University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Ida Gotkovsky’s saxophone works: A comparative study of Brillance, Variations Pathetiques, and Incandescence

Augustine, Scott Patrick

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Scott Augustine_thesis.pdf

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/120028

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Title
Ida Gotkovsky’s saxophone works: A comparative study of Brillance, Variations Pathetiques, and Incandescence
Author(s)
Augustine, Scott Patrick
Issue Date
2023
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Takao, Makoto Harris
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Richtmeyer, Debra
Committee Member(s)
  • Peterson, Elizabeth
  • Lund, Emeritus Erik
  • Reagan, Maureen
Department of Study
School of Music
Discipline
Music
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
A.Mus.D. (doctoral)
Date of Ingest
2023-07-17T10:47:12-05:00
Keyword(s)
  • Gotkovsky
  • Brillance
  • Variations Pathetiques
  • Incandescence
  • Intertextuality
  • self-borrowing
  • Credo
  • saxophone
Language
en
Abstract
French composer Ida Gotkovsky has written prolifically for the saxophone. Born in 1933, she attended the Paris Conservatory and studied with two of the most celebrated composer- pedagogues of the twentieth century, Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992) and Nadia Boulanger (1887–1979). Gotkovsky became an ambassador of French music across the world and is most recognized for her music for wind band and wind instruments. While many saxophonists know of her music, research on her compositions for the instrument is scarce despite the extensive number of these works written during the late twentieth century. Gotkovsky represents a synthesis of her teachers’ approach to composition and the compositional traditions of the Paris Conservatory in the formation of her unique musical language and handling of melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre, form, and style. By observing these musical properties and qualities found within Gotkovsky’s music, the compositional influence of her teachers at the Paris Conservatory, and musical attributes within the French tradition, this paper offers a comparative study of her compositional style for the saxophone across her works Brillance (1974), Variations Pathétiques (1980), and Incandescence (2011). Additionally, an intertextual method will be used to identify and connect instances whereby Gotkovsky borrows materials from her previous pieces and places them within new contexts. This project thus provides a clearer understanding of her approach to composing for the saxophone for the benefit of both the performer and the listener.
Type of Resource
  • text
  • still image
Copyright and License Information
© 2022 Scott Patrick Augustine

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Doctoral Project Theses [Option 2] - Music PRIMARY