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Stylistic Elements within the Texture and Formal Structure of Ernst von Dohnányi's Four Rhapsodies, op. 11

Description: Hungarian pianist, composer, conductor, teacher and administrator, Ernst von Dohnányi (Ernö Dohnányi in Hungarian), was considered one of the most versatile musicians and the first architect of Hungary's musical culture in the late nineteenth and early twentieth-century. Dohnányi composed the Four Rhapsodies, op. 11, between 1902 and 1903, and among his many piano compositions, op. 11 are regarded as some of his most substantial works. Without directly imitating the earlier works of Liszt and B… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Hwang, So Myung (Sonia)
Partner: UNT Libraries
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The Vocal Pedagogy of Frederic Woodman Root

Description: Frederic Woodman Root was a vocal pedagogue and writer of the late nineteenth century. He wrote over eighteen books on vocal pedagogy, and numerous articles on singing. Since his death, most of his works have fallen into obscurity. The purpose of this document was to codify the vocal pedagogy of Frederic Woodman Root, discussing his particularly thorough methodology, and to bring his methods back into the public eye. His method is broken down into the various components of basic musicianship, t… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Grogan, David Christopher
Partner: UNT Libraries
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The Influence of Japanese Composers on the Development of the Repertoire for the Saxophone and the Significance of the Fuzzy Bird Sonata by Takashi Yoshimatsu

Description: The history of the saxophone and its development as a performance medium in Japan is short when compared with other European countries and the United States. In this short history, the saxophone performance level in Japan has increased dramatically. At the same time, compositions for the saxophone by Japanese composers have gained more popularity in the world as can be seen in the program of the World Saxophone Congress and the North American Saxophone Alliance conference. The saxophone history… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Hanafusa, Chiaki
Partner: UNT Libraries
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A study of the Violin Concerto in D Minor by Ralph Vaughan Williams

Description: The focus of this study is to provide a clear understanding of Vaughan Williams' Violin Concerto in D Minor. In terms of form and compositional technique, this concerto is particularly challenging, because of Vaughan Williams' use of rhythmic motives and modes. This study is undertaken through an analysis. For a better understanding, a historical background, including overall form of each movement and key relationships, is explored and discussed. Then, Vaughan Williams' use of a ritornello-like… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Kim, Si Hyung
Partner: UNT Libraries
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X, An Analytical Approach to John Chowning's Phoné

Description: The analysis of computer music presents new challenges to the field of music theory. This study examines the fixed media composition Phoné by John Chowning from its aesthetic perspective, compositional theory and computer sound synthesis techniques. Fast Fourier Transform analyses are used to create spectrograms. The findings from the spectrograms are juxtaposed with compositional philosophies of John Chowning, Jean-Claude Risset, Pierre Schaeffer and Arnold Schoenberg and the techniques are re… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Krämer, Reiner
Partner: UNT Libraries
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"Being" a Stickist: A Phenomenological Consideration of "Dwelling" in a Virtual Music Scene

Description: Musical instruments are not static, unchanging objects. They are, instead, things that materially evolve in symmetry with human practices. Alterations to an instrument's design often attend to its ergonomic or expressive capacity, but sometimes an innovator causes an entirely new instrument to arise. One such instrument is the Chapman Stick. This instrument's history is closely intertwined with global currents that have evolved into virtual, online scenes. Virtuality obfuscates embodiment, but … more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Hodges, Jeff
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Fractus I for Trumpet in C and Electronic Sound: A Critical Examination of the Compositional Process

Description: Fractus I is a composition for trumpet in C and live electronic sound. The electronics were primarily created using SuperCollider, an environment and programming language for real time audio synthesis. This project investigates SuperCollider's pattern and task functionality as a means of supporting and enriching the compositional process. Fractus I develops several different code architectures in order to randomize as well as synchronize various musical elements. The piece exploits SuperCollide… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Fieldsteel, Eli Mulvey
Partner: UNT Libraries
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161 Glass: Site Specific Music in an Artistic Context

Description: The composition 161 Glass is a 17-minute musical work with percussion, wind and brass instruments in which the intersection of mid-century architecture, and the art and culture of a dynamic city are inextricably linked. Through this paper, I explore the process of composing a musical work in relationship to the significance of site specific context. The paper begins by defining the concept of site specific art works; then reviews the discourse of the intersection of art, music and architecture.… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Rusnak, Christina S.
Partner: UNT Libraries
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The Legacy of Theodore Leschetizky as Seen through His Pedagogical Repertoire and Teaching Style

