Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Worlds Of If: Analyses Of The Composed And Improvised Works Of Robert Dick, Melissa Keeling

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Considered one of the most important publications in twentieth-century flute pedagogy, Robert Dick’s seminal method book, The Other Flute (1975),[1] is an extensive catalogue of multiphonic fingerings, microtonal fingerings, glissandi, circular breathing, and other extended techniques. The Other Flute and a handful of his published solos are widely studied, but these works only represent a fraction of Dick’s creative energies.

Equally comfortable in classical, jazz, rock, electronic, and world music, Dick’s oeuvre demonstrates a sophisticated, musical use of contemporary techniques and his pieces have become standard repertoire. Though Dick was not the first flutist to use or notate these …

Noodling Changes: The Development Of Xylophone Improvisation In New York City (1916-1942), Jonathan D. Singer

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Red Norvo is cited as the xylophonist who took the instrument from the vaudeville stage to jazz. However, many xylophonists preceding Norvo were avid improvisers. There is an untapped history of xylophone improvisation on record and in pedagogical materials from a generation before Norvo’s appearance on the scene. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine evidence and the development of improvisation and improvisation-oriented music by xylophonists in New York City, the epicenter of recording and radio from the period of 1916-1942. This study includes xylophonists George Hamilton Green, Joseph Green, Harry Breuer, Sammy Herman, and Billy Gladstone, as well …

Between Speech & Song: Clarifying The Sprechstimme Of Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire, Sara M. Paar

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Since its creation, the technique of Sprechstimme has fascinated the audiences, performers, and composers of twentieth century music. What is it? How is it done? How should it be notated? At the fore of investigations into these questions has been Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire, the work in which Schoenberg debuted this new technique. Much has been written in regard to Schoenberg’s creation and use of Sprechstimme, as well as his own exploration of the speech/song continuum. Composers, conductors, and performers have all tried to make sense of the notation, instructions, and performances Schoenberg left behind. Despite this, confusion, …

Gustave Vogt's Musical Album Of Autographs: A Scholarly Edition, Kristin Leitterman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Gustave Vogt (1781–1870) was the most famous oboist in Europe during the mid-nineteenth century. Throughout his career he played with the best orchestras in Paris, toured Europe widely, and also taught the next generation of oboists at the Paris Conservatoire from 1802–1853. Although many of the details of his life have been lost to history, he did leave behind a record of the esteem in which he was held. This is preserved physically in the form of an album of short musical compositions honoring Vogt, collected between 1831 and 1859. The album has never been published, and is in the …

"Toccatas And Arias": Analysis And Historical Context Of Vivian Fine’S Last Work For Solo Piano, Manon Hutton-Dewys

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Vivian Fine’s Toccatas and Arias (1987) is an important work both in Fine’s compositional output and in the history of ultramodern music. Through her close associations with Ruth Crawford, Henry Cowell, and others, Vivian Fine was very much a product of the musical scene that developed in New York in the 1920s and early 30s. Toccatas and Arias, Fine’s last piece for solo piano shows that Fine continued to write in the ultramodern/dissonant counterpoint style throughout her life. Its characteristics also demonstrate that, contrary to music-historical writings that suggest such music essentially died out in the mid-twentieth century, Fine …

William Bolcom’S "Twelve New Etudes" (1988): Theoretical And Interpretative Analysis, Ran Dank

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Ever since its naissance, composer William Bolcom’s set of Twelve New Etudes has garnered great critical praise, culminating with the prestigious Pulitzer Prize in 1988. Although much has been written about the background surrounding the creation of these pieces and their technical novelty, no formal analysis of this set of etudes has been published.

This dissertation thoroughly examines the various aspects which hold these pieces together. Each etude is analyzed according to a clearly defined set of criteria: dynamics, compositional language, range, texture, articulation and contour, meter and rhythm, and form. In addition, a more detailed analysis is offered, providing …

A Study Of Nikolai Medtner's Compositional Technique: Form And Narrative In Tales, Oliver H. Markson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation delves into the compositional approach of Russian-born composer Nikolai Medtner. A discussion of Medtner’s own words on composition from his book The Muse and Fashion: Being a Defence of the Foundations of the Art of Music is followed by original analyses of four Tales. Focus is placed on the composer’s philosophy regarding the relationship between form and narrative, in association with his expressed warnings of the dangers behind shifting compositional dominance from pure music to extra-musical narrative. The analyses are followed by a discussion of the vital importance of Medtner’s music and writings for future generations of composers. …

Solo Performance: An Extension Of Vocal Pedagogy, Monica J. Harte

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In this study, I examine the significance of the solo performance opportunity in vocal pedagogy at the tertiary level. In order to discover tangible correlations between solo performing and applied lessons, I designed and implemented a case study that focused on fourteen subjects rehearsing, performing, and recording roles in the children’s opera, Mambo. The findings stem from my theoretical analysis of substantive data collected through forty-one interviews and three months of observations. The data collected disclosed that whether the participants advanced within a particular performance practice (such as presentation), or developed a specific vocal technique (such as coloratura), Mambo …

A Performer’S Guide To Joaquín Rodrigo’S Concierto De Estío (1943) In The Context Of The Twentieth-Century Spanish Violin Concerto, Eva León

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation provides a performer's guide to the Concierto de Estío (1943), a violin concerto by Joaquín Rodrigo (1901–1999). It offers an in-depth study of the Concierto by setting the work in its historical, biographical, and musical context, as well as analyzing its form, style, and performance issues, and by considering its technical difficulties and details of interpretation. It provides a general historical background to the evolution of the Spanish violin school during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and also outlines Rodrigo’s contribution to the violin repertoire.

The Concierto de Estío is an important addition to the genre in general, …

Max Kowalski's Japanischer Frühling: A Song Collection From The Period Of The Jewish Cultural Alliance In Nazi Germany, Nils Neubert

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The topic of this dissertation is the song composer Max Kowalski (1882-1956) and his song collection Japanischer Frühling (1934-1938). This dissertation presents a critical edition of this previously unpublished song collection, which sets adaptations of Japanese poetry by the German poet Hans Bethge (1876-1946). Aside from the edition and critical report, the dissertation includes chapters on the literature (Chapter One); the composer’s biography (Chapter Two); his output and reception (Chapter Three); Hans Bethge’s adaptations of the Japanese poetry that form the basis of the collection (Chapter Four); the genesis, performance history, and reception of the song collection (Chapter Five); and …