Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2999-01-01

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Between 1947 and 1979 the Utah Symphony Orchestra was transformed from an obscure, part-time, amateur orchestra into one of the major symphony orchestras in America. By 1947 the orchestra, which had begun as a Works Progress Administration organization, was barely hanging on. The symphony struggled to remain financially solvent, performing only a few concerts per year. Thirty-two years later the Utah Symphony Orchestra was one of the most prestigious musical ensembles in the country— receiving rave reviews from critics around the world, touring extensively, and with more than a hundred albums to its credit. The remarkable growth of the Utah Symphony Orchestra during this period is largely attributable to the efforts of one man—Maurice Abravanel. Abravanel's unwaveiing commitment to furthering classical music was responsible for the changes that altered the symphony as an organization. His drive to further cultural education throughout the world, and specifically in the American West provides a remarkable story of dedication and commitment. To place Abravanel's ideologies and organizational successes in the context of American classical music, this thesis examines the history of the symphony, as an institution, in America, before turning to a study of Abravanel's personal efforts and the Utah Symphony Orchestra's consequent growth. This thesis argues that the Utah Symphony Orchestra, specifically while under the direction of Maurice Abravanel, provides an example of positive growth in community education and classical music promotion. The particular programs that Abravanel implemented were generally successful, and ultimately responsible for the symphony's unprecedented growth. Further, by examining the challenges and solutions that Abravanel confronted in his work to build the symphony, it is possible to understand better the ingredients necessary to the development of professional classical music organizations. This study uses Abravanel's work with the Utah Symphony as a model for successful community music programs, with the intent to communicate insight into successful methods for the promotion of classical music. Such an examination provides a new and imminently practical method for the historical study of musical institutions.

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Text in Afrikaans / Art History, Visual Arts & Musicology / D.Mus. (Musiekwetenskap)

Text in Afrikaans / Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology / D.Mus. (Musiekwetenskap)

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Serge Koussevitzky, conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924-1949, had, throughout his career, a reputation as a champion of modern music. The anticipation of his arrival in Boston in 1924 sparked a great deal of public debate about his reported modernism which the critics reflected and contributed to. This thesis analyzes the critical reaction, preserved in scrapbooks of newspaper clippings at Symphony Hall, Boston, to Koussevitzky's programming of contemporary music during his first five years with the BSO.

The aim of this thesis is to examine interactivity in the context of performance-based interactive art. The questions asked are: what are the conditions of interactivity, how interactivity happens, and what artistic results it may yield. The method is an analysis based on close studies of three performance-based interactive artworks by applying theories of interactivity, audience participation, and collaboration. First, current theories are outlined, after which, the three artworks are introduced in detail. Next, the artworks are examined, thematically rather than individually, expanding on parameters such as the degree of artistic direction of the artwork, the degree of agency allowed to the spectator in their interaction with the work, and the idea of the “passive” spectator as being “activated” by interactive art. It is shown that the actualization of the interactive gesture inscribed within the work depends on the spectator’s subjectivity and obedience to said gesture. Thus, the conditions of the interaction are not decided by the work/artist alone, but also and equally, by the spectator. Consequently, the actualized interactivity may not immediately correspond with the (possible) authorial intent and may even be unexpected or "infelicitous." The problematic of the thesis falls within the scope of current discourse concerning the striving for interactivity between the work of art and its spectator/audience. While that discourse has often been focused on authorial intent or has implied an ideal spectator, this thesis points to the significance of subjectivity with regards to interactivity and thereby adds increased complexity to the concept of interactivity.