Acting Like a Pianist : Music for the Theatrical Pianist

D.M.A. University of Kansas, Music and Dance 2008In the twentieth-century, there has been an explosion in explicitly theatrical pieces for solo piano. In most of these works, the pianist's ability to vocalize while at the same time playing the instrument has been the principle focus of composers. Additionally, the percussive attributes of the piano, including aspects of the prepared piano, have been instrumental in the development of this new genre. Acting Like a Pianist describes this development through its four primary uses which are: 1. Musical Effect / Impressions: The theatrical elements serve as a textural addition to the musical writing, providing greater programmatic description. 2. Performance Art: Theater takes a larger role in the composition than the actual written music. 3. Storytelling/ Poetic Settings: Using music to accompany a retelling of pre-existing prose, often involving elements of characterization and acting. 4. Political/ Social Commentary: Combining elements of traditional composition with recitation of texts and other theatrical elements to make political or social statements. This incorporates many of the qualities of storytelling, while giving a stricter framework for comprehension based on the subject matter. This paper will discuss the major composers and works which have laid the foundations for the genre as well as the important role of twenty-first-century pianists in promoting these works. Among the composers are Henry Cowell, George Crumb, Karlheinz Stockhausen, John Cage, Meredith Monk, Jerome Kitzke, Christian Wolff, and Frederic Rzewski