A Study and Performance Guide to Dennis Kam's Sonata Ibis For
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University of Miami Scholarly Repository Open Access Dissertations Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2008-04-18 A Study and Performance Guide to Dennis Kam's Sonata Ibis for Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano and a Performance Comparison to Four Earlier Versions of the Work Biljana Milovanovic University of Miami, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlyrepository.miami.edu/oa_dissertations Recommended Citation Milovanovic, Biljana, "A Study and Performance Guide to Dennis Kam's Sonata Ibis for Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano and a Performance Comparison to Four Earlier Versions of the Work" (2008). Open Access Dissertations. 71. https://scholarlyrepository.miami.edu/oa_dissertations/71 This Open access is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at Scholarly Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI A STUDY AND PERFORMANCE GUIDE TO DENNIS KAM’S SONATA IBIS FOR CLARINET, VIOLIN, CELLO AND PIANO AND A PERFORMANCE COMPARISON TO FOUR EARLIER VERSIONS OF THE WORK By Biljana Milovanovic A DOCTORAL ESSAY Submitted to the Faculty of the University of Miami in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts Coral Gables, Florida May 2008 © 2008 Biljana Milovanovic All Rights Reserved UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI A doctoral essay submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts A STUDY AND PERFORMANCE GUIDE TO DENNIS KAM’S SONATA IBIS FOR CLARINET, VIOLIN, CELLO AND PIANO AND A PERFORMANCE COMPARISON TO FOUR EARLIER VERSIONS OF THE WORK Biljana Milovanovic Approved: _____________________________ _______________________________ Dr. Paul Posnak Dr. Terri A. Scandura Professor of Keyboard Performance Dean of the Graduate School _____________________________ ________________________________ Dr. Paul Wilson Dr. J. Robert Floyd Professor of Music Theory and Chair of Keyboard Performance Composition _____________________________ Dr. Rosalina G. Sackstein Professor of Keyboard Performance MILOVANOVIC, BILJANA (D.M.A., Accompanying and Chamber Music) A Study and Performance Guide to (May 2008) Dennis Kam’s Sonata Ibis for Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano and a Performance Comparison to Four Earlier Versions of the Work Abstract of a doctoral essay at the University of Miami. Doctoral essay supervised by Professor Paul Posnak. Number of pages in text. (108) In 2005, Dennis Kam completed the Sonata Ibis which the ensemble Ibis Camerata premiered at the Festival Miami at the University of Miami that same year. The composition is the last of five versions of the same work, originally written for piano solo. The work was recorded by the Ibis Camerata, on their CD titled Glisten , and released in 2006 on the Albany Records music label. The composition presents an important addition to the existing repertoire for the ensemble of clarinet, violin, cello, and piano. Sonata Ibis is a single movement work not following traditional forms. The work reflects the composer’s conscious aim of making works with different versions. One of the issues that this study takes up is the evolution of the Sonata Ibis through all five versions. Analysis of musical materials and techniques used in the Sonata are also a part of the study. One chapter of this paper deals with Dennis Kam’s biography. One chapter discusses the formal structure and musical idiom of the work. Performance-related issues from the ensemble and a pianist perspective are discussed in the remaining two chapters. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF EXAMPLES........................................................................................................ v Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION: THE FIVE VERSIONS OF SONATA IBIS ............................ 1 Outline............................................................................................................... 2 2. A BIOGRAPHY OF DENNIS KAM ..................................................................... 6 Kam’s College Years in Oberlin....................................................................... 8 Masters Degree Studies at the East-West Center in Hawaii ............................. 8 Kam’s Doctoral Studies and Residency for the Ford Foundation in Hawaii.... 9 Professorship at the University of Miami ....................................................... 11 3. CRITICAL COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS OF THE FORM AND MUSICAL IDIOM IN THE SONATA IBIS .......................................................... 13 Kam’s Approach to the Formal Structure of the Sonata ................................. 13 Experiments with the Fibonacci Series........................................................... 15 Dennis Kam’s Musical Language................................................................... 16 Analysis of Form and Musical Idiom ............................................................. 17 4. A PERFORMANCE GUIDE TO THE SONATA IBIS FOR CLARINET, VIOLIN, CELLO, AND PIANO.......................................................................... 50 Instrumentation Challenges ............................................................................ 51 Creation of a New Medium............................................................................. 52 The Role of the Clarinet in the Ensemble....................................................... 53 The Role of the Violin in the Sonata .............................................................. 56 Ensemble Issues in the Sonata Ibis ................................................................. 62 The Role of Cello in the Sonata ...................................................................... 72 iii 5. A PERFORMANCE GUIDE TO THE SONATA FROM THE PIANIST’S PERSPECTIVE..................................................................................................... 75 The Opening of the Sonata ............................................................................. 76 Technical Issues of the B section.................................................................... 81 Ensemble Issues in the B Section.................................................................... 84 The “Melting” Section and its Challenges...................................................... 90 The “Dream-Like” Section ............................................................................. 91 Pianistic Issues of the “Dream-Like” Section................................................. 94 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 95 APPENDIX A - A COMPOSITIONAL PROFILE OF DENNIS KAM.................... 96 APPENDIX B – LIST OF WORKS BY DENNIS KAM........................................... 99 BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................................................................................... 105 iv LIST OF EXAMPLES Example 1. Kam, Sonata, Quintet, mm. 1-2 ..................................................................... 15 Example 2. Kam, Sonata Ibis, mm. 1-7 ............................................................................ 18 Example 3. Kam, Sonata Ibis, mm. 8-9 ............................................................................ 18 Example 4. Kam, Sonata Ibis, mm. 9-15 .......................................................................... 19 Example 5. Kam, Sonata Ibis, mm. 16-21 ........................................................................ 19 Example 6. Kam, Sonata Ibis, mm. 22-28 ........................................................................ 20 Example 7. Kam, Sonata Ibis, mm. 29-34 ........................................................................ 20 Example 8. Kam, Sonata Ibis, m. 35................................................................................. 21 Example 9. Kam, Sonata, Quintet, mm. 1-6 ..................................................................... 22 Example 10. Kam, Sonata Ibis, mm. 1-7 .......................................................................... 22 Example 11. Kam, Sonata Ibis, mm. 142-147 .................................................................. 23 Example 12. Kam, Sonata Ibis, mm. 42-44 ...................................................................... 24 Example 13. Kam, Sonata, Quintet, mm 35-36 ................................................................ 25 Example 14. Kam, Sonata Ibis, mm 35-37 ....................................................................... 26 Example 15. Kam, Sonata, Quintet, mm. 49-53 ............................................................... 27 Example 16. Kam, Sonata, Quintet, mm 58-60 ................................................................ 27 Example 17. Kam, Sonata, Quintet, mm. 68-69 ............................................................... 28 Example 18. Kam, Sonata Ibis, mm 48-55 ....................................................................... 29 Example 19. Kam, Sonata Ibis, mm. 55-60 ...................................................................... 30 Example 20. Kam, Sonata Ibis, mm. 67-70 ...................................................................... 30 Example 21. Kam, Sonata Ibis, mm. 84-87 ...................................................................... 31 Example 22. Kam, Sonata Ibis, mm. 97-98 ...................................................................... 32 v Example 23.