Piano Concert Etudes_John Cage And

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UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI

Date:

I, ,

hereby submit this original work as part of the requirements for the degree of:

in

It is entitled:

Student Signature:

This work and its defense approved by:

Committee Chair:

8/18/2010 1,039

18-Aug-2010

Eun Young Kang

Doctor of Musical Arts

Piano

Late Twentieth-Century Piano Concert Etudes: A Style Study

bruce mcclung, PhDbruce mcclun PhD

Eun Youn Kan



Late Twentieth-Century Piano Concert Etudes: A Style Study

A document submitted to the

Graduate School

of the University of Cincinnati

in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree of

DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS

in the Keyboard Studies Divisionof the College-Conservatory of Music

2010

by

Eun Young Kang

M.M., University of Cincinnati, 2004

M.M., Ewha Womans University, Korea, 2002

B.M., Ewha Womans University, Korea, 2000

Committee Chair: bruce d. mcclung, PhD



iii

ABSTRACT

This document examines how four late twentieth-century composers’ styles engage with

the traditional genre of the etude. It explores the stylistic characteristics of concert etudes by

John Cage ( Etudes Australes), William Bolcom (Twelve New Etudes for Piano), John Corigliano

( Etude Fantasy), and György Ligeti ( Études pour piano, Premier Livre). The interaction of these

composers’ styles with the general characteristics of the etude is explored from a performer’s

perspective through a comparative study of these four collections.

The introductory chapter provides a brief historical survey of the etude from the late

eighteenth century to the twentieth century. Chapters two through five consider the etudes of

Cage, Bolcom, Corigliano, and Ligeti in turn, summarizing their respective styles, examining the

interaction of their styles with the virtuosic nature of the etude, and providing helpful

instructions for the performance of these works. Chapter six briefly compares and contrasts the

etudes of these four composers with each other as well as situates these works within the context

of late twentieth-century piano music.

This document contributes to our understanding of how the etude genre has been

embraced by late twentieth-century composers as well as how they have engaged, to varying

degrees, with the nineteenth-century attributes of the genre.





v

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

During the time of writing this document, I have strongly felt that God has led, helped,

and been with me. I would like to thank my committee chair, Dr. bruce d. mcclung, for his

advise on matters of research, the direction of this document, and my writing style. I truly

appreciate his counsel and help during his busy schedule at the end of the academic year and

during the summer.

I would like to thank my two readers of this document, Professors Elisabeth and Eugene

Pridonoff. They have been my piano teachers and mentors throughout my study at CCM and

have always fully supported, encouraged, and loved me like my parents.

I give my thanks for my husband, Taegyun, who supported and helped me with his love

and prayers to finish this document, even while finishing his own doctoral dissertation.

I also would like to thank my parents, Sukgoo Kang and Junghee Kim. They made many

sacrifices and encouraged me to finish my graduate studies in the United States. I would also like

to thank my in-laws, Byungsoon Moon and Kyungsil Choi, who always pray for me. Also, I give

thanks to my brothers and sisters, Soyoung, Youngwook, Byungsun, Jihye, and Sanghyun, for

their support.

I would like to thank my unborn baby for enduring the time I have been writing this

document. I had some difficulty writing this document because I am expecting my first child.

But through the power of God who is always with me, I have finished this document. I would

like to attribute its completion to the glory of God.



vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT.……………………………………………………………………………….….... iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS………………………………………………………………………. v

COPYRIGHT PERMISSIONS………………………………………………………………… vii

LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES……………………………………………………………..viii

CHAPTER

1. INTRODUCTION.……………………………………………….……...………. 1

2. JOHN CAGE’S ETUDES AUSTRALES .…………………………………….… 10

3. WILLIAM BOLCOM’S TWELVE NEW ETUDES FOR PIANO.…………….. 28

4. JOHN CORIGLIANO’S ETUDE FANTASY .…………………………….......... 49

5. GYÖRGY LIGETI’S ÉTUDES POUR PIANO, PREMIER LIVRE.………….. 78

6. CONCLUSION.…………………………………………….………………….. 98

BIBLIOGRAPHY.……………………………………………..……………………….…….. 102

APPENDIX: INTERVIEW WITH PROFESSOR JAMES TOCCO…………………….…… 106



vii

COPYRIGHT PERMISSIONS

Bartók, Béla. “Minor Seconds, Major Sevenths,” Vol. 6, No. 144 from Mikrokosmos, SZ 107.Copyright © 1940 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. Reprinted by permission.

Bolcom, William. 12 New Etudes for Piano. Copyright © 1988 by Edward B. MarksMusic Company. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.

Cage, John. Concert for Piano and Orchestra. Copyright © 1960 by Henmar Press, Inc. Used by permission of C. F. Peters Corporation.

_______. Etudes Australes. Copyright © 1975 by Henmar Press, Inc. Used by permission of C. F.Peters Corporation.

_______. 31'57.9864" for a Pianist . Copyright © 1960 by Henmar Press, Inc. Used by permission of C. F. Peters Corporation.

_______. Winter Music. Copyright © 1960 by Henmar Press, Inc. Used by permission of C. F.Peters Corporation.

Corigliano, John. Etude Fantasy. Copyright © 1981 by G. Schirmer, Inc. (ASCAP). InternationalCopyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.

Ligeti, György. Études pour piano, Premier Livre. Copyright © 1986 by Schott Music, Mainz – Germany. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission of European American Music DistributorsLLC, sole U.S. and Canadian agents for Schott Music, Mainz – Germany.



viii

LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES

Page

2.1 John Cage, Etudes Australes, No. 1, first system.…………….…….……..…..……...... 12

2.2 John Cage, Etudes Australes, Nos. 6, 13, 22, and 29, first systems.……….…..….…… 14

2.3a John Cage, Etudes Australes, No. 18, first system…..…….……………...……………. 16

2.3b John Cage, Etudes Australes, No. 31, third and fourth systems……...……….…..….... 17

2.3c John Cage, Etudes Australes, No. 19, first two systems……...…….…………..…..….. 18

2.4 John Cage, Etudes Australes, No. 22, first two systems……...……….……..…...……. 20

2.5 John Cage, Etudes Australes, No. 19, first two systems…...…….…………..……..…... 21

2.6 John Cage, Etudes Australes, No. 29, first two systems………....………..……..……... 22

2.7 John Cage, 31'57.9864" for a Pianist , opening…….……………..…..…….…...……... 24

2.8 John Cage, Winter Music, p. 5………………………………….……………..………...

25

2.9 John Cage, Concert for Piano and Orchestra, pp. 35 and 36………..………………… 26

3.1a William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 3, “Mirrors,” mm. 1, 5, and 35–

38.......…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…...…..…..…..…...…......…..…... 34

3.1b William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 8, “Rag Infernal,” mm. 6–

10...................................................................................................................................... 35

3.1c William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 10, “Vers le silence,” m. 8…....... 35

3.2a William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 12, “Hymne à l’amour,” second

system...……………………………………………………….………………………... 36

3.2b William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 12, “Hymne à l’amour,” last two

systems.……….……………………………………………………………....………... 36



ix

3.2c William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 4, “Scène d’opéra,” mm. 14– 17...................................................................................................................................... 37

3.3a William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 11, “Hi-jinks” first system…....... 38

3.3b William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 5, “Butterflies, Hummingbirds,”mm. 9–10.………………………………………………………………………………. 38

3.4a William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 10, “Vers le silence,” finalcadence…….………………………………………….…………………………...…… 39

3.4b Willam Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 10, “Vers le silence,” first and eighth

systems…………….………...………………………………………………………….. 39

3.5a William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 1, “Fast, Furious,” fourth

system…………………………………………………………………………………... 40

3.5b William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 8, “Rag Infernal,” mm. 115–

18.......................................................................................................................................41

3.6 William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 5, “Butterflies, Hummingbirds,”

mm. 12–14………………………………………………………………………………. 41

3.7a William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 1, “Fast, Furious,” eighth system,clusters notated in a harmonic interval with a bracket………………………...………...42

3.7b William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 8, “Rag Infernal,” mm. 119–21,clusters of black key and white key chords………….……………………………......... 42

3.7c William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 11, “Hi-jinks,” ninth system,

clusters notated with all notes……...….…………………………………….………….. 42

3.8a William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 2, “Récitatif,” ending…….…...... 43

3.8b William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 7, “Premonitions,” ending….….. 43

3.9 William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 3, “Mirrors,” mm. 8–12……...… 44

3.10 William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 2, “Récitatif,” m. 4………...….... 44

3.11 William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 6, “Nocturne,” mm. 1–4………...45

3.12 William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 7, “Premonitions,” mm. 7–8.…...45

3.13 William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 8, “Rag Infernal,” mm. 6–10....... 46



x

3.14 William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 12, “Hymne à l’amour,” mm. 2– 3………………………………………………………………………………………… 46

3.15 William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 1, “Fast, Furious,” eighth

system……………………………………………………………...…………………… 47

4.1a Béla Bartók, Mikrokosmos, Vol. 6, No. 144, “Minor Seconds, Major Sevenths,” mm. 1–3

and 33–39.……………………………………………………..……...………………… 53

4.1b John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 3, “Fifths to Thirds,” mm. 83–85, opening of

No. 3..………………………………………………….…………….………………….. 54

4.2 John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, six motives: Motive A, m. 1, first system; Motive B,

m. 1, second system; Motive C, m. 1, third system; Motive D, mm. 2–5; Motive E,

mm. 23–26; Motive F, Etude No. 3, “Fifths to Thirds,” mm. 83–85………….......…… 55

4.3a John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 1, “For the Left Hand Alone,” last system of m. 58, augmentation of Motive D.………………………….……...………...…………. 58

4.3b John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 1, “For the Left Hand Alone,” m. 1, sixth and

seventh systems and mm. 40–41, augmentation and diminution of Motive C….…...….58

4.3c John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 1, “For the Left Hand Alone,” mm. 18–21,

transposition of Motive E.…………..………………..……………………………….... 59

4.3d John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 1, “For the Left Hand Alone,” m. 22, last

system of p. 4, transformation of Motive C.………………..……………………...……59

4.3e John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, No. 1, “For the Left Hand Alone,” sixth system of m. 22

and mm. 55–57, diminution of opening motive..……….……...…………......………... 59

4.3f John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, No. 1, “For the Left Hand Alone,” mm. 38–39,

transposition of Motive E………..…………..…………………………………………. 60

4.3g John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No.1, “For the Left Hand Alone,” third system of

m. 58, combination of Motives B and D……………..…………………………..…….. 60

4.4a John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 2, “Legato,” mm. 59–60, combination of

Motives B and D…..……………………………………………………………………. 61

4.4b John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 2, “Legato,” mm. 67–68, fragmentation of

Motive B……………………………..….……………………………….……...……… 61



xi

4.4c John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 2, “Legato,” mm. 63–66, augmentation of Motive D…………………………………………………………………………...…… 61

4.5 John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 3, “Fifths to Thirds,” mm. 83–85, Motive

F.…………...….…………...….…………...….…………...….…………….………….. 62

4.6a John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 4, “Ornaments,” m. 203, reoccurrence of

Motive A…………………………………...…………………………………………… 62

4.6b John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 4, “Ornaments,” mm. 207–11, transformation

of Motive A to trills..………………......................................…………………..……… 63

4.6c John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 4, “Ornaments,” the end of m. 203 and

mm. 235–38, fragmentation and augmentation of Motive B……………..………..……63

4.6d John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 4, “Ornaments,” mm. 203–206 and 291–92,

reoccurrence and diminution of Motive C’s melodic interval...….……………….……. .64

4.6e John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 4, “Ornaments,” second system of m. 203,fragmentation of Motive F.………………...……………………………...……………. 64

4.7a John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, No. 5, “Melody,” mm. 340–42, opening motive in

retrograde…….………………………………...……………………………………….. 65

4.7b John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, No. 5, “Melody,” mm. 318–22, diminution of Motive

B………………………………………………………………………………………... 65

4.7c John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, No. 5, “Melody,” mm. 294–301, diminution of Motive

E…………………………………………………...……….…………………………… 65

4.8a Franz Liszt, Transcendental Etudes, No. 5, “Feux Follets,” mm. 18–20, written-out

double trills……..………………………………...………………………..………….... 66

4.8b John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 4, “Ornaments,” mm. 207–215, double-note

trills and tremolos.………..……………………………...…………………………..…. 67

4.9a Franz Liszt, Transcendental Etudes, No. 4, “Mazeppa,” mm. 136–39, large leaps in bothhands at a fast tempo...………………….…….…………………...……………………. 67

4.9b John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 4, “Ornaments,” mm. 228–31, largeleaps……………………………...………...………………….………..…………….… 68

4.10a Franz Liszt, Transcendental Etudes, No. 12, “Chasse-neige,” m. 64, cadenza-like

passage…………………………………….…………………………………..…...……68





xiii

4.16b Béla Bartók, Three Etudes, Op. 18, No. 3, mm. 13–15, constant change of meters in shortsections…………………...…………………….……………………………………..... 75

4.17a John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 3, “Fifths and Thirds,” mm. 86–88……….75

4.17b Béla Bartók, Three Etudes, Op. 18, No. 3, mm. 36–38.………………………………...

75

5.1 György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre, No. 6, “Automne à Varsovie,” mm. 1–

4………………………………………………………………………………………… 82

5.2 György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre, No. 1, “Désordre,” mm. 1–21….…. 84

5.3 György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre, No. 2, “Cordes à vide,” mm. 1–4…. 87

5.4 György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre, No. 2, “Cordes à vide,” mm. 21–

24……………………………………………………………………………………….. 87

5.5a György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre, No. 2 “Cordes à vide,” m. 27,

overlapping phrases between two hands….…....…...…………………………..……… 88

5.5b György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre, No. 2, “Cordes à vide,” m. 27, anextreme range of the piano and use of the una corda pedal.……………………..…….. 88

5.6a György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre, No. 3, “Touches bloquées,” mm. 1–

4……………………………………………………………………………………..….. 89

5.6b György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre, No. 3, “Touches bloquées,” performance notes...………………………….…………...…………………...………... 89

5.7 György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre, No. 4, “Fanfares,” mm. 1–4………. 90

5.8 György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre, No. 4, “Fanfares,” mm. 169–72…... 91

5.9 György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre, No. 5, “Arc-en-ciel,” mm. 1–2.….... 92

5.10 György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre, No. 5, “Arc-en-ciel,” mm. 11–12.…92

5.11 György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre, No. 6, “Automne à Varsovie,”mm. 27–28 and 45–46..…….……………………….…….………………….…….……93

5.12 György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre, No. 6, “Automne à Varsovie” mm. 1–

4....................................................................................................................................… 94



1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

The French noun “étude” translates simply as “study” in English. Originating in the

eighteenth century, the musical etude was intended for didactic purposes that went beyond that

of a short formulaic exercise. Other designations existed including the French exercise; the

German Studie, Übung , or Handstück ; and the Italian studio or essercize, but all referred to an

instrumental composition intended to address a specific difficulty or performing technique. Many

composers in the Baroque and Classical periods wrote sets of these pedagogical pieces, often

employing dance idioms as the main material. François Couperin composed four volumes of

pieces largely for didactic purposes called Pièces de clavecin. George Frederic Handel also

composed four volumes of keyboard studies (1720–35). Domenico Scarlatti, today, is largely

known today for so-called one movement sonatas, which were actually teaching pieces written

for his student, Maria Barbara, who became the Queen of Spain. Later, many of these were

collected together in the publication Essercizi per Gravicembalo (Exercises for Harpsichord)

(1738). Johann Sebastian Bach also contributed to this genre with four volumes of Klavier

Übung (Study for the Clavier or Keyboard Practice) (1726–41).

With the rapid growth of bourgeois music-making and the popularity for the piano as the

primary medium for musical expression in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the

importance of the etude as a genre, greatly increased.1

1 Ruby Wang, “The Etude: From Inception to Present” (BM senior honors thesis, University of Utah, 2005),

1.

