Analytical Overview of Min-Chong Park's Impromptus Pentatoniques for Violin Solo

ABSTRACT The purpose of this research is to provide biographical information about Min-Chong Park (1918 - 2006) and an analysis of his composition Impromptus Pentatoniques for Violin Solo. In the late nineteenth century, Western music was first introduced in Korea through Christian missionaries. Korean musicians started to learn Western instruments in the early twentieth century, and violinist Min-Chong Park was one of them. He became one of the most prominent musicians in Korea, and had a great impact worldwide through his travels and students. His work often served as a bridge between Korean traditional music and Western classical music. As a composer, Park left several string works, vocal works, and short pieces for piano. His compositions use western instrumental techniques, but they contain a distinctive musical language related to Korean traditional music. He composed primarily with Korean traditional material for western instruments, especially strings. In this sense, his works contain a special combination of tradition and modernity. This study begins by presenting Park's biography and introducing his composition Impromptus Pentatoniques for Violin Solo. It then examines how this composition, a five-movement work based on a pentatonic scale, was influenced by Eastern traditional elements such as folksong melodies, rhythms, and abrupt dynamic shifts. The treatise is organized as follows: The first chapter reviews Park's life and career. The second chapter discusses Korean traditional idioms and their influence on Park's compositions. The third chapter is an analysis of Impromptus Pentatoniques for Violin Solo. The final chapter provides a conclusion of the work.