ABSTRACT Title of dissertation: AFFECTING ETERNITY: THE PEDAGOGICAL INFLUENCE OF OLIVIER MESSIAEN Dissertation directed by: Professor Rita Sloan, School of Music Olivier Messiaen was among the most prominent and prodigious composer-teachers of the 20 th century, teaching scores of students while holding two positions at the Conservatoire de Paris, first as professor of analysis, then as professor of composition. This dissertation explores the connections that can be established through three generations of composers: the composers whose works Messiaen lectured on, his own works, and works by the students of Messiaen. The repertoire considered centers on the piano in various solo and collaborative settings, including operatic reductions, art song, and instrumental chamber music. An effort was made to include students from different periods of Messiaen’s teaching career and representatives of different aesthetic traditions, including serialism, neo-expressionism, European minimalism, and others. Compositions by composers preceding Messiaen were chosen because they were most important to Messiaen and his philosophies. All of these works and composers are assembled here in order to represent the breadth and diversity of Messiaen’s teaching, which enabled his students to find distinct voices in the postwar musical scene. This repertoire was performed over the course of three recitals on November 15 th , 2019, March 8 th and May 6 th , 2020, with the first two recitals held in the Gildenhorn Recital Hall at the University of Maryland, and the third recital streamed live from the living room of the pianist. Recordings of these three recitals can be found in the Digital Repository at the University of Maryland (DRUM). AFFECTING ETERNITY: THE PEDAGOGICAL INFLUENCE OF OLIVIER MESSIAEN by Andrew Jonathan Welch Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts 2020 Advisory Committee: Professor Rita Sloan, Chair Professor Andrea Frisch Professor Barbara Haggh-Huglo Professor Justina Lee Professor Gran Wilson ©Copyright by Andrew Jonathan Welch 2020 Acknowledgements During my first two recitals of this dissertation project, I was joined onstage by many gifted, generous artists. Although they are listed individually below, I could not have completed this work without them. A constant presence at my University of Maryland recitals was Antonino D’Urzo, who repeatedly worked small miracles as the recording engineer. In addition to advising this dissertation, I was privileged to study with Rita Sloan as a private piano student. When she was on sabbatical during the final semester of this project, I had the good fortune of working with Audrey Andrist. This work is dedicated to those who have taught me, and those whom I’ve taught. ii Table of Contents ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................ 1 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................. ii Table of Contents ................................................................................................... iii Program I ................................................................................................................ v Program II .............................................................................................................. vi Program III ............................................................................................................ vii CD Track Listings ................................................................................................ viii List of Figures ......................................................................................................... x Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 United by an elastic creed: the compositions of Messiaen ..................................... 5 Huit Préludes ....................................................................................................... 7 Thème et Variations .......................................................................................... 12 Pièce (pour le tombeau de Paul Dukas) ............................................................ 14 Le Merle Noir ................................................................................................... 15 Pièce pour piano et quatuor à cordes ................................................................ 18 The Venerated Masters ......................................................................................... 20 Dukas, La plainte, au loin, du Faune ............................................................... 20 Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande .......................................................................... 22 Debussy: Première Rhapsodie and Jeux ........................................................... 24 Debussy: Cloches à travers les feuilles ............................................................. 26 Ravel: Le Gibet ................................................................................................. 28 Ravel: Frontispice and other works .................................................................. 31 Stravinsky and other influences ........................................................................ 33 Messiaen’s friends and confidants ........................................................................ 35 Claire Delbos .................................................................................................... 35 L’Âme en Bourgeon ......................................................................................... 36 La Spirale, La Jeune France, and Andre Jolivet ............................................... 39 A magnum opus : the composition studio of Olivier Messiaen ............................. 41 Pierre Boulez ..................................................................................................... 42 Karel Goeyvaerts .............................................................................................. 46 William Bolcom ................................................................................................ 49 iii Betsy Jolas ........................................................................................................ 53 Alexander Goehr ............................................................................................... 56 Joanna Bruzdowicz ........................................................................................... 59 Tristan Murail ................................................................................................... 61 Toru Takemitsu ................................................................................................. 64 George Benjamin .............................................................................................. 69 Concluding Thoughts ............................................................................................ 76 Appendix I: Texts and Translations ...................................................................... 80 Delbos, L’Âme en Bourgeon ............................................................................. 80 Claude Debussy, Pelléas et Mélisande , act III, scene I .................................... 81 George Benjamin, Written on Skin, scene IV ................................................... 85 Appendix II: Recital Program #4 .......................................................................... 88 Bibliography ......................................................................................................... 89 iv Program I November 15, 2019 5:00 p.m. Gildenhorn Recital Hall Le Merle Noir Olivier Messiaen (1908 – 1992) La plainte, au loin, du faune Paul Dukas (1865 – 1935) Pièce pour le tombeau de Paul Dukas Olivier Messiaen - Intermission – L’Âme en Bourgeon Claire Delbos IV. Te voilà hors de l’alvéole… (1906 – 1959) V. Je Savais que ce serait toi… Douze Notations Pierre Boulez I. Fantasque - Modéré (1925 – 2016) II. Très vif III. Assez lent IV. Rythmique V. Doux et improvisé Première Rhapsodie Claude Debussy (1862 – 1918) Thomas James Wible, flute Lewis Gilmore, clarinet Nicole Levesque, mezzo-soprano Andrew Jonathan Welch, piano v Program II March 8, 2020 2:00 p.m. Gildenhorn Recital Hall Act III, Scene I “The Tower Scene” Claude Debussy from Pelléas et Mélisande (1862 – 1918) Rain Tree Sketch II Toru Takemitsu (1930 – 1996) Cloches d’adieu, et un sourire Tristan Murail (b. 1947) Rain Spell Toru Takemitsu - Intermission - Octet George Benjamin (b. 1960) Scene IV George Benjamin from Written on Skin Thème et Variations Olivier Messiaen (1908 – 1992) Thomas J Wible, flute Lewis Gilmore, clarinet Cambria van der Vaarst, harp Anthony Konstant, percussion Myles Mocarski, violin James Stern, violin Tonya Burton, viola Molly Jones Castrucci, cello Jessica Powell Eig, bass Erica Ferguson, soprano Elise Volkmann, soprano Tim Keeler, countertenor Richard Giarusso, baritone Kevin Short, bass-baritone Andrew Jonathan Welch, piano vi Program III May 6, 2020 5:00 p.m. From the home of the pianist Huit Préludes Olivier Messiaen I. La Colombe (1908 – 1992) Erotiques Joanna Bruzdowicz (b. 1943) Images (book II) Claude Debussy I. Cloches à travers les feuilles (1862 – 1918) Signets (Hommage à Ravel) Betsy Jolas (b.