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A Performer's Guide to the First Two Movements of Pyotr Tchaikovsky's

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A Performer's Guide to the First Two Movements of Pyotr Tchaikovsky's A PERFORMER’S GUIDE TO THE FIRST TWO MOVEMENTS OF PYOTR TCHAIKOVSKY’S GRAND SONATA IN G MAJOR, OPUS 37 Elena V. Dorozhkina, B.A., M.M. Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS December 2012 APPROVED: Pamela Mia Paul, Major Professor Elvia Puccinelli, Committee Member Gustavo Romero, Committee Member Steven Harlos, Chair of the Division of Keyboard Studies John Murphy, Director of Graduate Studies in the College of Music James Scott, Dean of the College of Music Mark Wardell, Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School Dorozhkina, Elena V. A Performer’s Guide to the First Two Movements of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Grand Sonata in G Major, Opus 37. Doctor of Musical Arts (Performance), December 2012, 77 pp., 67 musical examples, references, 63 titles. The Grand Sonata in G Major, Op.37, composed by Tchaikovsky, is a powerful large- scale composition and a piece of a symphonic scope. However, the sonata did not receive a desired acclaim in the modern repertoire partially due to an obvious lack of performance instructions in the existing editions, which makes the sonata challenging to perform. Thus, in order to reduce the technical challenges and to encourage more frequent performances of the sonata, this dissertation offers a performer’s guide that addresses essential elements of pedal indications, phrasing and detailed dynamics, as well as suggestions on voice balancing, agogics, fingering, and hand redistribution. The guide consists of musical examples that are focused on the most challenging sections of the sonata, and is organized in the subsections according to a technique type proposed to facilitate a performance of the sonata. In addition to the examples on application of individual techniques presented in the main body of the dissertation, alternative and more elaborate versions of the suggestions are proposed in the appendices. The dissertation also provides a history of the sonata, and discusses its concept and symphonic principles. Additionally, the work highlights Tchaikovsky’s piano style and describes his views on the art of piano performance. A special attention is also given to two musical references repeatedly embedded into the sonata: the bell-like sonorities and Dies irae melody. Copyright 2012 By Elena V. Dorozhkina ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to acknowledge everyone who supported me during the preparation of my dissertation. First of all, I thank my teacher and major professor Dr. Pamela Mia Paul for her mentoring, support, motivation, and help; my minor professor Dr. Elvia Puccinelli for her useful ideas and attention to my work; and Prof. Gustavo Romero for his corrections. Second, I would like to thank Prof. Vladimir Viardo for his inspiring ideas proposed for the interpretation of the Grand Sonata. Finally, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr. Anton S. Petrov who encouraged me throughout every moment of my work on the dissertation. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. iii LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES ................................................................................................ vi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................1 CHAPTER II OVERVIEW OF THE CONCEPT AND HISTORY OF THE GRAND SONATA 4 2.1 The Overview of the Stylistic Context .....................................................................4 2.1.1 Tchaikovsky as a Pianist and His Views on the Art of Piano Performance 4 2.1.2 A Brief Overview of Tchaikovsky’s Solo Piano Works ..............................5 2.1.3 Vocal and Symphonic Aspects of the Grand Sonata ...................................6 2.1.4 Influence of Schumann’s Compositions on the Grand Sonata ....................7 2.2 The Concept of the Grand Sonata ............................................................................8 2.3 The History of the Grand Sonata .............................................................................9 2.4 Special Additional Musical References in the Grand Sonata ................................11 2.4.1. Bell-Like Sonorities ...................................................................................12 2.4.2. Use of Motive from the Dies irae Chant ....................................................14 CHAPTER III PERFORMER’S GUIDE FOR MOVEMENT I, MODERATO E RISOLUTO ....17 3.1. Overview of the First Movement’s Structure ........................................................17 3.2. Special Problems Raised in the First Movement for a Performer and Some Proposals to Resolve These Problems ...................................................................19 3.2.1. Voice Balancing .........................................................................................19 3.2.2. Articulation: Managing the Orchestral Writing/Imitation Orchestral Timbres ......................................................................................................21 3.2.3. Agogics Technique (Rubato) .....................................................................24 3.2.4. Phrasing, Agogics, and Articulation ..........................................................25 3.2.5. Dynamics ...................................................................................................29 3.2.6. Pedal ...........................................................................................................30 3.2.7. Hand Redistribution ...................................................................................32 3.2.8. Interpretative Choices: Dies Irae Motive ...................................................33 iv CHAPTER IV PERFORMER’S GUIDE FOR MOVEMENT II, ANDANTE NON TROPPO QUASI MODERATO .....................................................................................................................39 4.1. Overview of the Second Movement’s Structure ....................................................39 4.2. Special Problems Raised in the Second Movement for a Performer and Some Proposals to Resolve These Problems ...................................................................40 4.2.1. Touch and Pedaling....................................................................................41 4.2.2. Phrasing, Dynamics, and Voice Balancing ................................................44 4.2.3. Phrasing and Fingering ..............................................................................46 4.2.4. Voice Balancing .........................................................................................47 4.2.5. Agogics Technique (Rubato) .....................................................................48 4.2.6. Hand Redistribution ...................................................................................49 CHAPTER V CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................50 APPENDIX: COMBINED APPLICATION OF MUSICAL TECHNIQUES ..............................51 Part A1. Movement I, Moderato e risoluto........................................................................53 Part A2. Movement II, Andante non troppo quasi moderato .............................................67 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..........................................................................................................................73 v LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES Example 2-1a. Piano texture in Tchaikovsky’s Grand Sonata ....................................................... 8 Example 2-1b. Piano texture in Schumann’s Grand Sonata ........................................................... 8 Example 2-2a. Triumphant bells. .................................................................................................. 12 Example 2-2b. Triumphant bells................................................................................................... 13 Example 2-3. Warning bells ......................................................................................................... 13 Example 2-4a. Funeral bells ......................................................................................................... 14 Example 2-4b. Funeral bells ......................................................................................................... 14 Example 2-5a. Dies irae motive ................................................................................................... 15 Example 2-5b. Dies irae motive ................................................................................................... 16 Example 2-5c. Dies irae motive ................................................................................................... 16 Example 3-1a. Symphonic texture-voice balancing ..................................................................... 20 Example 3-1b. Symphonic texture-voice balancing ..................................................................... 20 Example 3-2a. Imitation of string legato ...................................................................................... 22 Example 3-2b. Imitation of string pizzicato .................................................................................. 22 Example 3-2c. Imitation of harp arpeggiato................................................................................. 23 Example 3-2d. Imitation of string quartet texture ......................................................................... 23 Example 3-3. Agogics technique
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