Like before, etudes were usually

published in collections, and the individual works mainly dealt with technical problems

including scalar patterns, arpeggios, chords, octaves, trills, and other techniques. Johann Baptist





3

composers of the concert etude were Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt. Through his two sets of

twelve etudes each, Opp. 10 and 25, Chopin transformed the etude from a genre merely for

pedagogical purposes to one that was a virtuosic concert piece by highlighting within the pieces

both pianistic virtuosity and artistic musicality, as well as thematic material in line with other

concert genres. But he also explored the technical demands for the piano to a greater extent than

any composer before him.4

Many composers in the second half of the twentieth century have also contributed to the

genre of concert etude. A list of these works in the last forty years include William Bolcom’s

Twelve Etudes (1964) and Twelve New Etudes (1977–86); Bill Hopkins’s nine Etudes en série

(1965–72); Michel-Georges Brégent’s 16 Portraits, Études Romantiques pour Piano (1966–88);

John Cage’s Etudes Australes (1974–75) and Etudes Boreales (1978); George Perle’s Six Etudes

(1976) and Six New Etudes (1984); Maurice Ohana’s Douze Etudes d’interprétation, Set 1

(1981–82) and Set 2 (1984–85); Nikolai Kapustin’s Eight Jazz Concert Etudes, Op. 40 (1984),

Widely spread arpeggios for both hands and other broken chords,

rapid skips and scalar figures in an extremely fast tempos, large stretches of octaves and dyads,

as well as balance between cantabile melody and accompaniment, sensitive pedaling, and

emphasis on tone color were among the concerns of his etudes. Liszt made the genre even more

virtuosic with a bigger and more powerful sound, wider dynamic range, density, intensity, and

rich orchestra-like textures. Those pianistic effects made the etude more artistic, poetic,

imaginative, and brilliant. Later composers in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,

including Johannes Brahms, Charles Henri Valentin Alkan, Camille Saint-Saëns, Leopold

Godowsky, Sergei Rachmaninov, Alexander Scriabin, Claude Debussy, and Béla Bartók, among

others, penned concert etudes, which explore a multitude of virtuosic techniques.

4 Robert Dale Marler, “The Role of the Piano Etude in the Works of Charles-Valentin Alkan” (DMA thesis,

University of Cincinnati, 1990), 21.



4

Three Etudes, Op. 67 (1992), and Five Etudes in Different Intervals (1992); Marc-André

Hamelin’s Twelve Etudes in Minor Keys (1984) and Étude Fantastique sur Le Vol du Bourdon

de Rimsky-Korsakov (1987); Ezequiel Viñao’s 6 Études for Piano Solo, Book 1 (1993); Philip

Glass’s Etudes for Piano, Vol. 1, Nos. 1–10 (1994); Robert Starer’s The Contemporary Virtuoso,

a set of seven etudes (1996); and Pascal Dusapin’s 7 Études for Piano (1997–2001).

While the post-World War II period saw a tremendous increase in the number of

disparate compositional styles, usually when a composer adopted a specific genre for a piece,

s/he, in some way, took part in the tradition of that genre. Such is the case with the late

twentieth-century concert etude, which still demonstrates traditional etude characteristics such as

technical virtuosity or pedagogical aims, while also experimenting with a myriad of

compositional styles. Furthermore, the genre of concert etude was perfectly suited to the need of

contemporary composers to introduce their own musical style and the way to realize and explore

it technically.

The etude genre having developed from the early eighteenth century through nineteenth

century, includes an assortment of normative characteristics including compiling many works

into a collection, use of descriptive or programmatic titles, focus on one or more specific

technical problems for each etude, combination of technical study with another type of form,

such as fantasy or variation, and virtuosity.

As we have already seen, the tradition of compiling etudes into collections goes back to

the beginnings of the genre in the early eighteenth century, and includes the works of Couperin,

Scarlatti, J. S. Bach, Handel, Clementi, Czerny, and many others. Starting with Chopin, who

wrote two sets of twelve etudes each, Opp. 10 and 25, many composers, such as Liszt, Alkan,

MacDowell, Scriabin, Debussy, Bolcom, and Hamelin, have included six or twelve pieces in a



5

set. Some composers arranged etudes in a specific manner. For example, Clementi’s Gradus ad

Parnassum is designed so that the pieces gradually increase in difficulty (hence the steps to

Parnassus), a feature that is termed “progressive difficulty.” Bartók employs this same design in

his six-volume set, Mikrokosmos, Sz. 107, which includes a total of 144 individual studies.

Others utilized tonal planning. Chopin arranged the first six his Op. 10 in pairs of major key and

its relative minor, which then for the next etude ascend a third (C, a, E, c-sharp, G-flat, e-flat);

the next six begin and end with C (C major then c minor), and are mostly related by thirds or

fifths (C, F, f, A-flat, E-flat, C). Liszt also arranged his twelve Transcendental Etudes in a

systematic tonal plan of strict major and relative minor relationship moving through the

descending circle of fifths (C, a, F, d, B-flat, g, E-flat, c, A-flat, f, D-flat, b-flat). Alkan

composed etudes in all twelve major keys (Op. 35) and in all twelve minor keys (Op. 39). This

traditional feature of the piano etude has been continued by many twentieth-century composers. Another tradition in etude composition is the inclusion of descriptive or programmatic

titles, largely associated with nineteenth-century romanticism. Liszt included descriptive

subtitles for many of his etudes. For instance, his Transcendental Etudes, S. 139 (1851) include

titles such as “Preludio,” “Paysage” (Landscape), “Mazeppa,” “Feux follets,” “Vision,” “Eroica,”

“Wilde Jagd” (Wild Chase), “Ricordance” (Remembrance), “Harmonies du soir” (Evening

Harmonies), and “Chasse-neige” (Snow Plough); his Three Concert Etudes, S. 144 (1848) are

named “Il lament,” “La leggierezza,” and “Un sospiro”; and his Two Concert Etudes, S. 145

(1862–63), “Waldesrauschen” (Forest Murmurs), and “Gnomenreigen” (Dance of the Gnomes).

His use of programmatic titles became a tradition of this genre followed by later composers such

as Moscheles, Alkan, MacDowell, Rachmaninov, Debussy, Bartók, Bolcom, Corigliano,

Kapustin, and Starer.



6

One of the most significant characteristics of the etude genre is that individual etudes

often are devoted to a particular technical problem. Chopin’s Opp. 10 and 25 show this approach

clearly: Op. 10, No. 1, broken-chord passages tenths and larger; No. 2, chromatic scales in the

right hand; No. 3, voicing as well as musical balance between a cantabile melody and an Alberti-

bass accompaniment with large leaps; No. 6, a study of rapid sixteenth-note triplets on black

keys in the right hand; No. 7, alternation of double thirds and double sixths for the right hand; No.

11, widely extended arpeggiated chords for both hands; then in Op. 25, No. 1, even touch and

clear melodies with melodic skips; No. 3, rapid trill-like figuration requiring a light touch; No. 8,

a study of sixths; and No. 10 a study of octaves. Many later composers, including MacDowell,

Debussy, Bartók, and Starer, followed this procedure. In contrast, Liszt generally included a

variety of technical problems in one etude, which is a style that others have followed. Perhaps Liszt’s approach is due to the fact that his forms are more expansive than some

other composers and often approach fantasies or variations. Liszt’s sixth etude of the Grandes

Études de Paganini, S. 141(1851) is a variation set. Thematic transformation is also incorporated

into his etudes, placing dramatic writing on a par with the technical study. Other nineteenth-

century composers, including R. Schumann in his Symphonic Études, Op. 13 (1834), and Brahms,

in his two sets of Variations on a Theme by Paganini, which are subtitled Studies for Piano, Op.

35 (1862–63). This mix of genres became one of many approaches to the etude genre.

Finally, throughout the history of the concert etude, composers have used this genre as

one of the chief vehicles of virtuosic writing. Since Liszt, this characteristic has been one of most

prominent; that the didactic purpose––i.e., focusing on a technical problem within an etude––is

less of training device than one to demonstrate the abilities of an accomplished pianist. All of the

technical aspects of piano playing are treated, including articulation, dynamics, arpeggios, scales,



7

octaves, double thirds, sixths, glissandos, trills, chords, counterpoint, lyricism, expressive

indications, etc. Liszt was one of the major innovators in exhibiting the most difficult elements

of piano technique in his etudes, including massive chord textures, brilliant cadenza-like writing,

extended octave runs, huge leaps, contrasts of extreme dynamics, use of whole registers of the

instrument as well as subtle touches in rapid passages, and accuracy and control of articulation.

Other composers, like Alkan, Moszkowski, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Dohnányi, Stravinsky,

Szymanowski, and Prokofiev continued this devotion to virtuosity. Extreme displays of

virtuosity continued into the late twentieth century as composers have explored various

compositional styles in their etudes.

In this document, I will explore the compositional styles of concert etudes by John Cage

( Etudes Australes), William Bolcom (Twelve New Etudes for Piano), John Corigliano ( Etude

Fantasy), and György Ligeti ( Études pour piano, Premier Livre), and how these styles engage

with the nineteenth-century traditions of the genre. I will demonstrate that despite the differences

in style between Cage’s indeterminacy, Bolcom’s synthesis of vernacular and cultivated music,

Corigliano’s polystylism, and Ligeti’s rhythmic complexity, all of these composers engaged to

some degree with the nineteenth-century attributes of the genre.

Late twentieth-century piano music has received a certain amount of scholarly attention.

David Burge’s Twentieth-Century Piano Music provides a general overview of the previous

century and stylistic features of specific composer’s works in detail.5

5 David Burge, Twentieth-Century Piano Music (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2004).

Peter Felix Ganz’s

dissertation, “The Development of the Etude for Pianoforte,” covers the etude from the early

nineteenth through early twentieth centuries, and was helpful for comparison between these



8

works and those of the composers of the present study.6

Two important works concerning John

Cage include James Pritchett’s The Music of John Cage, which concerns his chance technique,

and Margaret Ellen Rose’s dissertation, “Coming to Terms with the Twentieth Century Using a

Nineteen Century Instrument: Virtuosity, Gesture and Visual Rhetoric in Contemporary Piano

Composition and Performance.” I have relied on both of these studies for details of Cage’s

stylistic features as I compared this aspect with that of virtuosity.7

For studies of Bolcom,

especially concerning his combination of vernacular elements with modern compositional

techniques, I have drawn from Henry Scott Jones’s thesis, “William Bolcom’s Twelve New

Etudes for Piano,” and Andria Rachel Fennig’s thesis, “A Performance Guide to William

Bolcom’s Twelve Etudes (1971) and Twelve New Etudes (1988).”8

Janina Kuzmas’s thesis,

“Unifying Elements of John Corigliano’s Etude Fantasy,” will be referenced in my discussion of

Corigliano’s polystylism as it provided an analysis of the stylistic features of that piece.9

6 Peter Felix Ganz, “The Development of the Etude for Pianoforte” (PhD diss., Northwestern University,

1960).

I have

used Lois Svard’s DMA thesis, “Illusion in Selected Keyboard Works of György Ligeti,” as a

supportive reference for general compositional style of Ligeti’s Études pour piano, Premier

Livre, as well as Mayron K. Tsong’s DMA thesis, “Analysis or Inspiration? A Study of György

7 James Pritchett, The Music of John Cage (Cambridge: University Press, 1993); Margaret Ellen Rose,

“Coming to Terms with the Twentieth Century Using a Nineteenth Century Instrument: Virtuosity, Gesture and

Visual Rhetoric in Contemporary Piano Composition and Performance” (PhD diss., University of California, SanDiego, 1987).

8 Henry Scott Jones, “William Bolcom’s Twelve New Etudes for Piano” (DMA thesis, Louisiana State

University, 1994); Andria Rachel Fennig, “A Performing Guide to William Bolcom’s Twelve Etudes (1971) and

Twelve New Etudes (1988)” (DMA thesis, Arizona State University, 2002).

9 Janina Kuzmas, “Unifying Elements of John Corigliano’s Etude Fantasy” (DMA thesis, University of

British Columbia, 2002).



9

Ligeti’s Automne à Varsovie,” which provides an analysis of the rhythmic complexity in the first

etude of Ligeti’s set.10

In the subsequent chapters, one devoted to a different composer’s set of etudes, I consider

the following questions: what is the modern compositional style with which each composer

composes his etudes? (Although these composers’, as is often the case may compose pieces in a

variety of styles, etudes generally fit into the style for which they are most known). What

differences are evident between the composer’s etudes and his non-etude works? Does the

composer’s etude engage with the traditional characteristics of the etude inherited from the

nineteenth century, especially that of virtuosity? Using the categories of traditional features of

the concert of the etude genre found in this chapter, I compare the stylistic elements of each

composer’s etudes with the normative characteristics of the genre demonstrating that to varying

degrees, all of these composers engage with the historical tradition of the etude.

10 Lois Svard, “Illusion in Selected Keyboard Works of György Ligeti” (DMA thesis, Peabody

Conservatory of Music, 1990); Mayron K. Tsong, “Analysis or Inspiration? A Study of György Ligeti’s Automne àVarsovie” (DMA thesis, Rice University, 2002).



10

CHAPTER 2

JOHN CAGE’S ETUDES AUSTRALES

John Cage (1912–92) was one of the most original and influential composers of the

twentieth century. As a major figure of the American avant-garde movement, he produced a

wide variety of music that challenged aesthetic conventions. In his early compositions, he

sought to expand on Schoenberg’s dodecaphonic serial method. In one piece, Composition for

Three Voices (1934), he employed a twenty-five-note series, and in another, A Metamorphosis

for piano (1938), he used twelve-tone row fragments.1

During the late1930s and early 1940s,

Cage primarily composed works for prepared piano, where the timbre of pitches was altered by

inserting screws, bolts, rubber, paper, and nuts between the strings of the piano, and many of

these works, including Bacchanale (1938), Our Spring Will Come (1943), Sonatas and

Interludes (1946–48), and Music for Marcel Duchamp (1947), show the influence of Henry

Cowell’s early music. In the late 1940s, Cage came under the influence of East Asian

philosophies, especially Zen Buddhism, and it was at this time that he began to develop an

aesthetic of silence. Concerning this new approach, Cage insisted that the division of the entire

duration into parts exists and has integrity whether or not the composer intended anything with

the structure, and that static music could fill up the duration and structures or even no music at

all.2

1 James Pritchett, “Cage, John,” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2d ed., ed. Stanley

Sadie (New York: Grove’s Dictionaries, 2001), 4:796.

His composition 4'33" (1952), consisting of three movements, which are silent save for the

ambient sounds in the concert hall, became one of his best known and most controversial works

2 Ibid., 4:797.





12

especially in piano works of the 1950s like 31'57.9864" for a Pianist (1954), 34'46.776" for a

Pianist (1954), Winter Music (1957), and the Concert for Piano and Orchestra (1957–58).

Many of Cage’s pieces combine aspects of both chance music, which mainly controls the

compositional process, and indeterminacy, which occurs during performance. Such is the case

with the Etudes Australes, composed between 1974 and 1975. Cage wrote these difficult pieces

for and dedicated them to his close friend, the German pianist Grete Sultan. In terms of their

chance operations, the etudes are based on both the I Ching but also on star charts. Cage

transferred various maps of the stars that can be seen from Australia, called the Atlas Australes,

to musical representations. He applied the large number of stars on the charts systematically to

the twelve notes of a chromatic scale, but maintained a star-map-like appearance by using an

pointillistic texture on a four-stave score4

(see Example 2.1).

Example 2.1, John Cage, Etudes Australes, No. 1, first system.

John Cage, Etudes Australes, copyright © 1975 by Henmar Press, Inc., used by permission of

C. F. Peters Corporation.

The chance procedure, however, is only a part of the compositional method. The realization of

the score in performance relies heavily on elements of indeterminacy. In Etudes Australes, Cage

4 Rose, 176–81.



13

provided the pitches, but he intentionally left the parameters of rhythm, duration, attack,

dynamics, tempo, articulation, and musical details to the performer. For this approach, Cage used

four staves, rather than the normal two, and because he only gave pitches without rhythms, he

employed stemless note heads.

