Ignoble and irresistible: The gypsy presence in violin music, 1865--1925.
Item
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Title
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Ignoble and irresistible: The gypsy presence in violin music, 1865--1925.
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Identifier
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AAI3214533
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identifier
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3214533
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Creator
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Michaelis, Michelle.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Stephen Blum
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Date
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2006
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Music
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Abstract
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Several of the most popular works in the violin repertory are inspired by the gypsy. Five of these are the subjects of this study: the Hungarian Dances No. 1 and No.4 (1868) by Johannes Brahms (in the Joseph Joachim transcription of 1871), Zigeunerweisen (1878) by Pablo de Sarasate, La Gitana (1917) by Fritz Kreisler, and Tzigane (1924) by Maurice Ravel. The evocation of the gypsy presence in western art music is common in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with the violin serving as the archetypal instrument for such works. Many performers do not know much about the history of the genre, or how it manifests with subtle differences dependent upon the composer who is exploring the idiom, and the historical time period in which he is working. A thorough understanding of these issues and examination of the source materials being manipulated by a composer can enormously affect a performer's musical interpretation. It is also important to consider what motivated these composers to write these works evoking the gypsy presence, as in many cases the answer has bearing on their other compositions, and such an exploration can thus transcend the individual works being examined.;A lexicon of musical gestures and effects used to evoke the gypsy is presented, as well as a brief discussion of the historical metamorphoses of the gypsy idiom as utilized in western art music. Each work is then studied in detail, with the goal of understanding how each composer is melding his own style and the gypsy idiom. Through a careful consideration of this question, many structural subtleties of each work are brought to light, which in turn inspire considerations for the performer. To explore how these interpretive challenges are best met, there will also be a discussion of several performances of each work. The intended result of this study is to help the performer give a stylistically accurate and informed performance of these dazzling pieces.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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D.M.A.
