Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) composed two sonatas for violin and piano, first one in 1897 and the later one during the period between 1923 and 1927. The first sonata wasn¡¦t discovered until 1975. The second one is more popular nowadays. In addition to the introduction and the conclusion, this thesis is divided into three chapters. The first chapter provides general information of these two sonatas. It emphasizes on the deep thoughts had given during Revel¡¦s composing, and records of the leading performers and performances of the two sonatas for violin and piano. In chapter two, the author analyzes and compares the structures and the writing methods for each movement from both sonatas. In addition, the author integrates correlations and the breakthrough points in each movement from both sonatas. Last chapter explores the violin techniques of these two works. Musical and technical suggestions are provided on the execution and interpretation. These two sonatas are the only ones written for violin and piano among all the strings chamber music works by Maurice Ravel. They are also the first and the last strings chamber music works Ravel composed. Each of the sonatas represents different music era of Ravel. The similarities and differences of writing style and violin technique used by Ravel in these two sonatas are presented in this thesis. The diversity of Ravel's sonatas for violin and piano certainly enriches the repertoire of performing violinists.

Claude Debussy is one of the most important composers in France in the late nineteenth century. Since Debussy¡¦s compositional style is similar to with the ¡§Impressionism¡¨ in painting which prevails at that time. As a result, Debussy¡¦s compositional style is considered as the Impressionism in music. This study provides an overall view of the Debussy¡¦s final work, ¡§Violin Sonata¡¨, which displays the hazy atmosphere of Impressionism. The showing virtuostic techniques of Debussy¡¦s violin sonata are greatly different from the works of Henry Wieniawski and Pablo de Sarasate who emphasize on showing virtuostic technique. This sonata expresses rich and imaginary feelings by particular alternation of tone color, requiring many musical terminologies that exactly indicate not only the change of the tempo but also the position of the playing so that player can achieve an ideal timbre or convey the emotion. Except the preface and conclusion, this thesis includes two parts. The first part discusses about Debussy and Impressionism, briefly introducing his life and raising examples to show some characters of Impressionism in this work. The second part describes the historical background of his violin sonata and his compositional techniques on rhythm and musical figure such as ostinato, tautaphony, polyphony. Moreover, it also respectively explores how to express the emotion and the appropriate performance techniques for dealing with the dynamics with Debussy¡¦s instructions on each chapter.

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This dissertation analyzes the first movements of three chamber works -- the Piano trio (1914), the Duo for violin and cello (1920-22), and the Sonata for violin and piano (1923-27) -- and situates their harmonic procedures in relation to important developments within Parisian musical culture. Chapter 1 explores Ravel's early harmonic style, in particular, how he blends nontonal harmonic procedures and tonality within the framework of the sonata as seen in the first movements of his String quartet and Sonatine. Chapter 2 analyzes the Piano trio, which culminates the early phase of Ravel's career with a sophisticated amalgamation of pre-war musical trends, such as extended harmonies and formal inventiveness, with an early wartime emphasis on reduced textures and melodic primacy. In the post-war years, Ravel was forced to adjust to a new role, in which he was no longer at the forefront of musical developments, but rather the follower of a group of young, avant-garde composers. His two post-war compositions, the Duo for violin and cello and the Violin sonata, articulate the struggles he faced with composition in the 1920s. Criticized for having an out-moded aesthetic, he modified his compositional style by incorporating and adapting new harmonic techniques. Drawing on Peter Kaminsky's theory of monotonality and dual pitch organization, chapter 3 examines Ravel's harmonic language in the Duo through linear analysis. Ravel's attempt to incorporate contemporary harmonic procedures however was not sufficient to compete with the more progressive works of Les Six or Stravinsky's burgeoning neoclassicism. As a result, Ravel re-evaluated his craft by rethinking his engagements with the musical avant-garde. The analysis of the Violin sonata in chapter 4 reveals that harmonically, deeper levels of dissonance require pitch prioritization intimately bound to formal function. Unlike the Duo, Ravel presents a more innovative formal design in the Violin sonata, where boundaries are blurred and formal functions are juxtaposed. Chapter 5 concludes with a comparative analysis of the first movements of Ravel's Piano trio, Duo and Violin sonata and their evolving harmonic practices. / text

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The American composer Charles Ives is well known for musical quotation/borrowing: composing music with or from pre-existing musical sources, such as folk tunes, hymns, chants, or other composers' works. His Third Violin Sonata is one of few works that used his unique technique of cumulative setting with only hymn tunes. For analysis of his instrumental music, the text of the hymn tunes is generally disregarded, as the compositions are for instruments. Ives' Third Violin Sonata is challenging to understand in comparison with other violin sonatas, because it lacks information such as titles and subtitles. Even though Ives never mentioned the piece's meanings or extramusical meanings, almost all the elements of the piece indicate hope as a common theme. This dissertation examines which hymn tunes were quoted in the piece, gives the meanings of the hymn tunes, and discusses how Ives uses these tunes as themes with textual meanings. The study includes a brief life of Ives and his historical circumstances and presents a brief musical analysis. The research should give a better understanding of the piece to performers and others curious about it.