Summary of Dissertation Recitals Three Programs of Violin Music

Three violin recitals were given in lieu of a written dissertation. The repertoire for these three recitals was chosen to represent the history and development of polyphonic writing for solo violin. These works range from the Baroque period through the 20th century. It was my goal, not only to include significant polyphonic writing for solo violin, but also works that helped shape the genre. Given that, not all of the chosen pieces were written for solo violin. The works for accompanied violin were programmed to demonstrate the changing role of the violin in compositions written for piano and violin. They were also chosen to represent the absence of polyphonic writing for solo violin between Johann Sebastian Bach and Eugѐne Ysaӱe. My first recital featured works composed between the late 1700's and late 1800's. No solo violin compositions from that period featured the kind of polyphonic writing found in Bach's Solo Sonatas and Partitas and Ysaye's Six Sonatas for Violin. The only polyphonic writing for solo violin during this period which resembled Bach and Ysaye’s was Niccolò Paganini's 24 caprices, and etudes by composers such as Pierre Gaviniѐs. However, these works were not all fully polyphonic. The polyphony in these works focused more on left hand technique rather than the direction and interplay between multiple voices. The second recital focused on the Baroque period, Bach's polyphonic writing for solo violin, and the development of form as it pertained to the Baroque violin sonata. The third recital focused on works composed, arranged or written for Eugѐne Ysaӱe.AMUMusic: PerformanceUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/147692/1/sejones_1.pd