Approachable Contemporary Piano Repertoire! A Study of Selected Piano Works by Two Living Composers: David Duke and Stefan Young
Abstract
This lecture recital is to introduce piano compositions by two living composers: David Duke and Stefan Young. The repertoire chosen includes: Preludes (1980s), Postcards (1980s), and Sonatina (1977) by David Duke; and From the Dark Woods (1991), Meditation (2002), and La Guitarra (1993) by Stefan Young. Both composers were born in the mid-1900s. Their music represents styles ranging from classical to contemporary. These pieces provide effective early engagement with contemporary idioms and are viable substitutes for standard works featuring similar twentieth-century compositional techniques and ideas. It is hoped that this presentation will promote pianists’ and teachers’ appreciation of contemporary music, thus fostering the support and development of new music.
Contemporary compositional techniques will be broken down into categories: rhythm and meter, harmony and tonality, unusual scales, and other features. Examples to be shown include: shifting accent, changing meter, unmeasured score, polyrhythm, secundal harmony, quartal harmony, polytonality, atonality, parallelism, ostinato, octatonic scales, whole tone scales, pentatonic scales, blues progression, and quotation.
The various levels of piano literature by Duke and Young can be generally divided into three main categories: elementary, intermediate, and advanced. Each of these categories may be further subdivided into early, middle, and late levels. The compositions presented in this presentation range from early elementary to early advanced levels.
Presentation Type: Lecture Recital
Recording Date: December 2016
Recording Location: University of the Incarnate Word
Performer: Dr. Wei Chen Lin
Duration: 22:21
Selected Bibliography
Books and Dissertations
Hahn, Christopher Charles. “Canadian Pedagogical Piano Repertoire Since 1970: A Survey of Contemporary Compositional Styles and Techniques.” D.M.A. document, University of Oklahoma, 2005
Ross, Susan. “Music Reflects Duke’s Current Interest.” The Music Scene No. 334 (November-December 1983): 5, 22
Young, Stefan Hayden. “Andante and Allegro for Piano and Orchestra: An Original Composition and Analysis.” Ph.D. Thesis, Rutgers University, 1981
Music Scores
(All scores are used with the permissions from the composers)
Published Piano Music
Duke, David. Sonatina. Waterloo: Waterloo Music Co. Limited, 1985
_______. Preludes. Avansdale, 2016
Unpublished Piano Scores
Duke, David. Postcards. Score, 1980s, available from the composer.
Young, Stefan. From the Dark Woods. Score, 1991, available from the composer.
_______. La Guitarra. Score, 1993, available from the composer.
_______. Meditation. Score, 2002, available from the composer.
Last modified on Wednesday, 26/09/2018
Wei Chen Lin
Dr. Wei Chen (Bruce) Lin, holds degrees from University of British Columbia, Westminster Choir College of Rider University, and West Virginia University.
Dr. Lin has performed throughout Canada, Mexico, Taiwan, and the USA. He made his first orchestral appearance with the West Coast Symphony in 2002. In addition to his career as a soloist, he is an active chamber musician. He has been featured in music festivals including the Chamber Music Institute at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Chamber Music Unbound, Las Vegas Music Festival, Mountain View International Festival of Song and Chamber Music, Scotia Music Festival, and Tuckamore Chamber Music Festival. His performances have been heard on U92 West Virginia Radio Station and Mexico City Cultural Channel. In 2008-09, he completed two artist residencies at The Banff Center where he collaborated with musicians from around the world.
With his passion for teaching, Dr. Lin is Assistant Professor of Piano at Texas Lutheran University and on the keyboard faculty at the University of the Incarnate Word. Prior to this, he was at West Virginia University where he taught applied piano, class piano, and supervised the piano proficiency requirement. He has maintained a private teaching studio for pre-collegiate and adult students since 2000. Other previous positions include Camp Encore/Coda, Chamber Music Unbound, Kamloops Interior Summer School of Music, Tom Lee Music Academy, and Westminster Conservatory. His students have achieved high marks in the Music Development Program, won several prizes in musical competitions, and many were accepted into collegiate music programs.
Dr. Lin is an active member of MTNA and CMS. He presents workshops and adjudicates competitions regularly.