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The Xinjiang piano suites of Shi Fu

Sansbury, Sally Liew
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1180495584

Abstract Details

2007, Doctor of Musical Arts, Ohio State University, Music.
A distinguished Chinese ethnomusicologist and composer, Shi Fu has spent considerable time researching and collecting minority folk songs in Xinjiang, a province in the northwest region of China. His extensive knowledge in this field is reflected in almost all of his music. In particular, his three Xinjiang Piano Suites are windows through which one can learn more about individual minority folk music and culture. Each piece is a colorful picture of a folk scene depicted through music. Altogether, his music can be described as a fusion of ethnic folk idioms and Western romantic music traditions. Although Shi Fu is recognized as an important composer in his own country, he is relatively unknown to the English-speaking world, largely because of the language barrier. This is due to the dearth of information available in English and also the added task of translating relevant material from Chinese to English. Furthermore, while some of his piano music has been published, it is available only in China, and hence, not readily accessible to the Western world. This document attempts to bridge the language barrier to introduce Shi Fu and his piano music to the English-speaking world. It gives a brief historical and musical background of the Xinjiang province so as to provide a backdrop for the understanding of the Xinjiang Piano Suites. It furnishes a brief history of Xinjiang piano music. It presents the composer’s biography along with a representative listing of his works, and an overview of his piano writing. There is a detailed description on the three Xinjiang Piano Suites, highlighting the folk elements found in these works. This document concludes with a brief discussion on the composer’s Xinjiang compositional style and a summary. As a further aid, the Appendix provides a translation for every Chinese title, descriptive term or relevant information in the piano publication. Because China is on centerstage in the twenty-first century, I hope this document will prove useful in extending knowledge of this prominent Chinese composer, Shi Fu, and to promote interest among the academic and performing community into exploring his unique Xinjiang piano works.
Steven Glaser (Advisor)
137 p.
Music
Xinjiang Piano Suites; Chinese composer; ethnic minority folk music; Chinese piano music

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Sansbury, S. L. (2007). The Xinjiang piano suites of Shi Fu [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1180495584

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Sansbury, Sally. The Xinjiang piano suites of Shi Fu. 2007. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1180495584.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Sansbury, Sally. "The Xinjiang piano suites of Shi Fu." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1180495584

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1180495584
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© 2007, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.