Study Of George Rochberg’s Sonata For Viola And Piano (1979):Composing Techniques And Performance Interpretation

This article mainly talks about Sonata for Viola and Piano (1979) of the American composer George Rochberg. Through analysis of his career and the features of the piece, this article reveals the playing skills and artistic interpretation of the viola part.Rochberg lived in the 20th century when all kinds of schools of music existed simultaneously. As his living condition and the music environment under the influence of globalization changed, his concept of composition developed continuously. Several labels were imbedded in different stages of his composition and himself:Theorist of Twelve-tone, Traitor of Serialism, Post-Modernist, Revival of Neo-Romanticism, etc. Thus he was obviously a composer of diverse styles.The final version of the piece was spanned over 30 years. It was in 1942 that Rochberg got the first version done. However, when he was commissioned by the American Viola Society, and the Brigham Young University to write a work in honor for William Primrose’s 75th birthday, that he decided to rethink this sonata.This article includes an introduction, three chapters and an epilogue. The introduction talks about the consequence of the appearance of violists derived from all kinds of factors that influence the development of viola, and then introduce the piece that the article discusses about. Chapter 1 concentrates on two transformations in Rochberg’s career. Chapter 2 analyses the piece from a pluralistic perspective of a combination of tradition and innovation based on the features of the piece. Chapter 3 gives a systematic analysis of each movement from the playing skills and artistic interpretation based on the specific features of the piece.