Cage’s Etudes Australes were composed with his own distinct compositional procedure,

chance, and indeterminacy. However, this chapter will show that his unique compositional

processes interact with general characteristics of the traditional etude genre and virtuosity in

particular. Cage’s compositional process of indeterminacy contributed to the virtuosity of these

etudes. While much of Cage’s music is titled with either programmatic titles or abstract timings,

some pieces, like Etudes Australes, use generic labels. Cage uses the designation of etude and

incorporates aspects inherent to the genre in these pieces while maintaining his own procedures

of chance and indeterminacy. As a set, Etudes Australes is similar to the general nature of

nineteenth- and twentieth-century etude collections in terms of progression of difficulty. Many

composers, including Clementi (in his Gradus ad Parnassum, Op. 44 [1817–26], one hundred

exercises of increasing difficulty in three volumes), Chopin (in his Opp. 10 [1828–32] and 25

[1832–36], two sets of twelve etudes each), Debussy (twelve etudes in two books, 1915:

originally no opus number), Scriabin (Op. 8 [1894–95] including twelve etudes, and Op. 42

[1903] including eight), and Rachmaninoff (in his Etudes–Tableaux, Opp. 33 [1911] and 39

[1916–17], each comprising nine etudes), grouped etudes into collections where there is a

general intensification of difficulty throughout. Cage’s Etudes Australes, consisting of thirty-two

piano etudes separated into four volumes, follows this tradition in that from the first etude to the

last, the density of chords, notes, and rhythms are gradually increased. The following example

shows how Cage’s etudes gradually become denser in texture (see Example 2.2).



14

Example 2.2, John Cage, Etudes Australes, Nos. 6, 13, 22, and 29, first systems.



15

While in Etudes Australes Cage did not specify various technical studies, which were

common in nineteenth-century etude sets, there are many hand crossings, large leaps because of

the pointillistic style, difficult rhythms and chords, and virtuosity due to the nature of both the

chance operations and indeterminacy. He intended these etudes to be among the most difficult of

his solo piano pieces and made them nearly impossible to perform.5

In the Etudes Australes, the

virtuosity, one of the main aspects of the traditional etude, comes in part from the notation he

used and his insistence in how it is to be realized. He left guidelines for the reading of this

notation in the score. First, Cage wanted to ensure that the upper two staves would be played by

the right hand alone, and the lower two by the left hand. This results in a tremendous amount of

challenging hand shifting. Second, Cage indicated, “The point in time of a note is its own and not

that of another note, whether played by one hand or the other.”6

5 Suzie Lee, “A Recording Project of the Etudes Australes (Book I & II) by John Cage (1912–1992)”

(DMA thesis, Arizona State University, 2006), 27.

Therefore, according to his

instructions, notes and chords are not to be played simultaneously, even though on the score they

may be very close together or even aligned horizontally. Verifying the order of the notes in this

6 John Cage, Etudes Australes (New York: Henmar Press, 1975), 1.



16

piece presents a particular problem, which must be overcome for performance. Other notational

issues also contribute to its difficulty. In his etudes, a pitch written with an open note head is to

be sustained as long as possible during the playing of subsequent pitches with close note heads,

unless it is accompanied with pedal markings, at which point, it is to be sustained through the

end of that marking (see Example 2.3a).

Example 2.3a, John Cage, Etudes Australes, No. 18, first system.

Tied notes are realized as in normal notation, but the difficulty comes with the lack of bar lines

or other rhythmical considerations (see Example 2.3a above). In the later etudes with the density

of texture, notes may follow one another almost in the same space, any accidentals are put in

parentheses following the note. Cage followed this practice because of the proportional spacing

(see Example 2.3b).





18

Example 2.3c, John Cage, Etudes Australes, No. 19, first two systems.

While the notation contributes to the difficulty of these pieces, their virtuosity is largely

derived from the procedure of indeterminacy. Cage’s indeterminacy in this piece is not a

complete freedom of choice that a performer can make without any consequences, but largely a

planned puzzle that the performer must solve. Of this work, he said, “I am interested in the use of

intelligence and the solution of impossible tasks.”8

8 Tom Darter, “The Piano Music of John Cage,” Keyboard 8, no. 9 (September 1982): 28, quoted in Rose,

185.

While Cage left many possibilities to the

performer and s/he will have to choose how to realize rhythms, durations, attacks, dynamics,

tempos, and articulations, these decisions are not arbitrary. It is a common misconception that

Cage did not care how performers choose to play and interpret his music. According to Grete

Sultan, who premiered these etudes and recorded them, Cage requested her to be very precise





20

chords, which make it easier to understand the score when playing through, which I have applied

to the following example (see Example 2.4).

Example 2.4, John Cage, Etudes Australes, No. 22, first two systems.

Concerning the ordering of pitches, Margaret Ellen Rose, in her dissertation, suggests drawing a

line between one note and the next, which like Lee’s advice, makes it easier to read the score.12

I

applied Rose’s suggestion to the following example (see Example 2.5).

12 Ibid.



21


Grete Sultan’s approach was to mark the difficult increments in the middle of each system with a

ruler, so that she could calculate the space between the notes with particular accuracy.13

According to Cage, she applied this grid to her practice, working on two inches of music at a

time.14

Performers can also mark the hand crossings and hand shifting, because with each hand

covering two staves and four octaves in a highly pointillistic score, this will have to be carefully

planned (see Example 2.6).

13 Rose, 182.

14 Ibid., 185.



22


Judging by his own comments on the subject, Cage’s opinion about the dynamics in this

piece is similarly obtuse. He left these decisions up to the performer, but he was not above

pointing out deficiencies in performance. Stephen Drury remembers Cage telling him, “Louder

voices are louder and soft places are softer.”15

In another response to a pianist who did not meet

his expectations concerning dynamics, Cage said: “The dynamics are entirely left up to the

performer. I said they needed variety of dynamics. I would say that that is implicit in the music,

which is a variety of tones, and it was very strange for it not to have a variety of dynamics.”16

15 Suzie Lee, phone interview with Stephen Drury, quoted in Lee, 30.

It

16 Darter, 20.



23

seems, though, that as long as there was thought put into the problem of dynamics in this piece,

Cage was satisfied. Drury relates some questions Cage posed:

They are all separate sounds, so how do you decide that this note is going to be forte and this chord is going to be pianissimo? How many different gradations?

How many different kinds of touch can you use? … You have no informationother than each sound should be its own sound. That is very, very difficult to

confront and dif ficult to talk about.… It takes great dedication to come up with

those answers.17

Cage’s instruction to the performer concerning dynamics was similar to these for pitch: that each

sound should be its own. Articulation is an important part of this––long notes should be

noticeable longer than short ones––but mainly in relation to clear, effective, and cleanly

delineated dynamics. Regardless of which issue being considered, rhythm, dynamics, or

articulation, all require a considerable amount of planning not just to practice the notes, but to

make decisions, and even calculations, as to how this piece will be realized.

Certainly, technical difficulty alone does not make an etude, but when compared to other

piano works by Cage composed in this manner, Etudes Australes stand out for their virtuosic

display. His other keyboard works that employ indeterminacy do not approach the level of

complexity found in these etudes. For examples, in his 31'57.9864" for a Pianist (1954) and

34'46.776" for a Pianist (1954) both for prepared piano, require preparation, but Cage specifies

the objects to be used. However, the actual choice of the position of the objects is left to the

performer. Dynamics and articulation are again indicated by proportional graphic notation (see

Example 2.7).

17 Suzie Lee, phone interview with Stephen Drury, quoted in Lee, 31.



24

Example 2.7, John Cage, 31'57.9864" for a Pianist , opening.

John Cage, 31'57.9864" for a Pianist , copyright © 1960 by Henmar Press, Inc., used by

permission of C. F. Peters Corporation.

Cage’s Winter Music (1957) can be performed by one to twenty pianists. It consists of twenty

pages, each of which may be played in any order or omitted. There is no indication of tempo,

time, or continuity, except for the spatial notation of single chords on the staff, and the choice of

clefs is variable as well.18

18

Burge, 182.

However, this work is not very virtuosic, but rather static with



25

continuous and similar musical material and little contrast, change, or development.19

There is

also little sense of motion (see Example 2.8).

Example 2.8, John Cage, Winter Music, p. 5.

John Cage, Winter Music, copyright © 1960 by Henmar Press, Inc., used by permission of C. F. Peters Corporation.

Cage’s Concert for Piano and Orchestra (1957–58), although a much larger work, is based on

similar procedures. The pianist may play the material in whole or in part, choosing any cell,

elements, or parts, and playing them in any order.20

19 James Pritchett, “Notes on John Cage’s Winter Music/ Atlas eclipticalis and 103,” Writings on Cage (&

others) (accessed 22 March 2010); available from

There are eighty-four different kinds of

http://www.rosewhitemusic.com/cage/texts/Atlas103.html,

internet.

20 Concert for Piano and Orchestra (accessed 22 March 2010); available from

http://www.johncage.info/workscage/concpiorch.html, internet.

http://www.rosewhitemusic.com/cage/texts/Atlas103.html



http://www.johncage.info/workscage/concpiorch.html






26

notations used in this piece, but again, the difficulty is not sustained in the same way as in the

etudes (see Example 2.9).

Example 2.9, John Cage, Concert for Piano and Orchestra, pp. 35 and 36.

p. 35.

p. 36.

John Cage, Concert for Piano and Orchestra, copyright © 1960 by Henmar Press, Inc., used by

permission of C. F. Peters Corporation.





28

CHAPTER 3

WILLIAM BOLCOM’S TWELVE NEW ETUDES FOR PIANO

William Bolcom (b. 1938) composed his Twelve New Etudes for Piano between 1977 and

1986. Of the work’s intended performer, Bolcom wrote the following in his dedication:

These 12 New Etudes were written for Paul Jacobs; my hope of hearing him playthem was thwarted by his death. I extend my dedication to include, in gratitude,John Musto, who premiered three of these Etudes in February 1986 in New York,and Marc-André Hamelin, who premiered the first nine that July in California.They inspired me to complete the set, which I had left unfinished after Etude 9. 1

It was Hamelin, who premiered most of the entire set on July 1986 at the Cabrillo Festival inCalifornia and first recorded them for New World Records. Bolcom received the Pulitzer Prize in

Music for these etudes in 1988.

Bolcom has explored many traditional genres in the concert tradition as well as in

vernacular traditions in his large output. He has composed eight symphonies; a concerto each for

piano, violin, clarinet, and flute; as well as numerous chamber works, art songs, choral pieces,

and music for band. In the vernacular idiom, he has also composed cabaret songs and rags.

Among the composers of this study, he is the most prolific when it comes to the piano and organ.

For piano his works include Piano Concerto (1976), Dead Moth Tango (1983–84), Cadenzas for

Beethoven Concerto No. 4, Op. 58 (1986), Dedicace: A Small Measure of Affection (1992),

Sonata for Two Pianos in One Movement (1993), 9 Bagatelles (1996), and a large collection of

rags including the Garden of Eden (1968) and 3 Ghost Rags (1970). His organ music includes

Chorale and Prelude (1970), Four Preludes on Jewish Melodies (2005), Gospel Preludes (1979–

84), Hydraulis (1971), and Mysteries (1976). This list demonstrates a tremendous amount of

1 William Bolcom, 12 New Etudes for Piano (Milwaukee: Edward B. Marks Music Company, 1988).



29

diversity as well as a penchant on Bolcom’s part for composing in traditional genres and for

traditional forces.

In terms of style, Bolcom is one of many late twentieth-century composers whose music

can best be described as eclectic (some use the term postmodern), often characterized by willful

disparities and disruptive stylistic features. Throughout his career he has been committed to the

removal of divisions between classical and popular musical styles, especially those of American

vernacular traditions. While he composes many pieces within a Western concert tradition, he

also writes pieces securely within vernacular styles. Many of his concert pieces display a

merging of the two musical languages.

2

For instance, he blended elements of ragtime, applyingits syncopated rhythms, duple and quadruple meters, and a harmonic progression from the tonic

to subdominant, with progressive styles, including electronic music, in Black Host (1967), for

organ, percussion, and tape.3 His Fifth Symphony (1989) exhibits an Expressionistic style of

angular melodies with dissonant harmonies, but also a collage-like method of quotations of

popular tunes and art music such as Wagner’s Tristan prelude and Mahler’s horn fanfares.4 In

the cabaret opera Dynamite Tonite (1963), he contrasted atonality with the song styles of World

War I.5 Also, Bolcom mixes a blues-style piano accompaniment with an atonal obbligato part in

the first movement of his Second Violin Sonata (1978).6

2 Brian Morton and Pamela Collins, eds., Contemporary Composers (Chicago: St. James Press, 1992), 107.

His piano music follows suit. As Ji Sun

Lee noted, “His piano works Dream Shadows (1979), Graceful Ghost (1970), The Poltergeist

3 Ibid.

4 Steven Johnson, “Bolcom, William (Elden),” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nded., ed. Stanley Sadie (New York: Grove’s Dictionaries, 2001), 3:818.

5 Ibid.

6 Jones, 4.



30

(1979), Raggin’ Rudi (1972), Rag Tango (1988), Seabiscuits Rag (1970), and Three Dances

Portriats (1986) are rags blended with postmodern elements such as late serialism, odd collage

effects, chance and improvisatory procedures.”7

The Twelve New Etudes for Piano are similarly composed with this interaction between

vernacular and classical styles. Many stylistic characteristics from ragtime and jazz, such as

rhythmic and harmonic elements including the typical stride accompaniment, alternating bass

notes with off-beat chords, and use of ninth chords with appoggiaturas occur alongside

traditional nineteenth- and twentieth-century piano techniques, such as large leaps in a fast tempo,

extremes of dynamics, intricate pedaling, clusters, lateral tremolos, forearm glissandos, andobjects involving direct contact with the strings (inside piano technique), among many others.

Bolcom also mixed tonality and atonality in these etudes. While the Twelve New Etudes for

Piano are much more tonal than his earlier set, Twelve Etudes (1964), still included are whole-

tone scales with trills (No. 10, “Vers le silence”), serial techniques (No. 9, “Invention”), and a

twelve tone row (No. 11, “Hi-jinks”).

8

Several commentators have noted that these etudes would help a pianist in learning to

perform contemporary piano literature.

His compositional style combining vernacular and

cultivated techniques in these etudes results in a tremendous range of virtuosity.

9 Hamelin describes them as “exercises of style:

explorations of texture and various aspects of piano sonority such as register, pedal effects, and

harmonic colors.”10

7 Ji Sun Lee, “Revolutionary Etudes: The Expansion of Piano Technique Exploited in the Twelve New

Etudes of William Bolcom” (DMA thesis, The University of Arizona, 2001), 44–45.

This reflects one of the major aspects of the genre of etude throughout its

8 Ibid., 60.

9 Dan K. McAlexander, “Works for Piano by William Bolcom: A Study in the Development of MusicalPostmodernism” (DMA thesis, University of Cincinnati, 1994), 31.



31

more than two-hundred year history: that etudes are designed to develop piano technique to be

used in other pieces, and that they often push the limits of a pianist’s technique. Bolcom’s

Twelve New Etudes for Piano takes part in this tradition in specific ways, but the collection also

fits into the tradition of the concert etude, where pieces are meant for performance, fulfilling

both didactic and artistic purposes.

There are other ways in which these etudes are linked to the traditions of the genre. For

instance, while compiling pieces into sets is nothing new, Bolcom’s choice of twelve is

meaningful for this genre. Chopin’s two sets of etudes, Opp. 10 and 25, each with twelve pieces,

have served as an important precedent for later etude sets, and Bolcom even mentions thecomposer as an influence.11

Another aspect of etude composition, beginning with Chopin, is that each etude in the set

is devoted to some particular problem or challenge of piano technique. With Chopin for example,

Étude Op. 10, No. 1 in C Major is a study for arpeggios for the right hand and for stretching the

fingers; Op. 10, No. 2 in A minor focuses on rapid chromatic-scale melodies with the third,

fourth, and fifth fingers; Op. 10, No. 5 in G-flat Major has a nickname, “the Black-Key Étude,”

After Chopin, many composers have employed his principles for

composing etudes, including grouping them into sets of twelve, including Liszt (Twelve Etudes

Op. 1; Twelve Etudes d’exécution transcendante, S. 139), Alkan (Twelve Etudes in Major Keys,

Op. 35; Twelve Etudes in Minor Keys, Op. 39), MacDowell (Twelve Etudes, Op. 39; Twelve

Virtuoso Etudes, Op. 46), Scriabin (Twelve Etudes, Op. 8), and Debussy (Twelve Etudes, L. 136).

