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Benjamin Britten's Neglected “Gemini Variations,”

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BENJAMIN BRITTEN’S NEGLECTED GEMINI VARIATIONS, OP. 73 AND ITS PLACE IN THE CHAMBER MUSIC REPERTOIRE Charles Gibb, B.M., B.A., M.M. Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS May 2020 APPROVED: James Scott, Co-Chair Terri Sundberg, Co-Chair Eugene Corporon, Committee Member Natalie Mannix, Interim Chair of the Division of Instrumental Studies Felix Olschofka, Director of Graduate Studies in the College of Music John Richmond, Dean of the College of Music Victor Prybutok, Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School Gibb, Charles. Benjamin Britten’s Neglected “Gemini Variations,” Op. 73 and Its Place in the Chamber Music Repertoire. Doctor of Musical Arts (Performance), May 2020, 70 pp., 46 musical examples, bibliography, 48 titles. In 1964, Benjamin Britten met the multi-instrumentalist twins Zoltán and Gábor Jeney while traveling in Budapest. At their behest, Britten composed Gemini Variations: Twelve Variations and Fugue on an Epigram by Kodály, a work which exploited the brothers’ abilities on multiple instruments: Zoltán on flute and piano, and Gábor on violin and piano. In foreseeing the difficulties of programming this work, Britten simultaneously arranged a version for four players: flute, violin, and four-hand piano, eliminating the need for switching instruments. Despite this arrangement, as well as a very public and highly anticipated premiere at the Aldeburgh Festival in 1965, Gemini Variations has remained neglected by performers and scholars alike. This document serves to 1) promote a work that can justifiably be considered as part of the chamber music repertoire involving flute; 2) advocate for its musical merit and appropriateness for chamber music concerts made up of more traditional groups of players; 3) compare the two-player and four-player versions Britten wrote; and 4) explore the likely reasons why a piece by one of the most celebrated composers of the twentieth century has remained largely ignored for over fifty years. Copyright 2020 By Charles E. Gibb ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you to my family. Thanks Mom, Dad, Nico, and Liam for indulging me and supporting me. This wouldn’t have happened without you all. To my teachers: Margaret Irwin and Marcia Metzger who began it all. Catherine Ramirez who started the fire, and to all of the invaluable professors and teachers who have guided me along the way: Jeni-Lyn Starr, Dennis Lindsay, Jerry Jones, Timothy Mahr, Steven Amundson, the late Alice M. Hanson, Conor Nelson, Terri Sundberg, and James Scott. Thank you to Zoltán and Gábor Jeney, to whom Gemini Variations is dedicated, for their knowledge, recommendations, and suggestions in the correspondence we shared as I made my way through this incredible project. Many thanks to Faber Music for granting their permission in order to reproduce score examples in this document. Score Examples from Gemini Variations Copyright 1965/1966 by Faber Music Ltd, London Reproduced by kind permission of the publishers And thank you to my committee. Your guidance and hard work are greatly appreciated: Dr. James Scott Professor Terri Sundberg Professor Eugene Migliaro Corporon iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iii LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES ................................................................................................. v CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2. ORIGINS AND PREMIERE OF GEMINI VARIATIONS ...................................... 4 CHAPTER 3. HISTORICAL PAUCITY OF RECORDINGS AND PERFORMANCES ............ 7 CHAPTER 4. STRUCTURE AND ANALYSIS OF GEMINI VARIATIONS ............................. 13 CHAPTER 5. ANALYSIS OF 2-PLAYER VERSUS 4-PLAYER VERSIONS ......................... 48 CHAPTER 6. MUSICAL MERIT AND COMPARISON TO BRITTEN’S OTHER WORKS… ....................................................................................................................................................... 57 CHAPTER 7. CONCLUSION...................................................................................................... 65 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................................... 68 iv LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES Page Example 4-1: Cell A and Cell B ................................................................................................... 13 Example 4-2: Kodály’s Epigrams Op. 54, Mvt 4, mm. 1-5.......................................................... 14 Example 4-3: Benjamin Britten Gemini Variations Theme, mm. 1-5 .......................................... 16 Example 4-4: Benjamin Britten Gemini Variations Theme, mm. 16-20 ...................................... 