Award Date

5-15-2026

Degree Type

Doctoral Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)

Department

Music

First Committee Member

Mykola Suk

Second Committee Member

Andrew Smith

Third Committee Member

Timothy Hoft

Fourth Committee Member

Richard Miller

Fifth Committee Member

Katrina Liu

Number of Pages

74

Abstract

This study investigates how Taiwanese cultural identity is expressed in the piano works of composers Hsiao Tyzen and Ma Shui-Long, focusing on Hsiao’s Memories of Home and Ma’s A Sketch of the Rainy Harbor. While both composers are pivotal figures in Taiwan’s musical history, their approaches to integrating local heritage with Western compositional techniques differ significantly. This dissertation argues that they represent two distinct creative paths: Hsiao’s model of Romantic Nationalism and Ma’s model of Modernist Synthesis.

Through historical contextualization and detailed musical analysis, this research examines the specific methods each composer employed. The findings reveal that Hsiao directly quotes culturally resonant materials, such as Taiwanese folk songs and Presbyterian hymns, framing them within a lush, Romantic harmonic language to evoke nostalgia and collective memory. In contrast, Ma’s method is one of abstraction, where he deconstructs and transforms the elemental sounds of his native Keelung—temple percussion, harbor atmospheres, and the sound of rain— into a modern, atmospheric musical language.

By comparing these two approaches, this study provides pianists with deeper interpretive insights, clarifying how Hsiao’s narrative-driven emotional expression differs from Ma’s focus on timbre and texture. Ultimately, this research affirms the significance of these compositions, highlighting their unique contributions to Taiwanese piano literature and their success in forging an authentic Taiwanese voice on the concert stage.

Keywords

20th-Century Piano Literature; Contemporary Taiwanese Composers; East Asian Music History; Musical Hybridity; Pentatonicism; Performance Practice

Disciplines

Arts and Humanities | Music | Music Performance

File Format

PDF

File Size

15900 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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