A Study of Gian Carlo Menotti's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
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A STUDY OF GIAN CARLO MENOTTI’S CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN AND ORCHESTRA by LAURA ANNE TOMLIN (Under the Direction of Dorothea Link and Levon Ambartsumian) ABSTRACT Gian Carlo Menotti’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (1952), although written and premiered in the early 1950s, has been an unduly neglected work due to a number of circumstances, but one that has recently been gaining in popularity. The purpose of this document is to provide a comprehensive guide to the Violin Concerto in the hope that it will help capture the attention of those unaware of its existence and ultimately aide in the concerto’s acceptance into the violinist’s standard repertoire. The Violin Concerto’s historical context is examined in relationship to its compositional style and possible sources of inspiration, and to its neglect in the past and recent surge in popularity in the violin world. A formal and theoretical analysis of Menotti’s concerto, as well as a discussion of its technical challenges from the standpoint of the performer, will provide insight into its composition and interpretative issues. Despite its traditional form, Menotti’s Violin Concerto is an unusual piece in many respects, among which are its intriguing possible biographical components. Composed in 1952 for violinist Efrem Zimbalist, the work, on first hearing, can seem a bit disjointed with elements obviously derived from, or at the very least influenced by, other works. However, on closer examination of the work and of its intended performer, these elements appear to be intentional. For these reasons, in addition to its appeal simply as a composition, Menotti’s Violin Concerto is worthy of further study. INDEX WORDS: Gian Carlo Menotti, Violin Concerto, Laura Anne Tomlin, The University of Georgia, DMA Document A STUDY OF GIAN CARLO MENOTTI’S CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN AND ORCHESTRA by LAURA ANNE TOMLIN B.M., North Carolina School of the Arts, 1984 M.M., University of Southern California, 1986 A Document Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS ATHENS, GEORGIA 2009 © 2009 Laura Anne Tomlin All Rights Reserved A STUDY OF GIAN CARLO MENOTTI’S CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN AND ORCHESTRA by LAURA ANNE TOMLIN Major Professors: Levon Ambartsumian Dorothea Link Committee: Leonard Ball Michael Heald David Starkweather Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia December 2009 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my committee for the many hours they spent reading and revising my document and for making the process an enjoyable one. I am especially grateful to Professor Dorothea Link for her constant encouragement. I am also thankful for my friends, family, and colleagues and their gentle pushes, words of advice, and steadfast support. Most of all I am forever indebted to my husband, Randy, who tolerated my topsy-turvy lifestyle, cooked many meals, and never stopped believing in me. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................iv LIST OF FIGURES.......................................................................................................vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................1 Purpose ...................................................................................................1 Methodology...........................................................................................2 Background.............................................................................................2 2 RECORDING AND PERFORMANCE HISTORY.....................................20 3 ANALYSIS OF THE CONCERTO ...........................................................34 Introduction...........................................................................................34 Musical Style and Influence ..................................................................34 First Movement.....................................................................................39 Second Movement.................................................................................68 Third Movement ...................................................................................79 4 TECHNICAL AND PEDAGOGICAL ISSUES ..........................................91 5 CONCLUSIONS.........................................................................................96 APPENDICES A POSSIBLE BIOGRAPHICAL ELEMENTS ..............................................99 B GLOSSARY OF VIOLIN BOWING TERMS.......................................... 106 v BIBLIOGRAPHY. ...................................................................................................... 107 Scores .................................................................................................. 107 Books................................................................................................... 107 Articles ................................................................................................ 108 Theses/Dissertations............................................................................. 116 Recordings........................................................................................... 116 Interviews ............................................................................................ 117 Selected Performances ......................................................................... 117 vi LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1: First Movement: Formal Outline................................................................40 Figure 2: First Movement: Detailed Formal Outline..................................................45 Figure 3a: First Movement: Primary Theme, mm. 1-10...............................................46 Figure 3b: Prokofiev: First Movement Primary Theme, First Phrase, Original Key, mm. 1-3; Menotti: First Movement Primary Theme, First Phrase, Transposed Down a Major Second, mm. 2-3..............................................47 Figure 3c: Prokofiev: First Movement Primary Theme, Second Phrase, Original Key, mm. 9-11; Menotti: First Movement Primary Theme, Second Phrase, Original Key, mm. 7-8 ..............................................................................47 Figure 4: First Movement: Transition, m. 24 .............................................................48 Figure 5: First Movement: Inserted Section, Theme A, m. 29....................................49 Figure 6: First Movement: Inserted Transition B, m. 34 ............................................52 Figure 7a: First Movement: Orchestral Primary Theme, New Motive, mm. 47-48.......52 Figure 7b: Khachaturian: Second Movement, mm. 61-64............................................53 Figure 7c: First Movement: Solo Violin, mm. 49-52...................................................53 Figure 8: First Movement: Inserted Theme A’, mm. 57-59........................................54 Figure 9: First Movement: Inserted Theme A’, mm. 59-61........................................55 Figure 10: First Movement: Inserted Theme A’’, mm. 67-68.......................................57 Figure 11: Prokofiev: Transition to Recapitulation, mm. 179-183 ...............................58 Figure 12: First Movement: Inserted Theme A’’, mm. 75-77.......................................58 Figure 13: Khachaturian: First Movement Primary Theme, Second Phrase, mm. 15-17; Menotti: First Movement, Secondary Theme, First Phrase, mm. 94-95.......59 vii Figure 14a: First Movement: Secondary Theme Area Motive, mm. 91..........................60 Figure 14b: First Movement: Secondary Theme Area Motive, m. 104...........................60 Figure 14c: First Movement: Secondary Theme Area Motive, m. 111...........................60 Figure 15a: First Movement: Secondary Theme Area, Closing Theme Motive, mm. 122-124..............................................................................................61 Figure 15b: First Movement: Secondary Theme Area, Transition Motive, m. 135.........62 Figure 16: First Movement: Development, New Theme, mm. 153, 155.......................62 Figure 17: First Movement: Development, New Theme, mm. 174-175........................63 Figure 18: First Movement: Coda, First Section, mm. 326-339....................................67 Figure 19: Second Movement: Formal Structure .........................................................69 Figure 20: Second Movement: Primary Theme Area, mm. 1-18 ..................................70 Figure 21: Second Movement: Transition with Deflected Cadences, mm. 18-21..........71 Figure 22: Second Movement: “America” Quote, mm. 50-52 ......................................73 Figure 23: Second Movement: Linear Graph of Cadenza, mm. 68-95, Middleground...76 Figure 24: Chart of the Formal Structure of the Third Movement................................80 Figure 25: Third Movement: Exposition Introduction, First Motive, mm. 1-2 and Second Motive, mm 3-4.............................................................................81 Figure 26: Third Movement: Exposition Primary Theme, mm. 9-14............................82 Figure 27a: Third Movement: Primary Theme Area, mm. 33-38 ...................................83 Figure 27b: Third Movement: Primary Theme Area, mm. 44-48 ...................................83 Figure 27c: First Movement: Secondary Theme, mm. 94 ..............................................83 Figure 28: