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Politics and the Piano during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in China: An Analysis of Three Piano Works, "Music at Sunset" (1975), "Hundreds of Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" (1973), and "Liuyang River" (1972)

As a political disturbance and social movement, the Cultural Revolution hugely impacted the development of Chinese piano art. The piano went through many stages throughout this ten-year period. This dissertation examines the suppression and later expansion of piano music in China during the Cultural Revolution, along with the historical motivations and forces that shaped each stage of its development. The study is supported by historical documents and relevant literature. This dissertation includes an analysis of the roles that piano music played during this era and the piano's relationship with the Cultural Revolution's modernizing goals. The analysis focuses on the musical characteristics of three piano pieces from this period and explores the instrument's historical importance, to better understand how Chinese piano music maintained a careful balance between its value as a tool for socio-political propaganda and its transformation under the burden of political pressure and creative limitations. Additionally, this dissertation examines playing techniques in these works that define a distinctly Chinese piano style that is enormously popular today. To complement the dissertation, these piano pieces were performed during the dissertation recital.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc2179271
Date07 1900
CreatorsLiu, Yuanshi
ContributorsViardo, Vladimir, 1949-, Ragland, Catherine, Chesky, Kris
PublisherUniversity of North Texas
Source SetsUniversity of North Texas
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis or Dissertation
FormatText
RightsPublic, Liu, Yuanshi, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights Reserved.

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