Mystical Soundscapes: Performance Guide to Rautavaara’s Etudes, Op. 42

This document examines Einojuhani Rautavaara’s Etudes, Op. 42 (1969) from a performance perspective. Although Rautavaara’s orchestral and choral works have received substantial scholarly and public attention, his solo piano music has received comparatively little performance-based study. As his only set of piano etudes, Etudes, Op. 42 occupies an important place in both his piano output and his stylistic development.This study combines background research on Rautavaara’s life, musical language, and piano works with a performance guide to the six etudes, drawing on the author’s own study and performance experience to address issues directly related to performance. It argues that the Etudes, Op. 42 should be understood not only as a set of technical studies, but also as a group of concert works with distinct musical identities. The document aims to clarify the technical and musical demands of the Etudes, Op. 42 and to demonstrate its value as both performance repertoire and pedagogical material.

Name thesis:degree_name

D.M.A.

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Music

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Kansas

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Xu, Zhengyu

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Smith, Scott

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

https://www.proquest.com/LegacyDocView/DISSNUM/32698396

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/39550