Aaron Copland's Clarinet Concerto was written for jazz clarinetist Benny Goodman.
The work's incorporation of popular elements, particularly jazz, has led to the perception
that it is a "lightweight" representative of Copland's output. However, the concerto shares
many characteristics with French neoclassical works of the 1920's and SCfs, and
demonstrates a highly skilled construction that belies this label. The neoclassical aspect of
the concerto raises important questions as to whether the jazz elements in the piece are
really central to its expressive essence, or whether they merely reflect a choice of materials
common to Copland and to other neoclassical composers.
This dissertation is directed to the potential performer who wishes to have a better
knowledge of the concerto's performance issues. It discusses the influence of neoclassicism
on Copland's compositional style, gives the historical background to the Clarinet Concerto's
composition, and outlines its general stylistic characteristics. The concerto's structure is
examined in detail, and then applied to the work's performance issues, as the document
investigates the performance practice of the piece through the study of recordings.
The purpose of this dissertation is not to burden performers with a detailed set of
instructions to be followed in performing the concerto. Rather, it aims to equip them with
the techniques necessary to developing an individual, personal interpretation, based on a
thorough understanding of the piece.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/4810 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Yeo, Lisa Lorraine Gartrell |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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