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Isang Yun's Violin Concerto No.1 (1981): A Fusion of Eastern and Western Styles, and the Influence of Taoism

Kim, Yun Jeong
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1368086330

Abstract Details

2013, DMA, University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music: Violin.
When considering the music of Isang Yun (1917-1995), a well-known Korean-German composer, scholars have explored his music for its fusion of Eastern and Western styles. Yun frequently combined Korean traditional music with Western musical structures in his compositions. In addition, he often commented that his works had been significantly influenced by the Eastern philosophy of Taoism, one of two Chinese philosophies along with Buddhism. In his oeuvre, Yun utilized the central principle of Taoism, especially the opposite characteristics of yin and yang. This document traces the fusion of Eastern and Western styles, the influence of Taoist principles, and the interplay between these two approaches in Isang Yun's Violin Concerto No. 1 (1981). Yun drew from a wide range of performance practices and styles from traditional Korean instrumental and vocal genres, including string instruments, wood instruments, and percussion instruments. In the Violin Concerto, Yun utilizes performance practices from the Gayakum, Sijo, and Piri, as well as a very general technique common to much Korean music, which Yun synthesized into what he called his Hauptton technique. For each of these, I describe on how they were developed in traditional Korean music and then demonstrate Yun's use of them in his Violin Concerto, and the interaction of them with Western techniques, instruments, and formal considerations. These are primarily found in the Violin Concerto's movements, a fast-slow-fast structure with virtuosic cadenzas in the second and third movements, ABA form in the second movement, and sonata form in the third movement. For the philosophy of Taoism, I discuss how its yin and yang principles influenced Yun's musical styles in his Violin Concerto. In a lecture at Tubingen University in 1987, Yun specified that this piece was a statement of Taoism, but he did not indicate which specific musical features expressed the philosophy. Instead, he explained that he used the dualism of yin and yang with its emphasis on opposite elements that are still part of the same force, as a practical tool in his compositions. I explore the possible ways that Yun included the yin and yang dualism in the Violin Concerto, especially in the interaction between the violinist and the orchestra, and passages that occur on both a small and large scale. I identify rhythmically and texturally tense music alternating with passages of relaxation and also the treatment of consonant and dissonant harmonies. Finally, I trace the relationship between sustained tones and their subsequent ornamented versions. I then identify how Yun fused Eastern and Western musical principles with Taoist philosophy in the Violin Concerto. This document comprises four chapters. In the first chapter, I provide a brief biographical portrait of Yun emphasizing his style periods. In the second chapter, I trace how Yun blended various Korean instrumental and vocal performing techniques with Western musical styles in the Violin Concerto. In the third chapter, I explore Taoist principles, and the yin and yang dualism evident in this Concerto with the origin and meaning of the philosophy. In the fourth chapter, I show how Yun fused Eastern and Western musical styles together in his Violin Concerto.
bruce mcclung, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Kurt Sassmannshaus, M.M. (Committee Member)
Won-Bin Yim, D.M.A. (Committee Member)
78 p.
Music
Isang Yun; Violin Concerto No 1; Taoism; Fusion; ; ;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Kim, Y. J. (2013). Isang Yun's Violin Concerto No.1 (1981): A Fusion of Eastern and Western Styles, and the Influence of Taoism [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1368086330

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Kim, Yun Jeong. Isang Yun's Violin Concerto No.1 (1981): A Fusion of Eastern and Western Styles, and the Influence of Taoism. 2013. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1368086330.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Kim, Yun Jeong. "Isang Yun's Violin Concerto No.1 (1981): A Fusion of Eastern and Western Styles, and the Influence of Taoism." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1368086330

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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