It’s not every day that a doctoral thesis is written focusing solely on one’s compositions. However, this is what has recently happened to one of my piano collections, ‘No Words Necessary’. ‘No Words Necessary’, which was published by Schott in 2018, has been under musical and theoretical scrutiny in South Korea, where pianist and teacher Juhye Moon has made it her mission to write a complete dissertation featuring my intermediate level educational ‘minimalist’ style piano music. Juhye also included my two other minimalist style pedagogy collections as part of her initial preparation for this project, too: ‘Digressions’ and ‘Piano Waves’ (both published by EVC Music).

Moon was a doctoral student at Hansei University in South Korea. She has just passed her Doctorate in Piano Pedagogy, which was the first degree of its kind to be established in Korea.

The dissertation, which has taken many months to complete (as well as three years of full-time study and research), analyses all twelve pieces in the set from various angles, and discusses their place and pedagogical value in educational piano music, with specific reference to the importance of introducing minimalism and the minimalist style in piano pedagogy to students at this level.

I asked Moon to tell us why she decided to select my music for her research project, and she has kindly written the following ‘journal’ about her dissertation journey.

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My First Encounter with Melanie Spanswick’s Music — 2023

I first encountered Melanie Spanswick’s music in Vienna in 2023. During a music trip, I happened to visit a bookshop, where I came across Volumes 1–3 of ‘Women Composers – A Graded Anthology For Piano’ (Schott). I was intrigued by the books and the pieces they contained, so I purchased all three volumes and brought them back to Korea, where I live.

After returning home, I began to learn more about Melanie Spanswick as both a composer and piano educator. As I explored her website and other materials, I became particularly interested in her use of minimalist elements and compositional techniques in her piano music.

At the time, I was performing works by Philip Glass and developing a growing interest in minimalism. I therefore found Spanswick’s approach—incorporating the musical language and techniques of minimalism into pedagogical piano repertoire—especially fascinating. This discovery led me to seek out, purchase, and collect more of her scores and publications, and eventually to begin studying her works in greater depth.

First Research Project: Academic Conference Presentation – May 2024

My first formal research project on Spanswick’s music was presented in May 2024 at the academic conference of the Korean Association of Piano Pedagogy (KAPP).

I wrote a paper entitled ‘Spanswick’s Intermediate Piano Collection ‘No Words Necessary: An Exploration of Minimalist Techniques’ and subsequently presented the research in a poster session at the conference.

This marked the beginning of my academic exploration of Spanswick’s music, moving beyond its value as performance repertoire to examine her works from the perspectives of minimalist compositional techniques and piano pedagogy.

Second Research Project: Lecture Recital – June 2024

Following my first research project, I presented a lecture recital on Spanswick’s music at Hansei University in June 2024.

For the programme, I selected and performed pieces from several of her collections, including ‘Digressions’, ‘Piano Waves’, ‘No Words Necessary’, and ‘A String of Pearls’ (also published by Schott). Alongside the performances, I discussed the musical characteristics of the works and their potential applications in piano teaching.

This lecture recital allowed me to extend my research beyond score analysis and explore Spanswick’s music through actual performance, connecting academic study with practical musicianship and pedagogy.

Third Stage: Bringing Spanswick’s Music into My Recital Repertoire – August 2025

In August 2025, I included works from Spanswick’s ‘Digressions’ in my own piano recital programme. By this stage, her music had become more than an academic subject for me; it had also become part of the repertoire I wanted to share with audiences through live performance. Combining research with performance enabled me to develop a deeper understanding of both the musical qualities and pedagogical possibilities of her works. It was also particularly meaningful to have the opportunity to introduce her music to audiences in Korea.

Fourth Research Project: Doctoral Dissertation – September 2025 to June 2026

Building upon my previous research and performance experiences, I began my doctoral dissertation research on Spanswick’s music in September 2025.

After approximately ten months of research, I completed my doctoral dissertation in June 2026, entitled ‘Minimalist Compositional Techniques and Piano Pedagogical Value in Melanie Spanswick’s No Words Necessary.’ This research formed part of the completion of my Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) degree in Piano Pedagogy.

Fifth Research Presentation: K3PA – September 2026

In September 2026, I presented my research at the Korea Piano Performance & Pedagogy Association (K3PA) under the title ‘Minimalist Techniques and Pedagogical Value in Melanie Spanswick’s Intermediate Piano Works.’

This presentation provided an opportunity to share the results of my continuing research on Spanswick’s music with fellow pianists and piano educators in Korea, focusing on the minimalist techniques found in her intermediate-level piano works and their pedagogical value.

From A Chance Discovery in Vienna to Continuing Research

Looking back, this entire journey began with the chance discovery of three books in a bookshop in Vienna in 2023.

What began as simple curiosity about a collection of piano music gradually led me to collect and perform more of Spanswick’s works. That initial interest developed into an academic conference presentation, a lecture recital, a solo recital programme, a doctoral dissertation, and further research presentations.

For me, encountering Melanie Spanswick’s music has meant much more than simply studying the works of a particular composer. A chance discovery in Vienna developed into a lasting interest in performance and pedagogy, and ultimately grew into a continuing journey of academic research.

Read Moon’s Piano blog here: www.m.blog.naver.com

Find her on Instagram: @moons_piano

Top Image: A still from YouTube – Juhye Moon plays ‘Digressions’