| Music is a universal language. It traverses geographical boundaries, political differences, language barriers, ethnic backgrounds, and cultural traditions. As a result of instantaneous global communication, the twenty-first century musical world, in particular, has become an exciting avenue of exchange and a cultural melting pot for musicians of different backgrounds, experiences, and influences. Chinese-American composers Tan Dun (b. 1957), Lu Pei (b. 1956), and Chen Yi (b. 1953), stand as excellent representatives of this new generation that seeks to explore and bridge musical traditions. Their music is a natural hybrid of tradition and avant-garde, technology and natural sounds, classical and popular practices, Eastern and Western elements.; The selected solo piano works by the three composers in this monograph reveal early compositional and cultural influences in the composers' musical growth. Stylistic analysis of each work is presented with emphasis on performance interpretation. Parameters of the analysis include overall form and dramatic shape, general characteristics, motivic development, harmonic and melodic organization, and diversity of rhythm and texture. The synthesis of Chinese elements and Western techniques in the works will be surveyed. It is the author's intention that this analysis will impose a more comprehensive understanding of the music, resulting in a convincing interpretation. Pedagogical perspectives of the works discussed in the monograph serve as general suggestions for teachers in assisting their adventurous students to survey this creative repertoire by these contemporary Chinese-American composers. |
