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Golliwog's Cakewalk From Children's Corner Arranged For Clarinet Quartet, Elizabeth Johnson

Honors Projects

By demonstrating integrated learning through interdisciplinary connections between music performance and arranging techniques, this honors project was the culmination of a process of using my knowledge of piano and clarinet performance techniques to arrange the piece “Golliwog’s Cakewalk” by Claude Debussy from piano to clarinet quartet. To arrange the piece for clarinet quartet, I utilized my experience in playing piano and clarinet to critically analyze the piano score and decide how it would best aurally transfer to an ensemble of four clarinets. The project also demonstrates critical thinking as I arranged the piece to be at a playing level appropriate …

Musical Rhetoric, Narrative, Drama, And Their Negation In Morton Feldman's Piano And String Quartet, Ryan Michael Howard

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Though Morton Feldman famously expressed his aversion to conventional compositional rhetoric early in his career, an examination of his music from the late 1970s onward reveals a more complex and ambiguous relationship with musical rhetoric than has often been acknowledged. In his own writings Feldman hinted at the notion of illusory function and directionality in his music, as well as to the phenomenon of "negation." It is my contention that the extended-length works written in the last years of the composer's life, which frequently feature tantalizing suggestions of conventional musical narrative, provide rich opportunity for readings of these statements. My …

Secrets Of A Toy-Box: A Study Of Claude Debussy's La Boîte À Joujoux, Mirna Lekic

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The influence of Claude Debussy's inventive musical language can be traced through to the most modern classical repertoire. Yet of the composer's three ballets, which provided the counterweight to the Russian dominance of Parisian ballet culture in the early 1900s, only Jeux has received substantial scholarly attention. The following document is a monograph on La Boîte à joujoux (1913), Debussy's innovative ballet for children or marionettes. It offers an exploration of the work's broader significance and contextualizes it both within Debussy's oeuvre and in a broader historical realm. Included is a survey of the ballet's performance history, as well as …

Your Guide On Learning How To Play The Piano, Jankiben Patel

Senior Theses

I’ve had a strong desire to learn how to play a piano ever since my first music class in elementary school. I asked my parents if I could receive piano lessons. They saw how extremely excited I was and they agreed to seek out a piano instructor for me. Unfortunately, my parents soon realized that they simply could not afford the fees. I brought up the topic a few more times, but to no avail. In middle school, I joined the band to play the clarinet. Although my hopes of playing the piano were put on hold, I grasped this …

Mirrors, Zachary R. Ross

Undergraduate Honors Theses

MIRRORS is a cycle of songs composed for soprano voice and piano using five poems by Sylvia Plath. The work features the creation of a protagonist and tells a chronological story through the arrangement of the five poems colored and unified by the manipulation of a thematic twelve-tone row.

Sicilian Instrumental Music During The Ottocento: A Rediscovery Of Forgotten Repertoire For Piano, Alison C. Snow

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

During the Italian Ottocento, purely instrumental genres were overshadowed by opera and, as a result, have been largely forgotten today both within and without Italy. This project will explore this lacuna through a case study drawn from the piano music of three Sicilian composers: Ga spare Tamburello, Giuseppe Perrotta and Gaetano lmpallomeni. By evaluating how their music embodies Ottocento culture, as well as its abstract musical content, performers will show that this neglected repertoire is worthy of repeated contemporary revival. To accomplish this, I will be collaborating with professional Italian musicians Davide Macaluso and Marco Zafarana to prepare and …

Conversations We Have Had, Michael Koltosky

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

An Examination Of Toccata Line Movements In Prokofiev's Piano Music, Jeremie Michael

Online Theses and Dissertations

Sergei Prokofiev categorized his compositions by grouping them into several "lines," namely, the classical, modern, toccata, and lyrical lines. This thesis will examine six solo piano works by Sergei Prokofiev, their relationship to one another, and their relative significance in context of Prokofiev's oeuvre as a whole. Three of the movements are specifically listed by the composer in the toccata line category, and the remaining three possess arresting similarities that could place them in that line.

