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George Rochberg–Slow Fires of Autumn (Ukiyo-E Ii) for Flute and Harp

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George Rochberg–Slow Fires of Autumn (Ukiyo-E Ii) for Flute and Harp GEORGE ROCHBERG–SLOW FIRES OF AUTUMN (UKIYO-E II) FOR FLUTE AND HARP: A PERFORMANCE GUIDE WITH SPECIAL FOCUS ON HIS INCORPORATION OF JAPANESE MUSICAL AND ARTISTIC IMAGERY BY AI YAMAGUCHI THESIS Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in Music with a concentration in Performance and Literature in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2019 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Professor Jonathan Keeble, Chair Professor Gabriel Solis, Director of Research Associate Professor J. David Harris Associate Professor Reynold Tharp ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze George Rochberg’s application of Japanese musical and artistic imagery through an examination of his flute and harp piece, Slow Fires of Autumn (Ukiyo-E II) (1978-1979). This study synthesizes research on Rochberg’s shifting compositional aesthetic, discusses the performance techniques incorporated in the piece, and shows the connections between this composition and the seventeenth-century Japanese art genre known as Ukiyo-E, as well as Japanese traditional instruments and folksongs. This study also provides a comprehensive performance practice guide so that performers may more effectively interpret and convey these varied influences. ii To my beloved family, Susumu, Takeko, and Jun Yamaguchi iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are numerous people whom I would like to acknowledge for their support throughout the process of this project. I would like to thank my committee members Dr. Gabriel Solis, Dr. Jonathan Keeble, Dr. Reynold Tharp, and Professor J. David Harris, for their patient guidance and advising to complete my thesis. I am especially grateful for my research advisor, Dr. Gabriel Solis, for his support and feedback throughout the writing process, as well as, Dr. Jonathan Keeble, my mentor, for sharing his wisdom and inspirations throughout my years at the University of Illinois. My sincere thanks to Carol Wincenc and Christina Jennings for their generosity in sharing their experience and expertise for this research. The collected materials from the interviews have been undoubtedly invaluable to my project. I extend my deepest appreciation to my beloved family in Japan for their continuous and tireless support throughout my musical and educational endeavors. Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Frank Niemeyer for contributing not only countless hours of proofreading and editing, but also for his love, comfort, and encouragement throughout this journey. I certainly could not have finished this document without his support. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 1: GEORGE ROCHBERG’S LIFE AND COMPOSITIONAL STYLE .....................4 CHAPTER 2: MUSIC HISTORY OF JAPAN AND TRADITIONAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS ......................................................8 2.1 BRIEF MUSIC HISTORY OF JAPAN .................................................................................8 2.2 JAPANESE TRADITIONAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS ..............................................13 CHAPTER 3: GEORGE ROCHBERG AND JAPAN ..................................................................32 3.1 THE JAPANESE INFLUENCE ........................................................................................32 3.2 THE CREATIVE PROCESS .............................................................................................36 3.3 GEORGE ROCHBERG, CAROL WINCENC, AND CHRISTINA JENNINGS ............38 3.4 ITSUKI NO KOMORIUTA (五木の子守唄) ........................................................................41 CHAPTER 4: SLOW FIRES OF AUTUMN (UKIYO-E II) FOR FLUTE AND HARP .................43 4.1 UKIYO-E: THE JAPANESE WOODBLOCK PRINTS .....................................................43 4.2 APPLICATION OF TRADITIONAL JAPANESE INSTRUMENTS IN IN SLOW FIRES OF AUTUMN ..........................................................................................60 CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................................................75 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..........................................................................................................................78 APPENDIX A: PROJECT RECITAL PROGRAM ......................................................................82 v INTRODUCTION Musicians have the important responsibility of accurately delivering composers’ intended musical stories, visions, inspirations, and expressions. To make the music more meaningful and personal, it is essential for musicians to perform and bring