Description: Theodore Leschetizky's singular pianistic legacy survives to this day because of his revolutionary pedagogical methods and his compositions for the piano repertory. The amalgamation of these two aspects formed his distinctive contributions to the fields of piano and piano pedagogy and left an indelible mark on the history of the instrument. His students lead an impressive list of the greatest artists of the previous century, each influencing the evolution of pianism with their own remarkable … more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Serrin, Bret
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Ida Gotkovsky's Eolienne Pour Flute et Harpe in Theory and Practice: A Critical Analysis

Description: This dissertation addresses specific theoretical issues within Gotkovsky's Eolienne. She was a student of Messiaen, and his influence is evident in Eolienne, but at the same time, Gotkovsky's compositional voice is both personally distinctive and reflects l'esprit de temps of the twentieth century Parisian musical world. The research provides extensive analytical insight into Gotkovsky's musical language in Eolienne, specifically her use of symmetrical scales, emphasis on timbre, and formal con… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Surman, Patricia Jovanna
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Native American Elements in Piano Repertoire by the Indianist and Present-Day Native American Composers

Description: My paper defines and analyzes the use of Native American elements in classical piano repertoire that has been composed based on Native American tribal melodies, rhythms, and motifs. First, a historical background and survey of scholarly transcriptions of many tribal melodies, in chapter 1, explains the interest generated in American indigenous music by music scholars and composers. Chapter 2 defines and illustrates prominent Native American musical elements. Chapter 3 outlines the timing of sev… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Thomas, Lisa Cheryl
Partner: UNT Libraries
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A Schenkerian Analysis of Beethoven's E Minor Piano Sonata, Opus 90

Description: This thesis examines the history and origins of Beethoven's E minor Piano Sonata and examines the possibility of the programmatic conception of the work. Dedicated to Beethoven's friend Count Moritz Lichnowsky, the sonata may have been inspired by the Count's illicit affair with his future wife, the singer and actress Josefa Stummer. Providing a thorough Schenkerian analysis of both movements, the inner harmonic structure of the composition is revealed and explained. The author also investigate… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Treber, Stefan L.
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Musical Arrangements and Questions of Genre: A Study of Liszt's Interpretive Approaches

Description: Through his exceptional creative and performing abilities, Franz Liszt was able to transform compositions of many kinds into unified, intelligible, and pleasing arrangements for piano. Nineteenth-century definitions of "arrangement" and "Klavierauszug," which focus on the process of reworking a composition for a different medium, do not adequately describe Liszt's work in this area. His piano transcriptions of Schubert's songs, Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique and the symphonies of Beethoven are… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Van Dine, Kara Lynn
Partner: UNT Libraries
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A Comparative Analysis of the 1915 and 1919 Versions of Symphony No. 5 in E-flat Major, op. 82 by Jean Sibelius

Description: The initial composition of the Fifth Symphony in E-flat Major, Op. 82 was undertaken as a commission to celebrate the composer's fiftieth birthday. Unhappy with the initial efforts, two revisions were then performed; the first was in 1916 and the final revision in 1919. Despite the larger form of the work seeming to have been changed between the 1915 and 1919 versions, the smaller gestures of thematic expression in both versions remained similar. On the surface, it had appeared that the compose… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Norine, John Richard, Jr.
Partner: UNT Libraries
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The Khan Variations for Solo Marimba by Alejandro Viñao: Musical Analysis and Performance Practice

Description: The Khan Variations is the first work for solo marimba by Argentinean composer Alejandro Viñao (b.1951). Since publication in 2001, Khan Variations has been performed at many international percussion festivals and is often a repertoire choice for performers in the final round of numerous marimba competitions. This thesis and accompanying lecture recital provide a supplemental guide to Alejandro Viñao's Khan Variations, focusing on analytical and structural theory, as well as performance practic… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Roberts, John Francis
Partner: UNT Libraries
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A Performer's Analysis of Dominick Argento's Miss Havisham's Wedding Night

Description: Dominick Argento's Miss Havisham's Wedding Night is the least explored of his artistic output. A monodrama in one act for soprano, Miss Havisham's Wedding Night contains some of Argento's most beautiful and challenging music of his compositional output. The purpose of a detailed analysis of the structure and content of Argento's Miss Havisham's Wedding Night is to facilitate the solo vocal performer's interpretation. Argento's setting of Miss Havisham's Wedding Night is unique in that he musica… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Mott, Jammieca D.
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Using Web-Based Instruction to Teach Music Theory in the Piano Studio: Defining, Designing, and Implementing an Integrative Approach

