TEXTBOOK COMPOSERS: A PERFORMANCE STUDY OF AMERICAN MODERNISM

Abstract

The technical difficulties we face and the interpretive decisions we make when playing 20th century music are essentially the same as with music from earlier periods. When playing more recent works, we benefit from first-hand accounts which are more readily available, and have greater interpretive freedom in playing music that does not have an established tradition. Studying a composer’s writings on theory will aid in analyzing a piece which may not follow traditional rules of form and harmony, and descriptions by their contemporaries can help us in understanding the printed markings in pieces which contain improvisation, extended techniques, or other unusual instructions.

For my dissertation, I have addressed some difficulties unique to American music from the early- to mid-twentieth century. I selected music for three programs, using scores, the writings of composers, critics, and performers, as well as recordings, in my background research. My program notes document this process, and present conclusions which I hope will be useful to other musicians. The repertoire includes art song, chamber music, and solo piano music by Henry Cowell, Elliott Carter, and Vincent Persichetti. These three composers wrote books and essays about the theoretical and artistic ideas behind their own music and that of their contemporaries. Cowell’s groundbreaking New Musical Resources gave a remarkably concise and prescient overview of possible innovations in rhythm, texture, and harmony, many of which are worked out in his later compositions. Carter published collections of essays which contain detailed introspection on his influences and development. And Twentieth Century Harmony by Persichetti remains the most comprehensive and nuanced summary of the various developments and sub-currents from the first half of the century; it is also an invaluable key to understanding Persichetti’s indefinable yet immediately recognizable style.