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Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School

2017

Performer and Composer Collaborations:Commissioning Unaccompanied Repertoirefor the Modern ViolinistSophia Yiyu Han

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FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF MUSIC

PERFORMER AND COMPOSER COLLABORATIONS:

COMMISSIONING UNACCOMPANIED REPERTOIRE

FOR THE MODERN VIOLINIST

By

SOPHIA HAN

A Treatise submitted to the

College of Music

in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Music

2017

ii

Sophia Han defended this treatise on April 13, 2017.

The members of the supervisory committee were:

Corinne Stillwell

Professor Directing Treatise

J. Joseph Cronin

University Representative

Alexander Jiménez

Committee Member

Greg Sauer

Committee Member

The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and

certifies that the treatise has been approved in accordance with university requirements.

iii

To all of my friends, colleagues, and acquaintances who have shied away from solitude.

iv

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To my family, my eternal cheerleaders, thank you for your endless support. To my mother, thank

you for your emotional support and guidance, for showing me through your actions the definition

of strength and perseverance. To my father, thank you for your investment in my passion and

career, for all of those long drives to lessons and for sitting (and snoozing) through them without

complaints. I am grateful to my little brother for always seeing the silver lining in every situation

and teaching me the value of patience and responsibility.

To my committee members, thank you for always keeping your doors open for me, for the

mentoring and counseling that it took for this project and degree to become a reality. A special

thank you to my major professor, Corinne Stillwell, for your unending patience in the last three

years that it took to help me make sense of myself.

To Natalie Moller, Matthew Browne, and Greg Simon, who believed in me not only as a

musician, but also as a holistic person from our very first meeting, thank you for your

confidence.

Finally, thank you to all of my friends and colleagues who have been there for me throughout

this process. It was truly all of your encouragement that carried me to the end.

v

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ vi

Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... vii

1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 1

The Inspiration: Eugène Ysaÿe’s Six Sonatas for Solo Violin, Op. 27 ...................................... 2

2. COMMISSIONS ...................................................................................................................... 12

Considerations .......................................................................................................................... 12

Choosing the Composers .......................................................................................................... 13

Composer Biographies ............................................................................................................. 14

3. COMMISSION COLLABORATION PROCESS ................................................................... 17

Initial Contact and Brainstorming ............................................................................................ 17

Silences and Collaborations ..................................................................................................... 18

Final Products and Thoughts .................................................................................................... 20

4. CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................ 25

Lessons from My First Commissions ...................................................................................... 25

Plans for Future Commissions ................................................................................................. 26

References ..................................................................................................................................... 28

Biographical Sketch ...................................................................................................................... 30

vi

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Excerpt from Kreisler’s Preludium and Allegro, mm. 76-87……………………..8

Figure 2. Excerpt from Ysaÿe’s Sonata No. 4, “Finale: Presto ma non troppo,” mm 20-4…8

Figure 3. Excerpt from Moller’s Rain Shadows, “Shadow II: Hollow Trees”……...……...20

Figure 4. Excerpt from Moller’s Rain Shadows, “Shadow I: Dreaming In Sand”.…….…..23

Figure 5. Excerpt from Moller’s Rain Shadows, “Shadow II: Hollow Trees”….…….........24

Figure 6. Excerpt from Moller’s Rain Shadows, “Shadow III: Fire and Amber”…....…….24

Figure 7. Excerpt from Moller’s Rain Shadows, “Shadow IV: The Desert is a Garden”….24

vii

ABSTRACT

The objective of this two-part treatise is to historically understand Eugène Ysaÿe’s Six

Sonatas for Solo Violin, Opus 27. My intent is to utilize the reverse of the one-composer and

multi-performer model to commission new works for unaccompanied violin. The first chapter

provides historical and musical background on the Ysaÿe sonatas. Chapter two discusses the

necessary steps to commissioning a work, a list of resources, as well as the specific steps taken to

complete this project. Chapter three features composer biographies and descriptions of new

works commissioned. Lastly, the fourth chapter is a conclusion of the two-part project, in

addition to ideas for future commissions.

1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

While many melodic instruments have plenty of capabilities, the violin is perhaps one of

the most versatile of them all. Although composers throughout the last few centuries, such as

Niccolò Paganini, Paul Hindemith, Sergei Prokofiev, and John Corigliano, to name a few, have

explored the versatility of the violin in their unaccompanied violin works, J.S. Bach’s Six

Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin and Eugène Ysaÿe’s Six Sonatas for Unaccompanied Violin,

Opus 27 remain to be the two most prominent and most played sets of unaccompanied violin

repertoire. One being the reaction of the other, both sets of six unaccompanied violin pieces

continue to test the boundaries of the violin and the technique of the violinist today.

Bach’s Six Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, completed by 1720, have been a staple

of violin pedagogy for centuries. They are frequently featured on many violin recitals and are a

basic rite of passage for contemporary violinists. These sonatas and partitas not only assist

violinists in discovering, developing, and strengthening their technique, but also help violinists

identify, explore, and develop their musicianship. Each violinist has his or her own unique

interpretation of these pieces, and, through learning and performing them, is able to present his

or her personal voice and individual point of view. From Bach’s perspective, however, these

sonatas and partitas were written to explore both the compositional boundaries and the

capabilities of the instrument available at the time.1

According to Antoine Ysaÿe, the set of six violin sonatas composed by his father was in

response to the lack of violin repertoire since Bach’s set was composed over two centuries

prior.2 Sketched in a span of twenty-four hours in the summer of 1923, Ysaÿe’s inspiration to

compose the six sonatas came after seeing Joseph Szigeti in concert. The virtuosity of the soloist

initiated the idea for Ysaÿe to compose a set of six sonatas for six different virtuoso violinists.

Ysaÿe had two goals in mind when composing these sonatas. The first was to compose a set of

six violin sonatas in the manner of Bach’s Six Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin. Second, as

each soloist hailed from a different part of Europe, Ysaÿe wanted to highlight each virtuoso’s

1 Denis Arnold, Bach. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1984). 31-32.

2 Antoine Ysaÿe, Historical Account of the Six Sonatas for Unaccompanied Violin Op. 27 of Eugène Ysaÿe,

(Brussles: Les Editions Ysaÿe, 1968). 4.

2

unique style of playing while challenging himself to compose in six different styles. The list of

virtuosi included Joseph Szigeti, Fritz Kreisler, Georges Enescu, Jacques Thibaud, Mathieu

Crickboom, and Manuel Quiroga.

In reversing Ysaÿe’s model of one composer writing six pieces for six different violinists,

my plan is to commission six composers to write six different pieces for one violinist: me. By

2023, I hope to have commissioned a full set of six unaccompanied violin sonatas by six

different composers. This project will not only expand the repertoire and give a musical portrait

of my relationships, but it also provides an opportunity to commission young, yet prolific,

composers of my generation. For the purpose of this treatise, three composers were

commissioned: Matthew Browne, Greg Simon, and Natalie Moller. Each of the three composers

wrote an unaccompanied violin piece, which will be compiled into the final set of six, centered

on a single performer. These pieces will eventually become “chapters” of the final set, each

representing a composer and their personal understanding of me as a person, musician, and

violinist.

