Noh Influences in the Piano Music of Joji Yuasa

Yuasa is among the contemporary composers who have given serious thought to the structuring of time in music. Yuasa's approach is unique in that it draws heavily on one of the Japanese traditional art forms, Noh, which Yuasa has studied since his childhood. Yuasa's music is influenced by Noh both technically (in its sounds and methods) and metaphorically (in its aesthetic and spiritual qualities). However, even in technical ways, his music never becomes a superficial imitation or reproduction of Noh music. Rather, Yuasa analyzed the characteristics of Noh and transformed them to suit his own musical language. This thesis discusses Noh influences on Yuasa's solo piano works, with particular attention to his approach to time and space. The four works discussed in this paper are Cosmos Haptic (1957), Projection Topologic (1959), On the Keyboard (1972), and Cosmos Haptic II (1986). Two earlier works for solo piano, Two Pastorals (1952) and Three Score-Set (1953) (both published by Zen-on Music), are not included because they were written before Yuasa established his own musical language. The study is organized into four chapters: (1) introduction; Yuasa's biographical and musical background; (2) the rhythmic structure of Noh music; (3) a detailed analysis of the four solo piano pieces; (4) a conclusion which attempts to summarize Noh influences in Yuasa's piano music.

Name thesis:degree_name

D.M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Music

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Kushida, Mari

Contributors dc:contributor

• Brooks, William

• Music

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI9904515

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/85853