“TIDENS FYLDE”: TEMPORALITY AND TRADITION IN CARL NIELSEN’S WORKS FOR VIOLIN by LUCY HOLLAND PHILLIPS A DISSERTATION Presented to the School of Music and Dance and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts June 2012 DISSERTATION APPROVAL PAGE Student: Lucy Holland Phillips Title: “Tidens Fylde”: Temporality and Tradition in Carl Nielsen’s Works for Violin This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in the School of Music and Dance by: Marian Smith Chairperson Kathryn Lucktenberg Advisor Loren Kajikawa Member Leslie Straka Member Michael Stern Outside Member and Kimberly Andrews Espy Vice President for Research & Innovation/Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded June 2012 ii © 2012 Lucy Holland Phillips iii DISSERTATION ABSTRACT Lucy Holland Phillips Doctor of Musical Arts School of Music and Dance June 2012 Title: “Tidens Fylde”: Temporality and Tradition in Carl Nielsen’s Works for Violin This dissertation highlights the position of the violin works in Danish composer Carl Nielsen’s oeuvre. The violin was an integral part of this composer’s life from an early age. Despite this, his compositions for the violin have received little critical attention. My project is the first full-length treatment of Nielsen’s repertoire for violin. I approach the subject with the goal of examining Nielsen’s position in the early twentieth century through the notions of temporal consciousness and tradition. I address the interplay of these ideas as signifiers within the works, particularly the Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 35 and the Præludium og Tema med Variationer, Op. 48. This interplay enables us to view Carl Nielsen as a participant on the world stage of Western music as a modernist, despite his apparent ties to tradition. I also address the issue of accessibility in Nielsen studies by including a complete translation of Hungarian violinist Emil Telmányi’s Vejledning til Instudering og Fortolkning af Carl Nielsen’s Violinværker og Kvintet for Strygere [Guide to the Study and Interpretation of Carl Nielsen’s Violin Works and Quintet for Strings]. The Carl Nielsen narrative is framed by his symphonies and his status as a nationalist composer. Through this study, I expose the importance of this overlooked repertoire in the current revision of the Nielsen narrative. iv CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Lucy Holland Phillips GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon New England Conservatory, Boston, Massachusetts Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee DEGREES AWARDED: Doctor of Musical Arts, 2012, Violin Performance, University of Oregon Master of Music, 2011, Viola Performance, University of Oregon Graduate Diploma, 2004, Violin Performance, New England Conservatory Master of Music, 2003, Violin Performance, New England Conservatory Bachelor of Music, 2000, Violin Performance, Vanderbilt University AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: Scandinavian music and culture Violin and viola pedagogy PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Principal Viola, Eugene Symphony, 2010-present Graduate Teaching Fellow, University of Oregon, 2005-2010 Violin Instructor, Gordon College, 2003-2005 Violin Instructor, Milton Public Schools, 2004-2005 GRANTS, AWARDS, AND HONORS: Outstanding Graduate String Performance Award, University of Oregon, 2012 Outstanding Graduate String Performance Award, University of Oregon, 2011 v Gilkey Scholarship, University of Oregon, 2010-11 Graduate Research Award, University of Oregon, 2010 Semi-finalist, Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition, 2008 vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am sincerely grateful to my committee for assisting me in this project. I would like to thank Michael Stern for helping me to think outside of the music box and Loren Kajikawa for his advice in my early stages of research and writing. In addition, I acknowledge my violin teachers to whom I am forever indebted, Connie Heard, James Buswell, and Kathryn Lucktenberg, for supporting my interest in Carl Nielsen’s violin works and helping me achieve the means to perform them. My father, Robert L. Phillips, deserves special thanks for introducing me to Nielsen’s music when I was a child and for being a constant sounding board for ideas. I must thank my mother who instilled self- discipline and musicianship, and my siblings, Ty and Shandy, for their humor and advice. My deepest thanks go to my partner in life, Josh Magsam, for his encouragement and support throughout this project. vii To Carl viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 Carl Nielsen Today ................................................................................................ 5 Carl Nielsen’s Works for Violin ............................................................................ 9 Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 9 (1895) ...................................................... 11 Violin Concerto, Op. 33 (1911) ....................................................................... 13 Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 35 (1912) .................................................... 16 Præludium og Tema med Variationer, Op. 48 (1923) ..................................... 18 Preludio e Presto (1928) .................................................................................. 21 Temporality and Tradition ..................................................................................... 23 II. “MOZART OG VOR TID”: THE SONATA FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO, OP. 35 .......................................................................................................................... 27 III. ECHOES OF THE FOLKELIG TRADITION IN PRÆLUDIUM OG TEMA MED VARIATIONER, OP. 48 ...................................................................................... 83 Folkelig, Danskhed, and Nationalism .................................................................... 88 Folkelige Songs: Danish Symbol, Musical Topic, and Temporal Signifier .......... 95 1923........................................................................................................................ 102 IV. PATRILINEAL ASSOCIATIONS: EMIL TELMÁNYI’S VEJLEDNING TIL INDSTUDERING OG FORTOLKNING AF CARL NIELSEN’S VIOLINVÆRKER OG KVINTET FOR STRYGERE .................................................................................. 119 Translation ............................................................................................................. 137 ix Chapter Page I. Introduction .................................................................................................. 137 II. Violin Concerto, Op. 33 .............................................................................. 142 III. Sonata in A Major for Violin and Piano, Op. 9 ......................................... 159 IV. Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano, Op. 35 ................................................ 171 V. Præludium og Tema med Variationer for soloviolin, Op. 48 ..................... 189 VI. Preludio e Presto for soloviolin, Op. 52 .................................................... 202 VII. Kvintet for Strygere, G-dur (1888) ........................................................... 214 V. CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................... 237 REFERENCES CITED ................................................................................................ 245 x LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Nielsen Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 35: Allegro piacévole, final gesture ... 39 2. Sonata, Op. 35, first movement, opening to m. 28 ............................................... 44 3. Nielsen Sonata, Op. 35, first movement, violin part, mm. 43-45 .......................... 45 4. Nielsen Sonata, Op. 35, first movement, mm. 74-79 ............................................. 46 5. Violin Concerto, Op. 33 (1911): final measures of Poco adagio .......................... 50 6. Sonata, Op. 35: final measures of Molto adagio ................................................... 50 7. Sonata, Op. 35: opening skewed waltz of Allegro piacévole ................................ 51 8. Nielsen, Sonata, Op. 35, last movement, mm. 218-223......................................... 52 9. Nielsen, Sonata, Op. 35, last movement, mm. 256-259......................................... 53 10. Nielsen’s Sonata, Op. 35, last movement, violin part, mm. 259-272 .................... 53 11. Mozart Sonata for Violin and Piano in B-flat, K. 378, first movement ................. 64 12. Schumann Sonata for Violin and Piano in A, Op. 105, first movement ................ 65 13. Schumann Sonata, Op. 105, first movement, mm. 25-27 ...................................... 65 14. Schumann Sonata, Op. 105, mm. 65-57 ................................................................ 66 15. Schumann Sonata, Op. 105, first movement, mm. 205-end .................................. 66 16. Nielsen Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 9, first movement, mm. 75-86 ............. 74 17. Nielsen, Op. 9, Andante, mm. 23-32...................................................................... 76 18. Nielsen Sonata, Op. 9, Andante, mm. 100-105 .................................................... 77 19. Nielsen Sonata, Op. 9, Allegro piacevole è giovanile,