All of these composers have their own unique style of writing. Greg Simon’s Chilean

heritage and his background as a jazz trumpeter heavily influence his music. Matthew Browne’s

music reflects his passion for the music of Alfred Schnittke and György Ligeti while often

embodying the same rhythmic vigor as Igor Stravinsky. In contrast, Natalie Moller’s illustrative

writing style transports the listener through stories of past, present, and future with atmospheric

colorings and dramatic changes.

By having three different composers approaching the genre of unaccompanied violin

pieces from three distinct backgrounds and styles of writing, these pieces pose instrumental

challenges for the performer. Furthermore, it is my hope that this project encourages music

students to explore new possibilities that performer and composer collaborations can provide.

The Inspiration: Eugène Ysaÿe’s Six Sonatas for Solo Violin, Op. 27

Eugène Ysaÿe was a Belgian-born violinist and composer that lived between 1858 and

1931. A virtuoso known for his technical mastery and elegant musical interpretations, Ysaÿe’s

Sonatas for Solo Violin are not only technically challenging, but are also musically fulfilling. His

3

mastery of the violin allowed him to craft compositions that are idiomatic for the instrument,

which encourages effortless execution and expressivity from the performer.

After hearing Johann Sebastian Bach’s Sonata No. 1 in G Minor for unaccompanied

violin performed by Joseph Szigeti on a recital in 1923, Ysaÿe was inspired to compose his own

six sonatas as a twentieth century counterpart to Bach’s Six Sonatas and Partitas.3 Antoine

Ysaÿe, Eugène Ysaÿe’s son, claimed that his father found the repertoire available during his time

was too limited and wanted to compose a set of works that adopted the most advanced of ideas.4

Also according to Antoine Ysaÿe, Eugène was so inspired by Szigeti’s performance of the Bach

that the drafts of all six of these sonatas were finished within a span of just 24 hours.5

Each dedicated to a different virtuoso, these sonatas both represent Ysaÿe’s playing and

also capture the essence of their dedicatees. Ysaÿe’s own playing resembled both the technical

mastery of Joseph Joachim, representative of the 19th century, and the elegant and flashy

brilliance of Pablo Sarasate which was the sought-after style of playing in the early 20th century.

Hence, Ysaÿe synthesized the prevailing violin aesthetics of both centuries.6 Antoine Ysaÿe and

Bertram Ratcliffe, co-authors of the book Ysaÿe: His Life, Work and Influence, describe the six

sonatas as a culmination of Ysaÿe’s knowledge as a violinist. Each of the violinists for whom

Ysaÿe dedicated the sonatas had a particular relationship with him. Not only was Ysaÿe familiar

with their styles of playing and composing, some of his dedicatees had close, lifelong,

friendships with him as well.

Joseph Szigeti and Sonata No. 1

The first sonata is a four-movement work similar in structure to J.S. Bach’s Six Sonatas

and Partitas for unaccompanied violin. The first movement, “Grave,” leads into a “Fugato”

much like Bach’s Sonata No. 1 in G Minor leading with “Adagio” into the “Fuga.” Both Bach’s

“Siciliana” and Ysaÿe’s “Allegretto poco scherzoso” are multi-voiced movements in a slow

triple meter. The last movements of both sonatas have a deliberate, forward-driving character but

are different in form. Bach’s Sonata No. 1 in G Minor’s final movement is a simple binary form:

3 Antoine Ysaÿe, Historical Account of the Six Sonatas for Unaccompanied Violin Op. 27 of Eugène Ysaÿe,

(Brussles: Les Editions Ysaÿe, 1968). 4. 4 Ysaÿe and Ratcliffe, Ysaÿe: His Life, Work and Influence, (William Heinemann LTD, 1947). 222-3.

5 Margaret Campbell, liner notes from Six Sonatas for Solo Violin, Op. 27, Oscar Shumsky, violin, (Nimbus, 1982),

5. 6 Joseph Szigeti, With Strings Attached, (Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1947). 91.

4

AB, while the form of Ysaÿe’s last movement in Sonata No. 1 is reminiscent of a miniature

rondo form, ABACA. In this sonata, not only does Ysaÿe mimic the Bach G Minor Sonata’s

Baroque structure, he was also able to capture the playing style of Joseph Szigeti.

Joseph Szigeti, the first dedicatee and the inspiration for the sonatas, frequently attended

chamber music reading sessions at Ysaÿe’s seaside home.7 Born in Budapest, Austria-Hungary

in 1892, Szigeti was one of Ysaÿe’s youngest dedicatees. Ysaÿe was so impressed with young

Szigeti’s playing that he immediately drafted the six sonatas after Szigeti’s performance.8 Szigeti

recalled in his memoir when Ysaÿe first showed him the draft of his Sonata No. 1 in the mid-

1920s: “…when, upon opening it I found my name inscribed above the first penciled sketches of

the G Minor Sonata, I had an almost juvenile thrill such as infinitely greater music, composed for

me since, has failed to give me.”9

A fiery, elegant, and rhythmically incisive player, Szigeti’s playing received the

following praise from Ysaÿe: “I found in Szigeti that rare combination of the musician and the

virtuoso. As an artist he seemed conscious of a high mission into which he puts all his faith, and

he placed technique entirely at the service of musical expression.”10

The last movement of

Ysaÿe’s first sonata, titled “Finale Con Brio” with the character marking of “Allegro fermo,”

ensures that future violinists can present Szigeti’s musical characteristics. The tossing gestures of

the triple stops and the fast runs in the finale movement of Ysaÿe’s first sonata reflect Szigeti’s

virtuosity and elegance while permanently and accurately inscribing Szigeti’s spirited and

rhythmically incisive playing into music.

Jacques Thibaud and Sonata No. 2

Although he tragically died in a plane crash on September 1, 1953 at the age of 73, the

second dedicatee of the Ysaÿe sonatas, Jacques Thibaud, left a legacy admired by many. Pianist

Andre Benoist described his first experience hearing Thibaud’s playing as “...the loveliest quality

imaginable--velvety, warm and pure.”11

In addition, American writer and biographer Henry Roth

pointed out that Thibaud’s “bowings were smooth and flexible.”12

Roth spared no vocabulary

7 Joseph Szigeti, With Strings Attached, (Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1947), 91.

8 Ysaye and Ratcliffe, Ysaÿe: His Life, Work and Influence, (William Heinemann LTD, 1947), 223.

9 Szigeti, With Strings Attached, (Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1947), 117.

10 Ysaye and Ratcliffe, Ysaÿe: His Life, Work and Influence, (William Heinemann LTD, 1947), 222.

11 Henry Roth, Violin Virtuosos from Paganini to the 21

st Century, (California Classic Books, 1997), 51.

12 Henry Roth, Violin Virtuosos from Paganini to the 21

st Century, (California Classic Books, 1997), 52.