Bolcom’s Twelve New Etudes is a follow-up to his Twelve Etudes (1959–60), and so extends the

tradition of composer’s writing two sets of twelve etudes each in which Chopin, Liszt, Alkan,

and MacDowell, among others, participated.

10 Ibid.

11 William Bolcom, e-mail message to Ji Sun Lee, 29 May 1999, quoted in Lee, 20.



32

born from its key. This etude demands quick sixteenth-note triplets in the right hand limited to

the black keys while the left hand presents melodic line in chords and octaves; Op. 10, No. 12 in

C minor (known as “The Revolutionary Étude”) requires rapid harmonic minor scales in the left

hand; and Op. 25, No. 6 in G-sharp minor is a technical study on trilled thirds in a fast tempo.

Later composers similarly organized their etudes. In Twelve New Etudes for Piano, Bolcom

himself pointed out the specific technical problems of each in the score: No. 1, “Sweeping

gestures of hands, forearms, the body. Freedom of movement”; No. 2, “Recitative style, rubato;

finger-changes for smoothness’ sake; smooth passage of line between hands”; No. 3, “Leaps.

Distorted mirrors. Lateral stretches between fingers”; No. 4, “A steady, rhythmic ostinato vs.varied irrational rhythms”; No. 5, “The lateral tremolo. Mercurial changes in color, attack and

rhythm”; No. 6, “Absolute contrast in dynamics and tone”; No. 7, “Free-falls into piano keys;

size of tone, without banging. (Inside-piano plucking)”; No. 8, “Lateral hand-jumps and stretches.

Use of practically no pedal”; No. 9, “Controlled legato lines with minimal pedal. Clear

delineation of voices”; No. 10, “Use of the pedals. Wide leaps and dynamic contrast. Trills”; No.

11, “Dynamic contrast (in the piano-section least naturally apt), Lively, with a strange and

ghostly humor,”; and No. 12, “Contrast of timbres, mostly by means of pedal. Orchestral

sonorities.”12

Bolcom’s Twelve New Etudes for Piano also include programmatic titles, which, while

not present in Chopin’s collections, certainly appear in later sets of etudes. For an example, in

the 1851 revision of the Transcendental Études (they were first composed in 1838), Liszt himself

provided programmatic titles in French and German for all the pieces except Nos. 2 and 10: No.

1, “Preludio”; No. 3, “Paysage”; No. 4, “Mazeppa”; No. 5, “Feux Follets”; No. 6, “Vision”; No.

12 For a table of these, see Linda Holzer, “William Bolcom: From Rags to Riches,” Piano & Keyboard 45,no. 184 (January/February 1997): 41.



33

7, “Eroica”; No. 8, “Wilde Jagd”; No. 9, “Ricordanza”; No. 11, “Harmonies du Soir”; and No. 12,

“Chasse-Neige.” Alkan and Debussy both include descriptive titles as well. While this procedure

is not necessarily critical to pieces that are intended for concert as well as didactic purposes, they

help for understanding a composer’s compositional intent. Each etude in Bolcom’s second set

has a programmatic title, six in English and six in French: No. 1, “Fast furious,” No. 3,

“Mirrors,” No. 5, “Butterflies, Hummingbirds,” No. 7, “Premonitions,” No. 9, “Invention,” No.

11, “Hi-jinks”; and No. 2, “Récitatif,” No. 4, “Scène d’opéra,” No. 6, “Nocturne,” No. 8, “Rag

infernal (Syncopes apocalyptiques),” No. 10, “Vers le silence,” and No. 12, “Hymne à l’amour.”

Although Bolcom names Chopin as a major influence, his use of French in many of these titlesas well as stylistic issues, seem to suggest the influence of Debussy.

Certainly, much of the physical demands found in the Twelve New Etudes for Piano

come from a relatively normal procedure in writing etudes that intentionally focuses on the

difficult, but in these pieces, the integration of the cultivated and the vernacular participates in

the virtuosity. The following discussion will consider many of the virtuosic features of these

etudes highlighting first the divide between the cultivated and the vernacular and then the fusion

of the two.

In terms of the virtuosity of the cultivated style, Bolcom drew from long history of piano

techniques. For instance, a challenge in the etudes of Chopin and Liszt are the large leaps in a

fast tempo. Bolcom explores this technical problem in Etudes No. 3, 8, and 10. In Etude No. 3,

the leaps often span more than two octaves (see Example 3.1a).



34

Example 3.1a, William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 3, “Mirrors,” mm. 1,5, and 35–38.

m. 1 m. 5.

mm. 35–38.

William Bolcom, 12 New Etudes for Piano, copyright © 1988 by Edward B. Marks MusicCompany, all rights reserved, used by permission.

As shown in Example 3.1a, Bolcom increases the difficulty of these leaps by changing the

dynamic for nearly every note. Etude No. 8 employs the stride accompaniment from ragtime,

common in Scott Joplin’s music, in which the left hand alternates between a single note in the

bass and chords in the middle register; here Bolcom specifies that this piece should be “as fast as

is practical” (see Example 3.1b).



35

Example 3.1b, William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 8, “Rag Infernal,” mm. 6–10.

The tenth etude, “Vers le silence,” also includes very wide leaps in a fast tempo on a score with

five staves (see Example 3.1c).

Example 3.1c, William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 10, “Vers le silence,”m. 8.

Rhythmic complexity is another common feature in these etudes, and there are many

problems a performer must carefully work out. In Etude No. 12, “Hymne à l’amour,” there are

no time signature or barlines, and a steady eighth-note ostinato is broken up with rhythmical

chords and a rhythmically complicated melody (see Example 3.2a).



36

Example 3.2a, William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 12, “Hymne àl’amour,” second system.

This rhythmic difficulty increases towards the end of the piece as it builds to a climax on a four-

stave score (see Example 3.2b).

Example 3.2b, William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 12, “Hymne àl’amour,” last two systems.

Even though this etude is slow and lyrical, the rhythms create many difficulties for the performer.

A similar pattern of rhythmic ostinatos against irregular rhythms appears in Etude No. 4, “Scène



37

d’opera” in which a four-measure ostinato passage encounters various subdivided groupings of

three, five, six, seven, and fourteen notes (see Example 3.2c).

Example 3.2c, William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 4, “Scène d’opéra,”mm. 14–17.

Examples showing the rhythmic virtuosity of these etudes are numerous, but these few

demonstrate that the nature of Bolcom’s writing and its complexity.

Another aspect of difficulty derived from the cultivated tradition involves Bolcom’s use

an extremely large dynamic range and sudden shifts in fast tempos. The composer’s dynamic

range spans from ppppppp in Etude No. 10 to fff in Etudes No. 7, 9, and 12, and the pianist must

distinguish these dynamic levels sufficiently, requiring an exaggerated practice under tempo to

achieve the specified dynamic effects and timbres. This attention to extreme dynamics is a

feature of almost all of these etudes. The examples are numerous as in the opening measures of

Etude No. 11 (see Example 3.3a).



38

Example 3.3a, William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 11, “Hi-jinks,” firstsystem.

Etude No. 5 calls for these contrasts to be graded during a tremolo (see Example 3.3b).

Example 3.3b, William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 5, “Butterflies,Hummingbirds,” mm. 9–10.

In all of these etudes the shifts of dynamics are so frequent that a performer must negotiate

keeping intensity while playing cleanly.

Bolcom treats the pedaling in a similarly complicated and intricate manner in these

etudes. He includes detailed instructions for all three pedals. His instructions divide the damper

pedal into full pedal ( Laissez Vibrer , meaning to hold down the damper pedal, l.v), half pedal (½

Ped ), quarter pedal (1/4 Ped ), and flutter pedal ( ). He also indicated numerous

instances of una corda and sostenuto pedaling to explore various effects of tone and sonority.

For example, at the end of Etude No. 10, “Vers le silence,” the una corda pedal, used for



39

diminishing sound, gives way to the Laissez Vibrer damper pedal until all sonority leaves from

the last notes (see Example 3.4a).

Example 3.4a, William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 10, “Vers le silence,”final cadence.

A good example of 1/4 and flutter pedaling occurs in the first system of this piece, and sostenuto,

una corda, and 1/2 pedals are indicated in the eighth system (see Example 3.4b).

Example 3.4b, Willam Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 10, “Vers le silence,”first system (1/4 pedal, flutter pedal).



40

Example 3.4b continued, Willam Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 10, “Vers

le silence,” eighth system ( sostenuto pedal, una corda, and 1/2 pedal).

While the other etudes employ many different pedal markings, in this etude, pedaling is

specifically exercised as the virtuosic technique.

Apart from these virtuoso techniques derived from Western classical music, Bocolm also

expanded and utilized technical innovations, sometimes called extended techniques, such as

forearm glissando, lateral tremolo, clusters, and inside piano technique. In Etude No. 1, “Fast,

furious,” the composer calls for a forearm glissando, a rolling movement of the elbow and hand,

in a fast tempo, which produces a sudden and loud cluster sound, and gives the effect of a strong

accent (see Example 3.5a).

Example 3.5a, William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 1, “Fast, Furious,”fourth system.





42

This tremolo can be physically awkward; a pianist will need to search for a comfortable

direction of the wrist to control the pp dynamic and to avoid becoming too loud.

Tone clusters were Henry Cowell’s contribution to ultra modern music, and Bolcom

includes them in Etudes No. 1 (see Example 3.7a), 8 (see Example 3.7b), and 11 (see Example

3.7c).

Example 3.7a, William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 1, “Fast, Furious,”eighth system, clusters notated in a harmonic interval with a bracket.

Example 3.7b, William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 8, “Rag Infernal,”mm. 119–21, clusters of black key and white key chords.

Example 3.7c, William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 11, “Hi-jinks,” ninthsystem, clusters notated with all notes.



43

Bolcom’s clusters are demanding to play, because they occur abruptly in a fast tempo and they

require differing intensities to achieve a dramatic effect.

In Etudes No. 2 and 7, Bolcom calls for another extended technique, requiring the pianst

to pluck a string with the fingernail (see Examples 3.8a and 3.8b).

Example 3.8a William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 2, “Récitatif,” ending.

Example 3.8b, William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 7, “Premonitions,”ending.

One last twentieth-century technique is the pointillistic style he employs in Etude No. 8

to capture the effect of “Mirrors” (see Example 3.9).



44

Example 3.9, William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 3, “Mirrors,” mm. 8– 12.

This results in sudden large leaps and physically challenging movement between both hands.

With all of these procedures and techniques drawn from the cultivated tradition,

Bolcom’s Twelve New Etudes push the limits of texture, sonority, and virtuosity. The composer

also draws heavily from vernacular musics. In these etudes, rag, jazz, blues and 1960s popular

styles are all employed in various degrees. For example, Etude No. 2, “Récitatif,” contains a

blues style melody at the cadence. It consists of ninth chords with chromatic appoggiaturas, and

resembles the tonal language of George Gershwin14

(see Example 3.10).

Example 3.10, William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 2, “Récitatif,” m. 4.

14 Jones, 7.



45

Etude No. 6, “Nocturne,” invokes the quality of 1960s-era popular tune. The syncopated rhythms

in slow pulse within V–(IV/V)–(IV/V)–IV–V harmonic progression create the impression of a

pop tune (see Example 3.11).

Example 3.11, William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 6, “Nocturne,”mm. 1–4.

Etude No. 7, “Premonitions,” is not in exactly in a jazz style, but the particular dense chords in

each hand come close to a jazz-like harmonies (see Example 3.12).

Example 3.12, William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 7, “Premonitions,”mm. 7–8.

Ragtime, a style in which Bolcom has done much composing, is the central style of Etude

8. This piece combines ragtime’s rhythmic syncopation with demanding piano techniques. The

alternation of single bass notes with jazz chords, such as augmented ninths or thirteenths, are



46

coupled with large hand leaps in the left hand, syncopated rhythms, and off-beat accents (see

Example 3.13).

Example 3.13, William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 8, “Rag Infernal,”mm. 6–10.

Etude No. 12, “Hymne à l’amour,” also contains jazz chords in quarter-note progressions (see

Example 3.14).

Example 3.14, William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 12, “Hymne àl’amour,” mm. 2–3.

These etudes, containing rag and jazz elements, are demanding to perform because of constant

and simultaneous large leaps between both hands, complex chords, and syncopated rhythms.

Bolcom often integrates vernacular styles and cultivated contemporary techniques in one

etude. For example, In Etude No. 1, the innovative forearm glissandos are placed within the

offbeat accents of a jazz rhythmic feature. A performer must fuse these two styles



47

simultaneously: an accented starting note that falls on the upbeat and a descending dynamic

during forearm glissando (see Example 3.15).

Example 3.15, William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes for Piano, No. 1, “Fast, Furious,”eighth system.

Etude No. 2 mixes inside piano techniques, string plucks with blues cadences; Etude 8 blends

forearm glissando, clusters, and rag elements; and Etude 12 pits jazz-like quarter-note chord

progressions against rhythmic complexities.

Unlike some the other composers of this study, Bolcom has spent his career writing

music in both cultivated and vernacular styles. He has a collection of rags written exclusively in

that traditional style. However many of his works, including Seabiscuits Rag (1970), Raggin’

Rudi (1972), The Poltergeist (1979), Dream Shadow (1979), Three Dance Portraits (1986), and

Rag Tango (1988), combine ragtime with various modern compositional styles such as serialism,

collage effects, chance, and improvisatory elements.15

15 Ji Sun Lee, 44–45.

His highly regarded work The Garden of

Eden, contains four rags, “Old Adam,” “The Eternal Feminine,” “The Serpent’s Kiss,” and

“Through Eden’s Gates,” which depict the biblical story of Adam and Eve. Among them, “The

Serpent’s Kiss,” especially, blends features such as the repeated strains of ragtime AA-B-A'-C-

D-EE-A-Coda, tied syncopations, and fast driving sixteenth-note patterns with extended



48

techniques including slapping the outside of the piano, clicking the tongue, and tap dancing

between chords.16

16 Hinson, 129.

The mix of styles in this four piece set is similar to that in the Twelve New

Etudes for Piano. However, in the etudes, rather than employing a mix of styles, Bolcom

engages with the etude genre by concentrating on particular technical problems from either

vernacular or cultivated styles, resulting in a greater degree of virtuosic display. Further, these

challenging etudes didactically expand the performer’s skill as well as contribute to the concert

repertoire an artistically interesting set of pieces.



49

CHAPTER 4

JOHN CORIGLIANO’S ETUDE FANTASY

John Corigliano (b. 1938) is one of the most recognized composers living today. He has

composed pieces in many genres, including three symphonies, eight concertos, numerous other

orchestral works, an opera, an oratorio, much chamber and solo instrumental music, songs, and

three film scores. He says of his own music: “Every piece that I write, I try to do something I’ve

never done before. It can be a technical thing, an emotional thing, theatrical—it does not matter.

But there’s always something about the piece that is an adventure for me.”

