Compositional process and the creation of oil, steam, and steel - a mechanistic concerto for alto saxophone and strings

Abstract

This thesis discusses aspects of the creative process and challenges faced in the creation of Oil, Steam, and Steel—a mechanistic concerto for alto saxophone and strings (2014-2015). Challenges include: concerto structure and proportion, clarity of musical gestures, inadvertent musical quotations, and the trial of sustaining musical interest throughout a 25-minute work. To facilitate commentary on Oil, Steam, and Steel’s development and eventual form, various structural, motivic, and harmonic analyses of each movement are included. This study also contains an analysis of an earlier work, Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano (2010), to investigate the creation of musical character through a piece’s sonic components, an idea developed further in the concerto. Included in the discussion is a selective survey of five concerti by other 20th- and 21stcentury composers. The survey notes how the composers dealt with the issues of structure, proportion, coloration, musical development, dramatic pacing, and the relationship between the soloist and ensemble. These concerti are: Harri Vuori’s Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra (2004); Takashi Yoshimatsu’s Albireo Mode (2005); Thomas Adès’ Violin Concerto “Concentric Paths” (2005); Paul Stanhope’s Piccolo Concerto (2012-2013); and James MacMillan’s Veni Veni Emmanuel (1992). In addition to the major work, the attached portfolio contains a number of other pieces in different forms and for varying performing media, including a string quartet, a scherzo for orchestra, and a programmatic piano quintet. These pieces, composed between 2013-2015, served as practical avenues to experiment with ideas elicited by other composers’ works and to pursue personal objectives. These creative responses shaped the creation of Oil, Steam, and Steel and assisted in developing a more efficient compositional process in subsequent works.