5

describing the sound Thibaud made in performance and recordings, ranging from “ineffably

sensitive and delicately etched” to “gleaming” tone with “mercurial expressiveness.”13

The

second movement of Ysaÿe’s second sonata titled “Malinconia,” marries both the sound quality

and elegant bow use that are characteristic of Thibaud’s playing.

Thibaud studied briefly with Ysaÿe, and they quickly became close friends. Writer and

biographer Margaret Campbell wrote that Ysaÿe was well aware that Thibaud warmed up every

morning with Partita No. 3 in E Major by J.S. Bach. When Ysaÿe thought to dedicate the four-

movement, second sonata to Thibaud, he knew it had to embody both Bach and Thibaud’s

obsession with him.14

Thibaud’s obsession with Bach was captured in the first movement of the

second sonata, titled “Obsession.” The Prelude from Bach’s Partita No. 3 in E Major can be

found interwoven into the introduction of the first movement of the second sonata.

The second movement, “Malinconia,” is the counterpart to the “Loure,” which is the

second movement of Partita No. 3 in E Major. Both movements are composed in a triple meter

and possess a lilt derived from dotted figures. The Dies Irae chant makes a striking appearance at

the ending of the “Malinconia,” hauntingly representing Ysaÿe’s awareness of the latter stage of

his life. Much like the “Loure,” the “Malinconia” is also a duet between two voices. The muted

violin provides a sound of gently restrained mourning, as if Ysaÿe had composed all of his life’s

regrets into this single movement.15

The third movement, “Danse des Ombres,” is a movement of six dance variations, similar

to the inner movements of the Bach Partita No. 3 in E Major. The “Dies Irae” from the first two

movements makes a comeback in “Les Furies,” the final movement of the second sonata. The

frequent appearance of the “Dies Irae” theme suggests a connection with tragedy and death.

Although Ysaÿe himself did not write anything that states this connection, the titles of the

movements, the frequent appearances of the “Dies Irae,” and the fact that Ysaÿe was nearing the

end of his life when he composed these sonatas, raises the question of whether or not he could

sense his time coming to an end.

13

Roth, Violin Virtuosos from Paganini to the 21st Century, (California Classic Books, 1997), 53-4

14 Margaret Campbell, liner notes from Six Sonatas for Solo Violin, Op. 27, Oscar Shumsky, violin, (Nimbus, 1982),

6. 15

Henry Roth, Violin Virtuosos from Paganini to the 21st Century, (California Classic Books, 1997), 51.

6

Georges Enescu and Sonata No. 3, “Ballade”

The dedicatee of the “Ballade,” one of Ysaÿe’s most often played sonatas, is none other

than the virtuoso violinist, conductor, and composer Georges Enescu. Born in 1881 in Moldavia,

the modern-day northeastern region of Romania, Enescu was heavily influenced by Romanian

folk tunes and the improvisatory style of the gypsies. Enescu’s violin sonatas in particular, filled

with quasi-improvisatory sections, possess an air of gypsy exoticism.

Although Enescu described his relationship with Ysaÿe as “a slight personal

acquaintance,” the impression Enescu left on Ysaÿe was so strong that it led to Ysaÿe’s

dedication of the third sonata to Enescu. Ysaÿe wrote: “I have let my imagination wander at will.

The memory of my friendship and admiration for Georges Enescu [who was a court musician at

the Romanian Court] and the performances we gave together at the home of the delightful Queen

Carmen Sylva have done the rest.”16

There are accounts of Enescu and Ysaÿe reading chamber

music together. Some of these chamber session participants also included other dedicatees of the

six sonatas. Cellist Pablo Casals reminisced about one summer in particular before the outbreak

of World War I in 1914 in which “Ysaÿe, Kreisler, Enesco, Thibaud, and [Casals] gathered at

Thibaud’s place” to read chamber music together.17

Merriam-Webster defines “ballade” used in poetry as “a fixed form consisting of three

stanzas with recurrent rhymes, an envoi, and a short refrain for each part.”18

Musically, a

“ballade” as a single-movement instrumental work with both lyrical and dramatic elements.19

Ysaÿe incorporated these characteristics and created a single movement work, lyrical yet highly

virtuosic, telling a story through the violin. The work incorporates both poetry and musical

definitions of “ballade.” Sonata No. 3 is composed in three sections with recurrent rhythmic

DNA, short refrains in each section, and ends with a coda. Opening with an unmetered

introduction, the passionate “Ballade” gradually increases in rhythmical intricacy throughout the

single-movement work all the way through where it ends with a dance-like fury. The dark quality

provided by the D minor key signature reflects Enesco’s dark tone, bringing to life what violin

master Yehudi Menuhin remembers of his first meeting with Enescu in 1925:

16

Margaret Campbell, liner notes from Six Sonatas for Solo Violin, Op. 27, Oscar Shumsky, violin, (Nimbus, 1982),

6. 17

Noel Malcom, George Enescu: His Life and Music, (London, Toccata Press), 84-6. 18

Merriam-Webster, s.v. “ballade,” accessed October 9, 2016, https://www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/ballade?utm_campaign=sd&utm_medium=serp&utm_source=jsonld 19

Grove Dictionary of Music, s.v. “ballade,” accessed October 9, 2016, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com

7

Before a note was sounded he had me in thrall. His countenance, his stance, his

wonderful mane of black hair - everything about him proclaimed the free man [...]. And

the music he began to play had an incandescence surpassing anything in my experience.

In afteryears when I knew him intimately, saw him at times almost daily, watched him

age, I never had the least cause to qualify this first judgment - if judgment isn’t too cold a

word for my wholehearted response.20

Fritz Kreisler and Sonata No. 4

Ysaÿe’s fourth sonata is dedicated to the elegant, charming, bewitching, and unique

virtuoso, Freidrich-Max (nicknamed Fritz) Kreisler. Born on February 2, 1875 in Vienna,

Kreisler was quoted as saying, “it was Eugène Ysaÿe who was my idol among violinists.”21

Kreisler’s charming personality aided him in securing solo engagements with some of his

influential friends. It was through these engagements that Kreisler built his artistic reputation as

one of the great masters remembered today.22

Eugène Ysaÿe first heard Kreisler perform the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E Minor

with the Berlin Philharmonic in December of 1899. At the end of the performance, Ysaÿe was

observed to have “stood up ostentatiously and applauded” and a life-long friendship developed.23

Kreisler was known for his charming mannerisms and interpretations on stage. Henry Roth

states, “[Kreisler’s] concerts exuded a special aura, and listeners often felt like privileged guests

at a memorable royal function.”24

Not only was Kreisler’s charm a signature of his personality

and playing, he was also described to have “magnificent reflexes” which gave him the ability to

play incredibly fast passages. “There was nothing extraordinary about the size or shape of his

hands: they were strong, yet pliant. His fourth finger was comparatively short [...] he almost

always preferred using his third finger in vibrant lyric playing.”25

Like the first sonata dedicated to Joseph Szigeti, the fourth sonata also harkens back to

the Baroque Era. Each of the movements mirroring its Bach counter-part, Partita No. 2 in D

Minor, BWV 1004, the titles themselves “Allemande,” “Sarabande” and “Finale” from Ysaÿe’s

20

Noel Malcom, George Enescu: His Life and Music, (London, Toccata Press),163. 21

Henry Roth, Violin Virtuosos From Paganini to the 21st Century, (Los Angeles: California Classic Books, 1997),

20. 22

Henry Roth, Violin Virtuosos From Paganini to the 21st Century, (Los Angeles: California Classic Books, 1997),

36. 23

Ibid. 24

Henry Roth, Great Violinist in Performance, (Los Angeles: Panjandrum Books, 1987), 7. 25

Ibid., 8.