their sensibility and inflections to the interpretation. This can be exceptionally daunting, particularly when musicians are faced with pieces that challenge and indeed exceed the limits of traditional tonality, a common practice in twentieth-century music, and pieces that incorporate musical materials from outside Western performers’ common cultural background. The modernist movement in music shifted composers’ focus away from the confines of traditional tonality and toward different compositional techniques that rely on new musical trends, forms, and styles. Postmodernism later established a wide variety of new and innovative musical approaches. Experimentation with new ideas and new philosophical views further expanded the musical language. One of the preeminent American composers who contributed to both serial and postmodern music was George Rochberg. George Rochberg was known as one of the most prominent serialist composers through the 1940s and 1960s; however, after the tragic death of his son in 1964, he shifted his compositional style and chose to “[broaden] his spectrum to include tonal idioms.”1 Rochberg describes his initial attempt as: I was not yet ready to re-embrace “tonality” without reserve, I began to approach it first by quoting tonal music of the past, in assemblages or collages of different music (Contra Mortem et Tempus and Music for the Magic Theater, both 1965), and in commentaries on works of the past (Nach Bach, 1966); later, I would compose sections for movements or whole movements in the language of tonality (Symphony No. 3, 1966-69.)2 1 Warren John Gaughan, “An Analysis of George Rochberg’s Carnival Music: Suite for Piano Solo” (DMA diss., Arizona State University, 2008), 4. 2 George Rochberg, liner note for String Quartet No.. 3 (Nonesuch H 71283), 1973. 1 Since his new style of writing included musical quotations from the past in his tonal music, some critics considered his music to be controversial. The first composition that exemplified Rochberg’s major pivotal change was his Third String Quartet (1971), which the Concord String Quartet premiered in 1972.3 Rochberg felt strongly that true expression in music lay in the traditions of the past; he believed that drawing on such traditions allowed compositions “to re-emerge as a spiritual force with reactivated powers of melodic thought, rhythmic pulse, and large-scale structure.”4 During this period, many of his compositions borrowed from earlier composers such as Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Stravinsky, and Ives in combination with his own original ideas to make a musical language of his own. In 1973, Rochberg and his wife visited Japan and their encounter with the traditional music of Japan left a lasting impression and fascination. This experience inspired him to compose four beautiful pieces that captured the culture and sound of Japan through his unique use of tonality and atonality. One such piece, Imago Mundi (1973), is a large orchestral work influenced by Japanese Gagaku music.5 Other Rochberg works that incorporate Japanese cultural and aesthetic influences include the three-part Ukiyo-E series written for solo harp, flute and harp, and flute and piano. Although Western classical music and the Japanese musical culture evolved separately over the centuries to include dramatic differences in musical modes, harmonies, and instruments, an exchange of these two unique musical cultures have significantly increased over the past century. Research on the application of these Japanese 3In an article by James Wierzbicki, “Reflections on Rochberg and ‘Postmodernism,’” Perspectives of New Music, Vol. 45, no. 2 (Summer 2007): 114, Wierzbicki reviews the Third String Quartet as “…the quartet’s dissonant passages…are strongly reminiscent of Bartok, Schoenberg, and Stravinsky…[and] the quartet’s extended tonal episodes sound very much like music that might have been penned by Beethoven and Mahler.” 4 James Wierzbicki, “Reflections on Rochberg and ‘Postmodernism.’” Perspectives of New Music, Vol. 45, no. 2 (Summer 2007): 115. 5 Gagaku is a form of ancient Japanese court music. 2 imageries and aesthetics in Western musical compositions is still limited and, thus, demand further study. This thesis offers a deeper appreciation and clearer understanding of the Japanese musical and artistic imagery in Rochberg’s flute and harp piece entitled Slow Fires of Autumn (Ukiyo-E II). In addition, this thesis provides teachers and performers a foundation upon which to explore and expand their contemporary musical repertoire through relevant historical background and an in-depth performance practice guide, which will further enhance performances of the piece. 3 CHAPTER 1: GEORGE ROCHBERG’S LIFE AND COMPOSITIONAL STYLE The contemporary American composer George Rochberg (1918 – 2005) began his composition
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