Research Article

DOI :10.26650/CONS2025-1613880 IUP :10.26650/CONS2025-1613880 Full Text (PDF)

Analysing Synthetic Scale Structures in Ulvi Cemal Erkin’s Piano Sonata, 1st and 2nd Symphonies

Ulvi Cemal Erkin was a composer who was influenced by the Impressionist movement. This effect is particularly evident in timbre, texture, and chord elements. He composed works that combined traditional Turkish makam music with Western musical elements. He combined folk dances, Anatolian melodies, and usûls and/or scale of the Turkish makam music, and utilized pentatonic scales, whole-tone scale, and synthetic scales while creating melodies. Besides, synthetic scale structures, which Erkin utilized, are not limited to the Turkish makam music. However, while analysing the scale structures employed by Erkin, researchers focused on their similarities with Turkish makam music. Therefore, the structures of synthetic scales that differ from the Turkish makam music scales utilized by Erkin will be analysed in this study. The scope of the study is limited to Erkin’s Piano Sonata, 1st and 2nd Symphonies. Document analysis, literature review method and style analysis method will be employed in this study. As a result, Erkin utilized such synthetic scales as overtone, Neapolitan Major 6th, Asian Bartók, Hungarian Minor/Major. Beside, he employed ‘rotation’ structures of some Turkish makam music scale. In this way, he expanded range of scale he employed. A comparative analysis of his works with those of other composers would contribute to the field.

Keywords: Ulvi Cemal Erkin, mode, Turkish makam music, synthetic scale, style analysis

References

Altınsoy, A. (2017). Ulvi Cemal Erkin Keman Konçertosu’nun müzikal analizi. (Musical analysis of Ulvi Cemal Erkin’s Violin Concerto). Master Thesis. Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir. google scholar
Antokoletz, E. (1993). Transformations of a special non-diatonic mode in twentieth-century music: Bartók, Stravinsky, Scriabin and Albrecht. Music Analysis, 12(1), 25–45. https://doi.org/10.2307/854074 google scholar
Araz, D. G. (2011). Neo-modal akımda armoni anlayışı (Harmony understanding in neo-modal stream). Proficiency in Art, Istanbul University, Istanbul. google scholar
Belce, M. S. (2018). Ulvi Cemal Erkin’in “Köçekçe” isimli orkestra için dans rapsodisi’nin müzikal analizi ve orkestra şefliği teknikleri açısından incelenmesi. (The musical analysis and the examination on the maestro techniques of Köçekçe dance rhapsody composed by Ulvi Cemal Erkin for the orchestra), Master of Arts Study Report, Hacettepe University, Ankara. google scholar
Burkholder, J. P., Grout, D. J., & Palisca, C. V. (2010). A History of Western Music. W.W.Norton & Company. google scholar
Çınar, O. (2015). Ulvi Cemal Erkin’in müzik dili, geleneksel Türk müziği ile ilişkisi ve Orkestra İçin “Senfonik Bölüm” eserinin analizi (Musical language of Ulvi Cemal Erkin, his relation with traditional Turkish music and analysis of Symphonic Movement For Orchestra) Proficiency in Art. Istanbul University, Istanbul. google scholar
Çöloğlu, E. (2005). Çağdaş Türk bestecilerinin 20. yy. müziğinin modernist anlayışlarıyla etkileşimi (The interaction of contemporary Turkish composers with the modernist perceptions of the 20th century music). Master Thesis. Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, İstanbul. google scholar
Dallin, L. (1964). Techniques of twentieth century composition (2nd ed.). WM.C. Brown Company. google scholar
Güldoğan, A. (1999). Ulvi Cemal Erkin’in piyano eserleri aracılığıyla, geleneksel müziklerimizden, çağdaş Türk müzik sanatına taşıdığı müzikal unsurların incelenmesi. (Analysing the musical elements carried from our traditional music to contemporary Turkish music art by Ulvi Cemal Erkin through his piano works). Master Thesis. Uludağ University, Bursa. google scholar
Kalın, I. (2019). Ulvi Cemal Erkin Piyano Sonatının biçimsel yapısı ve çalış teknikleri açısından incelenmesi. (Analysing Ulvi Cemal Erkin's Piano Sonata in terms of formal structure and playing techniques). Master Thesis. Dokuz Eylül University, İzmir. google scholar
Karadeniz, İ. (2020). Saygun müziğinde makam soyutlamaları: Piyano konçertosu Op. 34, I (Makam abstractions on Saygun’s music: Piano Concerto, op. 34, I). Doctoral dissertation. Hacettepe University, Ankara. google scholar
Persichetti, V. (1961). Twentieth century harmony: creative aspect and practice. W. W. Norton & Company. google scholar
Saygun, A. A. (1967). Töresel musiki. (Traditional music). Milli Eğitim Press. google scholar
Sayın, S. (2018). Ulvi Cemal Erkin’in Piyano İçin “Altı Prelüd” adlı eserinin teknik ve müzikal açıdan incelenmesi. (Analysing Ulvi Cemal Erkin's Six Preludes for Piano in terms of technique and music) Proficiency in Art. Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, İstanbul. google scholar
Tymoczko, D. (2011). A geometry of music: harmony and conterpoint in the extended common practice. Oxford University Press. google scholar

