Study of Selected Piano Works by Robert Chumbley and Lera Auerbach

The purpose of this treatise is to provide a close examination of the compositional styles of two pianist-composers, Robert Chumbley (b. 1954) and Lera Auerbach (b. 1973), as well as critical analyses of selected solo piano works. It expands upon two doctoral lecture recitals I gave in the spring semesters of 2020 and 2021. The treatise is divided into two parts: the first part focuses on Robert Chumbley's Brahmsiana II (2011) and Three Etudes (…by any other name…) (2015) and the second focuses on Lera Auerbach's Diabellical Waltz (2019) and Il Segno: Piano Sonata No. 2 (2006). Both Chumbley and Auerbach began their careers as pianists and have performed in concerts across the globe. Their compositional aesthetics are rooted in the Western musical tradition from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries; however, the particular stylistic idioms they each have drawn from these musical roots have manifested differently in their work. Thus, their music provides listeners with distinctive musical vignettes of the past, viewed through unique lenses. My intention is to illustrate how Chumbley and Auerbach fused specific stylistic idioms with their individual compositional approaches. The first chapter, which focuses on Chumbley, investigates the influence of Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, Debussy, Scriabin, Shostakovich, and Copland on his creative approach, as demonstrated in the two selected piano works. Specifically, it focuses on motivic treatment, harmonic color, and textural placement that render the characteristic atmosphere, mannerisms, and material in each piece. The second chapter highlights Auerbach's particular brand of polystylism and synthesis of past and present. Using Schnittke's two principles of polystylism—citation and allusion—my analysis demonstrates the way in which Auerbach perceives and incorporates musical idioms and materials from the past in an organic way, remaking them in new contexts. Brief performance guides to the works are provided at the end of each chapter.