17 Example 4-5: Cell A Intervallic Relationships in the First Two Gestures of Variation 1 ............ 18 Example 4-6: Benjamin Britten Gemini Variations Variation 1, mm. 1-10 ................................. 19 Example 4-7: Benjamin Britten Gemini Variations Variation 1, mm. 40-50 ............................... 20 Example 4-8: Benjamin Britten Gemini Variations Variation 2, mm. 1-8 ................................... 21 Example 4-9: Transformation of Cell A in Variation 2 ................................................................ 22 Example 4-10: Transformation of Cell B in Variation 2, Violin .................................................. 23 Example 4-11: Transformation of Cell B in Variation 2, mm. 26-30 ........................................... 23 Example 4-12: Benjamin Britten Gemini Variations Variation 3, mm. 19-37 ............................. 24 Example 4-13: Transformation of Cell A in Variation 3 .............................................................. 25 Example 4-14: Transformation of Cell A and Cell B in Variation 4, mm. 1-7 ............................ 26 Example 4-15: Benjamin Britten Gemini Variations Variation 4, mm. 14-26 ............................. 26 Example 4-16: Transformation of Cell A and Cell B in Variation 5, mm. 1-3 ............................ 27 Example 4-17: Transformation of Cell B in Variation 5, mm. 23-24 ........................................... 28 Example 4-18: Transformation of Cells A and B in Variation 6, mm.1-5 ................................... 29 Example 4-19: Reflected Transformations of Cell A in Variation 6, mm.5-8 ............................. 30 Example 4-20: Transformation of Cells A and B in Variation 7, mm. 1-4 .................................. 31 Example 4-21: Accompanying Figuration in Variation 8............................................................. 32 Example 4-22: Transformation of Cells A and B in Variation 8 .................................................. 32 Example 4-23: Benjamin Britten Gemini Variations Variation 8, mm. 1-7 ................................. 33 v Example 4-24: Variation 9, Cell A Figuration.............................................................................. 34 Example 4-25: Benjamin Britten Gemini Variations Variation 9, mm. 13-21 ............................. 34 Example 4-26: Variation 10, Piano I Melodic Content First Half ................................................ 36 Example 4-27: Benjamin Britten Gemini Variations Variation 10, mm. 13-15 ........................... 36 Example 4-28: Transformation of Cell B in Variation 10, mm. 5-6 ............................................. 37 Example 4-29: Variation 10, Piano I Melodic Content Second Half ........................................... 38 Example 4-30: Benjamin Britten Gemini Variations Variation 11, mm. 1-2 ............................... 39 Example 4-31: Transformation of Cells A and B in Variation 11, mm. 1-4 ................................ 39 Example 4-32: Benjamin Britten Gemini Variations Variation 12, mm. 1-4 ............................... 40 Example 4-33: Benjamin Britten Gemini Variations Variation 12, Opening ............................... 41 Example 4-34: Variation 12, Cell A in Opening Right Hand Pitches .......................................... 41 Example 4-35: Variation 12, Cell B in Opening Left Hand Pitches ............................................. 42 Example 4-36: First Fugue Idea, Fugue mm. 1-4 ......................................................................... 43 Example 4-37: Second Fugue Idea, Fugue mm. 14-16 ................................................................. 44 Example 4-38: Iterations of Cell A in Tiered Ascent, Fugue mm. 19-21 ..................................... 45 Example 4-39: Iterations of Cells A and B in Countersubjects, Fugue mm. 63-70 ..................... 46 Example 5-1: Benjamin Britten Gemini Variations Theme, mm. 1-5 .......................................... 49 Example 5-2: Benjamin Britten Gemini Variations Variation 10, mm. 4-6 ................................. 50 Example 5-3: Benjamin Britten Gemini Variations Fugue (Full Score), mm. 67-72 ................... 51 Example 5-4: Benjamin Britten Gemini Variations Fugue (Full Score), mm. 125-End .............. 52 Example 5-5: Benjamin Britten Gemini Variations Solo Part, Theme, Variation 1, and Beginning of Variation 2 ................................................................................................................................ 54 Example 5-6: Benjamin Britten Gemini Variations Solo Part, Variation 6 w/Page Turn Direction at End ...........................................................................................................................................
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