Understanding Rzewski's North American Ballads: from the Composer to the Work

This document provides performance guidelines for the North American Ballads, written by Frederic Rzewski (b.1938). This paper discusses the composer's biographical background and provides an overview of his published piano works. It was a great opportunity to conduct an interview with Rzewski during A Music Festival of New Music. Rzewski discussed the North American Ballads from the view of a pianist. His comments during the interview were very valuable and helpful while analyzing his music afterwards. He provided a deeper understanding of his music when he composes. This document contains six chapters: Chapter 1, Introduction; Chapter 2, biography of Frederic Rzewski and overview of piano music; Chapter 3, the use of the medium in the North American Ballads; Chapter 4, origins of melodies and historical background used in the North American Ballads; Chapter 5, performance approach and guidelines for the North American Ballads; Chapter 6, summary and conclusion. The original melodies and their use in the North American Ballads, the list of his piano works, the discography, and the interview with Rzewski are provided in the Appendix.