Stylistic Elements and Performance Interpretation in Emile Naoumoff’s Piano Sonata (1980/2002)

Xu, Xiaomei

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/133240 Copy

Description

Title

Stylistic Elements and Performance Interpretation in Emile Naoumoff’s Piano Sonata (1980/2002)

Author(s)

Xu, Xiaomei

Issue Date

2026

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Tharp, Reynold

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Sennet, Rochelle

Committee Member(s)

• Eagen-Jones, Megan
• Miller, Thornton

Department of Study

School of Music

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

A.Mus.D. (doctoral)

Date of Ingest

2026-05-12T14:09:13-05:00

Keyword(s)

• Emile Naoumoff
• Piano Sonata
• Performance Interpretation
• Stylistic Pluralism
• Musical Analysis

Language

eng

Abstract

This thesis examines Emile Naoumoff’s Piano Sonata (1980/2002) as a work in which four recurring stylistic influences converge and considers the performance implications of such stylistic pluralism. Rather than assigning the work to a single stylistic “period,” the study identifies four recurring influences in Naoumoff’s piano writing: neoclassical form, texture, and sonority; Bulgarian-derived rhythmic and modal gestures and drone-based sonorities; a French lineage associated with Gabriel Fauré and linear voice-leading; and an improvisatory style shaped through written-out flexibility and cadenza-like episodes. This thesis thus argues that Emile Naoumoff’s Piano Sonata (1980/2002) embodies a coherent stylistic pluralism in which four influences interact not as competing fragments, but as a productive source of musical tension and expressive unity. A movement-by-movement reading of the 2002 version shows how these elements coexist and interact within traditional formal frames, often producing passages in which local tonal centers emerge and then dissolve through chromatic saturation and non functional voice-leading. The final chapter translates these findings into practical guidance on rhythm and accent grouping, voicing and texture, and pedaling, offering an interpretive framework for pianists preparing the sonata.

Type of Resource

text

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2026 Xiaomei Xu

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