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- An Analysis of the Attempted Amalgamation of Western and Chinese Musical Elements in Huang Anlun's Piano Concerto in G Minor, Opus 25b, a Lecture Recital, Together with Three Recitals of Selected Works by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Mozart, Schubert, and Schumann
- While China possesses one of the world's richest musical heritages, it remained unaffected by Western music until early in this century. Subsequently, there was a movement of nationalism in music approximately three decades after the introduction of Western music. This movement, aimed at utilizing Western compositional techniques to create musical works that still would be uniquely Chinese, continues even today. Huang's piano concerto was written in 1982, just a few years after the Cultural Revolution. At the time, most Chinese composers were "handicapped" by their lack of knowledge of Western contemporary music and by their limited study of both Western and Chinese traditional forms. Huang Anlun, a composer-in-residence at the Central Opera House in Beijing, traveled to North America to study at the University of Toronto and Yale University. Subsequently his music is widely performed and well received around the world. After presenting background information on Western music in China and an introduction to basic Chinese music theory, this study has analyzed Huang's piano concerto, with a particular focus on identifying, comparing, and analyzing elements of Western and Chinese music. After a survey of the formal structure of the concerto, this study has discussed Chinese modality and Western harmony--the two most important factors in the conception of Huang's concerto. A comparative study between Chinese folk songs and the thematic materials in Huang's concerto is followed by a discussion on "imitations" of Chinese instruments. The study has also examined Western compositional techniques incorporated into this concerto, such as thematic transformation, contrapuntal writing, cyclic procedure, as well as atonal and serial techniques. Through a detailed analysis, this study attempts to demonstrate how Huang has blended Western and Chinese musical syntaxes to create an artistic work that is also uniquely Chinese.
- The Curricular Content of Elementary Music in China Between 1912 and 1982
- The purpose of this study was to investigate the curricular content of elementary music in China between 1912 and 1982. The questions addressed were: (1) What changes in elementary music resulted from China's becoming a republic in 1912? (2) What changes in elementary music resulted from China's becoming a socialist country in 1949? (3) What changes in elementary music in the People's Republic of China resulted from the Anti—Rightist Struggle Movement in 1957? (4) What changes in elementary music in the People's Republic of China resulted from the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)? (5) Have changes occurred in elementary music in the People's Republic of China since the beginning of the reform movement in 1978? (6) Did any of the changes affect curricular goals, contents, methods, required materials, and instruction time allotted in a like manner, or did some of these components remain the same while others changed? (7) Were the changes important enough to attribute them to a changed political ideology? After translating all pertinent documents, the goals, contents, methods, materials, and time allotted for the elementary music curricula between 1912 and 1982 were listed and identified. Subsequently, the areas of focus within those categories as well as changes in focus were identified and their importance determined. The findings were: (1) all important curricular changes occurred after 1950; and (2) changed goals resulted in changed teaching techniques; however, changed teaching techniques did not result in the changing of goals.
- A Study of Idiomatic Piano Compositions During the Cultural Revolution in the People's Republic of China
- This study demonstrated that the piano, a typical Western instrument, became the Chinese composer's tool for expressing the sound ideals and tone qualities that are intrinsic to Chinese music. A new musical idiom was created in these piano compositions, an idiom that combined Western compositional techniques and traditionally-based Chinese ideals.