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An Analytical Study of the Suite for Violin and Piano (1935), Op. 6, by Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)

Description: The Suite for Violin and Piano, Op. 6 is one of the least-known compositions by Benjamin Britten. It has been considered unfavorably by critics and scholars due to its puzzling mixture of tonal and post-tonal elements. However, this dissertation argues that the suite is composed with a clear tonal framework, and its unique mixed tonal-post-tonal language justifies an in-depth analysis. This analytical study utilizes a linear progression technique - the voice leading produced by passing tones an… more
Date: December 2023
Creator: Lee, Hanjun
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Are We Zwisch-ing Yet? An Examination of the Zwischenfach Voice Category and Selected Twenty-First Century American Arias

Description: The German word Zwischenfach often refers to opera roles and singers whose voices lie between the categories of mezzo-soprano and soprano. While the term is not universally accepted as a voice category, Zwischenfach voices and roles are being discussed more openly and with more specificity in collegiate and professional circles. This document includes a discussion on the challenges of categorizing dramatic voices, mezzo-soprano voices, and those who could be considered Zwischenfach, taking into… more
Date: December 2023
Creator: Taylor, Hilary Grace
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Decoding Fantasy: An Analysis of Paquito D'Rivera's "Caribbean Berceuse" (2021)

Description: Written for and featuring the Barcelona Clarinet Players, Caribbean Berceuse (2021) is Paquito D'Rivera's (b.1948) first composition for wind band. Along with idiosyncratic expectations of fusing jazz and classical elements according to D'Rivera's oeuvre, the title implies extramusical associations in the composition. This analysis demonstrates how extramusical associations interact with thematic development by using five codes of meaning from Roland Barthes's (1915–1980) S/Z (1970), which was … more
Date: December 2023
Creator: Truan, Robert Michael

The Idiomatic Techniques and Procedures of Composer Kevin Walczyk (b. 1964) that Define a Unique Musical Language

Description: Award winning composer Kevin Walczyk's describes himself as a "musical storyteller," using all musical elements of structure, melody, harmony, and counterpoint to convey programmatic content. A variety of subjects are conveyed that include historical events, people, physical objects or locations, and literary texts. Deeper matters, such as spiritual themes, are also often incorporated in his music that enhance the musical program. The technical procedures employed—pertaining particularly to t… more
This item is restricted from view until July 1, 2024.
Date: December 2023
Creator: Wollam, Seth Frederick

A Pedagogical Analysis of "Seven Chinese Folk Songs" by Wanghua Chu

Description: Wanghua Chu (b. 1941) is an outstanding Chinese composer and pianist, who has written extensively for piano. This dissertation offers a pedagogical analysis of Seven Chinese Folk Songs (1999), one of his most famous and well-regarded piano solo works. The present study has two broad and related aims: to introduce Wanghua Chu's Seven Chinese folk songs to a broader community of pianists outside of China; and to provide a pedagogical analysis so that pianists of a late-intermediate level and high… more
This item is restricted from view until January 1, 2025.
Date: December 2023
Creator: Chen, Zhaodong

A Performance Guide to Zili Li's Viola Concerto No. 1 (2010)

Description: The Viola Concerto No. 1 was commissioned in 2010 by Xidi Shen, a viola professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and composed the same year by Zili Li (b. 1938), a Chinese composer and violinist. For musical, cultural, and technical reasons, this little-known Chinese viola concerto strongly aroused my interest, leading me to use it as the research subject for my doctoral dissertation and to also introduce this work to Western violists. This dissertation provides a performance guide to Z… more
This item is restricted from view until January 1, 2026.
Date: December 2023
Creator: Chen, Fang
open access

Saxophone Instruction by Women: Experiences of Achieving the Rank of Full Professor at Post-Secondary Institutions in the United States

Description: Since the first saxophone professor at the Paris Conservatory in 1858, saxophone instruction has primarily been a male-dominated field. Numerous sources detail the experiences, lives, and influence of male post-secondary saxophone instructors. Women have made great strides in the performance and instruction of the saxophone at the post-secondary level, but sources discussing their lives and experiences are limited. Saxophone instruction at the post-secondary level in the United States began in … more
Date: December 2023
Creator: Heimann, Christa Marie
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The Saxophone Meets Chinese Culture: A Guide to Works for Saxophone by Composer Zou Xiangping

Description: Zou Xiangping is one of the most significant Chinese composers who writes music for the saxophone. These works, however, are not well-known in the classical saxophone repertoire. The purpose of this dissertation is to help international saxophonists develop an enlightened understanding and ultimately, performance of two selected pieces by Chinese composer Zou Xiangping (邹向平) (b. 1951), Images of Yalong River for Alto Saxophone and Piano (雅砻江印:为中音萨克斯管和钢琴) and Song of Chuanjiang River Boatman for… more
Date: December 2023
Creator: Zhang, Cehuai
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Sonorous Andean Landscapes: A Performance Guide for Guevara Ochoa's "Yaraví, Danza y Huayno" (n.d) and Vivanco's "Fantasía Andina" (c. 1988)

