Degree
Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)
Department
The School of Music
Document Type
Dissertation
Abstract
In the present age, a wide variety of popular music is composed. Contemporary classical music of the twenty-first century also promotes the development and innovation of world music. All these various genres of music give people a sense of peace and comfort, briefly escaping from the bustle and hurry of busy working lives. Bright Sheng is a Chinese American composer who is one of the representatives of contemporary classical music and has gained attention and popularity in the musical field. The project aims to show how he fuses folk elements and western musical techniques to form his unique musical style illustrated by The Three Fantasies for Violin and Piano.
This document will be divided into five chapters: The first chapter will overview Sheng’s achievements and works. The second chapter will focus on the historical background and his life experience in China and the United States in detail, which profoundly influenced his compositions. The third chapter will compare folk elements and the variety of musical styles in his works from different periods. From a violinist’s perspective, I will present performance skills and interpretation of The Three Fantasies for Violin and Piano in the fourth chapter. The last chapter will conclude Sheng’s characteristics of fusion music.
I hope that the research can ignite people’s interest and love for Bright Sheng’s music. And I hope that my interpretation of this piece will provide some fresh ideas and references for future performances.
Recommended Citation
Zhu, Kaiyue, "Folk Elements in Bright Sheng’s Three Fantasies for Violin and Piano: A Performer’s Guide to Interpretation" (2022). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 5783.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/5783
Committee Chair
Lilleslåtten, Espen
DOI
10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.5783