8

fourth sonata draws a clear reference back to Partita No. 2 in D Minor. The final movement of

the fourth sonata captures the essence of Kreisler as a violinist, as well as his essence as a

composer. Ysaÿe borrowed excerpts from Kreisler’s Preludium and Allegro (1910) in the last

movement of Ysaÿe’s fourth sonata, “Finale: Presto ma non troppo.” The use of double stops and

frequent and extravagant changes of bow strokes are reminiscent of Kreisler’s style of

composition and playing. The measures leading into the slow section in the last movement of

Ysaÿe’s fourth sonata evoke likeness from Kreisler. The string-crossings and double stops in the

Kreisler leading into the decorated E minor arpeggio is directly quoted in the section prior to the

slow section of the Ysaÿe, even the bowings are the same. Below are the two excerpts to

facilitate the comparison between Kreisler’s music in Figure 1 and Ysaÿe’s in Figure 2:

Figure 1. Excerpt from Kreisler’s Preludium and Allegro, mm. 76-87.

Figure 2. Excerpt from Ysaÿe’s Sonata No. 4, “Finale: Presto ma non troppo,” mm. 20-24.

9

Mathieu Crickboom and Sonata No. 5

Mathieu Crickboom was one of Ysaÿe’s prized disciples and the founding second

violinist of the Ysaÿe Quartet, playing second violin to Ysaÿe himself.26

In 1892, Crickboom

joined cellist Pablo Casals and composer/pianist Enrique Granados in founding a piano trio.27

Crickboom was later known as a pedagogue and for his compilations of violin etudes. However,

there is a distinct yet fascinating lack of information about Crickboom himself. The level of

virtuosity required in the fifth sonata dedicated to Crickboom suggests that he was a virtuoso.

Unfortunately, Crickboom’s reputation as a violinist is lost in time.

The founding members of the Ysaÿe Quartet premiered Claude Debussy’s String Quartet

in G Minor, Op. 10 on December 29, 1893.28

Ysaÿe’s Sonata No. 5 borrows from Debussy’s

String Quartet and Chausson’s Poème, both of whom were friends of Ysaÿe. The fifth sonata

was never performed in public during Ysaÿe’s life, but it was recognized by Antoine Ysaÿe as

one of the most beautifully written sonatas by his father.29

Like the second sonata, the fifth

sonata is also programmatic. The first movement, titled “L’aurore,” is a gorgeous impressionist,

Debussy-esque piece depicting the moments just before the sunrise. The left-hand pizzicato and

percussive beats in the following section were intended as a tribute to Béla Bartók.30

As

suggested by Dr. Andre Curty’s dissertation from 2003, the second and final movement, “Danse

Rustique” represents shared memories from picnics that Ysaÿe spent with his students. In this

movement, Ysaÿe wittily incorporated violin technique exercises that he had assigned to his

students. Sonata No. 5 as a whole depicts scenes from nature through impressionistic writing in

the first movement while borrowing folk dance melodies in the second movement, representing

Ysaÿe and Crickboom’s homeland of Belgium.31

26

Henry Roth, Violin Virtuosos From Paganini to the 21st Century, (Los Angeles: California Classic Books, 1997),

21. 27

Andrey Curty, A Pedagogical Approach to Eugène Ysaÿe’s Six Sonatas for Solo Violin, Op. 27,DMA diss.,

University of Georgia, Athens, 2003, Retrieved from https://getd.libs.uga.edu/pdfs/curty_andrey_200305_dma.pdf. 28

Henry Roth, Violin Virtuosos From Paganini to the 21st Century, (Los Angeles: California Classic Books, 1997), 21. 29

Ysaÿe and Ratcliffe, Ysaÿe: His Life, Work and Influence, (London: William Heinemann LTD, 1947), 224. 30

Margaret Campbell, liner notes from Six Sonatas for Solo Violin, Op. 27, Oscar Shumsky, violin, (Nimbus, 1982), 7. 31

Andrey Curty, A Pedagogical Approach to Eugène Ysaÿe’s Six Sonatas for Solo Violin, Op. 27,DMA diss., University of Georgia, Athens, 2003, Retrieved from https://getd.libs.uga.edu/pdfs/curty_andrey_200305_dma.pdf.

10

Manuel Quiroga and Sonata No. 6

The final dedicatee of the Six Sonatas for Solo Violin is Manuel Quiroga. Born in the

region of Galicia, an autonomous community in Spain, in 1892, Quiroga was one of Europe’s

most prominent violinists until he was involved in a tragic accident in New York City in 1937.

During one of Quiroga’s tours to America a truck him and he never fully recovered. Not only did

the accident injure Quiroga’s right arm, which led to paralysis, he also eventually suffered from

Parkinson’s disease.32

Due to injury and illness, Quiroga spent the remainder of his life dedicated

to his paintings for artistic fulfillment.33

Prior to his misfortunes, Quiroga was a sensational performer and composer, as his

recordings online can attest. In 1909, Quiroga auditioned and was accepted into the

Conservatoire de Paris where he occasionally had lessons with Thibaud through whom Quiroga

made an acquaintance with Ysaÿe. One example that beautifully captures Quiroga’s essence as

both a performer and composer is a recording of him performing his own composition, Rondalla.

The lilt in the lush melody, the brilliance of the double stops, and the virtuosic and effortless

nature in which Quiroga executes the technical passages in both hands provides the listener with

a great understanding of the musical elements Ysaÿe chose to incorporate in his Sonata No. 6.

In the sixth sonata, Ysaÿe captures the essence of Quiroga’s playing in the double stop

flourishes, the grazioso feeling of cascading octaves, and the coy tango in the middle section

complete with lilting triplets used in the Rondalla accompanied by the Habanera rhythm. True to

the virtuosic nature of the violinist the sonata is dedicated to, the single-movement work finishes

with an ostentatious coda. Written in 1923, Ysaÿe depicts the virtuosity of Quiroga at his prime.

Ysaÿe’s Six Sonatas for Solo Violin capture the musical idiosyncrasies of his dedicatees

while acting as a monument to Ysaÿe’s prowess as a violinist and composer. Each sonata was a

testament to Ysaÿe’s understanding of the violin as well as the virtuosity of the dedicatees. True

musical genius combined with massive understanding of the instrument as well as the

performers, the Six Sonatas for Solo Violin act as a stunning model and inspiration for my

commission project. By reversing the model from one composer to multi-composer, and multi-

performer to one performer, the product is philosophically similar to the Ysaÿe sonatas.

