| Abstract | The purpose of this paper is to analyze, both historically and theoretically, Czech composer Leos Janacek's first significant piano composition, the Tema con Variazioni. Written when Janacek, a native of Moravia, was a student in Leipzig, the Variations fuses together elements of Czech realism and Moravian folk music in a manner that is incredibly convincing and very personal. Furthermore, Janacek utilizes the idea of establishing two nearly-equal pitch centricities, or tonics, rather than mainting one tonal center. In this manner, the Variations takes on the character of Moravian folk music, rather than that of typical Romantic Era music, and portrays the beginning of Janacek's mature style as a composer who bridges the style of Romanticism and the Avant-Garde. An analysis of this nature serves to provide the performer with the essential theoretical knowledge which will allow him or her to interpret the work correctly, and thereby enhance the performance. |
