The purpose of this study is to identify and elucidate the unique aspects of Isang Yun's compositional style through in-depth examination of his piano chamber works: Gasa for Violin and Piano, Garak for Flute and Piano, Nore for Cello and Piano and Riul for Clarinet and Piano. Isang Yun (1917-1995), a Korean-born composer, is renowned for having established a compositional language which expresses Eastern thought in music crafted from Western musical elements. He was a pioneer and leader who created new compositional techniques in his efforts to combine Western styles with Korean musical traditions. He achieved international acclaim for his highly developed compositional techniques such as Haupttontechnik (Main-tone Technique) and Hauptklangtechnik (Sound-complex Technique), which modernized and westernized ancient Korean performance practices and native Korean music traditions. Four chamber works for piano by Isang Yun are used to trace the development of his use of twelve-tone technique and Haupttontechnik and to identify the connection between his spiritual philosophies and his music. This essay provides these insights to give the reader a more complete understanding of the life and music of Isang Yun.

Composer Isang Yun developed an idiosyncratic musical language that blends Eastern-Asian and Western-European art traditions. Exiled from Korea due to political conflict, he continued his compositional career in Germany, where his music is renowned for its use of the Hauptton (“main-tone”) technique. Yun was the first to discuss this technique, which he interprets as a process rooted in East-Asian musical traditions, including Taoism philosophy. His music is remarkable in that it fuses this process within the context of Western formal structures. I combine Straus’s associational model with Yun’s Hauptton theory to analyse the second movement of Duo für Violoncello und Harfe (1984) in order to show the inclusion of Eastern-Asian and Western-European musical elements in Yun’s music. I begin by analysing several Haupttöne at the surface level through associational relationships, followed by a large-scale analysis of the entire movement with one fundamental Hauptton.

Composer Isang Yun developed an idiosyncratic musical language that blends Eastern-Asian and Western-European art traditions. Exiled from Korea due to political conflict, he continued his compositional career in Germany, where his music is renowned for its use of the Hauptton (“main-tone”) technique. Yun was the first to discuss this technique, which he interprets as a process rooted in East-Asian musical traditions, including Taoism philosophy. His music is remarkable in that it fuses this process within the context of Western formal structures. I combine Straus’s associational model with Yun’s Hauptton theory to analyse the second movement of Duo für Violoncello und Harfe (1984) in order to show the inclusion of Eastern-Asian and Western-European musical elements in Yun’s music. I begin by analysing several Haupttöne at the surface level through associational relationships, followed by a large-scale analysis of the entire movement with one fundamental Hauptton.

Composer Isang Yun developed an idiosyncratic musical language that blends Eastern-Asian and Western-European art traditions. Exiled from Korea due to political conflict, he continued his compositional career in Germany, where his music is renowned for its use of the Hauptton (“main-tone”) technique. Yun was the first to discuss this technique, which he interprets as a process rooted in East-Asian musical traditions, including Taoism philosophy. His music is remarkable in that it fuses this process within the context of Western formal structures. I combine Straus’s associational model with Yun’s Hauptton theory to analyse the second movement of Duo für Violoncello und Harfe (1984) in order to show the inclusion of Eastern-Asian and Western-European musical elements in Yun’s music. I begin by analysing several Haupttöne at the surface level through associational relationships, followed by a large-scale analysis of the entire movement with one fundamental Hauptton.

Isang Yun (1917-1995), one of the most important avant-garde German-Korean composers, is perhaps best known for his success at integrating Korean musical elements into traditional Western styles. His Concerto for Oboe, Oboe d'amore, and Orchestra incorporates many traditional Korean elements, and uses techniques such as Hauptton, Hauptklang, and Umspielung to blend these elements into a Western musical style. This study explores the elements of traditional Korean music and instruments present in Yun's score, examines his compositional techniques, and makes practical performance suggestions that allow performers to properly convey his intentions. This dissertation includes six chapters. The first chapter discusses the purpose and importance of the study. The second chapter reviews Isang Yun's biography and works, based on a published interview with Yun and a biography written by his wife of many years. The third chapter introduces the characteristics of traditional Korean woodwind instruments relevant to the work. The fourth chapter examines Yun's compositional techniques of Hauptton, Hauptklang, and Umspielung in the work and their relationship with the main-tone and Sigimsae techniques. The fifth chapter introduces and explores different types of Sigimsae in the work, with suggestions for quarter-tone performance techniques. The sixth and last chapter is a conclusion.