Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Date of Degree
9-2016
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
D.M.A.
Program
Music
Advisor
Joseph N. Straus
Committee Members
Norman Carey
Jeff Nichols
Ursula Oppens
Subject Categories
Music | Music Performance | Music Theory
Keywords
Post-tonal Music Analysis, Modernist Solo Violin Music
Abstract
This dissertation investigates analytical and performance relationships through studies of three post-tonal pieces for solo violin: Élégie by Igor Stravinsky (1944), Riconoscenza per Goffredo Petrassi by Elliott Carter (1984), and Melismata by Milton Babbitt (1982). The challenge of interpretation is especially evident in non-tonal music, as performers are unlikely to have any knowledge of the relevant relationships between pitches, functions of harmonies, or formal features in the pieces they play. In this respect analysis can contribute to an understanding needed to form a meaningful interpretation. I will attempt to show that even the most seemingly abstract theoretical concepts can have direct bearing on performance of modernist music and will propose a four-step process that I believe is effective at producing analyses in a form that can influence playing, down to the minute details.
Recommended Citation
Rostron, Karen E., "The Relation of Analysis to Performance of Post-tonal Violin Music: Three Case Studies" (2016). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1565