HSIAO TYZEN’S 1947 OVERTURE: THE INTERSECTION OF

MUSIC, CULTURE, AND POLITICS OF TAIWAN

ABSTRACT 

         Hsiao Tyzen (1938– ), one of the most prominent Taiwanese contemporary composers, has been a focal figure in the Asian communities of Northern America, Europe, and Taiwan and is known for his musical and political contributions in recent decades.  His 1947 Overture, composed in 1994, is a musical depiction of Taiwan’s notorious February 28^th Incident of 1947 (a bloody massacre of thousands of Taiwanese civilians by the Nationalist Party), which awakened attention and sparked controversies in Taiwanese communities.  Due to the political message some of his music implies, Hsiao was exiled from his homeland for eighteen years and was only permitted to return home for the premier of his 1947 Overture after the lifting of martial law.  The Overture, a forthright statement about a taboo subject hitherto kept repressed by Nationalist Party leaders, is a masterful portrayal of the music, culture, and politics of Taiwan.  The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the historical significance of Hsiao Tyzen’s 1947 Overture as well as to examine the cultural and musical influences on Hsiao’s life and compositions.  It discusses the dilemma of Taiwan’s cultural identity and musical nationalism as viewed through the life and works of Hsiao Tyzen.  The thesis is divided into two parts: Part One discusses the Western musical influences in Taiwan and Hsiao Tyzen’s place in the Taiwanese music history; Part Two centers on the historical, compositional, and cultural background of the 1947 Overture.  The nationalistic elements of Taiwanese folk material employed throughout the piece include two art songs, Love and Hope and Taiwan the Green, as well as three traditional folk songs, A Bird’s Cry, An Evening in Nan-Du, and Sorrow Song.

Jennifer Sho's dissertation is stored in the University Microfilms archive.  It can be viewed and purchased through UMI Proquest Digital Dissertations and RILM abstract of music literature.