1

Corigliano’s music is often described as eclectic, or polystylistic, terms that generally

denote a sense of blending new and old styles or forms together through quotation or stylisitic

allusion. Indeed, Corigliano’s compositions frequently juxtapose styles, forms, and virtuosic or

idiomatic techniques from past periods of music, such as the Baroque or Classical, through

contemporary progressive styles. His compositions have stylistically developed over his career,

but polystylism has been a constant trait. His early, sometimes highly virtuosic, works often

This approach has

proven very successful. He has received many awards for his music, including a BAFTA (British

Academy of Film and Television Arts) Anthony Asquith Award for his film score Revolution

(1986), the Grawemeyer Award for Symphony No. 1 (1991), the Composition of the Year

Award from the International Music Awards for his opera The Ghosts of Versailles (1992), an

Academy Award for the film score The Red Violin (1999), the Pulitzer Prize in 2001 for his

Symphony No. 2, and two Grammy awards for Best Contemporary Composition: the Chicago

Symphony Orchestra’s recording of Symphony No. 1 (1991) and Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven

Poems of Bob Dylan (2009).

1 John Corigliano, CultureFinder Artist in Residence: http://www.culturefinder.com, quoted in Kuzmas, 8.



50

demonstrate a combination of nineteenth-century romantic lyricism with aggressive and

percussive styles inspired by Stravinsky or Bartók. The Concerto for Piano and Orchestra

(1977) provides a good example of his early style. The later music tends to invoke a wider range

of past styles with current trends making them even more eclectic. For example, his opera The

Ghosts of Versailles (1982), which centers around ghosts in the French royal palace and a play

staged for their entertainment, uses serial music and timbral effects to depict the ghosts, while

the music of the play is based on Mozart’s operas.2

This polystylism is also evident in much of Corigliano’s piano music, including the

Kaleidoscope for two pianos (1959), Gazebo Dances for piano (1972), four hand Concerto for

Piano and Orchestra (1977), Fantasia on an Ostinato (1985), and, especially, the piece for this

study, the Etude Fantasy (1976). This work displays a variety of genres, textures, and techniques

from the past, and incorporates many styles from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries with

virtuosic techniques, idiomatic effects, and emotional expression in a technically difficult piece

for piano. As the name implies, the Etude Fantasy draws from the etude tradition, but also from

the variation and fantasy. Essentially it is a set of connected five etudes. The manner in which

Corigliano’s Etude Fantasy is played continuously is similar to Beethoven’s An die ferne

Geliebte, which has transitional passages between the songs so that the cycle is performed

His Symphony No. 1 (1989), a memorial to

friends who died of AIDS, includes quilt-like interweaving quotations from some of his deceased

friends’ favorite pieces such as the Godowsky transcription of Isaac Albeniz’s Tango (1921),

tarantella on dance-like melodies, and a chaconne by an amateur cellist, named Giulio’s

Chaconne. These quotations, interpolated within a variety of modern techniques, conjure up

feelings of nostalgia, loss, anger, tragedy, and frustration.

2 J. Peter Burkholder, Donald Jay Grout, and Claude V. Palisca, A History of Western Music, 7th ed. (New

York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2006), 960.





52

extreme delicacy, a variety of touch, cantabile melodies, and frequent use of pianissimo.

Corigliano’s Etude No. 2, “Legato,” and No. 5, “Melody,” exhibit these features of Chopin most

clearly. Corigliano also draws from Scriabin’s Eight Etudes and Three Etudes, and his works

shares some of Scriabin’s musical language. For instance, a high degree of chromaticism

pervades the second etude, subtle pedaling in the third, and extensive use of cross-rhythms are

used throughout the whole work. The influence of Debussy’s use of sustained sonorities,

coloristic pedaling, and interplay of various timbres in his Twelve Études, S. 136 (1915) can be

heard in the work and especially the first etude. Stravinsky’s percussive treatment of the piano,

and aggressive melodic and rhythmic textures, in his Concerto Due Pianoforte Soli (Concerto for

Two Pianos, 1935), can be heard in Corigliano’s fourth etude, “Ornaments,” and both the first

and fourth etudes seem influenced by the percussive qualities, wide hand stretches in both

hands––ninths, tenths, and twelfths––and complex metrical figurations of Bartók’s Three Etudes,

Op. 18 (1918) and the six volumes of Mikrokosmos, Sz. 107 (1926–27).

Although the Etude Fantasy differs from other sets of etudes in that the work is intended

to be performed without pause as a complete work and that it blends etude characteristics with

the genres of fantasy and variation, there are many ways in which Corigliano relates the Etude

Fantasy to the traditional etude genre. The Etude Fantasy relates to the traditional etude by

focusing on a specific study, using technical descriptive titles, employing thematic

transformation, and incorporating highly virtuosic pianistic writing influenced by previous

composers. One of the most important factors is that in this work each etude focuses on a

specific study. Further, Corigliano titles the etudes not with programmatic titles as some have

done as a way of highlighting their works as concert pieces, but with technical descriptive titles:

No. 1, “A study of legato playing with the left hand alone”; No. 2, “A study for the sustaining of





54

mm. 33–39.

Béla Bartók, “Minor Seconds, Major Sevenths,” Vol. 6, No. 144 from Mikrokosmos, SZ 107,copyright © 1940 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd., reprinted by permission.

Example 4.1b, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 3, “Fifths to Thirds,” mm. 83–

85, opening of No. 3.

John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, copyright © 1981 by G. Schirmer, Inc. (ASCAP) International

Copyright Secured, all rights reserved, used by permission.

The most important of these traditional techniques, however, is Corigliano’s inclusion of

a left-hand etude. Moritz Moszkowski composed Twelve Etudes for the Left Hand for Piano

Alone, Op. 92 (1915); Felix Blumenfeld, Etude for the Left Hand , Op. 36 (1905); Johannes

Brahms, Study for the Left Hand after Schubert’s Impromptu, Op. 90, No. 2 (1926–27); Camille

Saint-Saëns, Six Etudes For the Left Hand Alone, Op. 135 (1912); Leopold Godowsky, Twenty-

two Studies for the Left Hand Alone Based on Chopin Etudes; and Béla Bartók, Etude for Left





56

Motive B, m. 1, second system:

Motive C, m. 1, third system:

Motive D, mm. 2–5:

Motive E, mm. 23–26:



57

Motive F, Etude No. 3, “Fifths to Thirds,” mm. 83–85:

The intervallic relationships in the third etude, such as the minor second, third, and a perfect fifth,

and their rhythmical augmentations, diminutions, and other transformations, reappear throughout

the other etudes and creates structural coherence in the work. For example, the frequent interval

of the minor second, its combination with an octave (ninth), and its inversion (seventh), are

derived from the basic motives. Motive C contains melodic minor seconds between e and d-

sharp, c and d-flat, and between the bass notes, d-sharp and e, d-flat and c, and a and b-flat. Also,

the dyads of this motive are sevenths and ninths, inversions and expansions of the minor second

(see Example 4.2, Motive C). Motive D also consists mainly of minor seconds (see Example 4.2,

Motive D). The other important intervals of Etude Fantasy, the minor third and the perfect fifth,

appear in Motive E and Motive F (see Example 4.2, Motives E and F). Motive A embraces all

these intervals (see Example 4.2, Motive A).

These six motives are utilized in the subsequent etudes and undergo transformations

involving augmentation, diminution, retrograde, transposition, fragmentation, and transformation

to other figurations such as trills. Already in the first etude, Corigliano transforms all but one of

the motives (Motive F) he introduced in the exposition of the piece (see Examples 4.3a, 4.3b,

4.3c, 4.3d, 4.3e, 4.3f, and 4.3g).



58

Example 4.3a, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 1, “For the Left Hand Alone,”

last system of m. 58, augmentation of Motive D.

Example 4.3b, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 1, “For the Left Hand Alone,”m. 1, sixth, and seventh systems and mm. 40–41, augmentation and diminution of Motive C.

m. 1, sixth and seventh systems:

mm. 40–41:



59

Example 4.3c, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 1, “For the Left Hand Alone,”

mm. 18–21, transposition of Motive E.

Example 4.3d, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 1, “For the Left Hand Alone,”

m. 22, last system of p. 4, transformation of Motive C.

Example 4.3e, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, No. 1, “For the Left Hand Alone,” sixth

system of m. 22 and mm. 55–57, diminution of opening motive.

sixth system of m. 22:



60

mm. 55–57:

Example 4.3f, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, No. 1, “For the Left Hand Alone,”

mm. 38–39, transposition of Motive E.

Example 4.3g, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 1, “For the Left Hand Alone,”third system of m. 58, combination of Motives B and D.

In Etude No. 2, “Legato,” Motives B and D are combined, fragmented, and augmented (see

Examples 4.4a, 4.4b, and 4.4c).



61

Example 4.4a, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 2, “Legato,” mm. 59–60,

combination of Motives B and D.

Example 4.4b, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 2, “Legato,” mm. 67–68,

fragmentation of Motive B.

Example 4.4c, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 2, “Legato,” mm. 63–66,augmentation of Motive D.



62

In Etude No. 3, “Fifths to Thirds,” the composer introduces new Motive F and then consistently

develops it throughout this etude (see Example 4.5).

Example 4.5, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 3, “Fifths to Thirds,” mm. 83–

85, Motive F.

Etude No. 4, “Ornaments,” contains Motives A, B, C, and F in various guises (see Examples 4.6a,

4.6b, 4.6c, 4.6d, and 4.6e).

Example 4.6a, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 4, “Ornaments,” m. 203,

reoccurrence of Motive A.



63

Example 4.6b, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 4, “Ornaments,” mm. 207–11,

transformation of Motive A to trills.

Example 4.6c, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 4, “Ornaments,” the end of

m. 203 and mm. 235–38, fragmentation and augmentation of Motive B.

The end of m. 203, fragmentation of Motive B:

mm. 235–38, augmentation of Motive B:



64

Example 4.6d, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 4, “Ornaments,” mm. 203–206

and 291–92, reoccurrence and diminution of Motive C’s melodic interval.

mm. 203–206, reoccurrence of Motive C’s melodic interval:

mm. 291–92, diminution of melodic interval of Motive C:

Example 4.6e, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 4, “Ornaments,” secondsystem of m. 203, fragmentation of Motive F.



65

Corigliano manipulates all the motives for the conclusion in the last etude, No. 5, “Melody” (see

Examples 4.7a, 4.7b, and 4.7c).

Example 4.7a, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, No. 5, “Melody,” mm. 340–42, opening

motive in retrograde.

Example 4.7b, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, No. 5, “Melody,” mm. 318–22,

diminution of Motive B.

Example 4.7c, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, No. 5, “Melody,” mm. 294–301,diminution of Motive E.



66

Notice that in Example 11c, Motive E is transformed by diminution and legato figuration, instead

of the original staccato pattern. This pattern of Motive E is continued throughout this etude as the

left-hand accompaniment. The cyclic writing and thematic transformation relate this piece to the

fantasy genre, which results in a unified and coherent work.

While a reliance on the past gives this work much of its thematic treatment, the virtuosity

also derives from the use of a large range, extreme dynamics, dramatic expressiveness, numerous

meter changes, hand shifts, etc. Corigliano often exhibits Lisztian technical virtuosity and style

within a late twentieth-century musical language. There are many example of Corigliano

approaching Liszt’s virtuosity such as the double-note trills and tremolos (see Examples 4.8a and

4.8b); large leaps in both hands (see Examples 4.9a and 4.9b); cadenza-like passages (see

Examples 4.10a, 4.10b, and 4.10c); and extreme dynamics (see Examples 4.11a, 4.11b, and

4.11c).

Example 4.8a, Franz Liszt, Transcendental Etudes, No. 5, “Feux Follets,” mm. 18–20,

written-out double trills.



67

Example 4.8b, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 4, “Ornaments,” mm. 207–215,double-note trills and tremolos.

Example 4.9a, Franz Liszt, Transcendental Etudes, No. 4, “Mazeppa,” mm. 136–39,

large leaps in both hands at a fast tempo.



68

Example 4.9b, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 4, “Ornaments,” mm. 228–31,

large leaps.

Example 4.10a, Franz Liszt, Transcendental Etudes, No. 12, “Chasse-neige,” m. 64,cadenza-like passage.

Example 4.10b, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 1, “For the Left Hand

Alone,” m. 1, opening cadenza-like passage.



69

Example 4.10c, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 4, “Ornaments,” m. 203,

opening cadenza-like passage.

Example 4.11a, Franz Liszt, Transcendental Etudes, No. 8, “Wilde Jagd,” mm. 1–4,

extreme dynamics.

Example 4.11b, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 1, “For the Left HandAlone,” mm. 53–54, extreme dynamics.



70

Example 4.11c, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 4, “Ornaments,” mm. 275,

287–89, and 293, extreme dynamics.

Also, in the climax of Etude No. 5, “Melody,” Corigliano included the very soft dynamics of pp

and ppp in the adagio tempo, which requires the performer to intricately control tone color (see

Example 4.12a).

Example 4.12a, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 5, “Melody,” mm. 323–28.



71

This delicate touch in a soft dynamic is similar to both Chopin or Liszt (see Examples 4.12b and

4.12c).

Example 4.12b, Frédéric Chopin, Études, Op. 25, No. 1, mm. 1–2.

Example 4.12c, Franz Liszt, Transcendental Etudes, No. 9, “Ricordanza,” mm. 14–17,third and fourth systems.

Corigliano also employed idiomatic effects that have their root in the etude tradition of the

nineteenth and early to mid twentieth centuries, such as arpeggios in contrary motion (see

Examples 4.13a and 4.13b); cross rhythms (see Examples 4.14a, 4.14b, and 4.14c); extensive

percussive elements including tone-cluster ostinatos in the bass and unexpected accents (see



72

Examples 4.15a and 4.15b); constant change of meters in short sections (at one point, he changes

meter between sixteen different meters 80 times in 119 measures)6

(see Examples 4.16a and

4.16b); constant shifts of register (see Examples 4.17a and 4.17b).

Example 4.13a, Franz Liszt, Transcendental Etudes, No. 9, “Ricordanza,” mm. 101–102,

arpeggios in contrary motion.

Example 4.13b, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 4, “Ornaments,” m. 274,

arpeggios in contrary motion.

6 Victor V. Bobetsky, “An Analysis of Seleceted Works for Piano (1959–1978) and the Sonata for Violin

and Piano (1964) by John Corigliano” (DMA thesis, University of Miami, Florida, 1982), 83.



73

Example 4.14a, Alexander Scriabin, Eight Etudes, Op. 42, No. 1, mm. 1–3, cross rhythms.

Example 4.14b, Franz Liszt, Transcendental Etudes, No. 10, F Minor, mm. 25–27, cross

rhythms.

Example 4.14c, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 1, “For the Left HandAlone,” mm. 27–30, cross rhythms.



74

Example 4.15a, Igor Stravinsky, Concerto Due Pianoforte Soli, first movement, mm. 92–

94, tone-cluster ostinatos and unexpected accents.

Example 4.15b, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 4, “Ornaments,” mm. 228–31,tone-cluster ostinatos in the bass.



75

Example 4.16a, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 3, “Fifths and Thirds,”

mm. 119–22, constant change of meters in short sections.

Example 4.16b, Béla Bartók, Three Etudes, Op. 18, No. 3, mm. 13–15, constant change

of meters in short sections.

Example 4.17a, John Corigliano, Etude Fantasy, Etude No. 3, “Fifths and Thirds,”

mm. 86–88.

Example 4.17b, Béla Bartók, Three Etudes, Op. 18, No. 3, mm. 36–38.



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Corigliano’s pianistic writing is indebted to Liszt’s innovations, as well as later composers such

as Scriabin, Bartók, and Stravinsky.

Corigliano’s polystylism, mixing of various styles and compositional techniques, is

obvious in most of his piano works. Kaleidoscope for two pianos (1959), an early work,

combines diatonic intervals, dissonances, highly lyrical content, and ragtime-like syncopation.

Corigliano described this piece as following:

Kaleidoscope for two pianos was written during my student years as anundergraduate at Columbia College (1955–59)…. As the title implies, is a

colorful mosaic of changing symmetrical patterns, some infused with a ragtime

feel, others highly lyrical in content. The work is in ternary form with an extended

lyrical center that treats a folk-like melody to a variety of contrapuntalelabor ations. In general, Kaleidoscope is high-spirited and full of the energy of

youth.7

His Gazebo Dances for piano, four hands (1972) contains four dance works in small forms.