Description: Peruvian composers Armando Guevara Ochoa (1926–2013) and César Vivanco (b. 1949) borrow and transplant musical elements from Andean folk tradition into their compositions for the modern classical flute. Guevara Ochoa's Yaraví, Danza y Huayno and Vivanco's Fantasía Andina are solo flute pieces rooted in Peruvian folklore traditions and Andean instrumental performance. The purpose of this dissertation is to provide flutists with technical and interpretative guidance in preparing these pieces. Yar… more
Date: December 2023
Creator: Romo Bocanegra, Jossecarlo
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Utility Trombone Playing: A Practical Method for Students to Achieve Mastery of Alto, Tenor and Bass Trombone

Description: With the importance of versatility in freelance work in the world of trombone performance, along with increased competition for that work, the need for players to play alto, tenor, and bass trombones to a high level of proficiency has become more and more crucial. This, coupled with the growing number of orchestras looking to hire musicians who are highly competent on all three instruments means that university professors need to be able to teach all three instruments. This evolution of the job… more
Date: December 2023
Creator: Owner, Timothy Michael
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Accessibility and Pedagogical Value in Virtuosic American Trombone Solo Literature: A Performance Guide to "Divertimento for Trombone and Band" (2012) by Jack Stamp

Description: This dissertation is an examination of Divertimento for Solo Trombone and Wind Band by renowned wind band composer and conductor Jack Stamp. The result of this study is the illumination of a 21st-century composition for solo trombone and band that is made accessible for future performers, accomplished by constructing original musical exercises that are influenced by current trombone pedagogical materials that have either been edited, annotated or created by current performers and pedagogues s… more
Date: July 2023
Creator: Umholtz, Jeremiah L.
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Connecting "Ray Brown's Bass Method" (1963) to "We Get Requests" (1964): A Comparative Analysis

Description: This research serves two main purposes: to create an analyzed edition of Ray Brown's bass lines from the Oscar Peterson Trio's 1964 recording We Get Requests, and to better understand Brown's lines through the lens of Ray Brown's Bass Method. This comparative analysis identifies significant events in the recorded music that closely relate to or resemble exercises from the book. By analyzing the music from the lens of Ray Brown's Bass Method, performers, students, and educators will gain a stron… more
Date: July 2023
Creator: Hitt, Eric
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Guillaume Connesson's "Le Rire de Saraï" (2001): Stylistic Analysis Focusing on His Eclecticism

Description: Le Rire de Saraï for flute and piano was written in 2001 by Guillaume Connesson. Although the composer's works have been commissioned and performed by numerous leading orchestras and musicians in Europe and the United States, his music is largely neglected by scholars. Despite the increasing popularity of Le Rire de Saraï, the piece also has never received scholarly attention. Therefore, an analytical study of the piece, its influences, and its context in Connesson's output will provide for a d… more
Date: July 2023
Creator: Lee, Hyunjee
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A Linear Analysis of Piano Sonata (1926) Sz.80 by Béla Bartók: The Genesis and Development of the Composition

Description: Béla Bartók's Piano Sonata Sz.80 is known for its integration of modernist language with traditional elements. However, due to Bartók's radical style of writing, it remains challenging to precisely define the piece's motives, voice-leading, and structure, even though pianists who perform it may intuitively comprehend them. Therefore, this study aims to elucidate the Piano Sonata's motivic and tonal structure, genesis and development. First, this study demonstrates Bartók's use of linear motives… more
Date: July 2023
Creator: Lee, Jihye
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A Pedagogical Guide to the Twenty-Four Preludes for Piano, Op.67 (1814), by Johann Nepomuk Hummel

Description: Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778–1837) was a leading composer, virtuoso pianist, and well-known pedagogue during the late Classical and early Romantic periods. His music was important and frequently performed during his lifetime, but his piano preludes, Op. 67, seem to have been completely forgotten. These preludes reflect the traditional use of the prelude, with many traditional piano techniques. The influence of Hummel's Op. 67 on the next generations is clearly shown in the similarities in their … more
Date: July 2023
Creator: Liang, Haoyue
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A Performance Guide to a Forgotten Piece by Carl Czerny: "Fantaisie sur des melodies de Beethoven," Op. 752 (1844)

Description: Carl Czerny (1791-1857) was an Austrian piano teacher, composer, pianist, historian, and theorist, who made many contributions to the musical world. He wrote many pieces of music over the course of his life, the most familiar to us being his exercises. His other types of work are less known and studied nowadays for various reasons. Yet it cannot be denied that Czerny was a very important figure who should not be allowed to fade away. We must delve deeper into his life and uncover more of his pi… more
Date: July 2023
Creator: Zhao, Jingshu
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Politics and the Piano during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in China: An Analysis of Three Piano Works, "Music at Sunset" (1975), "Hundreds of Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" (1973), and "Liuyang River" (1972)