Description: This dissertation rationalizes the best use of Web-based instruction (WBI) for teaching music theory to private piano students in the later primary grades. It uses an integrative research methodology for defining, designing, and implementing a curriculum that includes WBI. Research from the fields of music education, educational technology, educational psychology, and interaction design and children receive primary consideration. A synthesis of these sources outlines several research-based p… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Carney, Robert D.
Partner: UNT Libraries
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This Creature, Bride of Christ

Description: This Creature, Bride of Christ is a composition for soprano, alto flute, viola, marimba, and computer running custom software for live interactive performance in the Max/MSP environment. The work is a setting of excerpts from The Book of Margery Kempe, an early autobiographical manuscript depicting the life of a Christian mystic. The thesis discusses the historical, sociological, and musical context of the text and its musical setting; the use of borrowed materials from music of John Dunstable,… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Bober, Nicholas Bradburn
Partner: UNT Libraries
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An Annotated Bibliography of Selected Music for Saxophone by Charles Ruggiero with an Analysis of Interplay for Soprano Saxophone and Piano

Description: Ruggiero's contributions to contemporary music are noteworthy. They include 27 works written for solo instruments, voice, as well as chamber groups and large ensembles. This study serves as an annotated bibliography of selected works written for saxophone by Charles Ruggiero. They include a piece for large chamber ensemble, Dig: From Tunes My Grandmother Heard (2009), a trio for flute, clarinet, and alto saxophone titled Echoes of "Piano Red" (2006), two saxophone quartets, Dig: JSB 1 (2003), a… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Bradfield, Ann
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Music Career Opportunities and Career Compatibility: Interviews with University Music Faculty Members and Professional Musicians

Description: This study used a semistructured interview schedule to identify the music career opportunities available to students who graduate with an undergraduate music degree, and the skills, interests, work values, and personal characteristics that may determine a person's suitability for these music careers. Six university faculty members from each of the 11 NASM-accredited undergraduate music degree fields participated in the study (n = 66). Fourteen professional musicians who were recommended by thes… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Branscome, Eric E.
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Rediscovering Fernande Decruck's Sonate en ut# pour saxophone alto (ou alto) et orchestre: A Performance Analysis

Description: French composer Fernande Decruck (1896-1954) composed over forty works for the saxophone, but her music fell into obscurity soon after her death. In recent years, the Sonate en ut# pour saxophone alto (ou alto) et orchestre (1943) has been rediscovered, performed, and recorded by prominent concert saxophonists. This document takes a historical approach by examining Decruck's biography, as well as a theoretical approach to provide a deeper understanding and appreciation of her work through ana… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Cain, Joren
Partner: UNT Libraries
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The Creative Process in Cross-Influential Composition

Description: This dissertation describes a compositional model rooted in cross-influential methodology between complementary musical compositions that share generative source material. In their simultaneous construction, two composition pairs presented challenges that influenced and mediated the other's development with respect to timbre, transposition, pitch material, effects processing, and form. A working prototype first provides a model that is later developed. The first work Thema is for piano alone, a… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Anderson, Jonathan Douglas
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Antonín Dvořák’s Piano Concerto in G Minor, Opus 33: A Discussion of Musical Intent and Pianistic Effectiveness in Vilém Kurz's Version of the Solo Piano Part

Description: Since its premiere in 1878, Antonín Dvořák’s Piano Concerto in G Minor has been underrated and held in low regard by musicologists, critics, performers and audiences alike. Vilém Kurz (1872-1945), a Czech pianist and pedagogue, revised and reworked the piano solo part to incorporate what he considered to be added brilliance and pianistic effectiveness. However, the revised version has not increased the popularity of the work. In recent decades, this concerto has begun to appear more often in th… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Tang, Wen-Chien
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Rebecca Clarke: A Viola Duo Transcription of the Prelude, Allegro, and Pastorale

Description: Throughout centuries of great classical music, many viola compositions have been crafted from a wealth of literature for instruments of similar range. Clarinet, violin, and cello concerti and ensemble literature often adapt into challenging literature for the viola. In November 2009, Oxford Music Publishing gave me permission to transcribe and perform the Prelude, Allegro, and Pastorale by Rebecca Clarke in New York's famed Carnegie Hall - Weill Recital Hall. This dissertation explains the p… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Stevens, Daniel Brent
Partner: UNT Libraries
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