Degree
Master of Music
Program
Music
Supervisor
Dr. David Myska
2nd Supervisor
Dr. Paul Frehner
Abstract
Capriccio is a 12 minute, single movement “mini concerto” for piano and small chamber ensemble. The music is of a virtuosic and capricious nature; at times it is dance-like and rhapsodic, at others, pensive and introspective. The formal construction concerns the techniques of fragmentation and pitch symmetry. My interest in these techniques is informed from the study of works by Igor Stravinsky and Béla Bartók. Therefore, the title is reminiscent of Stravinsky’s own work, Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra. In my piece, a symmetrical pitch collection is used as the main musical material. Small repeating fragments of this collection are elongated and cycled through, thus generating phrasal structures, and a variety of complex harmonic contexts, some of which have tonal implications. The core conflict in this piece is the struggle for dominance between triadic harmony and symmetrical pitch collections.
Recommended Citation
McEvenue, André, "Capriccio for Mixed Ensemble and Piano" (2018). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 5336.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/5336