Chinese Aesthetics and Performance Practice in Three Works for Piano by Chen Yi: Tunes from My Home, Northern Scenes, and Four Spirits

This dissertation provides both analyses and performance practice suggestions on the three selected works that include piano by Chinese-American composer Chen Yi (b. 1953): Tunes from My Home, Northern Scenes, and Four Spirits. The author takes a step beyond Chen Yi’s widely identified “fusion style” of Chinese and Western music, to explore her cultural roots and how she blends Chinese music, arts, aesthetics, philosophy, and mythology with her musical language and imagination on a deeper level. As a performer and pedagogue, I believe that it is important not only to analyze Chen Yi’s music from the perspectives of the construction of the work, but also to suggest performance practice and technical related issues. It is equally important to know cultural contexts and aesthetics, which benefit both scholars and performers