A study of piano works by Formusica: The 'New Taiwan Music Piano Works, Volumes I--VII' (China, Mao-Shuen Chen, En Wang)

This dissertation provides the first systematic study of the New Taiwan Music Piano Works (Piano Works), created by Formusica Arbeitsgruppe der Komponisten, the group of dedicated composers established by the Wach (German for "Awake") School of Music founded in 1983 in Taipei. The founding of the Wach School and the composition of the Piano Works is the result of an innovative effort initiated by two highly respected Chinese musicians and educators---Professor Mao-Shuen Chen and Professor En Wang. Their goal was to reestablish and promote a wider interest in and appreciation of native Chinese and Taiwanese music among Taiwanese students, performers, and audiences. The Piano Works collection currently includes one hundred thirty-six pieces published in seven volumes with an eighth volume in progress.; Formusica, now the most important and influential organization of native composers in Taiwan, plays the leading role in encouraging the composition of new Taiwanese music, and also provides opportunities for Taiwanese music to be heard by the public. Formusica continues to work avidly to develop a complete music pedagogy composed solely of Taiwanese composers' works, suitable for effectively training Taiwan's music students. The varied compositions of the Piano Works have been written with attention to three goals shared by Formusica and Wach: (1) to bring forth new ideas in music composition, (2) to preserve and promote an appreciation of traditional music customs, and (3) to support music education while deepening the personal experience of musical study.; This dissertation examines the origins and ambitions of Formusica and the Wach School, surveys the historical features affecting Taiwanese music, and provides an in-depth analysis of the musical components of the Piano Works with a chapter devoted to each of the following: Chinese modes and scales, modern compositional techniques and notations, Taiwanese native folk traditions, and pedagogical elements. The preparation of these analyses involved both close study of the Piano Works and personal interviews with many of the composers and also the founders of the Wach School, whose pioneering and courageous project has already begun to succeed in reestablishing a deeper appreciation of both native and contemporary music among the people of Taiwan.