Corigliano summarized it as follows:

It begins with a Rossini-like Overture, followed by a rather peg-legged Waltz, a long-

lined Adagio and boundy Trantella.8

Gazebo Dances presents eighteenth-century dance rhythms, but also comes close to twentieth-

century neoclassical piano suites such as Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin (1917).9

Corigliano’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1977) presents a more eclectic style. It is

basically a tonal work, but includes sections of atonality, strict twelve-tone writing, highly

irregular rhythms, cyclic structure using thematic transformation, meter changes, tone clusters,

contrasts between romantic lyrical melodies and aggressive or percussive sonorities, and brilliant

passages of fast arpeggios, trills, and octaves. This work comes closest to the Etude Fantasy in

7 Composer John Corigliano (accessed 20 May 2010); available from

http://www.johncorigliano.com/index.php?p=item2&sub=cat; internet.

8 Ibid.

9 Kuzmas, 9.

http://www.johncorigliano.com/index.php?p=item2&sub=cat





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terms of virtuosity and polystylism; however, the latter work contains many more virtuosic piano

techniques, complicated patterns of rhythms, chromatic writing, and thematic unification than the

concerto. Other works, such as the Fantasia on an Ostinato (1985), focus to a much greater

extent on expression and minimalist tendencies than virtuosity. Although this work was

composed for a competition, Corigliano did not want young competitors to be evaluated by

technical ability alone. To stretch their untrained imagination and musicality, he constructed this

piece with a large central section that is a series of interlocking repeated patterns in which the

performer can shape the music.10

In this chapter, I have demonstrated that Corigliano’s Etude Fantasy engages with the

virtuosic characteristic of the etude genre as well as many of the stylistic features of his other

works. Etude Fantasy is one of most successful piano etudes in the late twentieth-century

repertoire, largely because of its virtuosic display, variety of characters, and effective use of

thematic transformation. To perform Corigliano’s Etude Fantasy, the pianist must overcome

many technical challenges and a grasp of clear stylistic contrasts of character, texture, tempo,

meter, sonorities, and dynamics.

10 Composer John Corigliano, (accessed 20 May 2010); available from

http://www.johncorigliano.com/index.php?p=item2&sub=cat&item=63; internet.

http://www.johncorigliano.com/index.php?p=item2&sub=cat&item=63





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CHAPTER 5

GYÖRGY LIGETI’S ÉTUDES POUR PIANO, PREMIER LIVRE

Although the Hungarian composer György Ligeti (1923–2006) is largely known as one of

the leading progressive composers after World War II, a time, due to political dictates of the

communist government, he was cut off from contemporary musical trends of the West. After the

Hungarian Revolution in 1956, Ligeti left Budapest and moved to Cologne, where he worked in

the Studio for Electronic Music. It was here that he was exposed to radically different music,

meeting and coming under the influence of avant-garde composers like Karlheinz Stockhausenand Gottfried Michael Koenig. This experience helped Ligeti to develop his particular style,

which would feature machine-like rhythms and superimposed layering. Establishing himself in

the 1960s as a major figure of new music, Ligeti also taught composition, including from 1973 to

1989, when he was on the faculty of Hamburg Hochschule für Musik und Theater. He composed

many pieces in a large variety of genres: an opera; numerous orchestral works ( Apparitions,

Lontano, San Francisco Polyphony); concertos for solo piano, violin, and ʼcello, as well as

double concerto for flute and oboe, and the Hamburg Concerto for horn and four obbligato

natural horns; vocal/ choral works including a Requiem; chamber works; piano music; and works

for organ and harpsichord. Some of Ligeti’s works became known to a more general public as a

result of Stanley Kubrick’s interest in his music. For his film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968),

Kubrick used selections from Apparitions (1958–59), Lux Aeterna for sixteen solo voices (1966),

the Kyrie from the Requiem (1963–65), and a vocal work Adventures (1962). Ligeti’s Musica

ricercata can he heard in Kubrick’s last film, Eyes Wide Shut (1999).



79

Throughout his career, Ligeti explored various compositional styles. In the 1950s, when

he first gained recognition as a leader of the European avant-garde movement, it was with an

approach to the twelve-tone system that involved his own brand of complex rhythmic layering.

His piano work Musica recerata (1951–53) is representative of this style. At this time he also

experimented with electronic music and composed several electronic pieces including Glissandi

(1957) and Artikulation (1958). Although the electronic works are few among his total output,

his experiments in this medium carried over to his compositions for acoustic instruments. In fact,

in later pieces, Ligeti often tried to make instruments or other devices sound as mechanical as

possible calling this music meccanico.

1

I first began to think about a kind of static music you find in Atmosphères and Apparitions in 1950; music wholly enclosed within itself, free of tunes, in which

In his harpsichord piece Continuum (1968) constantlyrepeated eighth notes in each hand in an extremely fast tempo ( prestissimo) are played without

accents or bar lines. And, because of the two manuals of the instrument, Ligeti is able to place

them in the same register causing the music to sound mechanical. The individual tones and

figurations can hardly be recognized by the listener. In another piece, Poème Symphonique for

100 metronomes (1962), he employed actual machines and set them at different rates of ticking

to achieve a mass of layered rhythmical sound. His most important style coming out of the late

1950s and ʼ60s also involves this idea of layering. This style is known commonly as

micropolyphony and is essentially a texture of layered and superimposed, often chromatic, parts,

which together create a dense polyphony resulting in mass clusters. His well-known orchestral

works, Apparitions (1958–59) and Atmosphères (1961), are the best examples of

micropolyphony. About these two pieces Ligeti stated:

1 György Ligeti, “Ligeti-Josef Hausler,” trans. Sarah E. Soulsby, in György Ligeti in Conversation (London: Eulenberg, 1983), 108.



80

there are separate parts but they are not discernable, music that would changethrough gradual transformation almost as if it changed its colour from the inside.2

In Apparitions and Atmosphères (1961), forty-nine string parts, eighty-nine instrumental parts,

respectively, are written out, but the resulting sound is not individual; rather, it is more of a mass

orchestral cluster sound as all notes are within a similar range and layered on top of each other to

sound at the same time. In Ligeti’s late compositional period, beginning after 1980, he returned

to a tonal language that included much more use of major and minor triads than in earlier

compositions, but the method of layering remained the unifying stylistic technique. Furthermore,

these works are imbued with a greater degree of complex rhythmic writing, both as structuralaspects of the individual ostinatos and between the layers.

Main works from his later output include both the Piano Concerto (1985–88) and the

Violin Concerto (1992), but in many ways the three volumes of etudes for piano (Book 1, 1985;

Book 2, 1988–94; and Book 3, 1995–2001) can also serve as representative works of this period.

Together they pursue systematic and pervasive experiments with rhythmical notation,

introducing a simple figure at the beginning of each etude and then developing it logically to a

more complex conclusion. Rhythmical asymmetry between both hands and within one hand at

the same time create many challenges for a performer.3

The Études pour piano, Premier Livre (1985), consisting of six etudes, are considered to

be one of most important sets of twentieth-century piano etudes, and there are many ways in

However, in these pieces––specifically

the first book, which is the focus of the present study––Ligeti, like the previous composers

examined, melds his personal style with the traditions of the etude genre.

2 Ibid., 33.

3 Kuzmas, 30.



81

which Ligeti engages in normal etude practices as well as the tradition of etudes from the past

two centuries. This chapter will examine how Ligeti combined his idiomatic rhythmic

complexity with the typical characteristics of the etude genre. Like many composers before him,

including Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Bartók, Cage, and many others, these pieces

are collected into several sets. Although, like Rachmaninoff, Ligeti does not seem as interested

in the number twelve, as he does in composing three distinct sets, the first containing six pieces,

the second, eight, and the last, four.

The etudes in book one also include titles. While some composers, like Liszt, Alkan,

MacDowell, and Dusapin, chose programmatic associations, others, including Debussy, Bartok,and Starer, indicated in the title the technical difficulty of each piece. Ligeti uses his titles for a

variety of different purposes. For instance, etudes two and three, “Cordes à vide” and “Touches

bloquées” respectively, describe the primary focus of these etudes, in a manner more similar to

Debussy or Bartók. The first and fourth etudes, “Désordre” and “Fanfares,” are psuedo-

programmatic, relating these pieces to traditional musical concepts, while Études No. 5, “Arc-en-

ciel,” and No. 6, “Automne à Varsovie,” have specific descriptive titles similar to what Liszt

used in his Transcendental Etudes, S. 139 (1851); Three Concert Etudes, S. 144 (1848); and Two

Concert Etudes, S. 145. This blend of titles demonstrates that by the late twentieth century titles

are common to etude sets––indeed, Bolcom’s and Corigliano’s sets both have them––but that

they do not have to be one type or another.

A further aspect of these etudes that lends them a traditional authority is that each etude

concerns a specific performance techniques. Étude No. 1, “Désordre,” is an exercise in bitonality,

rhythmic independence, and a high complexity of rhythm, including polymeter. Étude No. 2,

“Cordes à vide,” focuses on arpeggiations of intervals of perfect fifths, where the progression of



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duration moves from simple eighth-note motion through triplet motion to a faster sixteenth-note

pattern. Étude No. 3, “Touches bloquées,” develops a new twentieth-century piano technique,

blocked keys, in which one hand is depressing notes on the keyboard silently while the other is

sounding notes to create overtones. Étude No. 4, “Fanfares,” is built on fanfare-like melodies

based on open fifths and fourths with a continuous eighth-note ostinato, which also involves

complicated polymeters in a fast tempo. Étude No. 5, “Arc-en-ciel,” requires the pianist to work

through frequent major-seventh chords, varying tempos, dual meters between two hands, rubato,

hemiolas, as well as lyrical and delicate passages. As the title might indicate, the rhythmic

texture features many strings of sixteenth notes and a descending chromatic figuration. Finally,Étude No. 6, “Automne à Varsovie,” uses the “lament motif” and combines multiple melodic

parts in which each has a different tempo (see Example 5.1).4

Example 5.1, György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre, No. 6, “Automne àVarsovie,” mm. 1–4.

4 The lament motif comes from seventeenth-century music, associated with descending chromatictetrachord and helps to emote sadness due to loss of love or life (e.g., “Dido’s Lament” from Henry Purcell’s Didoand Aeneas).



83

György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre, copyright © 1986 by Schott Music, Mainz – Germany, all rights reserved, used by permission of European American Music Distributors LLC,sole U.S. and Canadian agents for Schott Music, Mainz – Germany.

Ligeti’s etudes are difficult pieces and are nearly impossible to play because of their

complex rhythmic and textural structure. It is his idiomatic style taken to an extreme that gives

the work its virtuosic nature. A number of techniques contribute to this, including tonal

complexity, contrapuntal writing, and extended techniques like the blocked keys in Étude No. 3.

But the rhythmic complexity within the layered textures is most difficult for the pianist. Ligeti

draws from a variety of traditions to create structures that control the rhythmic writing, such as

expanding hemiola techniques of the nineteenh century and employing fourteenth-century-style

isorhythm. Of some of his rhythmic procedures, Ligeti writes:

Of course, there are no measures in the European sense of the word, but insteadone finds two rhythmic levels: an underlying layer consisting of fast, even pulsations which are however not counted as such but rather felt, and asuperimposed layer of occasionally symmetrical but more often asymmetrical patterns of varying length, through always whole multiples of the basic pulse….This prevailing metric ambiguity produces, in theory at least, a kind of hemiola,which however does not really exist in practice: there can be no real ambiguity asthere is no meter based on the bar-line, there are no accents and consequently nohierarchy of beats, only the smoothly flowing additive pulse.5

5 György Ligeti, program notes for Wergo 60134, 12, quoted in Alexandra Townsend, “The Problem of Form in György Ligeti’s Automne à Varsovie, From Études Pour Piano, Premier Livre” (DMA thesis, University of British Columbia, 1997), 22.



84

Ligeti employs canons in this work, as well as the additive pulse principle of African music. In

fact, Ligeti sees this music as a blend of nineteenth-century rhythmic principles and non-Western

influence:

One often arrives at something qualitatively new by unifying two already known but separate domains. In this case, I have combined two dependent musicalthought processes: the meter-dependent hemiola as used by Schumann andChopin and the additive pulsation principle of African music. 6

Because of the nature of these etudes, I will discuss the virtuosity of each in turn.

Étude No. 1

Rhythmic difficulty in the Étude No. 1, “Désordre,” comes from isorhythmic structures

and different melodic lengths in each hand with constant repetitions in a fast tempo. Isorhythm

from fourteenth-century motets consists generally of two basic ideas: units of repeated melody

called color ; and units of repeated rhythm called talea. In this piece Ligeti used two colors, one

for each hand. These pitches are accented and played in octaves (see Example 5.2).

Example 5.2, György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre, No. 1, “Désordre,”mm. 1–21.

6 Ligeti, Wergo 60134, 12, quoted in Svard, “Illusion in Selected Keyboard Works of György Ligeti,” 76.



85

Each color has a different length. The right-hand color covers fourteen measures, divided into

three phrases of four, four, and six measures. The melody in the left hand spans eighteen

measures and divides into four phrases of four, four, six and four measures. The number of



86

repetitions of each color is also different: thirteen and a half times for the right hand and ten and

a half for the left. Ligeti employs the talea in a similar manner. In addition, Étude No. 1 contains

other pianistic challenges such as perpetual eighth notes in both hands in a fast tempo with forte

dynamic and shifting irregular accents in both hands. In Ligeti’s own words:

The pianist plays coordinated, even pulsations in both hands. Superimposed ontothese pulsations is a grid work of irregular accents which at times however progresses synchronously in both hands, thereby temporarily producing theimpression of order. This impression slowly disintegrates as the accents in onehand begin to lag behind those in the order. In so doing, the metric relationship isgradually blurred until we reach a point where we are unable to discern whichhand leads and which lags behind. A state of order is in due course restored as thetwo successions of accents shift closer and closer to one another, eventually

falling simultaneously in the two hands, at which point the cycle begins anew.

7

The bitonality in this work also causes many challenges. In this etude, the right hand plays

diatonic notes only on the white keys, while the left hand plays notes in the pentatonic mode on

the black keys. This simultaneous use of different tonalities as well as rhythmic complexities

creates a challenge for any pianist.

Étude No. 2

Étude No. 2, “Cordes à vide,” displays some of the same textural ideas as Étude No. 1,

including different accentuation between the two hands, but without isorhythm. The left hand

begins with an eighth-note pattern first with seven but grows into groups of eight and then ten

between measures one and eleven. The right-hand part consists of irregular eighth-note patterns

varying from four to seven eighth notes. All of the arpeggiated notes in each hand are perfect

fifths, although the shape or direction of arpeggiated notes in each hand is different (see Example

5.3).

7 Ligeti, Wergo 60134, 12, quoted in Townsend, 24.





88

Apart from these rhythmic concerns, the second etude also includes overlapping phrases between

two hands, an extreme range of the piano, and frequent use of the una corda pedal and other

subtle pedaling8

(see Examples 5.5a and 5.5b).

Example 5.5a, György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre, No. 2, “Cordes à vide,”m. 27, overlapping phrases between two hands.

Example 5.5b, György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre, No. 2, “Cordes à vide,”m. 27, an extreme range of the piano and use of the una corda pedal.

These elements create virtuosity and challenges in performance.

8 Tsong, 20.



89

Étude No. 3

Étude No. 3, “Touches bloquées,” also employs continuous eighth-note patterns.

However, the most difficult aspect of this fast tempo is the extended technique “blocked keys” in

which one or more keys are depressed silently while other notes are sounded. In this etude, Ligeti

often calls for a rapid succession of chromatic-scale notes that include silent blocked keys, which

results in overtones. The rests between the blocked key creates complicated and irregular

patterns (see Examples 5.6a and 5.6b).

Example 5.6a, György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre, No. 3, “Touches bloquées,”mm. 1–4.

Example 5.6b, György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre, No. 3, “Touches bloquées,” performance notes.



