Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Identifier

2531

Date

2015

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Musical Arts

Major

Music

Concentration

Performance

Committee Chair

Janet K Page

Committee Member

Timothy Shiu

Committee Member

Schranze Lenny

Committee Member

Pu-Qi Jiang

Abstract

Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908) was one of the most important violinists of the nineteenth century, elevating the technical standards of violin playing to a new level. He also composed some of today’s most popular virtuoso violin pieces, including Zigeunerweisen and the Carmen Fantasy, which display a unique musical personality. However, besides these few extremely popular pieces, the rest of his music has been largely forgotten over the years. In particular, Sarasate composed several operatic fantasies, which deserve to be heard by modern audiences. This project focuses on Sarasate’s Magic Flute Fantasy, culminating in a performance guide drawing on Sarasate’s artistry, in the context of modern violin playing. A biography of Sarasate provides background to his compositions. Next is a study of Sarasate’s performance style. Sarasate left some audio recordings of his playing, and there are many accounts of his performances from contemporary listeners as well. This paper includes information that can be taken from these two sources, while also looking at the limitations of the sources. I use a computer application called Sonic Visualizer as a tool to help me analyze the recordings and demonstrate the notable elements of Sarasate’s performance style. Next, there is an examination of the Fantasy as a genre and an analysis of Sarasate’s Magic Flute Fantasy. Using these three bodies of information, this paper looks at how a modern violinist can introduce the spirit of Sarasate’s personality into performances of his music, using specific examples from the Magic Flute Fantasy, in order to introduce more of Sarasate’s music to today’s audiences.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to the local University of Memphis Electronic Theses & dissertation (ETD) Repository.

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