Music Commons^™

Madness, Sexuality, And Gender In Early Twentieth Century Music Theater Works: Four Interpretive Essays, Megan B. Jenkins

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Diagnoses of madness are inextricably entwined with social and cultural beliefs about gender and sexual behavior. The portrayal of characters in music theater as mad relies on contemporaneous understanding of mental illness, as often resulting from, or expressed in transgression of normative gender roles or heteronormativity, and this may apply either to male or female characters. Such transgressions are explored--with regard to recent reconceptualizations of madness within Disability Studies--in four works: Arnold Schoenberg's monodrama Erwartung (1924); Richard Strauss's opera Salome (1905); Kurt Weill's ballet chanté, Anna-Anna (1933), also known as The Seven Deadly Sins; and Igor Stravinsky's neo-classical …

The Piano Works Of Páll Ísólfsson (1893–1974): A Diverse Collection, Nina Margret Grimsdottir

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The piano works of Páll Ísólfsson (1893-1974) form a diverse collection of twenty-six pieces that consists of nineteen character pieces, one set of variations, and six liturgical pieces. They were composed during 1920-1970, and now for the first time, the collection can, in this dissertation, be appreciated in its entirety. The important steps taken along the way have included publication, recordings, research and concert performances.

The character pieces divide into four groups according to stylistic influence and maturity. Most of the earlier pieces fall into the "humorous burlesque" or "sentimental lyric" group; the other two groups belong to traditional dance …

Mátyás Seiber’S Twelve-Tone Technique, Bettina Lee

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation investigates the compositional style of Mátyás Seiber’s twelve-tone music through an analysis of three works composed between 1934 and 1960: String Quartet No. 2, Concert Piece for Violin and Piano, and Sonata for Violin and Piano. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the composer’s life and his compositional style. Chapter 2, on String Quartet No. 2 (1934-5), examines the subdivisions of the twelve-tone series into smaller pitch-class sets and introduces the concept of families. Chapter 3, on Concert Piece for Violin and Piano (1953-4), demonstrates the permutation of and within tetrachords derived from the prime series …

"A Kind Of Construction In Light And Shade": An Analytical Dialogue With Recording Studio Aesthetics In Two Songs By Led Zeppelin, Aaron Liu-Rosenbaum

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines how the sound of a recording contributes meaning to the song, working in conjunction with the song’s lyrics, harmonic and rhythmic structures, album artwork, and within its cultural context. Two songs by the rock group Led Zeppelin, “When the Levee Breaks” and “Stairway to Heaven,” are taken as analytical examples in which special attention is paid to the acoustic properties of the recordings, that is, where the instruments are situated within the stereo sound field; how they are timbrally manipulated with effects such as reverb, echo, distortion, and chorus; their relative levels of prominence; and how these …

Music For The (American) People: The Concerts At Lewisohn Stadium, 1922–1964, Jonathan Stern

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Not long after construction began for an athletic field at City College of New York, school officials conceived the idea of that same field serving as an outdoor concert hall during the summer months. The result, Lewisohn Stadium, named after its principal benefactor, Adolph Lewisohn, and modeled much along the lines of an ancient Roman coliseum, became that and much more. Lewisohn Stadium was for over forty years the summer home of America's oldest symphony orchestra, the New York Philharmonic. More importantly, the Lewisohn concerts witnessed a particularly impressive and innovative array of talent, creative as well as interpretive. For …

Toward A General Theory Of Polymeter: Polymetric Potential And Realization In Elliott Carter's Solo And Chamber Instrumental Works After 1980, Ève Poudrier

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation proposes a conceptual framework and tools for the analysis of polymeter in contemporary musical practices applied to the short instrumental works of Elliott Carter, where multiple temporalities have been identified as an essential aesthetic component. Three works are discussed in more detail: Changes for guitar (1983), Esprit rude/Esprit doux I for flute and clarinet (1985), and 90+ for piano (1994). The composer's use of metrical modulations and structural polyrhythms is re-evaluated in the context of a theory of polymeter. Structural polyrhythms are represented by means of proximity charts, and Carter's compositional strategies are explored, including rhetorical use of …

An Early Violin Sonata By Peter Cornelius: A Critical Edition And Study, Johannes P. Knijff

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The dissertation offers a critical edition of the Violin Sonata in E-flat Major (1844) by Peter Cornelius (1824–1874) based on the autograph manuscript (A-Wn Mus. Hs. 4752, fol. 31r–47r). An early work of a composer still in his student years, the sonata can nonetheless be considered one of the most ambitious instrumental compositions of Cornelius, who is well-known for his opera Der Barbier von Bagdad and his art songs. The sonata's four movements are: Allegro (340 mm.); Scherzo (B-flat major, 416 mm.); Fantasie (C minor, 35 mm.); and the finale (252 mm.).

