STYLISTIC INTERPRETATION AND PERFORMANCE ISSUES IN OTTORINO RESPIGHI’S VIOLIN SONATA IN B MINOR by LUCAS SCALAMOGNA (Under the Direction of Levon Ambartsumian) ABSTRACT This study evaluates the compositional style of Respighi’s Violin Sonata in B Minor (1917) based on existing scholarly writings and my own analysis, with the purpose of offering informed performance suggestions. Issues of stylistic interpretation and technical preparation are covered for each movement of the work. In addition, historical backgrounds on the composer and the sonata are provided, focusing on the events and compositional influences surrounding the conception of the work. The study discusses the stylistic influences of Baroque music, the Romantic period, impressionism, and Respighi’s orchestral music. Performance suggestions are provided on the topics of sound production, vibrato, articulation, and rubato. In addition, issues of tempo, ensemble, and technical challenges for the violin are discussed for each movement, and practice suggestions are provided. INDEX WORDS: Ottorino Respighi, Violin Sonata in B Minor, style, interpretation, violin performance practice, violin technique STYLISTIC INTERPRETATION AND PERFORMANCE ISSUES IN OTTORINO RESPIGHI’S VIOLIN SONATA IN B MINOR by LUCAS SCALAMOGNA B.M., University of North Texas, 2011 M.M., University of Georgia, 2013 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS ATHENS, GEORGIA 2017 © 2017 LUCAS SCALAMOGNA All Rights Reserved STYLISTIC INTERPRETATION AND PERFORMANCE ISSUES IN OTTORINO RESPIGHI’S VIOLIN SONATA IN B MINOR by LUCAS SCALAMOGNA Major Professor: Levon Ambartsumian Committee: Rebecca Simpson-Litke David Starkweather Electronic Version Approved: Suzanne Barbour Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2017 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to thank Prof. Levon Ambartsumian for his time, guidance, and constant support during my studies at the University of Georgia. I am grateful to him for sharing his knowledge and artistic insight, continuously inspiring me to become a better musician. I also want to thank my music theory professor, Dr. Rebecca Simpson-Litke, for her valuable academic and pedagogical teaching and for constantly motivating me to achieve the highest level in my work. Her helpful suggestions were crucial to the production of this document. In addition, I would like to thank Dr. David Starkweather for his assistance as a committee member in the writing of this work and for sharing his valuable knowledge and experience as a fantastic chamber music coach during my studies at the University of Georgia. I am forever grateful to my family for their endless love and support throughout my life and music career. I also want to express my gratitude to my former violin professors and music teachers without whom I would not have made it this far in my academic studies. Finally, I want to thank Crystal Wu for her constant support, her enthusiasm to join me in learning this composition, and her valuable help in the preparation of this project. I am indebted to her for her precious time studying and performing the sonata, as well as for helping me edit this document. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ vii LIST OF EXAMPLES ..................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................1 Need for Study .............................................................................................1 Purpose and Significance .............................................................................2 Review of Literature ....................................................................................3 Delimitations ................................................................................................5 2 OTTORINO RESPIGHI’S LIFE AND COMPOSITIONAL BACKGROUND ...............................................................................................6 Biography .....................................................................................................6 Compositional Style in the Chamber Works ...............................................8 3 THE VIOLIN SONATA IN B MINOR: STYLE AND STRUCTURE ..........12 History of the Sonata’s Composition .........................................................12 Style and Structure .....................................................................................13 4 THE VIOLIN SONATA IN B MINOR: PERFORMANCE CONSIDERATIONS ........................................................27 First Movement – Moderato ......................................................................28 v Second Movement – Andante espressivo ..................................................31 Third Movement (Passacaglia) – Allegro moderato ma energico .............33 5 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................37 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................38 APPENDIX LECTURE-RECITAL SCRIPT .......................................................................40 vi LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1: Analysis of Ottorino Respighi’s Violin Sonata in B Minor, First Movement ..................................................................................................................21 Table 2: Flamm’s Analysis of Ottorino Respighi’s B-Minor Sonata, Second Movement .............................................................................................................22 Table 3: Flamm’s Analysis of Respighi’s Violin Sonata in B Minor, Third Movement ................................................................................................................25 Table 4: Tempo Suggestions for Respighi’s Violin Sonata in B Minor, Passacaglia........34 vii LIST OF EXAMPLES Page Example 1. Ottorino Respighi, Violin Sonata in B Minor, First Movement, mm. 1-17 ................................................................................................14 Example 2. Ottorino Respighi, Violin Sonata in B Minor, First Movement, mm. 84-87 ..............................................................................................15 Example 3. Ottorino Respighi, Violin Sonata in B Minor, Second Movement, mm. 1-8 ..............................................................................................16 Example 4. Ottorino Respighi, Violin Sonata in B Minor, Second Movement. Harmonic reduction of mm. 94-102 (above) and 117-124 (below) ...................................17 Example 5. J. S. Bach, Partita for Solo Violin in D Minor, Chaconne, mm. 1-5 ..............19 Example 6. Ottorino Respighi, Violin Sonata in B Minor, Third Movement, mm. 21-25 .............................................................................................19 Example 7. Ottorino Respighi, Violin Sonata in B Minor, First Movement, mm. 142-146 ..........................................................................................30 Example 8. Ottorino Respighi, Violin Sonata in B Minor, First Movement, mm. 140-145 ..........................................................................................30 Example 9. Ottorino Respighi, Violin Sonata in B Minor, Passacaglia, mm. 111-120..................................................................................................35 viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Need for Study Ottorino Respighi’s compositional legacy is remembered today mainly through his numerous orchestral works, including the tone poems known as the “Roman Trilogy:” The Fountains of Rome, The Pines of Rome, and Roman Festivals. His output in other genres, on the other hand, is often overlooked. With more than twenty chamber works, Respighi’s abilities as a composer of instrumental music were not limited to the orchestral field. While his chamber works were admired during the composer’s life, they did not preserve their popularity after his death. This may be attributed partially to the success of his orchestral works, which overshadowed these chamber pieces. However, the lack of scholarly study on Respighi’s chamber music after his death further contributed to the decline in popularity of this repertoire. Indeed, most of the scholarly attention between the 1930s and 1960s was diverted to the influences of the Second Viennese School and Stravinsky, overlooking valuable late Romantic chamber compositions from this period. Thorough considerations of the compositional influences in Respighi’s chamber music therefore did not begin to appear until almost thirty years after the composer’s death in 1936. Prior to this document, studies about performance practice of such works do not exist. The Violin Sonata in B Minor, composed in 1917, is one of Respighi’s most performed and recorded chamber pieces. It has grown steadily in popularity since 1950 1 after Jascha Heifetz produced one of its most famous recordings so far. Since then, the work has not only been played and recorded more often, but also praised in numerous reviews and scholarly writings about Respighi’s music. As the piece’s popularity increased,