previous violin teacher, Andrzej Grabiec, for his encouragement and inspiration. I wish to acknowledge my great debt to Dr. John Ho and Lucy Ho, whose kindly support plays a crucial role in my graduate study. I am grateful to Shih‐Ni Sun and Ming‐Shiow Huang for their warm‐hearted help. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my sister, who always supports me in my years of learning music. Thanks to my parents and husband for their endless love and continuous encouragement. Without them, this journey would have never been possible and completed. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………………………………………………………vi LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES…………………………………………………………………………………...vii ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………ix I. THE OVERVIEW OF MUSIC GACKGROUND DURING THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (FROM 1909‐1969)....................................................................................……………1 SURVEY OF MUSIC HISTORY IN POLAND FROM 1909‐1969………………………………….2 II. BIOGRAPHY OF GRAŻYNA BACEWICZ…………………………………………………………………9 CHARACTERISTICS OF HER COMPOSITIONS IN DIFFERENT PERIODS…………..……15 III. THE SELECTED WORK OF GRAŻYNA BACEWICZ’S VIOLIN COMPOSITIONS‐ FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF PERFORMANCE PRACTICE……………………………………………..20 Bacewicz’s Second Compositional Period……………..……………………………………22 Polish Caprice………………………………………………………………………………………..23 Sonata No.4 for violin and piano…………………………………………………..……….30 Bacewicz’s Third Compositional Period………………………………………………………..38 String Quartet no.6…………………………………………………………………….………….38 4 Kaprysy……………………………………………………………………………………………….45 IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION…………..…………….………………………………………………53 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………………………………………..55 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH…………………………………………………………………………………………..59 v LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1 Polish Capriccio Overview…………………..........................................................25 TABLE 2 Sonata No.4 for violin and piano Overview…………………................................32 vi LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES Example 3.1 Polish Capriccio, mm. 1‐4…………………………………………………………………...26 Example 3.2 Polish Capriccio, mm. 90‐92………………………………………………………………. 27 Example 3.3 Polish Capriccio, mm.1‐2……………………………………………………………………..27 Example 3.4 Polish Capriccio, mm. 119‐121…………………………………………………………….28 Example 3.5 Polish Capriccio, mm. 95‐97………………………………………………………………..29 Example 3.6 Polish Capriccio, mm. 113‐118…………………………………………………………….30 Example 3.7 Sonata no.4 for violin and piano, First movement, mm. 1‐ 12…..…………32 Example 3.8 Sonata no.4 for violin and piano, First movement, mm. 1‐ 19……………..35 Example 3.9 Sonata no.4 for violin and piano, First movement, mm. 20‐ 25……………36 Example 3.10 Sonata no.4 for violin and piano, First movement, mm. 236‐ 243……..37 Example 3.11 String Quartet No.6, First movement, three measures before figure 22……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………41 Example 3.12 String Quartet No.6, First movement, Figure 22………………………………..41 Example 3.13 String Quartet No.6, First movement, mm. 1‐4………………………………….42 Example 3.14 String Quartet No.6, First movement, Figure two………………………………43 Example 3.15 String Quartet No.6, Third movement, mm. 10‐12…………………………….44 Example 3.16 Romanza Andalusa (Spanish Dances), Op.22……………………………………..47 Example 3.17 4 Kaprysy I, m. 15………………………………………………………………………………47 Example 3.18 4 Kaprysy I, mm. 74‐78………………………………………………………………………48 Example 3.19 4 Kaprysy I, mm. 74‐78 (with modification)……….………………………………48 Example 3.20 4 Kaprysy II, mm. 41‐46……………………………………………………………………..49 Example 3.21 4 Kaprysy II, mm. 66‐71……………………………………………………………………..50 Example 3.22 4 Kaprysy II, mm. 6‐15……………………………………………………………………….51 vii Example 3.23 4 Kaprysy IV, mm. 12‐17……………………………………………………………………52 viii ABSTRACT In the twentieth century, new compositional concepts were introduced to Poland, which had been devastated by wars. Poles absorbed these new music trends happening in the world, and eventually created their unique music. Consequently, many fabulous Polish composers emerged in the twentieth century, but they did not receive the recognition they deserve. Therefore, my motivation to write this treatise is to better understand the contemporary music in Poland. The first chapter of this treatise provides an overview of the music background in the twentieth century, along with brief history and music background in Poland in the first sixty years of the twentieth century. The second chapter, introduces an outstanding female Polish composer, Grażyna Bacewicz. Her detailed biography, music characteristics and representative violin compositions from her second and third compositional periods will be addressed in the second and third chapters. Her representative compositions addressed include Polish Capriccio (1949) and Sonata no.4 for Violin and Piano (1949) from her second compositional period, and String Quartet no.6 (1960) and 4 Kaprysy (1968) from her third compositional period. Given that the author is a violin player, this treatise will also introduce these compositions from a perspective of performance. ix CHAPTER ONE THE OVERVIEW OF MUSIC GACKGROUND DURING THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (FROM 1909‐1969) There was a significant shift in music style during the twentieth century. The new music trends at this time were all‐inclusive. For example, the new music concepts in the first sixty years of the twentieth century included atonalism, neo‐classicism, folklorist elements, avant‐gardism, and minimalism. There were also other, more minor, developments. In the twentieth century, the traditional tonal thinking based on Classical European Music was no longer the only way for composers to compose their work. In fact, the expressive music phrases, expanded music structures, and the usages of advanced harmonies from the late romanticism period had become outdated. “The result of new musical development everywhere in the early years of the century was the weakening or the destruction of the accepted implications of traditional functional tonality.”1 Nevertheless, some composers kept working on the music language and styles from the previous century, such as Sergei Rachmaninoff and Edward Elgar. Igor Stravinsky played an important role in contributing to the music of the twentieth century. After moving to Paris in 1920, Stravinsky started to shift his compositional style to ‘neoclassicism.’2 As Salzman points out, “A large body of the 1 Eric Salzman, “Twentieth‐century music: an introduction” edited by H. Wiley Hitchcock. 3rd ed, Prentice‐Hall history of music series (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1988), 45. 2 Neo‐classism: “A movement of style in the works of certain 20th‐century composers, who, particularly during the period between the two world wars, revived the balanced forms and clearly perceptible thematic processes of earlier styles to replace what were, to them, the increasingly exaggerated gestures and formlessness of late Romanticism.” Arnold Whittall, "Neo‐classicism," in Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, 1 new tonal music, centered on the work of Igor Stravinsky, has been known as ‘neo‐Classical’; a more logical and inclusive term might be ‘neo‐tonal.’ Part of this music style is composed of the forms and materials derived from the traditional classical music. However, a great part of this music style derives from an earlier or a more recent past or no particular past at all.”3 For instance, the definition of, ‘past’, that Stravinsky had in mind might only come from the classical period, or may not even be classic at all. He may get inspired from the composers in the Renaissance, or some of his contemporaries. The city of Paris was critical to the development of ‘neo‐classicism’. Paris was the music center during and after the two world wars, and it facilitated ‘neo‐classicism’ to become a dominant trend in music. This trend in Paris also indirectly affected music development in other countries, such as Poland. SURVEY OF MUSIC HISTORY IN POLAND FROM 1909‐1969 Poland is one of those European countries that has a very rich history and cultural heritage, and it has produced a few famous composers such as Chopin and Wieniawski in the nineteenth century. In the early twentieth century,