The Music of the Suzuki Violin Method: A musicological analysis of the scope, content and stylistic nature of the Suzuki Violin Method repertoire as it is experienced in Australia

Abstract

<p>The thesis is firmly situated within the discipline of Musicology. It explores the Suzuki Violin Method repertoire, for which Shinichi Suzuki was the major compiler and editor, with a special focus on Australia. Despite widespread interest in issues of interpretation and style within the Suzuki Violin Method community, the scope of the repertoire and its stylistic nature as a body of works has not yet been comprehensively addressed. This study puts forward the hypothesis that the preference embedded in the repertoire for the works of specific composers and eras reveals an historically associated, dominant view on the function of art (or ‘aesthetic character’) which is stylistically reflected throughout the entire repertoire; the editing of the works also stylistically reflecting both an inclination towards this ‘aesthetic’ and Suzuki’s own background as a violinist.</p> <p>The hypothesis is addressed through a cross-disciplinary approach, incorporating musical and extra-musical data, and qualitative and quantitative methods in keeping with the New Musicology. A discussion of the nature and history of the Suzuki Violin Method, Suzuki’s background as a violinist, and recent scholarship in the field sets the scene for this study. Statistical data from two original surveys inform an exploration of the repertoire and its usage in the Suzuki Method context. The scope and content of the repertoire is shown to be more expansive than previously acknowledged and also to display an embedded preference for works of 18^th and early 19^th centuries composers. th th This preferred period is shown to be associated, historically, with two dominant views in European thinking on the prime function of art and their allied stylistic principles, influential throughout the arts and in music at the time; <i>pleasure</i> (associated with <i>cult of sensibility</i>) and the<i> sublime</i> (associated with the <i>cult of the sublime</i>). These are taken as an ‘entry point’ for discussing the stylistic attributes in the entire Suzuki Violin Method repertoire spanning the 17^th to 20^th centuries, drawing and expanding upon established th th musicological methods for the investigation of style. Findings are validated through a detailed musical analysis of works and also Shinichi Suzuki’s editorial inclinations, with special reference to 18^th and early 19^th century writings on art and music. In doing so, the th th thesis not only provides new and valuable insights into the Suzuki Violin Method repertoire, but also puts forward an approach to the analysis of style which may be of wider benefit.</p>