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Western art music is relatively new in Vietnam, with a colonial history that started in the late nineteenth century. Early European music exposure in Vietnam was part of French mission civilisatrice and was later taken over by the Vietnamese with the establishment of the Vietnam Academy of Music in 1956. The development and progress of classical music, however, was hindered by the Vietnam war and facility limitations throughout most of the country’s modern history. Despite the obstacles, Vietnamese musicians continued to operate the school and to train generations of musicians. Vietnamese composers also managed to produce a substantial amount of repertoire in various genres: orchestra, chamber, solo instrument, songs, and more. Within the relatively small solo instrumental output, piano music occupies a major part. These works, however, remain unknown due to lack of performance and information. Given the author’s main interest and focus as a pianist, the first chapter of this paper offers an overview of the development and dissemination of European classical music in Vietnam as context for the subsequent chapters, which focuses on compositions for piano. The next chapter provides some discussion about the general development of style and aesthetics of Vietnamese classical music. The final chapter provides a closer look at some representative composers and their piano works, with historical background, musical analysis, and performance commentary. / Music Performance

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Korean traditional music has a popularity problem among Korea's contemporary audiences; given the choice of what to listen to, few South Koreans choose to listen to gugak. To address and overcome this popularity problem, traditional Korean musicians are negotiating and reconstructing traditional Korean music by adopting, appropriating, and altering elements of Korean and international pop music. To this end, Gugak groups recently have been incorporating western musical practices and aesthetics in their performances in digital platforms (YouTube and reality television programs) and in concerts to contemporize the genre and develop a more positive relationship between Koreans and their national music. Groups like E-sang are redefining and re-inventing Korean folk music worldwide as something I call "pop gugak." New pop gugak is in the process of reconstructing the meaning of Korean-ness.

In this thesis, the use of the fusion genre in contemporary music is examined through the lens of Kurbeats' album Folktronica. The study aims to expand the understanding of what could characterize a fusion genre, and how folktronica could is an example of that. To achieve this, a theoretical hermeneutic spiral was employed, wherein three chosen songs from the album Folktronica were analyzed in three rounds. The analysis revealed that Kurbeats has successfully blended traditional Swedish folk music with electronic music to create a distinct hybrid genre, which the band has dubbed folktronica. This folktronica can be characterized by the combined elements of both traditional Swedish folk music and modern electronic music. Folktronica as a genre also works as a way to describe why bands and musicians chose to combine folk music with new modern music. It is a way of helping the music traditions live on and survive. The study concludes that the album serves as a noteworthy example of the fusion genre in contemporary music and contributes to the ongoing discourse on the subject.

"The strings of the soul” is a master thesis which explores questions about tradition, itsexpression in music and especially folk music. It illuminates some differences betweentraditional and folk music. It explores Russian and Swedish folk music traditions, comparingboth of the traditions and identifying differences and similarities.The instruments that are used in the project are the Russian balalaika and the Swedish keyedfiddle (nyckelharpa).To implement those ideas in the research and enable these encounters I got in contact withmusicians playing the keyed fiddle. Under the tutorial I got some knowledge in keyed fiddleplaying techniques, its character and uniqueness. I participated in several playing sessions andgot an opportunity to experience Swedish folk music.The aim of this project is to seek a better understanding both of my “native” tradition ofRussian music, as well as of Swedish folk music, by exploring Swedish folk music throughthe performance practices of the balalaika. Hereby I wish to better understand theperformance practice of the Russian balalaika tradition, by using the instrument inperformance of Swedish folk music.The project is guided by the following research questions:How can Swedish folk music best be adapted for the balalaika?In what ways can the traditional performance practice of the balalaika be challenged bymaking arrangements of music originally conceived for the keyed fiddle?Are there any balalaika playing techniques that have the ability to imitate the sound of thekeyed fiddle?What novel possibilities may the balalaika offer to folk music originally conceived for thekeyed fiddle?Are there any difficulties in playing Swedish folk music on the balalaika?As a result of encounter process five arrangements were written, performed and recorded.As the source I used Swedish folk pieces for the keyed fiddle. “Spelmansglädje” - ”Fiddler´sJoy” by Erik Sahlström; “Vi är komna uti flickors land”, trad.; ”Finn Pål´s polska” of PaulDanielsson; ”Järv i säcken”- “Säkkijärvi polka”, trad.; ”Slängpolska efter Byss Kalle”, trad.For me personally, this research has given me the possibility to express myself as a musician,an artist and a researcher. It shows where I´m right now and how all this is related to myexperience as an individual and as a musician.Keywords: tradition; tradition in music; folk music; encounters; playing techniques;knowledge; experience; arrangement.

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