32

“Manuel Quiroga,” Cuarteto Quiroga, 2015, http://cuartetoquiroga.com/manuel-quiroga/. 33

Laura Klugherz, A Bibliographical Guide to Spanish Music for the Violin and Viola, 1900-1997, (London: Greenwood Press, 1998), 17.

11

Although composed by three composers with different styles, each composition’s common

thread is based on the performer for which the pieces were written. The following chapters

address the commissioning process, my individual relationships with the composers, and

commonality among the three works.

12

CHAPTER 2

COMMISSIONS

Considerations

Prior to commissioning composers, there are certain considerations one needs to make.

To commission music generally means “to pay a composer to write a particular composition for

a specific purpose or event.”34

One of the first things to consider when commissioning music is

finding the right people with whom to collaborate. The next step is to consider whether or not

their fees are affordable. Due to the nature of this project and my relationships with the particular

composers with whom I chose to collaborate, I was fortunate that commission fees were not

charged. However, if payments were involved, there are excellent resources directing

performance students, musicians, and composers to available grants and other funding

opportunities that one can explore to help cover commissioning costs. Funding resources can be

found through New York Foundation for the Arts Source, Society of Composers, Inc., The

Musician’s Way Resources for Grantseekers, and the Bridge Database. Peabody Conservatory at

Johns Hopkins also has an extensive document updated in August of 2016 listing many

foundations that support music commissions. The link for this document can be found in the

Reference section.

For anyone who might be interested in commissioning works, Meet The Composer’s

Commissioning Music: A Basic Guide is a great general informational guide. This guide helps

direct readers through major points one needs to consider prior in commissioning agreements.

MTC’s guide has been helpful for me in this project to consider deadlines, length of

commissions, time periods for performance rights, and form of dedication. Other resources that

have been helpful in this process include but are not limited to: New Music USA, American

Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, Broadcast Music Inc., and Volunteer Lawyers

for the Arts.

34

Meet The Composer, Inc., “Commissioning Music: A Basic Guide”, 2009,

https://www.newmusicusa.org/about/resources/.

13

Choosing the Composers

At Florida State University, I had the opportunity to collaborate with and perform works

by the composition studios through my quartet, Eppes Quartet. As much as I have enjoyed

working with the composers at FSU, I decided to explore collaborations with composers with

whom I have not collaborated in depth. After much deliberation, the composers commissioned

were those who know me well personally and professionally. Luckily, I forged strong friendships

with wonderful composers during my time studying at the University of Michigan and knew

from the beginning of these friendships that they were composers with whom I must collaborate

someday.

Natalie Moller was the first composer that came to mind during the first stage of this

project. Natalie’s unaccompanied violin piece, …et la bête, was one of the pieces featured on my

master’s recital as well as my doctoral auditions. I have always admired her creativity as well as

the stories and the sounds that she has created in her past projects. Her music is easily relatable

and the storyline is clear to follow. Each piece is a story that removes the listener from their

reality and transports them into a new world of sound. Taking …et la bête for example, the

internal struggle of the character was extremely relatable. The internal dialogue and arguments

touched on something deeply personal for me, and performing it had almost a therapeutic effect.

During that time in my career, I was working on finding a more gentle and elegant sound.

Natalie’s piece, ... et la bête, demands at times the most angst and rawness out of the player

while not a moment later, the performer is asked to be able to draw the most pure and stunning

sound out of the same instrument. It challenged my technique and directly addressed what was

then my most significant challenge. The process helped me mature as a player. While

approaching the end of yet another degree and having kept up with the creative output Natalie

published in the last three years, I found myself wondering what it would be like to work with

Natalie again.

In January of 2013, as a member of the University Symphony Orchestra at the University

of Michigan, I had the fortune of premiering Matthew Browne’s How the Solar System Was

Won. Through this piece, full of lulling strings and disruptive brass, I was able to come to terms

with a chaotic and devastating period in my life, which was when my violin professor from my

undergraduate studies had passed away. I approached Matthew after that first reading to discuss

his music and we became immediate friends. Before the end of the semester, Matthew

14

approached me to record a miniature that he had written as a wedding gift to his sister and I

agreed without hesitation. Through this session, not only did I get to know Matthew better as a

friend and composer, but he also got to know my playing style fairly well. Our friendship

developed through that recording project and Matthew had offered to write me a piece some time

in the future. When this current commissioning project became a reality, Matthew had to be a

part of it. As someone who knows me better than most, Matthew was a welcome addition to this

project.

Although neither Greg Simon nor myself can remember how the two of us met, his

family of four had become my home away from home in my brief two years in Michigan. On the

morning of my master’s graduation, Greg and his wife Jodi-Renee took me out for brunch and

came to my graduation as not only my friends but they also represented my family. At brunch,

Greg said “Sophia, ask me to write you a piece one day.” Not fully understanding the weight of

that conversation or thinking ahead to what that could potentially mean, I responded, “Ok! Greg,

write me a piece one day!” Prior to approaching Greg for a commission, I had no idea his

eclectic compositional style ranges from jazz to minimalism, and includes Chilean folk

influences from time to time. Greg’s style certainly complements those of Natalie and Matthew

and more importantly, I was excited by the prospect that Greg and I would have the opportunity

to work on his piece together during the summer of 2016 at the Brevard Music Center over the

summer where he serves as composition faculty and I served on the staff.

Composer Biographies

Matthew Browne

Born in 1988 in Burlington, Vermont, Matthew Browne’s music incorporates influences

from the “timbral imagination and playfulness of György Ligeti, the shocking and humorous

eclecticism of Alfred Schnittke, and the relentless rhythmic energy of Igor Stravinsky.”35

His

music also includes beautifully crafted and compelling harmonies and melodies, an example of

which can be found in the first movement of the piece his wrote for me, Sonatina. As a

composer, Matthew has had the opportunity to collaborate with ensembles such as the Minnesota

35

Matthew Browne, “Biography,” Composer, Matthew Browne, 2017, http://www.matthewbrownecomposer.com/bio.

15

Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the New England

Philharmonic, the Villiers Quartet, the Donald Sinta Quartet, the Tesla Quartet, the

PUBLIQuartet, and the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra.

Matthew’s honors include First Prize in the 2017 ASCAP Foundation Rudolf Nissim

Prize and BMI Student Composer award. He was a winner of the American Viola Society’s

Maurice Gardner Composition award as well as the winner of the New England Philharmonic

Call for Scores. Currently living in New York City, Matthew holds a Doctor of Musical Arts and

a Master of Music in Music Composition from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of

Music from the University of Colorado at Boulder. His previous teachers include Michael

Daugherty, Kristin Kuster, Carter Pann, and Daniel Kellogg.

Greg Simon

Greg Simon’s music has been hailed by the Palm Beach Arts as “an eye-opener… an

angry celebration of life.” “Gregarious [and] muscular,” his works draw on inspirations from

jazz, funk, Balinese Gamelan, abstract expressionism, Chilean folk song, and, as he himself

describes it, “a thousand ever-changing fascinations.”36

Musical compositions are not his only

creative outlet; Greg is also writes passionately about music, with articles published by the New

Music Box and the Oxford University Press.

