Concerto for Violin and Orchestra and "Nevertheless, She Composed: a Contemporary Survey of Women Composers of the Twenty-First Century"
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2-27-2020 Concerto for Violin and Orchestra and "Nevertheless, She Composed: A Contemporary Survey of Women Composers of the Twenty-First Century" Elizabeth Anne Knox Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Composition Commons Recommended Citation Knox, Elizabeth Anne, "Concerto for Violin and Orchestra and "Nevertheless, She Composed: A Contemporary Survey of Women Composers of the Twenty-First Century"" (2020). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 5162. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/5162 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN AND ORCHESTRA AND NEVERTHELESS, SHE COMPOSED: A CONTEMPORARY SURVEY OF WOMEN COMPOSERS OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Music by Elizabeth Anne Knox B.M., University of Indianapolis, 2013 M.M., Butler University, 2016 May 2020 PREFACE While composing the violin concerto, I found myself continually thinking about the potential performers and listeners. I would like to think that I have always cared about both parties when I compose, but I believe this consumer-awareness coupled with a strict non- programmatic approach had a profound impact on the outcome of this piece, whether positive or negative. The terminal struggle of the contemporary composer is alive and well with famous questions such as: Should I write in a strictly academic style to land a job? Should I rage against the machine and write what I want? Should I write what I think others want to hear or play? Should I write a piece that has a chance of being performed? All of these considerations are worth exploring when creating a new piece, depending on the composer’s end goal. This also reveals the importance of (if possible) securing a commission or writing for a specific ensemble. This gives the composer an idea of the target audience, the skill level of the performers, the resources available within the performing ensemble, etc. While composing this work, instead of establishing a programmatic narrative, I imagined live performances by both collegiate orchestras and professional ensembles. This imaginative performance technique helped me consider specific decisions regarding style, technique, balance, etc. within the ensemble. It also informed the level of difficulty of the piece and the potential personnel considerations. For the purposes of a dissertation, this concerto may be lacking a strong academic or contemporary flair, but I believe that the solo voice against the larger ensemble gave me an opportunity to explore my abilities in creating distinct melodies and counterpoint within the confines of a larger form. My desire to study with Dr. Dinos Constantinides was centered around this more traditional approach to composing. ii I look forward to composing additional concertos that may reflect a more virtuosic setting, but I believe personal growth and advances were made with this first violin concerto. For the last two and a half years, I have had the privilege of meeting so many wonderful musicians and composers as a result of Nevertheless, She Composed. Developing and maintaining NSC has been an amazing and challenging opportunity. I had to research and develop many (unanticipated) new skills on demand while investing an immense amount of time, energy, and resources to the see the project come to life and maintain its existence. From weeks of video editing and processing, to countless hours of scheduling interviews, recording them, and then transcribing, the effort was and is worth every minute to be able to connect with these amazing composers that deserve to be heard. Though the scope of this project may be slightly outside of the “dissertation box”, I believe the value of recording these active, living composers holds great merit and potential. I look forward to continuing the interviews, promoting new music, the composers that write it, and expanding our compositional outreach. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the following LSU faculty members for their service and guidance as my doctoral committee: My teacher and mentor, Dr. Dinos Constantinides, LSU Boyd Professor of Composition, Dr. Edgar Berdahl, Assistant Professor of Experimental Music & Digital Media, Dr. Alison McFarland, Associate Professor of Musicology, Dr. Jeffrey Perry, Manship Professor of Music Theory, and Dr. B. Charlene Henderson, Assistant Professor - Department of Accounting. I would like to acknowledge the research and advocacy that I witnessed (on behalf of composers who happened to be women) during my undergraduate and graduate education in Indianapolis, Indiana. The efforts of Dr. Rebecca Sorley, Professor of Music at the University of Indianapolis, and Dr. James Briscoe, Professor Emeritus of Music, Butler University, were early inspirations for this dissertation and the subsequent anthology that will follow. A very special note of thanks to the women that opened their hearts and worlds to us through these somewhat candid yet inspiring interviews. Thank you to all of my colleagues, friends, and family for showing enthusiasm and providing encouragement for this project. It has been and will be an honor to continue to reach out to additional composers and share their stories. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” - 1 Corinthians 10:31(KJV) iv TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE........................................................................................................................................ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..............................................................................................................iv ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................vi CHAPTER 1. CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN AND ORCHESTRA Introduction..........................................................................................................................1 Score in C: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra..................................................................14 CHAPTER 2. NEVERTHELESS, SHE COMPOSED: A CONTEMPORARY SURVEY OF WOMEN COMPOSERS OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY Introduction......................................................................................................................108 Literature Review.............................................................................................................110 Composer Biographies and Interviews Elainie Lillios..........................................................................................................112 Mara Gibson............................................................................................................132 A Tribute to Kate Waring........................................................................................160 Jennifer Higdon.......................................................................................................178 Clare Shore..............................................................................................................213 List of Resources..............................................................................................................233 APPENDIX A. INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD APPROVAL........................................238 APPENDIX B. INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD CONSENT FORMS............................239 APPENDIX C. SAX SIMILE FOR ALTO SAXOPHONE AND PIANO SCORE...................248 BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................................................................................................254 VITA............................................................................................................................................255 ABSTRACT This dissertation consists of two parts: the first part includes an original composition titled, “Concerto for Violin and Orchestra.” This twenty-minute work is composed for traditional orchestral instrumentation and solo violin. Motivic variation is the primary focus of this piece with a goal to show evidence of a thorough understanding and use of this technique. In music composition, variation is a technique achieved by restating musical material in an altered form. Schoenberg describes a motive as, “a unit which contains one or more features of interval and rhythm [whose] presence is maintained in constant use throughout a piece.” Therefore, motivic variation (sometimes referred to as motivic development) is the compositional process of restating a musical idea throughout a piece in an altered form. The large-form structure consists of four movements; each movement is approximately five minutes in length with no breaks between. The music is non-programmatic with emphasis on color, timbre, and textural changes. The harmonic language is mostly pandiatonic (lacking functional tonality.) Counter-point, range, instrument combinations, and compositional style were considered for each passage. The second