The twelve-tone serial technique was developed by Schönberg, to create structure within atonal compositions. The String Quartet by Graham Newcater is a serial composition and the tone row used in this work, consists of atonal qualities. The tone row consists of small intervals and chromatic notes and can therefore be classified as an atonal row. The writer was interested in the fact that Graham Newcater is a relatively unknown South African composer. In chapter 2, a short biographical overview explains how the serial technique took root in his compositions. He is the only South African composer that only composes music using the twelve-tone serial technique. The different types of twelve-tone rows are discussed and illustrated by music examples in Chapter 3. In chapter 4, the application of the serial technique in the String Quartet is illustrated. In addition, chapter 4 includes an investigation into total serialism. In Composers of South Africa Today, Mary Rörich states that Newcater makes use of total serialism in the String Quartet (Klatzow 1987:109). This implies that other aspects of the composition, like dynamics and rhythm, are also subject to serialism. It is found, however, that there is no correlation between these aspects (dynamics and rhythm), and the serial content of the String Quartet. This mathematically structured technique is taken even further in composing the first movement of the String Quartet in palindrome form. The palindrome is discussed in chapter 5, including examples of palindromes from works by other composers. The third movement of the String Quartet does not only form its own palindrome, but it is also an inversion of the palindrome in the first movement. Newcater writes the following about his use of the twelve-tone serial technique: At one level I view music as a scientific and technical job, an engineering design, if you like. A mystical relationship arises between the constituent notes of a row, which should be given free play and not inhibited or distorted by over-rigorous application of the system. The twelve-tone system brings about subtle weights of sound which would never occur otherwise…the twelve-tone system offers a divine relation. It is the source not only of music but of mystic truth. (Klatzow 1987: 106) / Dissertation (MMus)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / tm2015 / Music / MMus / Unrestricted

The piano sonata’s prominent position in Western art music is reflected in both its long history and its presence in the oeuvres of composers from across the globe. While some information on piano sonatas by South African composers has been included in academic literature, no comprehensive research has been done in the field. This lacuna is addressed in this thesis of which the main research strategy is analytical, without precluding other data-collection methods such as literature studies, archival research and consultation with composers. The thesis comprises an introductory chapter with background information and an outline of the principal research aim and objectives; a general literature review of scholarly work in the field; a summary of academic literature on solo piano sonatas by South African composers; detailed analyses of two recent and diametrically opposed 21st-century solo piano sonatas, by Hendrik Hofmeyr (1957- ) and Graham Newcater (1941- ) respectively; and a final chapter with concluding remarks. Detailed catalogues of sonatas by South African composers, for piano as well as for other instruments, are included as appendices. Findings show that in correspondence with international trends, the piano sonata has held a prominent role in South African music-making with more than 230 works completed since 1900. A chronological estimation shows a more-or-less gradual increase in the number of sonatas composed up to 1975. 30 works were finalised between 2006 and 2015, suggesting that many contemporary composers continue to reference sonata structures as a guiding principle in largescale forms. The characteristics of the majority of sonatas analysed and those discussed in the literature summary correlate to some extent with 19th- and 20th-century traditions. There are nevertheless also various exceptions and novel explorations of traditional sonata practices. From a stylistic perspective, the works engage with a range of international aesthetic discourses, constantly repositioned within the post-colonial, South African zeitgeist. The sonata’s prominent position in South African art music is not only reflected in the historically high frequency of its use, but also in the ways the sonata paradigm is continuously being reinvented, deconstructed and developed to reflect the country’s idiosyncratic and dynamic cultural identity