The Analysis of Zhang Zhao’s Piano Works

Abstract

          The research ‘The Analysis of Zhang Zhao’s Piano Works’ This qualitative research study has two objectives:  1. To investigate the historical development of Zhang Zhao piano works. 2. To analyze the selected pieces of Zhang Zhao 's piano works. The main sources are document data and field work data. Field data were obtained through observations and interviews.
          The results show that:
          1. Over time, the historical development of Zhang Zhao's piano work has changed a lot. In the Early Period (1980s to the 1990s), the traditional Chinese style was the center of his creation. In the Middle Period (Westernization), around the 1990s-2000s), Western music and Zhao's Chinese cultural background had a significant impact on his style development. Now, in the Late Period (Mature Period), from 2000s to date), Zhang Zhao's style has changed. He incorporated these concepts into modern music and learned natural inspiration.
         2. By analyzing the characteristics of Zhang Zhao's piano works by the structure, melody, rhythm, and harmony of the two piano works, “Pi Huang” and “The Three Songs of Foothills”, The researcher have found that the stylistic characteristics of Zhang Zhao's works have changed, no matter from the structure used, the melody composed, the rhythm, or the harmonic modes used, from the beginning of the Early Period when he only wanted to circumvent Western compositional techniques, perfectly highlighting the Chinese national characteristics and culture, emphasizing on the imitation of the Chinese instrumental sound, and heavily adopting the national style to compose piano pieces. Then in the Middle Period, he began to adopt western compositional structures and techniques, and tried to integrate them with the Chinese pentatonic scale to show the emotions and feelings in Zhang Zhao's heart. All these changes show Zhang Zhao's inner struggle and transformation, and also reveal that Zhang Zhao's works are characterized by his strong Chinese background, the penetration of Western influences, as well as his Chinese heritage, Chinese culture and art, and the inner feelings brought to him by nature.