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The Theme And Variations As Used By Four Important Piano Composers In Four Periods Of Music History, James Patrick O'Brien

All Master's Theses

The intent of this study was to give a brief background and history of the theme and variations in early periods of music history, as well as to analyze more specifically and compare in some depth the use of the form by four composers of later periods, in a keyboard work of each. Each of the following composers represents a different period of music history: (1) Handel, late Baroque; (2) Mozart, Classic; (3) Beethoven, early Romantic; and (4) Norman Dello Joio, Modern. Although the form under study has been used in many media of writing, the compositions in this analysis …