In Chapter One, I describe Cornelius's family background …

An Ethnoarchaeomusicological Investigation Of Highland Guatemalan Maya Dance-Plays, Mark Harold Howell

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Instrumental music played on two valveless trumpets and a wooden slit-drum currently accompanies the highland Guatemalan Maya dance-play Rab'inal Achi. These two instrument types are known from the Prehispanic record and have been associated with the play since its first mention in the mid-nineteenth century.

The script of the Rab'inal Achi is considered by many scholars to have Prehispanic roots. The possibility that its accompanying music also originated in Precolumbian times is the impetus behind my study. To explore this possibility I apply ethnoarchaeomusicological research methods, incorporating data supplied by iconology-iconography, ethnographic analogy, history, archaeology, and music analysis. Ethnoarchaeomusicological …

Transcriptions, Paraphrases, And Arrangements: The Compositional Art Of Moritz Moszkowski, Gilya Hodos

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Although more or less forgotten by most musicians, Moritz Moszkowski (1854–1925) was a celebrated composer, conductor, teacher, editor, and performer. This thesis seeks to draw a thorough biographical sketch of the composer as both a man and a musician and to provide a general description of his piano transcriptions, arrangements, and paraphrases, as well as a detailed analysis of three of his virtuosic piano transcriptions. An analysis of Moszkowski's standing among his peers is also presented. His often under-appreciated achievements are documented in the musical journals of his day, including The Etude, The Musical Courier, The Musical Times, Musician, and …

An Interpretive Analysis Of Bela Bartok's Performance Of His Own Music, Shu-Yuan Yang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Bartok's recordings made between 1912 and 1945 are considered valuable sources to Bartok interpreters. These recordings provide us with a wealth of information about the composer's intentions and helpful interpretive ideas. This study shows that Bartok performs with great freedom that expresses what goes beyond the scores.

The pieces selected in this study include Bagatelle Op. 6 No. 2, Evening in Transylvania from Ten Easy Piano Pieces, the first movement of Suite Op. 14, and Allegro Barbaro. By analyzing Bartok's recordings on these four pieces, this thesis explores that Bartok's interpretive decisions are related to stylistic and structural characteristics. …

Sonata For Trumpet And Piano, Paul Howard Kirby

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This work is a three-movement sonata conceived in the traditional classical forms of sonata-allegro, song, and rondo, but using a greatly broadened definition of tonality. While the movements are rooted in B, E, and B, respectively, the resources employed to establish, maintain, and develop these tonal centers include many other techniques in addition to traditional functional harmony.

Tonal And Nontonal Elements In The Recent Chamber Music Of Ned Rorem, Paul Howard Kirby

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The recent (1981-91) chamber music for mixed instrumental ensembles of Ned Rorem demonstrates the use of tonal (or nearly tonal) material in combination with nontonal material (sometimes based freely on a twelve-note row) in such a manner that every composition has clearly identifiable sections (or whole movements) principally generated by each, even though the tonal sections often contain some nontonal elements, while the nontonal sections often borrow elements from tonality. Additionally, some sections (or movements) are balanced throughout between the use of tonal and nontonal elements.

Gender, Politics, And Modernist Music: Analyses Of Five Compositions By Ruth Crawford (1901–1953) And Marion Bauer (1887–1955), Ellie Michiko Hisama

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Using analytical models developed from recent work in the theory of musical contour, this dissertation presents reading of five compositions by the twentieth-century American composers Ruth Crawford and Marion Bauer. It relates biographical information about these composers to their musical works, emphasizing the contexts of gender and politics. My analyses of the third and fourth movements from Crawford's String Quartet (1931) and Bauer's Toccata from her Four Pieces for Piano, op. 21 (1930) explore how gender-specific experiences of these composers might relate to the structure of their music; my analyses of Crawford's 1932 song "Chinaman, Laundryman" from her Two Ricercari …

The Tradition Of Autobiography In Music, Antoni Pizà

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

A survey of autobiographical writings by composers from the fourteenth century to the present focusing on the question of how composers create a self. Although, the Autobiography of Thomas Whythorne (1528-96) can be considered the earliest autobiography by a composer, the genre also stems from lexicographical practices in eighteenth-century Germany (scholars such as Walther and Mattheson requested autobiographies from composers with the intention to include them in biographical dictionaries of music). In the nineteenth century, Wagner's autobiographies show the composer's concern with providing a solid image of himself through writing. Stravinsky's Autobiography demonstrates the composer's preoccupation for giving an exegesis …

Conflicting Attributions In The Continental Motet Repertory From Ca. 1500 To Ca. 1550, Young-Han Hur

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study attempts to bring together all the conflicting attributions in the motets attributed to composers who worked on the Continent during the first half of the sixteenth century. In all, it accounts for a total of 266 motets (listed in the Inventory, Appendix A) that involve conflicting attributions among 122 composers. Rather than placing the emphasis on the problem of determining the correct authorship, however, I have used the conflicting attributions as a springboard in order to shed light on a number of different aspects of sixteenth-century music.