90

Étude No. 4

In addition to Études No. 1 and 6, the other difficult etude in terms of rhythmic

complexity is Étude No. 4, “Fanfares.” This etude centers around a seemingly relentless ostinato

figure, which is repeated 208 times.9

Ligeti articulated the ostinato of eight notes into a 3+2+3

pattern with accents on the first note of each grouping (see Example 5.7).

Example 5.7, György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre, No. 4, “Fanfares,”mm. 1–4.

Ligeti places this ostinato pattern in a fast and machine-like steady tempo with sudden and

extreme dynamic changes ranging from pppppppp to pp in the right hand and pppp to sub ff in

the left10

(see Example 5.8).

9 Yung-jen Chen, “Analysis and Performance Aspects of György Ligeti’s Études Pour Piano: Fanfares and Arc-en-ciel ” (DMA thesis, The Ohio State University, 2007), 39.

10 Tsong, 21.



91

Example 5.8, György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre, No. 4, “Fanfares,”mm. 169–72.

He also indicated legato, but no pedal markings, under the ostinato: “ sempre legato, quasi senza

pedale” (see Example 5.7). This fanfare-like melody is based on four chords superimposed by

the underlying perpetual ostinato.

Étude No. 5

Étude No. 5, “Arc-en-ciel,” is another example of Ligeti’s use of hemiola, which

according to him derives from nineteenth-century composers like R. Schumann and Chopin, but

he extends the hemiolas by adding notes in a manner similar to West African rhythm.11

For

instance, Ligeti expanded the traditional hemiola, found in six beats with a division into three

and two (3:2), to 5:3, 7:5, and 7:5:3. In the opening of this etude, the right hand plays three

groups of four sixteenth notes, while the left hand covers of two groups of six sixteenth notes.

This combination produces a 3:2 hemiola when played (see Example 5.9).

11 Svard, “Illusion in Selected Keyboard Works of György Ligeti,” 76.



92

Example 5.9, György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre, No. 5, “Arc-en-ciel,”mm. 1–2.

The right-hand groupings of four sixteenth notes are then transformed to three, five, and sixgroupings of sixteenth notes in mm. 11 and 12 (see Example 5.10).

Example 5.10, György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre, No. 5, “Arc-en-ciel,”mm. 11–12.

If these complications were not enough, Ligeti marked many indications of varying tempo:

Varying tempo: The metronome mark represents an average, the semiquaver movementfluctuating freely around this average tempo, as in jazz.12

12 György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre (Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, 1986), 37.



93

In addition the hemiola effect of this etude, the different accentuations in each hand create

rhythmic complexity. The left-hand bass part contains accents on the first and seventh sixteenth

notes in order to provide steady beat. In the right hand, however, accents occur on different notes

than in the left hand, usually on fifth and ninth sixteenth notes as well as the first and seventh.13

Étude No. 6

Étude No. 6, “Automne à Varsovie,” sums up many of Ligeti’s explorations of rhythmic

complexities from the other etudes. He superimposes textures by using extremely complex

polyrhythms and polymeters in a very fast tempo. For instance, in the four voices of this etude,the accents of melodic lines and different rhythmic groupings against the ostinato in the middle

voice create polyrhythms (see Example 5.11).

Example 5.11, György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre , No. 6, “Automne àVarsovie,” mm. 27–28 and 45–46.

mm. 27–28:

13 Chen, 71–72.



94

mm. 45–46:

Moreover, the main melody, a chromatic falling lament motive appears at different

transpositional levels and moves at different rates of speed, like a fugue. Ligeti’s superimposed

polyrhythmic style was influenced by Colon Nancarrow’s music for player piano. Nancarrow’s

music is impossible to be played by human hands, but Ligeti creates similarly layered textures in

fast tempos for this etude.14

Expanded or additive hemiola also occurs. In the opening, accented melodic notes of the

lament theme fall on every fifth sixteenth note of the accompanying sixteenth-note ostinato

figures, which interrupt the regular 4/4 pulse (see Example 5.12).

Example 5.12, György Ligeti, Études pour piano, Premier Livre, No. 6, “Automne àVarsovie” mm. 1–4.

14 Townsend, 31.



95

Ligeti’s own words are helpful here:

The piece is notated in 4/4 (although the bar-lines as such are not audible), withsixteen fast pulses per measure. There is however a place in the piece where theright hand accentuates every fifth pulse and the left every third. To the ear, thesechains of accents blend together to form a supersignal consisting of two melodies:a slower one formed by the groupings of five and a faster one produced by thegroupings of three. The ratio 5:3 is of course arithmetically simple, but perceptually very complex. We do not count the pulses but rather experince twoqulitatively different tempor levels. Neither does the pianist count while playing:he produces the accounts according to the notation, is aware of a pattern of muscle contractions in the fingers, all the while however hearing another pattern,namely that of the different tempi which could not possibly be producedconsciously. 15

In performance, the pianist will not be able to play Ligeti’s superimposed complex of rhythmic

layers if s/he tries to count the pulses. The pianist should instead concentrate on emphasizing the

accents of each voice according to the notation to produce accurate rhythms. Also, the performer

must make clear contrast of dynamics, the different textural concepts, and the tone colors among

each voice to bring out the overlapping layers.

Ligeti’s etudes exemplify his output for piano in that they share many characteristics of

style, but they go well beyond the other pieces in utilizing his style of complex rhythmic layering

of ostinatos and small motives for virtuosic purposes. One of his early works for piano, Musica

ricercata (1951–53), is a set of eleven short movements for piano. In this work, the composer

15 György Ligeti, “On My Etudes for Piano,” Sonus 9, No. 1 (Fall 1988): 4.



96

employed an interesting pitch structure based on the twelve-tone system. Each subsequent

movement has one more pitch class than the preceding until in the eleventh movement, all twelve

pitches are used. This piece also employs some rhythmic layering. For example, in the seventh

movement, the right hand carries a folk-like cantabile melody in ¾ meter while the left hand

repeats a seven-note ostinato without meter.16

In his Three Pieces for Two Pianos (1976), layered textures are much more prominent.

Ligeti told an interviewer about these works:

However, his early piano works like the Musica

ricercata do not come close to the rhythmic and textural virtuosity of the three volumes of etudes.

In these we do not hear the various levels but something else, something like thethree dimensional impossible perspectives in Maurice Escher’s pictures. In thesame way there are rhythms and rhythmic formulae which neither pianist plays, but which emerge from the combination of the two pianos. What you get there is acomplex acoustical illusionary rhythm, which I then extended to a type of pr oliferant melody also, and this I developed further, this is what is essential init.17

For example, in the first piece, “Monument,” Ligeti layers different dynamics, meters, pitch

classes, and durations with isorhthymic tendencies in each piano. The second piece,

“Selbstporträt mit Reich und Riley” (Self-Portrait with Reich and Riley), combined Steve

Reich’s phase shifting and Terry Riley’s patterns of repetition with Ligeti’s own techniques of

superimposed frameworks.18 This piece also uses blocked keys which would be important for his

third etude in the first set. The third piece, “Bewegung” (Movement), uses constant arpeggios

against canonic lines in longer note values.19


17 Szigeti, István, “A Budapest Interview with György Ligeti,” The New Hungarian Quarterly 25, no. 94(Summer 1984), 210, quoted in ibid., 47–48.

18 Paul Griffiths, György Ligeti (London: Robson Books, 1983), 95, quoted in Svard, “Illusion in SelectedKeyboard Works of György Ligeti,” 57.




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Ligeti’s Piano Concerto (1985–88), composed around the same time as the first book of

Études pour piano, shares some similar features. The concerto consists of five movements,

which explore polyrhythms, the lament motif, simple diatonic harmonies, minimalist elements,

and extreme registers of the keyboard (in the outer movements).

Ligeti’s unique compositional style, rhythmic complexity including hemiola effects,

isorhythm, canons, additive pulsation from West African music, and different accentuation

between both hands, within the superimposed layered textures, contributed a new type of

virtuosity to the etude genre. Other twentieth-century techniques like bitonality and extended

techniques, such as the blocked keys, also add to the virtuosic nature of these works, but he alsomaintained many of the typical characteristics of etude genre, such as composing a collection of

pieces, using programmatic titles and technical descriptions, and exploring particular techniques

in each etude.



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CHAPTER 6

CONCLUSION

The purpose of this document has been to show that composers of the late twentieth

century, when adopting a specific genre, most often relate those works in some way to the

traditional aspects of that genre even while exploring their own compositional styles. With

genres that have specific purposes such as the concert etude, this approach is even more

apparent. With its pedagogical, virtuosic, and expressive nature, the concert etude has been

employed by many late twentieth-century composers as a vehicle for experimenting with their

own musical styles and its technical realizations. And these composers have consciously engaged

to varying degrees with historical attributes of the genre.

The etudes of Cage, Bolcom, Corigliano, and Ligeti are prime examples of this

phenomenon, and it is no wonder that there are many similarities between them. For instance,

even with Corigliano’s hybrid form of an etude-fantasy, all of the composers composed sets of

etudes. Cage’s set consists of thirty-two etudes in four volumes; Bolcom’s, twelve (and a second

set of twelve), Corigliano’s, five within a larger form that includes cyclicism and thematic

transformation, and Ligeti’s, six. Within the sets, each composer, with the possible exception of

Cage, composed individual pieces that, like the traditional etude, explore specific technical

difficulties, whether, these be forearm glissandos, extreme range of dynamics, or vernacular

techniques as with Bolcom’s set; legato playing, left-hand alone, and extremely fast arpeggios

like in Corigliano’s; or polyrhythms, hemiolas, and layering techniques as is the case with

Ligeti’s. In addition, these same three composers also employ subtitles for their etudes that either

have programmatic associations, like the “Butterflies, Hummingbirds,” “Scène d’opéra,” and



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“Rag Infernal (Syncopes apocalyptiques)” of Bolcom; and the “Arc-en-ciel” and “Automne à

Varsovie of Ligeti; or titles for technical description as in “For the Left Hand Alone,” “Legato,”

“Fifths to Thirds,” “Ornaments,” and “Melody” of Corigliano; and “Cordes à vide” and

“Touches bloquées” of Ligeti.

In terms of virtuosity, perhaps the most important attribute of the concert etude, all four

of these composers achieve this, but generally as a result of their own compositional styles. The

extreme difficulty in Cage’s etudes come from the chance mechanism to derive the pitches as

well as from his unique notation of stemless notes, which indicate only pitch. There are no

markings for dynamics, tempos, or rhythmic durations, and the performer must “realize” these

aspects of the piece. In Bolcom’s case, the combination of vernacular and cultivated techniques

leads to the highly virtuosic nature of his etudes. With Corigliano, it is the continuously

juxtaposed styles and techniques from past and contemporary eras that create virtuosity.

Furthermore, the unique feature of his etude is the format, and the connected nature of the

fantasy requires the performer to understand and affectively convey the expression of an

extended work. Ligeti also produces extremely difficult music through his rhythmic complexity

and texturally superimposed layering.

Though this document has limited itself to these four composers, several other composers

have written etude sets in the last half of the twentieth century, including Olivier Messiaen

(1908–1992), Granzyna Bacewicz (1909–1969), George Perle (1915–2009), Nikolai Kapustin

(born 1937) and Philip Glass (born 1937). These composers, like the ones of this study,

experimented with their own personal styles while maintaining historical etude considerations. In

fact, this genre has given these composers a chance to develop and hone burgeoning

compositional styles.



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Such is the case with Messiaen’s Quatre etudes de rhythme (Four studies in rhythm)

(1949), consisting of four etudes, each with a descriptive title, which experiment with serial

durations and pitches. The second etude, “Mode de valeurs et d’intensité ” (Mode of values and

intensities), employs a melodic pitch-mode of thirty-six tones, a value-mode of twenty-four

different note-lengths, an attack-mode of twelve different attacks, and an intensity-mode, also

consisting of twelve.1

These experiments in serialization, moving beyond pitch, would prove

important for Messiaen’s later works, as well as for other composers who use total-serialization

as a compositional construct. Perle’s Six Etudes for Piano (1973–76) is one such example. These

etudes explore a combination of various serial procedures with tonal centers, intervallic cells,

and symmetrical forms, and each displays specific technical problems, such as interlocking

staccato passages in pianissimo dynamic with sudden dynamic changes (Etude No. 1); complex

rhythmic textures between duple and triple figures, cross rhythms, and frequent changes of meter

(Etude No. 2); and contrapuntal textures (Etude No. 5).2

1 Hinson, 537.

His combination of serial systems with

difficult technical passages creates extreme virtuosity. Bacewiczs, in her Ten Concert Etudes

(1956), also uses twelve-tone procedures, but explores collage techniques, too. Kapustin’s Eight

Concert Etudes, Op. 40 are closer to the style of Bolcom, combining rich textures, technical

exuberance, sweeping arpeggios and other traditional virtuosic techniques, with jazz harmony

and other vernacular styles. Even the style of minimalism is represented by the etude genre.

Glass’s Etudes for Piano, Vol. 1, Nos. 1–10 (1994) demonstrate virtuosity while maintaining a

minimalistic character. Not only are they much denser in texture and more difficult than his other

piano works, each individual piece contains a much greater range of emotions and styles. The

2 Ibid., 594.



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virtuosity is produced in combination with minimalistic structures, unbroken sound, and

relentless repetitive progression, as well as catching the composer’s sentimental subtlety from

this constantly repetitive structure.3

From its inception, the etude genre has embraced the characteristics, features, and style

that each musical period has required of it, while still combining didactic and pedagogical

purposes with expressive and virtuosic display. Throughout its history, composers have used this

genre as one of the chief vehicles of virtuosic writing. In the late twentieth century, the general

and virtuosic nature of etude genre engaged with such different styles as serialism, total

serialism, indeterminacy, polystylism, rhythmic complexity, minimalism, but has continued to

exhibit the traditional characteristics that date back to its eighteenth-century beginnings.

3Richard Guérin, “Brubaker on Performing Philip Glass’s Piano Music,” Glass Notes

http://philipglass.typepad.com/glass_notes/2009/09/brubaker-on-performing-philip-glass-piano-music.html

(accessed 22 March 2010).








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Articles

Berrett, Joshua. “Review of Twelve New Etudes, by William Bolcom.” American Music 7(1989): 234–35.

Carl, Robert. “Classical Recordings: Corigliano – Fantasy on a Bach Air; Fantasia on anOstinato; Etude Fantasy; ‘Phantasmagoria.’” Fanfare – The Magazine for Serious Record Collectors 24, no. 2 (November–December 2000): 254–55.

Darter, Tom. “The Piano Music of John Cage.” Keyboard 8, no. 9 (September 1982): 18–29.

Fredrickson, Dolores. “The Piano Music of John Corigliano.” Clavier 32, no. 9 (November 1993): 20–22.

Holzer, Linda. “William Bolcom: From Rags To Riches.” Piano & Keyboard 45, no. 184(January/February 1997), 39–44.

Hughes, Edward Dudley. “Record Review: John Cage: Etudes Australes by Grete Sultan.” TheMusical Times 134 (1993): 347.

Lange, Art. “Cage: Etudes Australes.” Fanfare – The Magazine for Serious Recording Collectors26, no. 2 (November–December 2002): 124–25.

Ligeti, György. “On My Etudes for Piano.” Sonus 9, No. 1 (Fall 1988): 3–7.

Reynolds, Roger, and John Cage. “John Cage and Roger Reynolds: A Conversation.” TheMusical Quarterly 65 (1979): 573–94.

Roberts, David. “Music in London: New Music, Cage.” The Musical Times 119 (1978): 697.

Svard, Lois. “Twelve New Etudes for Piano.” Notes: Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association 46, no. 2 (December 1989): 509.

Teachout, Terry. “Classical Reviews: Bolcom: Tewlve New Etudes.” High Fidelity 39, no. 2(February 1989): 59.

Wait, Mark. “Meet the Composer-Pianist: William Bolcom.” Piano Quarterly 36, no. 142(Summer 1988): 33–40.

Dissertations and Theses

Bobetsky, Victor V. “An Analysis of Seleceted Works for Piano (1959–1978) and the Sonata for Violin and Piano (1964) by John Corigliano.” DMA thesis, University of Miami, Florida,1982.



