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Etudes as exercises or explorations : a study of selected etudes for piano by Claude Debussy
Author
Loh, Jee Kean
Supervisor
Dairianathan, Eugene
Abstract
One cannot deny the notion of technical exercises when reference is made to the term "etude". Translating itself from French to English to mean "study", this term has had different connotations throughout the history of music. The first part of my paper examines the genesis of this term, how it was received through time as well as the marginalised difference between an etude and an exercise.
With that in mind, I would like to draw attention to the etudes written by the French composer, Claude Debussy. Are his etudes mere exercises, or do they provide us with explorations of new technical and musical possibilities? These questions sprung forth from a video recording* of Mitsuko Uchida's discussion-cum performance of Debussy's etudes. Out of the twelve etudes, I have selected two for analysis, and I will discuss the difficulties that they pose to their performers, whether these difficulties are unique in Debussy's case, and how these difficulties qualify them as explorations of new ideas. Various ironies have surfaced in the course of my study of Debussy's etudes, and in order to bring out these ironies, it would be necessary to be look into the social and historical circumstances that surround this work when it was conceived in the year 1915.
With that in mind, I would like to draw attention to the etudes written by the French composer, Claude Debussy. Are his etudes mere exercises, or do they provide us with explorations of new technical and musical possibilities? These questions sprung forth from a video recording* of Mitsuko Uchida's discussion-cum performance of Debussy's etudes. Out of the twelve etudes, I have selected two for analysis, and I will discuss the difficulties that they pose to their performers, whether these difficulties are unique in Debussy's case, and how these difficulties qualify them as explorations of new ideas. Various ironies have surfaced in the course of my study of Debussy's etudes, and in order to bring out these ironies, it would be necessary to be look into the social and historical circumstances that surround this work when it was conceived in the year 1915.
Date Issued
2001
Call Number
MT220 Loh
Date Submitted
2001