19th Annual Student Research Conference
Fine Arts
Structural Proportions and Mediant Tonality in Sergei Prokofiev’s
“March for the Spartakiade” from
Four Marches for Military Band, Op. 69 #1
Annette M. Nicks♦
Dr. Warren Gooch, Faculty Mentor
Composers in every era have found ways to ingeniously advance musical language—even when faced with oppressive aesthetic ideologies. One such composer, Sergei Prokofiev, used techniques that kept his music fresh and interesting while still adhering to stylistic limitations imposed upon Soviet composers. For example, in even his most utilitarian pieces, he incorporated the technique of manipulating tonic-mediant relationships through shifting tonalities and short circle progressions. When studied using macro analytical techniques, “March for the Spartakiade”, from Prokofiev’s Four Marches for Military Band, Op. 69 #1, exhibits a direct correlation between structural proportions of the form and the composer’s use of third-related tonalities.
Keywords: Prokofiev, Shifting Tonalities, Tonic- Mediant, Tonalities, Structure, Form, March
Topic(s):Music
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 32-2
Location: OP 2210
Time: 1:30