As a composer, Greg has collaborated with performers and ensembles around the country

including Alarm Will Sound, the Fifth House Ensemble, the Playground Ensemble of Denver,

and the Detroit Chamber Winds. His works have been presented at conferences for the American

Band College, the College Band Directors’ National Association, the World Saxophone

Congress, and the North American Saxophone Alliance.

An active jazz trumpeter, Greg can be found performing frequently in Lincoln, Nebraska,

and in Ann Arbor and Detroit, Michigan. He has performed with the Jodi-Renee Band, the Park

Hill Brass, and ensembles at the University of Michigan and the University of Colorado. As a

featured soloist, Greg has made appearances in world premieres for composers Michael

Theodore, Hunter Ewen, Liz Comninellis, and Kari Kraakevik.

Greg’s composition mentors include Evan Chambers, Michael Daugherty, Kristin Kuster,

Carter Pann, Daniel Kellogg, and Robert Hutchinson. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from

36

Greg Simon, “Biography,” Composer, Greg Simon, 2017, http://www.gregsimonmusic.com/bio.

16

the University of Michigan, a Master of Music from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a

Bachelor of Arts from the University of Puget Sound. Currently on the composition faculty at

University of Nebraska at Lincoln and the Brevard Music Center, Greg lives in Lincoln, NE.

Natalie Moller

Drawing her inspirations from prose, art, and nature, composer Natalie Moller has a

passion for multi-disciplinary collaborations. She frequently explores into the intersections of

music, theatre, dance, and film. Most recently, these media-bridging endeavors include “five

short film scores, a collective work for musicians and dancers, an hour-long musical drama, and

an online collaboration called Triptych.”37

Natalie’s music has been performed throughout the

world by ensembles and artists such as the Donald Sinta Quartet, the University of Michigan

Chamber Choir, and the University of Redlands Wind Ensemble. A recent recipient of the Brehm

Prize in Choral Composition and the Donald Sinta Quartet National Composition Competition,

Natalie’s music has been featured on programs for the Bravo! Vail Summer Festival, World

Saxophone Congress, and Chamber Music America.

Natalie holds a Master of Music in Composition from the University of Michigan and a

Bachelor of Music in Composition from the University of Redlands. Currently residing in the

greater Los Angeles area in California, Natalie’s principal teachers included Kristin Kuster and

Anthoy Suter.

37

Natalie Moller, “Biography,” Natalie Moller, Composer, 2017, http://www.nataliemollermusic.com/about.

17

CHAPTER 3

COMMISSION AND COLLABORATION PROCESS

Initial Contact and Brainstorming

Matthew Browne

Despite the immediate idea of asking Natalie, the first composer I contacted regarding

this project was Matthew Browne. Having kept in close touch after I left Ann Arbor, reaching

out to Matthew had the potential to be the most encouraging first step. Luckily, during the

brainstorming process, I happened to be visiting Ann Arbor and had the opportunity to approach

Matthew in person about this project. He agreed to write a work for me, although he made it

clear that he was not going to start the project until the summer due to his own dissertation

deadlines. Our conversation helped solidify the idea of a multi-composer collaboration project

while also coming to the agreement that this process would inevitably be very personal as a

result of the relationship among all three of the composers with each other as well as with me.

Much like the relationships between Ysaÿe and each of his dedicatees and amongst one another,

all of our lives overlapped. The four of us went to school together and the three of the composers

studied with the same professors. Interestingly enough, the three developed very distinct styles

despite the fact they were in the same studios.

Greg Simon

During the same visit to Ann Arbor during which I met with Matthew, Greg’s family

invited me over for dinner. After dinner, I reminded Greg of his promise two years prior and

directly asked him to write me a piece for this treatise. The initial ideas that were discussed

became a blur by the end of that conversation, but Greg did give me a score to his solo viola

piece, Estadio, as a sample of the extended techniques he had in mind for an unaccompanied

string piece. Shortly after that visit, we both started our employment at Brevard Music Center for

the summer 2016 season, as well as a two-months long collaborative process for the

unaccompanied violin work, Atacameños.

18

Natalie Moller

Ever since I performed Natalie’s unaccompanied violin work from 2012, ...et la bête, we

have always wanted another chance to work together. In the spring of 2014, before we graduated,

Natalie promised that she would one day write a piece for me. I called her shortly after my Ann

Arbor visit and she immediately began to look for stories, folklores, and visual inspirations for

this project. We entertained idea of dances from dragon dances, to rain dances; we even

considered a modern derivative of dances from the Baroque era. As a composer who has a

passion for storytelling and narratives, her enthusiasm in setting unaccompanied violin music to

a story came as no surprise. It was a very exciting process and we went through several different

stories before Natalie decided that she was going to come up with something new. During the

brainstorming process, I would randomly receive messages from Natalie asking questions

pertaining to my favorite Paganini Caprices and performers, my preferred extended techniques,

and extended techniques I have yet to try. These conversations eventually led to Natalie’s

decision to write about the drought issue in California and the title of her new work, Rain

Shadows.

Silences and Collaborations

Matthew Browne

The collaboration process with Matthew was very hands-off for several reasons. He was

extremely busy with his own dissertation, graduation, and his significant relocation from Ann

Arbor to New York. Also, our previous collaborations have been similar where Matthew would

present me a completed movement or work, and then I would practice and either record it for

him or play through in person for feedback. Suggestions and critique from my perspective was

minimal since most of his writing has been idiomatic for strings. There were a couple of minor

interval and bowing changes that we made in the miniature he composed for his sister, but that

was usually the extent of my suggestions. In late August of 2016, I wrote Matthew an e-mail to

check in and see how the composition process was going. Matthew’s response informed me that

he was going to include the miniature that he wrote for his sister’s wedding as the first

movement to the entire work because the piece marked the beginnings of our friendship and

collaboration.

19

Greg Simon

Greg’s compositional style is very eclectic. As a jazz trumpeter, Greg often draws on his

jazz background in his more classical compositions. One of my favorite works by Greg is

minimalistic and I was expecting something similar when we met for our first session over the

summer. However, that meeting opened my eyes to a side of Greg’s background that I never

knew.

It started with a question, “have you heard of the Atacama Desert?” Most conversations

with Greg start off with a question that piques my interest. Greg then told me about his mother’s

Chilean heritage and how he frequently infuses Chilean culture into his works, such as the

unaccompanied viola piece he showed me a few months prior. Then Greg informed me that he

had always wanted to write about the Atacama Desert but was never able to find the right

medium until I approached him about an unaccompanied violin piece. Throughout the meeting,

Greg animatedly described different aspects of the Atacama Desert and the Chilean culture. I

stepped out of that meeting with my preconceived notions of any minimalistic writing in Greg’s

piece completely shattered. I did not realize the coincidence until later in the summer - Natalie

was also writing on the subject of deserts.

