Research On Harmony Organization Techniques Of Stravinsky's Six Ballets

Stravinsky is one of the most outstanding composers of the 20 th century.He has created a large number of works in different genres and is particularly fond of ballet music.Starting with The Firebird from his Russian period,through transition to his neoclassical period with Pulcinella,eventually to his last ballet Agon using twelve-tone technique,composition of ballet music has carried out Stravinsky's entire creative career.Harmony organization techniques of the 20 th century manifests diversity,and Stravinsky's three stylistic periods have shown “personality” and “commonality” among harmony techniques.By studying six ballets from the perspective of harmony organization techniques,it not only unravels the composer's evolution of harmony in his three stylistic periods,but also peeks into the development of harmony organization techniques during the first half of the 20 th century.This thesis analyzes six ballets from multiple perspectives including harmony techniques,pitch organization relationship,rhythm and beat;and will summarize the characteristics of Stravinsky's style of harmony.This thesis contains four chapters.The first chapter studies three ballets from the composer's Russian period,and mainly discusses his use of modal materials,expansion of chord structures,and diversity of harmonic progressions.In chapter two,the author chooses L'Histoire du soldat,a work composed during the transition from the Russian period to the neoclassical period,and Jeu de cartes,a typical work in the neoclassical period.These two pieces provide a glance at Stravinsky's harmony in his neoclassical period.The third chapter interprets the composer's last ballet Agon from his serial period.This chapter discusses Stravinsky's features of serialism,as well as connections with his first two stylistic periods of music creation.The fourth chapter presents the general theory of this thesis.The author summarizes the characteristics and evolution of harmony organization techniques in Stravinsky's three creative periods,and attempts to summarize the composer's 20th-century composition techniques,especially his contributions to harmony organization techniques.