The World Within the World: The Fusion of Western Formal Structures with Turkmen Dutar Form in Turkmen Piano Music

Abstract

The development of Turkmen piano music is unique and has not been widely studied outside of Turkmenistan. This paper will concentrate on some formal and modal materials of traditional Turkmen instrumental music and its impact on Turkmen piano music. The specific focus of the paper is its formal structures; specifically, the process of merging the forms of European and Turkmen instrumental music found in the piano repertoire of Turkmen composers. European music was not part of the development of the Turkmen instrumental music until the beginning of the 20th century. Before this, the instrumental music of Turkmenistan was a fully developed branch of music and was performed and created with a high level of musical artistry. The development of Turkmen piano music is directly related to and associated with national instrumental music. Using works of Turkmen composers, such as Nury Halmammedov, Bayramdurdy Hudaynazarov and Suhan Tuyliyev the research will examine the evolution of the Turkmen piano music and the fusion of the Western formal structures with Turkmen Dutar form in Turkmen instrumental music.