Chinese Piano Variations: Tradition and Modernity

Chinese music is characterised by its colourfulness and national identity, which is predetermined by the specifi c features of the national culture itself. The genre of variations also fi nds an original interpretation in Chinese music. Based on national instrumental music, Chinese piano variations include intonational formations characteristic of Chinese melodies, as well as imitations of Chinese national instruments. The use of syncopated
rhythms, metric shifts, and long pauses are just a few of the distinctive features that have been adopted from folk music. Furthermore, national folk songs often serve as the thematic
basis for piano variation cycles.

variations, Chinese music, ethnicity, rhythm, pauses, duration, national colour, imitation