Citations

Copy and paste a formatted citation or use one of the options to export in your chosen format

EXPORT

APA

Fışkın, Ü. (2019). Analysing Synthetic Scale Structures in Ulvi Cemal Erkin’s Piano Sonata, 1st and 2nd Symphonies. Conservatorium, 0(0), -. https://doi.org/10.26650/CONS2025-1613880

AMA

Fışkın Ü. Analysing Synthetic Scale Structures in Ulvi Cemal Erkin’s Piano Sonata, 1st and 2nd Symphonies. Conservatorium. 2019;0(0):-. https://doi.org/10.26650/CONS2025-1613880

ABNT

Fışkın, Ü. Analysing Synthetic Scale Structures in Ulvi Cemal Erkin’s Piano Sonata, 1st and 2nd Symphonies. Conservatorium, [Publisher Location], v. 0, n. 0, p. -, 2019.

Chicago: Author-Date Style

Fışkın, Ümit,. 2019. “Analysing Synthetic Scale Structures in Ulvi Cemal Erkin’s Piano Sonata, 1st and 2nd Symphonies.” Conservatorium 0, no. 0: -. https://doi.org/10.26650/CONS2025-1613880

Chicago: Humanities Style

Fışkın, Ümit,. “Analysing Synthetic Scale Structures in Ulvi Cemal Erkin’s Piano Sonata, 1st and 2nd Symphonies.” Conservatorium 0, no. 0 (Apr. 2025): -. https://doi.org/10.26650/CONS2025-1613880

Harvard: Australian Style

Fışkın, Ü 2019, 'Analysing Synthetic Scale Structures in Ulvi Cemal Erkin’s Piano Sonata, 1st and 2nd Symphonies', Conservatorium, vol. 0, no. 0, pp. -, viewed 30 Apr. 2025, https://doi.org/10.26650/CONS2025-1613880

Harvard: Author-Date Style

Fışkın, Ü. (2019) ‘Analysing Synthetic Scale Structures in Ulvi Cemal Erkin’s Piano Sonata, 1st and 2nd Symphonies’, Conservatorium, 0(0), pp. -. https://doi.org/10.26650/CONS2025-1613880 (30 Apr. 2025).

MLA

Fışkın, Ümit,. “Analysing Synthetic Scale Structures in Ulvi Cemal Erkin’s Piano Sonata, 1st and 2nd Symphonies.” Conservatorium, vol. 0, no. 0, 2019, pp. -. [Database Container], https://doi.org/10.26650/CONS2025-1613880

Vancouver

Fışkın Ü. Analysing Synthetic Scale Structures in Ulvi Cemal Erkin’s Piano Sonata, 1st and 2nd Symphonies. Conservatorium [Internet]. 30 Apr. 2025 [cited 30 Apr. 2025];0(0):-. Available from: https://doi.org/10.26650/CONS2025-1613880 doi: 10.26650/CONS2025-1613880

ISNAD

Fışkın, Ümit. “Analysing Synthetic Scale Structures in Ulvi Cemal Erkin’s Piano Sonata, 1st and 2nd Symphonies”. Conservatorium 0/0 (Apr. 2025): -. https://doi.org/10.26650/CONS2025-1613880

TIMELINE

Submitted	05.01.2025
Accepted	07.04.2025
Published Online	09.04.2025

LICENCE

Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC)

This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, and although their new works must also acknowledge you and be non-commercial, they don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.

Conservatorium