Chapter I briefly surveys conflicting attributions in various genres from ca. …

Talent And Technique: George Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue" And John Paul Ii's Mayday 1984 Address To New York Gay And Lesbian Socialists' League At Cooper Union's Great Hall (Transcribed Into Verse From Unauthorized French And Italian Versions Of The Official Soviet Translation Of The Polish Original By Norman Macafee) For Tenor Solo, Chorus (Satb), And Eight Players, Arthur Maisel

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The dissertation consists of two parts, an analytical essay and a composition.

The essay starts from the fact that the musical worth of the Rhapsody in Blue has often been questioned, despite its having been a fixture of the repertoire since its premiere. A close (Schenkerian) analysis shows the flaws of the piece in detail. It also reveals considerable structural coherence, however, comprising very sophisticated treatment of motives in the foreground and middleground, and, in the background, the unfolding of a tritone as the boundary of a tonic that is both B-flat major-minor and a whole-tone collection. Since Gershwin was …

Sinfonia Brevis (Original Composition), Jeffrey Lynn Miller

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Sinfonia Brevis. A work for orchestra (2d1 2 2 2 - 4 2 2 0, timpani, 2 percussionists, strings) in one movement divided into four sections (Andante Moderato, Allegro, Adagio, Allegro), with a duration of approximately 17 minutes.

An Analysis Of Roberto Gerhard's "Libra", Jeffrey Lynn Miller

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Libra (1968), for mixed chamber ensemble, is one of the last works by the Anglo-Spanish composer Roberto Gerhard (1896-1970). Analysis of this work reveals that it employs a variety of compositional techniques, including pitch cells, serialism, folk elements, and structures based primarily on texture and timbre. This multiplicity of means reflects Gerhard's background, which included beginnings in Spanish nationalism and later work as a pupil of Arnold Schoenberg. Libra is unified through the dramatic combination of the various elements, the use of a limited number of motives, and the possible influence of a secret autobiographical program.

Sinfonia Brevis. A work …

Ives On His Own Terms: An Explication, A Theory Of Pitch Organization, And A New Critical Edition For The "3-Page Sonata", Carol Kitzes Baron

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Ives's musical vision is tied to the expression of programmatic content. He believed that all music is program music. The first part of this study, "An Explication," shows how the extramusical dimensions are articulated in the formal design of the music. The formal, motivic, textural, and tonal techniques relate to the program. The program for the 3-Page Sonata is found in three literary sources: a note Ives pinned to his copy of the first edition, the marginal notes on the composing score, and "Memo 5" from Ives's Memos, which contains a parody of the writing of the critic W. J. …

Voice-Leading Patterns In The Fugal Expositions Of J. S. Bach's "Well-Tempered Clavier", William Jonathan Michael Renwick

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Although Heinrich Schenker's theory of tonal music goes very far towards uniting the traditionally independent domains of counterpoint and harmony, it does not deal directly or deeply with the connective role which imitative texture often plays in this synthesis. The obligations inherent in a canonic or fugal texture may limit compositional choices, but they also provide an underpinning of control and direction to voice leading. This dissertation demonstrates the structural role of imitation in tonal music by comparative analysis of a selected body of imitative music: the fugues of J. S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier.

A consistent and close interrelationship exists …

Linear Analysis Of Selected Posttonal Works Of Arnold Schoenberg: Toward An Application Of Schenkerian Concepts To Music Of The Posttonal Era (And) String Quartet, No. 2 (Original Composition), Edward M. Smaldone

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The analysis of posttonal music is approached through a method (which originated with Henry Weinberg) utilizing Schenker's approach to tonal music as a conceptual model. This method differs from all other methods of analysis in that voice leading is combined with a unique approach to nontonal harmony. The presentation of the analytical method is given a historical perspective through the analysis of "Jimbo's Lullaby," by Debussy. There follows detailed analyses of Op. 15 no. 1 (The Book of the Hanging Gardens) and Six Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19 by Arnold Schoenberg.

Part II of the dissertation is an …

String Quartet, No. 2, Edward M. Smaldone

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Three movements (Vibrant, Exalted, Recitative: Scherzo) for two violins, viola, and 'cello. Part I of this dissertation is an essay entitled "Linear Analysis of Selected Posttonal Works of Arnold Schoenberg: Toward an Application of Schenkerian Concepts to Music of the Posttonal Era."

Instruments In Sacred Vocal Music At Braunschweig-Wolfenbuttel: A Study Of Changing Tastes In The Seventeenth Century, James Leonard Brauer

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

The Short Piano Works Of Edward Macdowell, Francis Paul Brancaleone

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Edward MacDowell (1860-1908) was thought by many to be America's leading composer. His fame rested on his personal appearances, performances of his orchestral suites, piano concertos, and other piano works, as well as his teaching position at Columbia. This study presents a style analysis of the complete body of short piano works (160), including the unpublished juvenilia (32 compositions) and those works published under the pseudonym of Edgar Thorn (13 compositions).

MacDowell's published short piano compositions consist of 115 pieces in 19 sets, composed over the period 1880-1902. These pieces constitute a significant …