Chapter 1 places the following six compositions in historical context of Prokofiev's career as composer and pianist: Scherzo, Opus 12, No. 2; Third Sonata, …

Toward An Understanding Of Contemporary Korean American Piano Music: A Stylistic Analysis Of In-Transit (1999), Piano Sonata (2006), And Inter-Mez-Zo (2006) By Beata Moon, Ka-Young Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Beata Moon is a second-generation Korean American musician who is actively involved in the American music field. She is a performing pianist but also serves as a promoter of new music and aesthetic education. As a composer, Moon has developed a distinctive style that is eclectic and accessible to the audience.

The focus of the study is a stylistic analysis of Beata Moon's three major solo piano works: In-Transit (1999), Piano Sonata (2006), and Inter-Mez-Zo (2006). The analysis includes examination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm and keyboard usage in each of Beata Moon's three major solo piano works. This study …

In Search Of Murmurings (Full Score), Luke Martin

Honors Theses

"In Search of Murmurings" is deeply indebted to my reading of Marcel Proust's Swann's Way and explores his concept of recombining lost memories in the liminal space of our inner selves. Certain moments in the piece act as aural triggers for memory eruptions into my lost and fragmented experience of past composers' works. As much as this piece is an exploration of Proust, it is also an exploration of myself. By following these memory eruptions, I am departing from the convention, expected, and narrative path; I am asking: what happens when I allow the illogical and non-linear to take control?

Alberto Ginastera's Twelve American Preludes : Descriptive Analysis And Performer's Guide, Alejandra Saez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This monograph presents a detailed descriptive analysis and performer’s guide for Alberto Ginastera’s Twelve American Preludes Op.12. The author emphasizes the study of specific compositional and pianistic techniques for the performer who wishes to develop a deeper understanding of this remarkable twentieth century work. Equally important is the attempt to develop a greater appreciation of the importance and contributions of one Argentina’s greatest composers.

Brad Mehldau’S Approach To Orchestration At The Piano In A Trio Setting As Demonstrated On “August Ending” (2004) And “Secret Beach” (2006), Gabriel Fatin

Theses : Honours

Brad Mehldau is one of the most accomplished and original pianists playing today, and his musical output is met with a grand reception from critics and the public alike. Influenced predominately by the jazz piano lineage including Wynton Kelly and McCoy Tyner, rock music, and classical music, he has developed a highly unique way of playing, which early on was reminiscent of Bill Evans. One of the most striking aspects of his playing is in the way that he orchestrates his improvisations across the piano. He has the ability to play independent solo melodies in his left hand and right …

A Performance Guide To Jake Heggie's From 'The Book Of Nightmares', Kristen Bauer Marchiafava

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The document will examine the four songs of the cycle, From ‘The Book of Nightmares,’ in detail and give suggestions for stylistic interpretation and performance. The written document contains four chapters: Chapter One provides biographical information and a stylistic overview of the composer Jake Heggie. Chapter Two contains biographical information and a stylistic overview for the poet Galway Kinnell. Chapter Three will provide information about the premiere and recording of From ‘The Book of Nightmares,’ as well as biographical information about soprano Lisa Delan, for whom the song cycle was written, and reviews of her recording “The Hours Begin to …

An Introduction To The Piano Music Of Manuel M. Ponce, Luis Francisco Gaytan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Manuel María Ponce Cuéllar (1882-1948) was a Mexican pianist, composer and educator. A prolific composer, Manuel Ponce wrote orchestral suites and symphonic poems; three concertos, one each for piano, guitar and violin; chamber works; over 400 works for piano, both solo and in ensemble; a large collection of works for the guitar long considered the foundation of the modern guitar repertoire; over 200 songs; choral works and music for the stage. His constant search for and assimilation of new musical materials and compositional techniques lead him to write a large and eclectic catalogue of works. A brilliant pianist on his …