Research On Transcriptions For Solo Piano Of Chu Wang-hua

Chu Wang-Hua, who was born in the 1940s, is the famous Australian musician and pianist of Chinese origin. When he was a very little child, he loved music very much. Then he entered the attached middle school to the Central Conservatory of Music, majoring in piano playing. Later, he shifted gradually his favor and interest to music composing. Under the influence that, however his parents were supposed to be the"right-wing"group, he was reluctant to turn to the Piano Department, though he was enrolled by the Department of Music Composing of the Central Conservatory of Music. While excellently finishing his study in the Piano Department, he engaged in his music composing by himself. After his graduation, he was deployed to the Department of Music Directing, acting as a piano accompaniment. Later on, he was recalled to the Piano Department, specifically engaged in composing. In 1982, he went to Australia for further study, possessing master degrees of piano and composing.Since his first piano music, Haidian is a Good Place (A variation), was composed in 1959, wherever he is in China or overseas, he contributes himself to piano music composing, with a characteristic of profound Chinesism and, to improve China's composition of piano music. Through his over fifty years of creation, he have composed lots of excellent piano music. His Chinese solo piano, especially transcriptions for which, is excellently combining Chinese elements with western musical language, successfully revealing Chinese charms on piano which is a musical instrument from western countries. He is a piano music composer as well as a pianist, so his composition has the character of good-sounding and easy-playing. Lots of his transcriptions for solo piano, which are characterized with vivid Chinese styles, are full of interest and artistic quality. They are loved by most piano learners and often occur in the list of usual piano class and concert.Based on A Selection of Chu Wang-Hua's Piano Works, by consulting lots of musical documents as well as piano-playing practice, this thesis mainly study his transcriptions for solo piano by the following aspects:1. Summing up Chu's creative characteristics in different phases by taking in his experience of living and composing.Chu's composition of transcriptions for solo piano spans over a half century, going through different historical phases, such as the phase of quick developing by learning from Soviet patterns at the very foundation of the new China, the phase of independently developing because of the breakdown of China-Soviet relationship, the phase of the Great Cultural Revolution, the phase of"hundreds-of-flowers-blossom"since the reformation and open to the world, etc. each phase has its own characters of that times. This thesis sums up his creative characteristics in different phases by taking in his experience of living and composing combing with the comprehension of the times background.2. Classifying Chu's transcriptions for solo piano, analyzing relevant piano music.According to the definition of transcription, it includes two means: transplanting and creatively composing. Thus Chu's transcription can be classified into instrumental transcription, folk transcription and independent composing. Each classification is analyzed in this thesis from aspects of musical contents, rhyming styles, mode tints, musical construction, harmony organization, rhyming and folk elements, which offers great consultation in playing his transcription for solo piano.3. Discussion on some playing skills based on piano-playing practice and theoretical analysis.This thesis sums up all kinds of grace notes, such as solo appoggiatura, double appoggiatura, mordent, vibrato and arpeggios. And it expounds the playing methods of each grace note according to the original musical style, further discussing the artistic performance from the aspects of timbre, rhyme, treadle and musical manifestation. It puts forward the author's viewpoints an suggestions on the playing of China-style piano works.From the study of the three aspects above, it is clear that by referring to the Chinese folk music and traditional culture, Chu Wang-Hua uses some special materials and techniques creatively, have composed lots of excellent China-style transcriptions for solo piano, which not only offer many perfect models to the Chinese piano playing and teaching, enriching the treasure house of Chinese piano music documents and booming the art of piano, but also inherit and develop Chinese traditional culture.