'The Holy Grail of Piano Writing': Texture and Figuration in Contemporary Piano Music

以下两个研究问题概括了本文：1。作曲家在多大程度上从传统模式中获得了他们的肌理？2. 有问题的织体在多大程度上是由作品中的其他音乐成分塑造的？第一个问题至关重要。许多当代钢琴作曲家明显地从已建立的模型中获得他们的纹理，但是他们这样做的程度，以及某些图形如何以及为什么继续探索和重新实现的原因仍然不确定。同样不清楚的是，那些在较小程度上借鉴这些模式的作曲家是否确实欠了前几个世纪的钢琴先驱作曲家的创造性债务，并且隐晦地或潜意识地参考了这些惯例。构成本论文的主要调查，问题一解决了这些含糊不清的问题，同时通过现在的镜头唤起了过去，揭示了当代钢琴音乐中织体的一般性质。第二个问题将扩大研究范围，纳入其他相关因素，而不管它们被归类到哪个领域。这种范围的扩大是必要的，因为这种不可分割的关系——也许在钢琴音乐中比在室内乐或管弦乐中更为突出——将织体与其他音乐成分结合在一起。因此，在整个论文中，问题二将有助于建立必要的和声、节奏和结构成分，以便将所讨论的作品（和织体）置于语境中。五位作曲家的作品将作为分析案例研究，以及原创作品作品集。作曲家（除了我自己），按时间顺序排列如下：Gyorgy Ligeti， Magnus Lindberg, George Benjamin， Unsuk Chin和Thomas Ades。这些作曲家对现代钢琴曲目做出了重大贡献，他们在独奏、室内乐和管弦乐的背景下使用钢琴，同时共同延续了练习曲、奏鸣曲和协奏曲等传统流派。我的原创作品将与每个案例研究配对，作为一个试验场，通过实际实施来探索概念。这些作品不是模仿列出的作曲家的钢琴作品，而是重新构建讨论过的想法，提供新的视角，同时以创新和创造性的方式调动纹理修辞。华莱士·贝里（Wallace Berry）的书《音乐中的结构功能》（Structural Functions in Music）包括对织体的详细探索，提供了一个方法论的跳板，有效地为这个项目奠定了许多初步的基础。有了贝里的术语，并在与已有文献的持续磋商中，图形-无论是在其萌芽阶段，未被削弱的形式，还是在案例研究中相应的表现形式-将被编纂，促进分析，通过代际联系和更广泛的纹理比较可以被证明，而不管音乐语言的差异。与其他音乐领域相比，对织体的研究有一定的局限性。尽管对个别作曲家有各种各样的启发性研究，但织体总是被其他音乐成分所忽视；考虑到许多当代人物（包括上面列出的那些人）主要在其他领域进行创新，这是一个可以理解的让步。此外，研究范围很少扩大，以适应代际比较或传统模型的潜在影响——部分原因是缺乏通用的、系统化的分析方法，以及所述模型的不明确性质。

The following two research questions encapsulate the thesis: 1. To what extent does the composer in question derive their textures from traditional models? 2. To what extent is the texture in question moulded by, & contingent on, other musical components in the piece?The first question is paramount. Many contemporary piano composers conspicuously derive their textures from established models, but the degree to which they do so, & the reason how and why certain figurations continue to be explored & reimplemented, remains uncertain. It is also unclear whether composers who draw upon these models to lesser degrees do in fact owe a creative debt to pioneering piano composers of previous centuries & have made reference to such conventions either cryptically or subconsciously. Constituting the principal enquiry of this thesis, question one addresses these ambiguities, all the while evoking the past through the lens of the present, shedding light on the general nature of texture in contemporary piano music. The second question will broaden the study to incorporate other relevant factors, regardless of the domain into which they are categorised. This widening of scope is necessary due to the inextricable relationship - prominent more so, perhaps, in piano music than in chamber or orchestral music - that binds texture with every other musical component. Throughout this thesis, therefore, question two will help establish the requisite harmonic, rhythmic and structural components in order to contextualise the piece (and texture) in question. Works by five composers will serve as analytical case studies, alongside a portfolio of original compositions. The composers (in addition to myself) are, chronologically, as follows: Gyorgy Ligeti, Magnus Lindberg, George Benjamin, Unsuk Chin and Thomas Ades. These composers have made substantial contributions to the modern piano repertoire, utilising the instrument in solo, chamber, & orchestral contexts, while collectively perpetuating traditional genres such as the etude, sonata & concerto. An original composition of mine will be paired with each case study, acting as a testing ground whereby concepts may be explored through practical implementation. Rather than emulating the piano writing of the listed composers - or pastiche - the pieces will instead reframe the discussed ideas, offering new perspectives, while simultaneously mobilising textural tropes in innovative & creative ways. Wallace Berry's book, Structural Functions in Music, includes a detailed exploration of texture, offering a methodological springboard that effectively lays much of the preliminary groundwork for this project. Equipped with Berry's terminology, & in ongoing consultation with the pre-existing literature, figurations - both in their embryonic, undiluted form, as well as their corresponding manifestation in the case studies - will be codified, facilitating analysis through which intergenerational links & broader comparisons of texture may be demonstrated, regardless of disparities of musical language. When compared with other musical areas, research investigating texture is somewhat limited. Although an assortment of enlightening studies exists on individual composers, texture is invariably overlooked in favour of other musical components; an understandable concession considering that many contemporary figures (including those listed above) have innovated primarily in other domains. Moreover, the scope of research is seldom widened to accommodate intergenerational comparisons or the potential influence of traditional models - due in part to the lack of versatile, systemised methods of analysis, & the ill-defined nature of said models.