Over the next two months at the Brevard Music Center, Greg and I met a few times per

month. The structure of our sessions were such that I would bring my instrument and play

through parts of the Ysaÿe sonatas that I had been working on, we would talk about traditional

violin techniques Ysaÿe used as well as extended techniques Greg had in mind. Then, Greg

would bring out sketches on which he had been working. One of the most memorable

experiences was when Greg asked me to sing and play at the same time. Although he never used

it, I learned new extended technique.

Natalie Moller

Because Natalie lives in California, most of our collaboration happened via various

electronic media: Facetime; the phone; sending each other screenshots, videos or recordings; and

texting. Natalie drew her musical inspirations from the beginning from George Crumb’s Eleven

Echoes of Autumn in which he titles his movements “echo 1, echo 2” and so forth. Natalie

directly borrowed the title ideas and named movements of Rain Shadows as “shadow I,”

“shadow II,” “shadow III,” and “shadow IV.” In Crumb’s “echo 9,” the violinist plays artificial

20

harmonics and whistles at the same time. Although Natalie never incorporated that particular

technique, I thought it was an interesting coincidence that just days earlier, Greg had asked me to

sing and play at the same time.

Over the course of that summer, while I was preparing for my first lecture recital on the

Ysaÿe sonatas, I sent some recordings to Natalie. She borrowed some double-stop unisons,

harmonic arpeggiations, and fast double-stop sixteenths and used these more traditional, but

virtuosic techniques in “shadow III” and “shadow IV.” Natalie also took notes on Benjamin

Britten’s Violin Concerto and incorporated extended techniques such as left hand pizzicato and

right hand bowing in unison into “shadow II,” as shown in this example:

Figure 3. Excerpt from Moller’s Rain Shadows, “Shadow II: Hollow Trees”

Natalie and I also got the chance to work together in person during the weekend prior to

my second lecture recital, just two days before the premiere. We were able to work through some

passages together and make a couple of last minute articulation and note changes. I had the

opportunity to suggest a few interval inversions, change of positions, and bowing suggestions

that made it into the final edits.

Final Products and Thoughts

Sonatina by Matthew Browne

The piece that I had recorded for Matthew’s sister’s wedding in 2013 became the first

movement to the piece I commissioned by Matthew, Sonatina. This first movement, “Soliloquy,”

expresses a character amidst intense internal conflict, as shown by unexpected and resistant

harmonic changes. Towards the end of the movement, the music finally climaxes as the character

reaches a breakthrough in achieving peace with oneself, as expressed by an ascending G major

21

arpeggio. The second movement of the piece, “Contemplation,” composed in the summer of

2016, is filled with fragmented musical materials, representing incoherent pieces of thought. The

middle section, filled with insistent accelerando and relentless rhythmic energy, resembling a

ticking clock, mocking every second that is slipping away.

Interestingly enough, Matt never named the first movement when he first wrote it. It was

not until after I had recorded the piece that Matt titled it “Soliloquy.” Matt explained his

justification for the titles in the following quotation from Sonatina’s program notes:

I titled it ‘Soliloquy’ because, when Sophia plays the piece, it feels as if she’s expressing

a very specific and intense feeling directly at the audience, much as a stage actor does in

a soliloquy. The second movement, in contrast, is titled ‘Contemplation’ because the

emotions expressed are much more complex and internal. The constant fluctuation in

tempo and constant rubato is meant to represent the quick jumping back and forth

between feelings our brains tend to do when we are contemplating a powerful and

complex emotion.

Atacameños by Greg Simon

One Chilean subject that Greg has always wanted to write about was the Atacama Desert,

but he was never able to find the right project until I approached him about writing a piece for

unaccompanied violin. The Atacama is located in the “northern end of Chile, about 800 miles

from Santiago.”38

It is known as the driest desert on the planet, a place of desolation with “the

occasional lone creature seeking survival.”39

Below is an excerpt from Greg’s program notes on this piece, describing how he sees the

Atacama:

In my creative work, I often dance around the concept of loneliness. I remain ever

fascinated by the natural and historic offerings of Chile, where my mother was born. The

Atacama is a touchstone for both--treasured by Chileans even in its bleakness, and the

setting for a thousand meditations on loneliness through landform, creature, and the

desert itself. For some of the Atacama’s few denizens, loneliness is a curse: it means a

work of art without a viewer, a ghost town without a guardian from vandals, a lone man

without a community. But many others experience not a curse but a blessing: not

loneliness, but solitude. Intrinsic in the solitary nature of desert life is freedom,

independence, and uniqueness. Only in the Atacama can you find a phenomenon like the

38

Greg Simon, “Program Notes for Atacameños,” 2017. 39

Ibid.

22

desierto florido, or a creature like the culpeo. It is this solitude that shapes the

paradoxical life of the desert, at once lonely and free, desolate and colorful.

Greg’s four-movement work for solo violin, Atacameños, opens with “Mano del

Desierto,” or “Hand of the Desert.” The title refers to a 36-foot tall iron and concrete sculpture in

the shape of a hand, rising from the desert with all five fingers stretching towards the heavens.

Chilean sculptor Mario Irarrázabal chose this design to represent injustice, loneliness, and

sorrow. The exaggerated size of the human figure emphasizes the vulnerability and helplessness

of humanity. The sculpture’s location, one mile off of the highway and is susceptible to frequent

vandalism of graffiti and carvings, further enhances its helplessness.40

In the musical

composition itself, one can hear the lonely statue through the single line, sighing gestures in the

opening. Greg takes this sighing motif and expands it into an outcry in the middle, and resolves

the piece with similar sighing motives from the beginning.

The second movement of this work is titled “Desierto Florido,” or the flowering desert.

This is a phenomenon that happens in the rare years when the Atacama gets more rainfall than

normal. When this happens, it causes otherwise dormant seeds and bulbs to sprout, and, by

September, the desert becomes covered by colorful flowers accompanied by a surge of wildlife.

This display usually lasts for two months before the blossoms disappear and the Atacama

becomes desolate and barren once again.41

The third movement of this work is called “Culpeo.” The title of the movement is the

Spanish word for the Andean fox, which is a cross between a fox and a coyote. The culpeo is a

solitary and fierce creature and is driven by its constant search for food.42

Greg composed eight

pages of fast, running sixteenth notes, from beginning to end, to portray this fierce and energetic

denizen of the Atacama.

“ALMA (alma)” is the title of the last movement of Greg’s work. The title is written in

two ways, all capitalized and all lowercased. The all-capitalized title is an acronym that stands

for Atacama Large Millimeter Array, which is a single telescope with sixty-four high precision

40

Katie Manning, “Keep Up the High Five: ‘La Mano del Desierto,’” El Observatodo, last modified July 22, 2011, http://www.elobservatodo.cl/noticia/cultura/keep-high-five-la-mano-del-desierto. 41

Greg Simon, program notes, 2017. 42

Greg Simon, program notes, 2017.

23

antennas capable of capturing light particles that our eyes cannot see.43

Lowercased “alma” is the

Spanish word for “soul.”44

The entire movement is a play on the title, with upward artificial

harmonic gestures that can both represent the radio signals of hovering telescopes and the

departing soul of a creature or an individual.

