University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Folk Expression and the Modern Violist: A Creative Response to Hindemith’s Der Schwanendreher

Yan, Kun

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/133228

Description

Title
Folk Expression and the Modern Violist: A Creative Response to Hindemith’s Der Schwanendreher
Author(s)
Yan, Kun
Issue Date
2026
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Tharp, Reynold
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Tharp, Reynold
Committee Member(s)
  • Freivogel, Elizabeth
  • Eagen-Jones, M. (EJ)
  • Haken, Rudolf
Department of Study
School of Music
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
A.Mus.D. (doctoral)
Date of Ingest
2026-05-11T14:09:33-05:00
Keyword(s)
  • Hindemith
  • Der Schwanendreher
  • Chinese folk music
  • Viola sonata
  • Composition
  • Cross-cultural
  • New Music
Language
eng
Abstract
This scholarly essay examines how Paul Hindemith's compositional techniques in Der Schwanendreher (1935) can serve as a model for creating new viola music based on Chinese folk materials. The study analyzes Hindemith's treatment of medieval German folk songs through contrapuntal writing, linear voicing, and free dissonance—techniques that transform folk melodies into modern contexts while showcasing viola virtuosity. Drawing on this model, the project documents the composition of an original three-movement viola sonata, which adapts these principles to Chinese sources. The first movement incorporates folk songs from Sichuan and Yunnan provinces using linear voicing and quartal harmony. The second movement follows the narrative structure of Qin Guan's Song Dynasty poem Immortals at the Magpie Bridge, organizing its ternary form according to the classical Chinese poetic principle of qǐ-chéng-zhuǎnhé (opening, continuation, turn, closure). The third movement draws on the Peking Opera The Case of Chen Shimei and incorporates elements from Daoist and Buddhist musical traditions, while imitating timbres of Chinese instruments. By bridging German and Chinese folk traditions through the lens of Hindemith’s music, this project expands the viola repertoire and offers a model for cross-cultural synthesis in contemporary classical music.
Type of Resource
text
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2026 Kun Yan

Owning Collections

Doctoral Project Papers [Option 3] - Music PRIMARY