Description: As a political disturbance and social movement, the Cultural Revolution hugely impacted the development of Chinese piano art. The piano went through many stages throughout this ten-year period. This dissertation examines the suppression and later expansion of piano music in China during the Cultural Revolution, along with the historical motivations and forces that shaped each stage of its development. The study is supported by historical documents and relevant literature. This dissertation incl… more
Date: July 2023
Creator: Liu, Yuanshi
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Prokofiev's Piano Sonata No. 4 in C Minor, Op. 29 (1917): A Performance Guide based on Interpretations by György Sándor and Boris Berman

Description: One of the famous Russian composers and a pianist himself, Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953) composed a vast quantity of piano music. His nine piano sonatas represent well how he projected his musical individuality and the principles that he addressed in his autobiography: classical line, modern trend, toccata line, lyrical line, and grotesque line. However, even though Prokofiev's piano sonatas are considered one of the important collections in the piano repertoire, not all of them have gained popu… more
Date: July 2023
Creator: Cho, Soyoung
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Scriabin's "Prometheus" (1910): Problems and Solutions in a Transcription for Solo Piano

Description: Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) composed primarily for his instrument, the piano. He did, however, compose five major works for orchestra and a piano concerto. Scriabin's last work for orchestra, Prometheus: Poem of Fire, Op. 60 (1910), exemplifies his mature compositional style. The purpose of this dissertation is to contribute a solo transcription of Prometheus to the piano's rich literature in that genre. Furthermore, the dissertation aims to identify and examine the problems encountered in t… more
Date: July 2023
Creator: Powell, Ted

"Shanai Awaz": A Performance Guide and Piano Reduction of John Mayer's Oboe Concerto

Description: John Mayer (1929-2004) was a British Indian composer and violinist. Despite his contributions to bringing Indian music to the West and his large output of works, the majority of his compositions remain largely unknown. This document focuses on Mayer's only oboe concerto, Shanai Awaz, which translates to "Sound of the Shanai" in Hindi. It is representative of his fusion of Indian and Western techniques. The performance guide helps the oboist navigate the fusion elements of the piece. Because no … more
Date: July 2023
Creator: Merchant, Natasha K.
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12 Études Caractéristiques, Opus 2, by Adolf von Henselt: A Pedagogical Guide with Practical Exercises on Selected Etudes

Description: Adolf von Henselt (1814–1889) was one of the most renowned German pianists and composers of his day. The majority of his compositions are for the piano, one of his most successful being the set of Piano Études, Op. 2. It consists of twelve etudes, each of which is designed for developing a particular technique. Henselt's etudes are as demanding as Chopin's and Liszt's, so this pedagogical guide is designed for advanced-level students. Henselt uses many finger extensions and stretches larger tha… more
Date: May 2023
Creator: Kim, Hyunsuk
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An Analysis of Federico Alvarez del Toro's Marimba Concerto "El Espiritu de la Tierra"

Description: In this paper, I analyze the musical content in Federico Alvarez del Toro's marimba concerto El Espiritu de la Tierra. This dissertation represents my analysis of features I hear in the composition, and does not reflect the composer's original compositional process. Commissioned by the governor of Chiapas, the piece was composed in collaboration with internationally renowned marimba virtuoso Zeferino Nandayapa and premiered in 1984 with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Mexico City at Festival Cerv… more
Date: May 2023
Creator: Hastings, Tyree
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Antonio María Valencia's "Dúo en forma de sonata": An International Approach to Colombian National Music

Description: Antonio María Valencia (1902-1952) was one of the leading Colombian composers, pianists, and educators of his generation. His Dúo en forma de sonata (1926) for violin and piano serves as an early example of the composer's aesthetic. According to the programmatic description he sent to his mother, the Dúo depicts Valencia's "indelible impressions" of his homeland. Through structural and harmonic analysis, I examine the piece in relation to the composer's informal programmatic description. The an… more
Date: May 2023
Creator: Villamil Gómez, Diego Esteban
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Blurring the Boundaries of Chinese and Western Musical Language: A Harmonic and Form Analysis of Chen Qigang's "La joie de la souffrance" (2017) in Reference to the Compositional Influence of Olivier Messiaen

Description: Chen Qigang (b. 1951) is one of today's most representative and prolific Chinese composers. His works are regarded as setting a standard of excellence among Chinese composers in the twenty-first century. Like many Chinese composers of his generation, Chen combines in his works the traits of both Chinese traditional music and Western musical language. La joie de la souffrance (The Joy of Suffering) for violin and orchestra, composed for the Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition … more
Date: May 2023
Creator: Xiong, Hanbin
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