Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Date of Degree

2010

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

D.M.A.

Program

Music

Advisor

Philip Rupprecht

Committee Members

David Olan

Peter Basquin

John Graziano

Subject Categories

Music

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of folkloric elements in music by Taiwanese composers and to uncover the methods they treat regional materials under the influences of Western compositional techniques, hereby creating a new fusion within classical music. This study centers in the ethnic impact on modern Taiwanese music, and also provides an opportunity to probe the significance of the subject "nation" in the field of musical creativity.

In this dissertation, the discussion includes the development of traditional and Western music in Taiwan including the historical and cultural background, how music serves as an emblem of national identity; the ties that have developed in the twentieth century between concert music and traditional Taiwanese music, and the progress in Western contemporary music.

Musical forms and textures of five cello-related works of Taiwanese composers are analyzed and compared. These Taiwanese composers are representative of the last three generations; all have had traditional Western-style training in composition in Japan, Europe, or America. The works discussed are Trio: Nostalgia, Three Melodies by Tsang-Houei Hsu, Cello Concerto by Tyzen Hsiao, Idea and Image by Shui-Long Ma, Monologue of Sin by Gordon Chin, and Trio by Kwang-I Ying.

By focusing on the relationship between national materials and new music compositions, and how composers understand and interpret these elements in their own works, such a study may stimulate more research in Taiwanese art music and bring it to a broader stage and serve to draw attention to further possible directions for Taiwanese educators, performers, and composers allowing them to introduce their works to an international audience.

Comments

Digital reproduction from the UMI microform.

Download

Included in

Music Commons

Share

COinS