THE SOLO VIOLIN WORKS of SAMUEL ADLER, CHEN YI, and SHULAMIT RAN: a PERFORMER’S PERSPECTIVE Title Page
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THE SOLO VIOLIN WORKS OF SAMUEL ADLER, CHEN YI, AND SHULAMIT RAN: A PERFORMER’S PERSPECTIVE Title Page IOANA GALU A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS August 2012 Committee: Penny Thompson Kruse, Advisor Jeremy Wayne Wallach Graduate Faculty Representative Robert Satterlee Marilyn Shrude © 2012 Ioana Galu All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Abstract Penny Thompson Kruse, Advisor Solo violin repertoire dates back to the seventeenth century, when many violinists wrote works for themselves to perform. Before Bach, composers such as Fontana, Marini, Farina, Biber, Walther, and Westhoff explored the instrument’s capacity for expression and technical versatility. Until the mid-nineteenth century, string instrument instruction was an essential part of most musicians’ training. Many great composers including Monteverdi, Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven played string instruments and wrote idiomatic works for those instruments, especially the violin. Performers mainly rely on theoretical, stylistic, and structural analyses for informed interpretations, rarely having obtained information regarding the circumstances surrounding the composition and extra-musical influences. The solo violin works of Samuel Adler, Chen Yi, and Shulamit Ran have become part of the standard contemporary violin repertoire. Besides available theoretical writings and Chen Yi and Shulamit Ran’s notes which accompany their scores, there are no written accounts from a performer’s perspective or analyses of these works. The purpose of this document is to provide direct insight into the composition of these works and to give suggestions for informed performances. All three composers currently reside in the United States, but were born in other countries: Samuel Adler (Germany), Chen Yi (China), and Shulamit Ran (Israel). Composers from diverse cultures approach idiomatic writing for the violin differently, using an array of techniques such as shifting, glissando, rhythm, articulation, and pitch temperament. Each composer’s cultural, social, spiritual, and personal influences must be understood by the iv performer, so that the interpretation can reflect the background from which the works were written. The author interviewed Adler, Chen Yi, and Ran regarding their solo violin pieces, musical and cultural backgrounds and compositional style. The author’s intention is to help violinists approach the discussed works from a technical, interpretative, and cultural perspective. v Dedication To Dr. Penny Thompson Kruse and Dr. Steven Kruse for their continuous support and guidance on this document and throughout my studies in the United States. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Acknowledgements I would like to thank my teacher and advisor Dr. Penny Thompson Kruse and the members of my doctoral committee Dr. Robert Satterlee, Dr. Marilyn Shrude, and Dr. Jeremy Wayne Wallach for their encouragement, support, and assistance. Special thanks to the composers Samuel Adler, Chen Yi, and Shulamit Ran for their invaluable contributions and insights into the works discussed. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents Page INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER I. SAMUEL ADLER: CANTO III AND IN MEMORY OF MILTON ........................ 4 Biography .............................................................................................................................4 Canto III ...............................................................................................................................7 In Memory of Milton ..........................................................................................................15 CHAPTER II. CHEN YI: MEMORY FOR SOLO VIOLIN ........................................................ 20 Biography ...........................................................................................................................20 Memory ..............................................................................................................................29 CHAPTER III. SHULAMIT RAN: INSCRIPTIONS FOR SOLO VIOLIN ............................... 40 Biography ...........................................................................................................................40 Inscriptions ........................................................................................................................46 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................. 57 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................................... 59 APPENDIX A. INTERVIEW WITH SAMUEL ADLER .......................................................... 64 APPENDIX B. INTERVIEW WITH CHEN YI ......................................................................... 75 APPENDIX C. INTERVIEW WITH SHULAMIT RAN ........................................................... 79 APPENDIX D. HUMAN SUBJECTS RESEARCH BOARD APPROVAL .............................. 87 APPENDIX E. LETTER OF INFORMED CONSENT .............................................................. 89 viii LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES AND FIGURES . Page Example 1: Phrase 1 and phrase 2, implied meters, phrase extension .......................................... 10 Example 2: Intervallic Expansion ................................................................................................. 10 Example 3: Repeated melodic dyads generating mixed meter structures ..................................... 11 Example 4: Phrase 1 and 2 compression....................................................................................... 11 Example 5: Phrase 4 and 5 compression....................................................................................... 12 Example 6: Ostinato motives ........................................................................................................ 13 Example 7: Intervallic expansion of trichords .............................................................................. 14 Example 8: Polyphonic texture, motivic resonance ...................................................................... 14 Example 9: Succession of parallel thirds and alternating major- and minor-sevenths ................. 15 Example 10: Repeated sixteenth-notes followed by eighth notes, triplet, and quintuplet ............ 15 Figure 1: Assignment of the letters of the alphabet to the twelve chromatic pitches ................... 16 Example 11: The three main hexachords which quote Milton Babbitt’s name ............................ 17 Example 12: Main hexachord, modified ....................................................................................... 18 Example 13: Main hexachord, modified ....................................................................................... 18 Example 14: Opening phrases for b1 and b2 sections .................................................................. 19 Example 15: Lin motive................................................................................................................ 32 Example 16: Lament motive ......................................................................................................... 32 Example 17: Lin Answer .............................................................................................................. 32 Example 18: Lament Answer........................................................................................................ 33 Example 19: Sigh Gesture ............................................................................................................ 33 Example 20: 1st Lin motive ending, Lament answer leap ............................................................ 34 ix Example 21: 2nd Lin motive ending, Lament answer leap ........................................................... 34 Example 22: 6th Lin motive ending, Lament answer leap ............................................................ 34 Example 23: Second episode whole-tone scale ............................................................................ 35 Example 24: Second episode with accelerating repeated notes and appoggiaturas ...................... 35 Figure 2: Beat proportions ............................................................................................................ 37 Figure 3: Form .............................................................................................................................. 38 Example 25: Motivic convergence (a, b) ...................................................................................... 47 Example 26: Motivic divergence .................................................................................................. 47 Example 27: Motivic cell expansion............................................................................................. 48 Example 28: Motivic resonance.................................................................................................... 48 Example 29: Intervallic expansion................................................................................................ 48 Example 30: Opening phrase, sections B and B2 ......................................................................... 49 Example 31: Repeated ascending diminished-octave