Identifier

etd-11042011-135735

Degree

Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)

Department

Music

Document Type

Dissertation

Abstract

The purpose of this monograph was to understand George Enescu’s Concertstück for viola and piano from the broad perspective of Enescu’s multiple facets of musicianship: composer, performer (violin, piano, conducting), and teacher. Moreover, the Romanian background (including musical education and direct knowledge of Romanian folklore) of this monograph’s author facilitated in a higher degree the achievement of the given purpose. The document is divided into three chapters. Chapter 1 describes Enescu as composer, performer, and teacher. The first part of Chapter 1 offers information about the most important influences on his composition style (including his teachers), and his main works (with an emphasis on compositional traits). When discussing Enescu as performer, the document provides insight about him as a virtuoso string player (violin, viola, cello), a virtuoso keyboard player (piano, organ), and a great conductor. This section includes information about his studies, his career, his style of playing, and his recordings. Chapter 1 ends with an overview of Enescu’s principles of teaching. Presenting all of this information constitutes one of the two methods that were used to analyze Enescu’s Concertstück: the historical method. Chapter 2 is focusing on the formal analysis of the Concertstück within the context of Enescu’s creation, including a comparison with his Second Violin Sonata. This analysis constitutes a theoretical approach, more specifically the motivic growth method. The findings of this monograph are included in Chapter 3. When approaching the Concertstück for viola and piano, a thorough knowledge of the composer’s background provides a better understanding of the piece: Enescu as a composer (main traits such as Romanian folk elements, and developing the thematic material by means of motivic growth); Enescu as a performer (virtuoso of string and keyboard instruments, style of playing, specific instrumental technique, unique sound); and Enescu as a teacher (the need to know the context of the work studied and about its composer; technique as a subordinate of musicality). Moreover, the analysis of the Concertstück reveals the fact that it deserves a higher ranking within Enescu’s musical legacy, and also within the virtuosic viola repertoire.

Date

2011

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Lilleslatten, Espen

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.389

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