Analytical description of four piano compositions by Hyo-shin Na: 'Variations,' 'Rain Study,' 'Piano Study 3,' and 'Walking, Walking'

The Korean-born composer Hyo-shin Na (b. 1959) studied both in Korea and in the United States and currently resides in San Francisco. Her multinational background is reflected in her music not only by her use of Korean instruments and musical elements, but also by her incorporation of musical ideas from such disparate places as Norway and Chile. Na's compositional output consists of approximately 70 works in a wide variety of genres.; This study examines in detail four of the seven solo piano pieces Na composed since 1990: Variations (1990), Rain Study (1999), Piano Study 3 (2001), and Walking, Walking (2003). These four are substantial works ranging from five to twenty-five minutes in length. All are notated graphically with relative durations expressed by spacing and alignment of note heads, or conventionally with exact rhythmic values and no time signatures, or a combination of these. Variations contains Korean elements, most notably a pentatonic melody at the beginning that is continuously developed. The other three works incorporate pre-existing tunes: Rain Study centers on a Korean folk song, Piano Study 3 on a Norwegian folk song, and Walking, Walking on a song by Chilean singer/songwriter Victor Jara.; After a brief history of Korean piano music and a biography of Hyo-shin Na, the study examines the four piano works in detail, section by section, analytically and with suggestions for interpretation and performance. Na's treatment of the borrowed musical elements is significant, particularly her techniques of development and transformation and her creation of non-traditional formal logic.