Part I The Samson Suite for Chamber Orchestra. Part II The Provocative Prokofiev: Analysis of Moderato Movement Sonata for Flute and Piano in D Major, Opus 94

Abstract

PART I. Samson Suite. The Samson Suite is a four movement composition written for string chamber orchestra. The first movement, Samson at the Gates (Overture), and the second movement, The Emptying (A Meditation Prayer) represent a fusion of classical and baroque compositional devices with twentieth century minimalism. Maximum musical mileage is achieved through minimal harmonic means. The first movement does this by exploiting the Ti to Do relation between the tonic key center of g minor and the key center of the leading tone, f♯ minor. This technique is used extensively by Prokofiev in Opus 94. Likewise, the second movement in D Major exploits and elongates the Ti to Do relationship. Both movements are in ternary form. The first movement substitutes a fugato for the development section in the relative major of B♭. The second movement introduces a new theme in the B section in the dominant key of A. The overall scheme of the four movements continues the leading tone relationship, moving from the key of g minor in the first movement to f♯ minor in the third movement and from D Major in the second movement, to c♯ minor in the last movement. The third movement, Journey to Saga City (Journey to Sagacity) is a prelude of virtually equal proportions (eighty-one measures) to the fugue in the fourth and final movement, The Finishing (eighty-two measures). The Samson Suite represents a crystallization of twentieth-century compositional ideas and classical tradition found in the twentieth-century neo-classical school, of which Prokofiev was a leading proponent. The Samson Suite was premiered on April 30, 2008, by the New Music Festival Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Robert Rollin, at the DeYor Performing Arts Center in Youngstown, Ohio.

"PART II. The Provocative Prokofiev: Analysis of Moderato Movement Sonata for Flute and Piano in D Major, Opus 94. The thesis examines Prokofiev's treatment of the traditional sonata-allegro form, as it presents itself in the first movement, Moderato of the Sonata for Flute and Piano, Opus 94. Five compositional procedures peculiar to Prokofiev's treatment are identified and examined throughout the movement: 1) the use of chromatic mediants to promote root movement by thirds rather than fifths; 2) the exploitation of the tertian harmonic balance inherent in the augmented chord; 3) the use of the chromatic root shift, raising or lowering the tonic and fifth of the triad changing major to minor and minor to major; 4) harmonic treatment of the seventh degree of the scale; and, 5) Prokofiev's use of themes that can be circumscribed within each other, enabling him to integrate the operative harmonic treatment introduced in one theme into another theme. The ongoing thrust of Prokofiev's music is achieved by the constant re-synthesizing of previous ideas in new contexts by idea-extension. This is Prokofiev's unique way of incorporating variation form into sonata-allegro form. The thesis hypothesizes that Prokofiev's innovative approach to traditional harmonic progressions allows for the introduction of chromaticisms which expand the range of tonal centers available for resolution. An overview of the historical circumstances influencing Prokofiev's life is provided to give perspective on Opus 94, relative to the entire body of Prokofiev's creative output. A Map to Themes and Tonal Centers is provided in Appendix II (p. 124) as a companion guide to the detailed analysis of the movement. Sources for the first movement, Moderato, Sonata for Flute and Piano, Opus 94 can be found in the Music Scores references listed in the Bibliography."