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Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Idea of the “Modern”: Developing Variation in the Piano Concerto in C Sharp, Opus 17

Description: This study examines the Piano Concerto in C sharp, Op.17 (1923), by Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957), in light of developing variation, techniques that transform motivic ideas and create musical continuity in this work. The troublesome reception history of Korngold’s piano concerto derives from its complex musical features, which have created difficulties in understanding and evaluating this piece. Consequently, critics and scholars often label the highly sophisticated yet tonal musical lang… more
Date: May 2014
Creator: Huang, Shu-Yuan
open access

James Macmillan’s St John Passion: the Role of Celtic Folk Idioms and the Reproaches

Description: In 1829, Passion settings entered the secular concert hall with Felix Mendelssohn’s revival of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion in Berlin. The genre has fallen in and out of favor with composers because of the subject matter and Bach’s prominence in the setting. James MacMillan’s St. John Passion has established itself as one of the preeminent modern passion settings by manipulating past idioms such as chant, chorales, and other popular passion conventions in concert with his use of Celtic folk idiom… more
Date: May 2014
Creator: Frank, Nathan
open access

The Intimacy of Death: Mahler’s Dramatic Narration in Kindertotenlieder

Description: There has been relatively little scholarship to date on Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder. The writings about this song cycle that do exist primarily focus on the disparate nature of the poems and justify Kindertotenlieder as a cycle by highlighting various musical connections between the songs, such as keys and motivic continuity. Mahler, however, has unified the cycle in a much more complex and sophisticated way. His familiarity with Wagner’s music and methods, and his mastery of the human voice and… more
Date: May 2014
Creator: Strange, AnnaGrace
open access

Form and Pianistic Texture in the Operatic Fantasies Based on La Sonnambula and Der Freischütz of Franz Liszt and Julian Fontana: a Comparison of Compositional Approach

Description: This study examines and identifies the differences in compositional approach in the operatic fantasies based on Bellini’s La Sonnambula and Weber’s Der Freischütz by Franz Liszt and Julian Fontana. These four fantasies are placed in the context of musical conventions and audiences in the first half of the nineteenth century. The two operatic fantasies by Liszt that are included in this study are representative of reinterpretations that employ formal and textural features suitable for the concer… more
Date: May 2014
Creator: Chung, Migeun
open access

A Performance Guide to Jean Balissat’s Kaleidoscope for Trumpet and Percussion

Description: Jean Balissat’s Kaleidoscope for trumpet and percussion is an important yet widely unknown piece within the trumpet repertoire. A comprehensive performance guide is necessary in order to overcome the musical and technical demands that this piece presents to the trumpeter. The first section of this document provides historical and contextual information about Jean Balissat, his compositional style, and relevant information regarding Kaleidoscope. The second section of this document includes a … more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Anderson, Matthew Douglas
open access

Iron Sharpens Iron: Duets for Two Women in the Teaching/instruction of Undergraduate Women

Description: Duet literature remains largely untapped as a pedagogical tool in the undergraduate voice studio. This dissertation examines the ways in which eight duets for female voices, although not written primarily for pedagogical use, may be used to teach four main areas of voice technique: intonation, vocal agility, legato singing, and dramatic skills. Duets are chosen primarily from the standard repertoire and are in English, German, French, Italian and Latin. The compositional styles range from th… more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Backlin, Laurissa
open access

The Effect of Head Flexion/extension on Acoustic Measures of Singing Voice Quality

Description: A study was undertaken to identify the effect of head flexion/extension on singing voice quality. The amplitude of the fundamental frequency (F0), and the singing power ratio (SPR), an indirect measure of singer’s formant activity, were measured. F0 and SPR scores at four experimental head positions were compared with the subjects’ scores at their habitual positions. Three vowels and three pitch levels were tested. F0 amplitudes and low frequency partials in general were greater with more e… more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Knight, Elizabeth Johnson
open access

The Changing Symbolic Images of the Trumpet: Bologna and Venice in the Seventeenth Century

Description: The trumpet is among the most ancient of all musical instruments, and an examination of its history reveals that it has consistently maintained important and specific symbolic roles in society. Although from its origins this symbolic identity was linked to the instrument’s limited ceremonial and signaling function, the seventeenth century represents a period in which a variety of new roles and identities emerged. Bologna and Venice represent the two most important centers for trumpet writing … more
Date: May 2014
Creator: Karp, Jamie Marie
open access

Micro-images, Genera and Poème Exotique: a Guide to Tone Color Selection, Relative Dynamics and Temporal Pacing for Effective Performances of Three Microtonal Flute Works by Daniel Kessner

