Award Date

5-15-2026

Degree Type

Doctoral Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)

Department

Music

First Committee Member

Timothy Hoft

Second Committee Member

Dave Loeb

Third Committee Member

Jennifer Bellor

Fourth Committee Member

Anthony Barone

Fifth Committee Member

Michael Pravica

Number of Pages

67

Abstract

This thesis argues that the authenticity of the works of Marko Tajčević and Miloje Milojević arises from their deep artistic response to the cultural and historical environment in which they lived and created, while their universality lies in their ability to articulate this authentic language within established artistic forms that resonate with a broader international musical community. It situates these works within the broader cultural context of Serbian music between the two World Wars, a period marked by the negotiation between national identity and European artistic integration.1

It also explores the two formative directions of Serbian piano music, the music of Marko Tajčević who was influenced by tradition, and the music of Miloje Milojević who was influenced by international contemporary music. The ethnic spirit and tradition as well as cosmopolitan energy of the Serbian people shine through in their neoclassical and modernist styles. These two approaches reach universality, promoting Serbian piano music a broad Western audience. The social, political, economic, geographical, cultural and historical aspects of Serbia, will provide a broader picture in understanding these composers.

The country of Serbia, as we know it today, formed very late in the context of European history. Following the Serbian Uprisings from 1804-15 and the liberation from Ottoman rule, it came under Austro-Hungarian governance until 1878 when it was proclaimed an independent country at the Berlin Congress. 2 Yet, the early formation of the state in the Medieval period that was impacted by nearly five hundred years under Ottoman rule has left the Serbian people isolated from the trends of European culture.

A Serbian piano repertoire appeared for the first time in the mid-nineteenth century. The reasons for this are very transparent, lying in Serbian social and political history. Composers were conditioned to assimilate into the musical trends that were already well established in Europe. Moreover, they were able to assimilate in a span of fifty years, from the middle of the nineteenth to the beginning of the twentieth century. Thanks to the establishment of political autonomy and later independence in the nineteenth century, Serbia was finally able to include art and classical music into its cultural life, which is known to be the period of the creation of the “citizen class”, 3 which had been largely absent under Ottoman rule due to different social and administrative structures. After the liberation from the Ottoman occupation and Serbian declaration of independence, the path for cultural and artistic development opened. The inclusion of Serbian piano music into the European music scene occurred significantly at the beginning of the twentieth century which was secured by the concretization of musical identity, progress in music education, new geopolitical environment, infrastructural development of the country and technological progress as well. This thesis is demonstrated through examples of the most acclaimed works for piano of these composers who were complementary in their nature. They explored and found inspiration in native Serbian folk repertoires and modernist influences of Western classical composers in the twentieth century. This document aims to illuminate the foundational authentic identity of Serbian piano music using selected works by Tajčević and Milojević, two major figures in the tradition, situating their music within contemporary social and musical trends and within a broader European search for authenticity and identity. These composers’ works are good examples as they demonstrate how universality emerges from their musical language, being accepted, acknowledged and performed by Serbian and highly renowned international pianists, and their characteristics rely on folk music, authentic national sound, as well as post-Romanticism and Impressionism. The individual and collective paths of these composers were marked by the environment of the time and place they came from, which makes the result of their accomplishment significant and distinctive. I hope that this document will open a path for future generations to explore and promote the piano music of Serbian composers in the best possible way. Only with the awareness of the development of Serbian piano music can we approach the performing aspects and gain the stylistic consciousness of it. Serbian piano music is not monolithic. These individuals with unique stylistic directions defined the identity of Serbian piano music with their remarkable piano works that shaped the foundation of Serbian piano literature monument. These individuals shaped their unique artistic voices, obtained high-quality education from the most important schools of the time, and left the legacy of their work for future generations of composers and performers to represent and expand on the originality of the music of that area. Their paths were influenced by the discourse of European musical cultural heritage and the environment they came from. Although Tajčević and Milojević represent contrasting stylistic directions, their prominent works complement one another and together helped shape the identity of Serbian piano music. This music is still underrepresented, nevertheless, highly acknowledged by some of the most prominent musical artists in the world, which is something every musician from Serbia should be proud of.

Keywords

composers; milojevic; music; piano; serbian; tajcevic

Disciplines

Arts and Humanities | Music | Music Performance

File Format

PDF

File Size

971 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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