Examination of llhan Usmanbaş Violin and Piano Sonata in terms of form

İlhan Usmanbaş Keman Piyano Sonat’ının Form Açısından İncelenmesi

Abstract

Ilhan Usmanbaş, one of the second generation composers of the Republican era, was deemed worthy of the title of "State Artist" in 1971. Most of his studies were recorded, received awards at home and abroad and became one of the important building blocks of Contemporary Turkish Music. My aim in examining the rarely performed Violin and Piano Sonata of this valuable composer is to prepare both a technical and musical ground for the future performers of the work by briefly mentioning his student years, his experiences abroad and the effects on the music of the period he lived, which I think had an impact on the composer's way of creation. In this research, I made a Form analysis of İlhan Usmanbaş's Violin Piano Sonata. I thought that the form analysis would help to increase the interpretation levels of the people who will perform the piece. Written in 1946 and Neo-Classical style, the Violin and Piano Sonata is one of Usmanbaş's first works. I performed the piece that I met after my Proficiency in Art graduation, despite its calm written language, because it contains an intense, dramatic and complex musical expression. In order to further deepen my work, I conducted form analysis. I analyzed Usmanbaş's valuable work "Violin-Piano Sonata", which is not performed very often in the violin repertoire, in order to contribute to the Turkish music repertoire. It is a three-part sonata written in the neo-classical style. The first episode is a fluid episode with an Allegro character. After the calm character Adagio, the third part comes in the form of Rondo and is a more chaotic part. The fact that the polytonal structure is felt throughout almost the entire piece keeps both the performer and the listener active. In the same context, violin-piano harmony requires a lot of attention. Unlike classical sonatas where the piano plays the accompaniment part and the solo instrument is completely free, I think it is a sonata with an intense language of expression, where violin and piano should develop a common musical understanding. I hope that the piece will be a fruitful resource for future performers. I suggest making a musical analysis of this valuable sonata and taking steps to make it more frequently performed and recorded according to this form analysis in the violin repertoire.