Description: Micro-Images for Solo Flute, Genera for Flute/Alto Flute/Bass Flute and Clarinet/Bass Clarinet, and Poème exotique for Flute and Piano by American composer Daniel Kessner (b. 1946) utilize a hybrid compositional approach in which microtones are incorporated with more traditional chromatic writing. Through representative musical examples from each piece, this document highlights the timbral, dynamic and pacing complexities associated with the microtonal fingerings and prompts flutists to forgo i… more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Sánchez, Terri
open access

The Sonatas of Johann Gottfried Eckard (1735-1809) and the Evolution of Keyboard Instruments Between 1760 and 1785

Description: Johann Gottfried Eckard was a self-trained composer and keyboardist studying with Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s Versuch while he lived in Augsburg. Eckard traveled to Paris with the keyboard instrument builder, Johann Andreas Stein, in 1758 and settled in France for the rest of his life. Eckard only composed eight keyboard sonatas and a set of variations on the Menuet d’Exaudet. He published his works during the transitional period from harpsichord to fortepiano. The eight keyboard sonatas incorp… more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Chiang, I-Fang
open access

Yoichi Hiraoka: His Artistic Life and His Influence on the Art of Xylophone Performance

Description: Yoichi Hiraoka was an amazing Japanese xylophone player who had significant influence on the development of the xylophone as a solo instrument. The purpose of this dissertation is to collect and record evidence of Mr. Hiraoka, to examine his distinguished efforts to promote the xylophone, to investigate his influences on keyboard percussion literature, and to contribute to the development of the art of keyboard percussion performance as a whole. This dissertation addresses Yoichi Hiraoka’s arti… more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Goto, Akiko
open access

Thematic and Formal Narrative in Respighi’s Sinfonia Drammatica

Description: Respighi’s scarcely-known orchestral work Sinfonia Drammatica lives up to its title by evoking a narrative throughout the course of its three movements. In this dissertation, I argue how the work’s surface, subsurface, and formal elements suggest this narrative which emerges as a cycle of rising and falling dramatic tension. I explain how Respighi constructs the work’s narrative in the musical surface through a diverse body of themes that employ three motives of contour. The disposition and m… more
Date: May 2014
Creator: Amato, Alexander G.
open access

An Analysis of Honegger’s Cello Concerto (1929): a Return to Simplicity?

Description: Literature available on Honegger’s Cello Concerto suggests this concerto is often considered as a composition that resonates with Les Six traditions. While reflecting currents of Les Six, the Cello Concerto also features departures from Erik Satie’s and Jean Cocteau’s ideal for French composers to return to simplicity. Both characteristics of and departures from Les Six examined in this concerto include metric organization, thematic and rhythmic development, melodic wedge shapes, contrapuntal t… more
Date: May 2014
Creator: Kleinmann, Denika Lam
open access

Educating American Audiences: Claire Reis and the Development of Modern Music Institutions, 1912-1930

Description: The creation of institutions devoted to promoting and supporting modern music in the United States during the 1920s made it possible for American composers to develop an identity distinct from that of European modernists. These institutions were thus a critical part of the process of modernization that began in the United States during the early decades of the twentieth century. There is substantial scholarship on these musical institutions of modern music, such as the International Composers’ … more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Freeman, Cole
open access

Études: Five Compositional and Technical Studies for Solo Organ

Description: Études was composed as a set of five interrelated movements in the followingorder: Prelude, Introduction and Fugue, Triptych, Chorale, and Response. The pieces are compositional as well as technical studies. The movements specifically explore certain styles and forms unique to organ music, and reintroduce these elements in creative ways. As in the traditional étude, each movement contains virtuosic technical studies, which are designed to enhance manual and pedal facility and prepare the perfor… more
Date: May 2014
Creator: Lloyd, S. Andrew
open access

A Pedagogical and Methodical Approach to Unaccompanied Euphonium Literature Through Performance and Analyses of Original Works by Torstein Aagaard-nilsen

Description: Original unaccompanied literature currently stands as one of the most understudied bodies of music in the euphonium repertory. This is largely due to a lack of access to reference recordings, live performances, and study/performance guides. Many of the commissioning projects for new euphonium music in the late 20th and early 21st centuries have promoted the composition of large scale works for euphonium and large ensembles, but very few have generated new unaccompanied pieces for euphonium. Man… more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Nyren, Patrick J.
open access

