The Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto by Zhanhao He and Gang Chen

Abstract

Abstract The topic of this DMA document is the Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto. This violin concerto was written by two Chinese composers, Gang Chen and Zhahao He in 1959. It is an orchestral adaptation of an ancient legend, the Butterfly Lovers. This concerto was written for the western style orchestra as well as for solo violin. The orchestra part of this concerto has a deep complexity of music dynamics, reflecting the multiple layers of the story and echoing the soloist's interpretation of the main character. Musically the concerto is a synthesis of Eastern and Western traditions, although the melodies and overall style are adapted from the Yue Opera. The structure of the concerto is a one-movement programmatic work or a symphonic poem. The form of the concerto is a sonata form including three sections. The sonata form fits with the three phases of the story: Falling in Love, Refusing to Marry, and Metamorphosis. It could also be analyzed as five sections by adding an introduction, three sections and codetta. There are three chapters included in this document. In the first chapter, I discuss the two composers and the historical background of the concerto. The second chapter includes the structure of symphonic poem and of programmatic music, and three Chinese musical elements in the orchestration. Chapter three is the conclusion. A full analysis of the concerto is in the appendix.