Gonzalo Castellanos-Yumar's Concerto for Viola and Orchestra (2003): A Phenomenological and Traditional Analysis of the Concerto with Consideration of its Stylized Venezuelan Folk Rhythms

Abstract

The purpose of this lecture-recital document is to provide an overview of the musical form and stylized rhythms present in Gonzalo Castellanos-Yumar's Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, his last symphonic composition to date. Castellanos-Yumar has repeatedly stated that he creates in his music a link between "the Venezuelan" and "the Universal" through traditional musical forms. The core of this document is my analysis of the Concerto for Viola and Orchestra through the composer's phenomenological approach to music, which successfully integrates a traditional musical form, such as the Concerto, with stylized Venezuelan folk rhythms in order to bring "the Venezuelan" into "the Universal". Also, it includes an overview of nationalism in Venezuelan music, an updated biography, a list of works of the composer, and an introduction to phenomenology, its application to music and its relation to the work of Gonzalo Castellanos-Yumar, specifically his viola concerto.