Study Of The Musical Structure Of The Chinese Piano Suite

Chinese piano suite plays a significant role in the field of piano music, and there is no substitute for the position. Along with the development of piano music and the change of creative period, the themes, the styles and techniques of piano suite are more abundant and varied. These works include some based on traditional techniques of music-creation, some based on modern techniques of music, and some successful works combining folk music with Western compositional techniques that piano music is their carrier. It is necessary to analyze the structure of these works' musical form systematically because piano suite has special status and significant academic value in Chinese music creation. We learn from our predecessors' creative experience, understand and grasp the creation characteristics in different periods, which has a very important and far-reaching significance for creating a new situation in Chinese piano works.The present thesis intends to analyze and classify 46 piano suites available with a focus on a macro-scopical and micro-scopical study of the music structure of some representative suites. The macro-scopical analysis mainly probes into the linking techniques between movements and the overall musical structures of each suite, while the micro-scopical study takes a closer view into the musical structure of each movement. Through the analysis above, we can get a complete picture of the style change of Chinese piano suite composers in different times and their characteristics in inheriting Chinese traditional techniques and assimilating western ones, especially in terms of musical structure. The inheritance and innovation, as well as the achievements in composing Chinese piano suites will be instructive and valuable asset for us to learn from.