Defining the Contralto Voice Through the Repertoire of Ralph Vaughan Williams

Description: At the beginning of the twentieth century, the recognition of the contralto voice type had reached its apex in England. Throughout the remainder of the century, the number and popularity of recorded contraltos has decreased alongside the rise of the mezzo-soprano voice type. Due to the contralto’s decline and the lack of repertoire composed specifically for the voice, the definition of “contralto” remains somewhat ambiguous. The large contralto repertoire of English composer Ralph Vaughan Willi… more
Date: May 2014
Creator: Daniels, Sarah M.
open access

A Philosophy and an Approach to Teaching Non-professional-track Violin Students

Description: The aim of this dissertation is to lay the groundwork for an integrated approach to violin instruction for children who are not being groomed explicitly for professional careers as instrumentalists. The study presents a particular focus on the age of middle school children, in order to showcase a more specialized and definitive result of research without, however, distinguishing between advantages and limitations of different age groups of children who study music and learn to play the violin. … more
Date: May 2014
Creator: Bard-Schwarz, Anna Ewa
open access

Douglas Campbell: American Horn Pedagogue and Performer

Description: While the word “pedagogue” may evoke a vision of an instructor who is dogmatic and set in his own ways, the word descends from Greek origins: ped “child” + agogos “leader.” A pedagogue is, by definition, literally the servant who escorts the child to and from school – the “pedagogue” accompanies the student on the journey for knowledge. True to this definition, Douglas Campbell is model pedagogue – one who gently guided his countless students throughout their musical journeys. As Professor of … more
Date: May 2014
Creator: Suchodolski, Heather Blase
open access

“I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues”: Considering the Music of Harold Arlen (1905-1986) for Use by Female Singers in the Classical Voice Studio

Description: American musical theater and film composer Harold Arlen is largely overshadowed by his contemporaries, such as George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, and Cole Porter. However, his music serves as a viable alternative for singers of all skill level studying a classical technique. By studying the music of Harold Arlen, singers will utilize a wide range, legato line, negotiations of register, mood shifts, and varying tessituras. The following document considers the importance of Arlen’s music by analy… more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Hawk, Heather L.
open access

Utilizing North American Art Song Settings of Psalm Texts in Worship Services: an Annotated Guide for Singers, Voice Instructors, and Music Ministers

Description: This dissertation provides a guide for appropriate use of North American art song settings of biblical psalms for solo voice written after 1950 in the worship services of Christian faiths. The songs analyzed are for all voice parts and a variety of accompanying ensembles. The placement of each song on a specific calendar day is guided by the individual church calendars and lectionaries, on the prevalent themes of the text, and the characteristics of the musical setting. Performance of these … more
Date: May 2014
Creator: Siddons, Kyle
open access

Harold Shapero’s Sonata for C Trumpet and Piano: the Influence of Idiomatic Jazz Elements on a Prominent Mid-20th Century Neo-classical Composer

Description: Harold Shapero’s Sonata for Trumpet in C and Piano is a significant work that it is rarely performed and studied. Shapero’s composition contains musical attributes that demand artistically accurate choices if the style of this jazz-influenced sonata is to be achieved. Written in 1940 in dedication to Aaron Copland, the Sonata for C Trumpet and Piano makes use of a variety of stylistic influences, blending those of early 20th century jazz with Stravinsky-influenced neo-classicism. The intent o… more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Whalen, Kevin Patrick
open access

From Germany to Palestine: a Comparison of Two Choral Works by Paul Ben-haim – “Joram” and “Kabbalat Shabbat”

Description: The choral music of Israeli composer Paul Ben-Haim (1897-1984) falls clearly into two distinct compositional periods. Born in Munich, Germany as Paul Frankenburger, the composer received formal, classical training at the Munich Academy of Music. His compositions from this period are an amalgamation of many styles, and they include influences of Bach, Handel, Mahler, Debussy, and Strauss. In 1933, Ben-Haim, along with other trained artists and composers, immigrated to Palestine as part of the… more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Dalrymple, Holly
open access

Using Baroque Vocal Music to Introduce Horn Students to the Musical Concepts of Expression, Articulation, Phrasing, and Tempo

Description: Baroque music is an area largely neglected in the music education of young horn students and wind players in general. Baroque horn repertoire is very demanding primarily due to the range. Baroque composers wrote for horn using the uppermost register of the instrument. In this range the partials are closer together, allowing for more melodic writing. This music requires an advanced level of technique, endurance, and ability. Often this repertoire is not suitable for students until they are … more
Date: May 2014
Creator: Winter, Angela K.
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