Rain Shadows by Natalie Moller

A cyclical four-movement work, Rain Shadows depicts scenes in a California desert. The

first movement or “Shadow I,” titled “Dreaming in Sand,” introduces themes that emerge

throughout the later movements. “Shadow II: Hollow Trees,” portrays conversations between

birds and trees through the use of artificial harmonics, harmonic pizzicati, and col legno tratto.

“Shadow III: Fire and Amber” is filled with images of struggle between stasis and motion.

Imagine an object that is bursting with energy but is trapped in an immovable state, forced to the

brink of explosion. Natalie writes, “The contrasting characters are most sharply juxtaposed in the

third movement.” The fourth and final shadow, “The Desert is a Garden,” is a lesson in

appreciating what is. In this movement, Natalie stuns us with her ability to find beauty within

desolation, barrenness, and solitude. Throughout all four movements, she takes the same

sixteenth-note figure listed below, and develops it from sand in the first movement to trees in the

second, fire in the third, and it blooms into haunting virtuosic expression in the final movement:

Figure 4: Excerpt from Moller’s Rain Shadows, “Shadow I: Dreaming In Sand”

43

Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, accessed January 22, 2017, http://www.almaobservatory.org/en/home. 44

Greg Simon, program notes, 2017.

24

Figure 5: Excerpt from Moller’s Rain Shadows, “Shadow II: Hollow Trees”

Figure 6: Excerpt from Moller’s Rain Shadows, “Shadow III: Fire and Amber”

Figure 7: Excerpt from Moller’s Rain Shadows, “Shadow IV: The Desert is a Garden”

25

CHAPTER 4

CONCLUSION

Through this project, I was able to better understand the Ysaÿe Sonatas while adding to

the unaccompanied violin repertoire. The first part of this two-part treatise gave me a better

historical understanding of the Six Sonatas for Solo Violin, Op. 27. The second half of this

treatise opened my eyes to the essential elements that one needs to consider prior, during, and

after the commission process. Above all, this treatise gave me the opportunity to learn repertoire

that is not only new to me, but to also contribute to the selections of unaccompanied violin works

available. Finally, this project allowed me to experience first hand the hard work, time, and talent

that composers put into their works. Being able to share my experience through this treatise has

been a great learning experience.

I approached all three composers for solo violin works under ten minutes in length to fit

within the time limitations of the lecture recital. All three of the composers produced materials

ten minutes or longer in length. This, however, meant we had more material to work through

during the collaboration process. While most commissions happen one at a time, learning to

balance three commissions and separate collaborations at the same time has not only taught me

important communication skills, but also important lessons on how to keep track and organize

information from these collaborations.

Lessons from My First Commissions

One major component I would change the next time I commission anything is to keep a

more detailed and organized record of exchanges I have with the composers. Having had our

collaborations via so many different mediums such as Facetime, Facebook, text messaging, e-

mails, voice memos, and unrecorded conversations in person, I realized that going back through

those records, or the lack thereof, is much more painstaking than having them in one centralized

location. Going through notes, I realized that I did not date them and I wasted lots of precious

time sorting out which conversation, Facebook or that one in-person meeting, happened first. In

reviewing this process, I decided that it would be best to eliminate social media and texting.

26

Instead, I decided that future commission projects would have one chain of e-mails and

occasional recorded conversations for each composer.

Plans for Future Commissions

When Natalie and Greg both pitched their ideas to me separately over the summer, I

thought it was interesting that they were both writing about deserts and finding beauty inside

desolation. Coincidentally, both Natalie and Greg’s works also include movements that shatter

the image that most of us imagine when we hear the word, “desert.” More importantly, all three

composers explored this idea of loneliness and solitude, which I attribute to the instrumentation.

Greg sums up beautifully why the solo violin is the ideal voice representing solitude: “A

soloist is lonely, yet strong and intimate in her solitude. The violin demands an unparalleled

focus and vulnerability from its performer, as if the two are in private dialogue with one another.

Any violin solo is a study in loneliness--what a fitting medium to give voice to figures of an arid

desert, themselves lessons in desolation.”45

I remember Greg’s wife, Jodi-Renee, telling me after my first year as a doctoral student,

that the feeling I perceived as loneliness was not actually loneliness, but rather that I was

experiencing solitude. Jodi taught me that coming to terms with solitude is a step to becoming an

adult and that with time, I will realize that solitude is actually a beautiful thing and learn to

appreciate it. Matt, Greg, and Natalie have exquisitely set this life lesson to music, whether it

was intentional or not.

These commissions are the first half of a larger project, which I plan to continue in the

next phase of my career. By 2023, the centennial celebration of the Ysaÿe sonatas, I would like

to have my very own set of six works for unaccompanied violin. This means that by 2023, I hope

to commission three more pieces for unaccompanied violin by three different composers.

Although I do not yet know who these next three composers will be, I know that I want them to

be composers who know me well professionally and personally. The three commissions for this

project, although not a direct reflection of me as an individual, did summarize the last three years

of my growth, personally and as a violinist. I am curious to see what the next three commissions

might reflect.

45

Greg Simon, program notes, 2017.

27

2023 is just a few years away but the intervening years will certainly provide an

opportunity for more personal and professional growth. Through this project, I realized the need

for more improvement on my organizational skills. Professionally, I would like to record the first

three commissions while they are still fresh, while seeking out more composers who, like

Matthew, Greg, and Natalie, have a lot to express through their music.

28

REFERENCES

Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array, accessed January 22, 2017,

http://www.almaobservatory.org/en/home.

Arnold, Denis. Bach. New York: Oxford University Press, 1984.

Campbell, Margaret. liner notes from Six Sonatas for Solo Violin, Op. 27. Sound recording.

Oscar Shumsky, violin, Nimbus, 1982.

Curty, Andrey. “A Pedagogical Approach to Eugène Ysaÿe’s Six Sonatas for Solo Violin, Op.

27.” DMA diss., University of Georgia, 2003.

Daverio, John. Crossing Paths: Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms. New York: Oxford University

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Described by the Classical Voices of North Carolina as “a polished [and] fully

professional” performer, violinist Sophia Han is pursuing her doctoral degree under the tutelage

of Professor Corinne Stillwell at the Florida State University. A member of FSU’s resident

quartet, Eppes Quartet, Han frequently performs for and coaches students at the College of

Music and in the Leon County Public Schools. Concertmaster of the 2016 Lake Tahoe Festival

Orchestra, Han is an active orchestral musician in the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia,

Michigan, and North Carolina. Han has soloed with the UNC Chapel-Hill’s Symphony Orchestra

as well as the Masterworks Reading Orchestra of Raleigh. Passionate about new music, Han’s

current commission projects include unaccompanied works for solo violin and duos for violin

and saxophone. Han received her Bachelor of Music with Dr. Richard Luby at the University of

North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her Master of Music in Violin Performance and Master of

Music in Chamber Music degrees from the University of Michigan under the guidance of

Professor Aaron Berofsky. Han has also been fortunate to have performed in masterclasses for

violinists such as Gil Shaham, Jennifer Koh, Patinka Kopec, Stephen Shipps, and Kevork

Mardirossian, to name a few.