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Chen, Yung-jen. “Analysis and Performance Aspects of György Ligeti’s Études Pour Piano: Fanfares and Arc-en-ciel .” DMA thesis, The Ohio State University, 2007.

Fennig, Andria Rachel. “A Performance Guide to William Bolcom’s Twelve Etudes (1971) andTwelve New Etudes (1988).” DMA thesis, Arizona State University, 2002.

Ganz, Peter Felix. “The Development of the Etude for Pianoforte.” PhD diss., NorthwesternUniversity, 1960.

Jones, Henry Scott. “William Bolcom’s “Twelve New Etudes for Piano.” DMA thesis, LouisianaState University, 1994.

Kuzmas, Janina. “Unifying Elements of John Corigliano’s Etude Fantasy.” DMA thesis,University of British Columbia, 2002.

Marler, Robert Dale. “The Role of the Piano Etude in the Works of Charles-Valentin Alkan.”

DMA thesis, University of Cincinnati, 1990.Lee, Ji Sun. “Revolutionary Etudes: The Expansion of Piano Technique Exploited in the Twelve

New Etudes of William Bolcom.” DMA thesis, University of Arizona, 2001.

Lee, Suzie. “A Recording Project of the Etudes Australes (Book I & II) By John Cage (1912– 1992).” DMA thesis, Arizona State University, 2006.

McAlexander, Dan K. “Works for Piano by William Bolcom: A Study in the Development of Musical Postmodernism.” DMA thesis, University of Cincinnati, 1994.

Rose, Margaret Ellen. “Coming to Terms with the Twentieth Century Using a NineteenthCentury Instrument: Virtuosity, Gesture and Visual Rhetoric in Contemporary PianoComposition and Performance.” PhD diss., University of California, San Diego, 1987.

Svard, Lois. “Illusion in Selected Keyboard Works of György Ligeti.” DMA thesis, PeabodyConservatory of Music, 1990.

Townsend, Alexandra. “The Problem of Form in György Ligeti’s Automne à Varsovie, FromÉtudes Pour Piano, Premier Livre.” DMA thesis, University of British Columbia, 1997.

Tsong, Mayron K. “Analysis or Inspiration? A Study of György Ligeti’s Automne à Varsovie.”DMA thesis, Rice University, 2002.

Wang, Ruby. “The Etude: From Inception to Present.” BM senior honors thesis, University of Utha, 2005.

Yang, Ching-Ling. “The Development of the Piano Etude from Muzio Clementi to AntonRubinstein: A Study of Selected Works from 1801 to 1870.” DMA thesis, University of North Carolina, 1998.



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Scores

Bolcom, William. 12 New Etudes for Piano. Milwaukee: Edward B. Marks Music Company,1988.

Cage, John. Etudes Australes I–II. New York: Henmar Press, 1975.Corigliano, John. Etude Fantasy for Solo Piano. Edited by James Tocco. New York: G. Schirmer,

1981.

Ligeti, György. Études Pour Piano, Premier Livre. Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, 1986.

Online Sources

Composer John Corigliano http://www.johncorigliano.com/index.php?p=item2&sub=cat

(accessed 20 May 2010).Composer John Corigliano

http://www.johncorigliano.com/index.php?p=item2&sub=cat&item=64 (accessed 20May 2010).

Concert for Piano and Orchestra http://www.johncage.info/workscage/concpiorch.html (accessed 22 March 2010).

Nordin, Igvar Loco. “John Cage Volume 9 – Etudes Australes - Sonoloco Record Reviews”http://home.swipnet.se/sonoloco10/dabringhaus/cage9.html (accessed 24 October 2009).

Pritchett, James. “Notes on John Cage’s Winter Music/ Atlas eclipticalis and 103” Writings onCage (& others) http://www.rosewhitemusic.com/cage/texts/Atlas103.html (accessed 22March 2010).

Recordings

Corigliano & Rzewski ballads & fantasies. David Jalbert, piano. END 1011 Endeavour Classics:Allegro Corp. ocm55230063. 2003.

John Cage: Complete Piano Music. Vol. 9. Steffen Schleiermacher, piano. MDG 613 0795-2MDG Scene. Ocm51522736. 2002.

Works by William Bolcom, Stefan Wolpe. Marc-André Hamelin, piano. NW354-2 New WorldRecords. Ocm63927999. 1988.









http://home.swipnet.se/sonoloco10/dabringhaus/cage9.html












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APPENDIX

INTERVIEW WITH PROFESSOR JAMES TOCCO

2 June 2010

Kang: Today, I would like to ask you about John Corigliano’s Etude Fantasy, especially

concerning specific elements of virtuosity and difficulties in performance.

Tocco: O.K., certainly...aspects of what?

Kang: Aspects of virtuosity and some technical difficulties. I would also like to get your opinion

of the characteristic of each etude as well as any suggestions you may have for the performance

of these demanding piano etudes.

Tocco: First of all, I would like to make a comment about what you said. Corigliano’s Etude

Fantasy, actually, is not based on the traditional form of the etude. Because, he specifically calls

it a “Fantasy,” because they are not five separate etudes. They are all it’s really one composition,

and if you look at it carefully, the first two etudes are mirrored in the fourth and fifth etudes. So,

it is a kind of––if you will–– an A-B-A form, or kind of an arch form with the middle etude,

“Fifths to Thirds,” serving as a kind of contrast to the material. If you want a lighter, more

carefree etude, you first start with a dramatic opening and the “Legato” etude, which follows.

They are mirrored by the etude in ornaments, which contrary to its name, is a very explosive

musical gesture and that is followed by what he calls simply, “Melody,” which is a reflection of

the “Legato,” the second etude. So the composition is not, they are not five [separate pieces],

even though one can, perhaps, extract them––I understand that he wrote a separate ending for the

first etude to be used in concert––but it was not his intention to view these as five separate

pieces, but it is one work, an unbroken work of fantasy. So in that respect, it is not the traditional

kind of etude.



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Kang: How about a comparison to Schumann’s Symphonic Etudes?

Tocco: Well, the Symphonic Etudes, again, those are not the traditional etudes, because it’s

merely a set of variations although he differentiates: some he calls, variations, another he calls,

obviously he calls, etudes. But it is obviously a different kind of work than, say, that twelve

etudes of Op. 10 of Chopin. Even though you do have, Schumann does have twelve etudes in

this particular work. So in that respect, it is untraditional in the same way that Schumann’s work

is untraditional. But Corigliano’s work is not based on Schumann’s work; it has nothing to do

with it. Now you wanted to know about...what was the question?

Kang: In what ways do you think Corigliano’s Etude Fantasy differ from the etudes of the

previous century or contemporary etudes? What is distinct or unusual?

Tocco: Even though each etude, what he calls an etude, where he designates an etude in the

form, and there are five of them. Each etude is based on specific technical and musical problem

to be solved. The fact of the matter is , it’s more, the piece is more than a collection of etudes, it

is really a fantasy, an arched one movement piece in five sections.

Kang: But don’t you think in the five movements, sections, didn’t he concentrate on a particular,

specific technical problem?

Tocco: Yes, that’s what I just said. Each section concentrates on particular technical and musical

problem. So, the first section concentrates on the problem of being able to play powerfully and

with strength and also with great virtuosity, just with the left hand. It includes the entire range of

the keyboard and sometimes you have to go very quickly from the extreme bass to the extreme

treble. That is the technical problem of the first etude.

The second etude, which in my way of thinking, is not really a separate segment, but is more like

an interlude between the left-hand etude and the “Fifths and Thirds.” He calls it “Legato,” which



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means that you strive for as connected a kind of sound as possible....a beautiful a connected

sound as possible. The third etude, “From Fifths to Thirds,” is an etude that explores a particular

technical device of closing the hands. You have fifth which is played the by first and fifth fingers

of the hand and that is followed immediately by a third which is played by the second and fourth

fingers. So basically, the third finger in this etude is most often left out. Almost all the etude is

sounded with just five-one and four-two in both hands. So, that’s a particular technical problem

that is exploited and explored. And then, in the fourth etude, you have what he calls the etude of

ornaments, all of the normal ornaments in the Baroque and the Romantic sense of appoggiaturas,

trills, mordents, and tremolos, and so forth, these are exploited very heavily and lead to an

incredibly explosive climax. And then the final etude is an etude in singing legato melody as its

title suggests.

Kang: In your experience of the performance, which section or which movement was very

difficult and virtuosic or physically difficult?

Tocco: They are all physically difficult in different ways. The first etude is incredibly

demanding, and as I said, because it takes to play just with left hand alone with enormous power.

And virtuosic drive, the fast passages, the repeated-note passages, the leaps from bass to treble

and so on and so forth, all takes great strength and stamina with the left hand, and then that is

followed by an etude that on paper does not look very difficult. The “Legato” etude is only two

pages long and there is nothing particularly virtuosic about it, in that, I mean, all the chords are

easily placed. However, to bring in after four and a half minutes of playing with tremendous

power just the left hand, and then suddenly to bring the right hand in and to have to subdue the

left hand to the right-hand sonority, it takes a very great control and that’s very difficult.



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And the third etude, the middle etude, I found to be particularly challenging because not just to

play the notes, because the notes themselves one can learn fairly quickly and the patterns fit the

hand very well, but he asked for specific differentiation of articulation.

Kang: He mentioned differences in articulation to you?

Tocco: Yes. Some of the phrases are marked with legato slurs, and they have to be played

cantabile and then others are marked without legato slurs and they have to be played more non-

legato, lighter and less singing touch. All of this, he wants to be done in tempo, without any

change in tempo whatsoever. So, that’s the great challenge of that etude. Then the fourth etude,

the etude of ornaments, is again an etude in dynamic contrast and in the ability to play with

power, but at the same time, to keep the melodic strands very clear. And it builds to an enormous

climax. And it has trills that are very demanding, just as demanding as the trills in the Brahms B-

minor Piano Concerto or any other kind of powerful trills that you have. It takes great stamina,

and you have to be able to build to this powerful climax convincingly in the literature, that is,

you cannot give your all at the beginning of the etude; but little by little you have to build to the

big climax at the end. And then the final etude, “Melody,” is again a study in control: control of

melodic line, control of balance not only between left hand and right hand but also between

accompanying material in the same hand, melody in the right hand played by fourth and fifth

fingers and accompanying material played by the first three fingers. All of that takes great

control. And you have more or less the same problem also in this etude that you do with the

second etude, that is that the etude in ornaments is so explosive and you have played with so

much power, you know, for almost the entire duration of the etude. That to follow that by

something completely different, which is very still, very quiet and hovers between pianissimo

and mezzo piano ––it doesn’t ever go beyond that––that’s very demanding.



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Kang: What do you think was Corigliano’s chief motivation for the style of these etudes?

Tocco: Motivation. His main motivation for the style of these etudes, for the style of this piece.

Well, his main motivation, I can tell you is to provide a...John is a composer who writes music

specifically for certain people. And, when he wrote this piece, he wrote it for me. And, I was the

one who designated him as the recipient of this commission. And, he wrote the piece specifically

for me as a performance vehicle. So that was his motivation. He wanted to write a piece that

would show my strengths as a performer.

Kang: I see, as a virtuoso pianist!

Tocco: Yeah, John does not write music in the abstract. He does not take an intellectual concept

and compose music in abstract. He writes music usually for certain performers, and he writes

also very much with an audience in mind. And he will come right out and say this to anybody

who asks him. His music is meant to be heard and responded to by an audience and usually is

meant for a particular performer. So, for instance, he wrote his “Pied Piper Fantasy” for James

Galway, the flutist. He wrote a clarinet concerto for Stanley Drucker, the first clarinetist of the

New York Philharmonic, an orchestra with whom John had a very long relationship because his

father was concertmaster of that orchestra for twenty-five years. So John knew all the members

of the orchestra very well, and he wrote this clarinet concerto for Stanley Drucker, knew exactly

what he could do and provided him a vehicle to best display his ability as a performer.

Kang: Did Corigliano ever mention to you what he was trying to accomplish?

Tocco: I think I just said what he was trying to accomplish. I think he was trying to

accomplish...of course, every composer is trying to express himself through his music. I mean,

he didn’t just write it for me. He wrote it because it’s music that he, after all, created and it is an



111

expression of himself. But, the music goes through a performer, right? And so, he wrote this very

much with me in mind.

Kang: Did he mention how he shaped this music in your image? How inspirational was your

character in this music?

Tocco: Well, the obvious example that I will give is the idea for opening the Etude Fantasy with

a piece for the left hand alone came from a recital that he attended that I gave at Alice Tully Hall

at Lincoln Center. And as my first encore of that recital, I played an etude for the left hand by the

Russian composer Felix Blumenfeld. So, this was where he got the idea to start the Etude

Fantasy with an etude for the left hand alone.

Kang: Interesting. What do you think is the overall mood or expression of this piece?

Tocco: The overall mood is tragic, and violent, and at the end, desolate...like a mood of despair

at the end.

Kang: You premiered, recorded, and edited the score of Corigliano’s Etude Fantasy. What

would you suggest to the performer to help solve some of the incredible technical difficulties?

Are there specific sections in each etude that you could discuss?

Tocco: Yes, the biggest problem with this work is one of stamina. And, in order to build stamina,

it’s the best to practice in small segments. Practice slowly and in small segments. You have to, I

think, build this piece one block at a time. Slow, steady practice!

Kang: Do you have any additional comments on Corigliano’s Etude Fantasy?

Tocco: Additional comments...well, I’ve heard a number of performances of this piece, of course,

since I myself premiered it and recorded it. In many of the performances that I have heard, what

has sometimes been missing has been rhythmic consistency. There are certain parts of the first

and fourth etudes that are rhythmically free, that are written without barlines and without meters.



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But then there are interspersed with those parts, sections that are very strictly rhythmic, with

definite meters and barlines, and those sections have to be very exact in their rhythmic precision.

And very often that’s not the case. So, I would suggest that anybody who is thinking of

performing this piece, that they pay special attention to that.

Kang: Why do you think performers miss that rhythmic consistency? Do you think it is difficult

to keep it?

Tocco: You know, it’s a problem particularly of, I think, performers who are trained in the

Romantic style. For many pianists who grew up in the mid-twentieth century as I did, we are

used to hearing and performing music of Stravinsky, of Copland, of composers like that who

have often shifting rhythms. And, we are specially trained to do these shifting rhythms very

exactly. But pianists who are not schooled in that particular style often have great difficulty with

it. You know, it’s not Rachmaninoff, and it’s not Tchaikovsky, and it’s not Brahms. It’s different,

it’s more precise, it’s more exacting in its rhythmic incision.

Kang: As the first pianist to play this work, did Corigliano ever ask your opinion on anything?

Were there any significant changes or revisions in this work?

Tocco: There were no changes, none at all. I played the work exactly as he gave it to me. But I

think he already incorporated a lot of ideas he had about my playing into the piece. You know, so

I felt that it was tailor-made like a glove. It just fit me right.

Kang: How do you think these pieces fit into the composer’s oeuvre?

Tocco: How does it fit into his ouevre? Well, it’s his most important piano piece, this and the

piano concerto. But, it’s the biggest solo piano piece that he’s written. He has also the Fantasia

on an Ostinato for the Van Cliburn Competition, but that’s a much smaller work in comparison.

This is a large-scale work, so it is his most important work for solo piano.



Kang: I have one more question. When did you edit the score? What kind of points did you put

into your edited score?

Tocco: Well first of all, editing the score meant proofreading. I have the manuscript to work

from, so when John gave me the copyist’s autograph, I proofread that. And I proofread the sheets

that came from Schirmer to make sure that there were no mistakes, because there are always

mistakes that creep in. And then, there are other places where I gave suggestions of fingering,

suggestions of pedaling, and certain practical suggestions, for instance, about regarding the

tremolos in the fourth movement for instance, you know, those have all been included in my

edition.

Kang: Those are all my questions for this interview. Thank you for your time.

Documents

Piano Concert Etudes_John Cage And