This document examines Sonata No. 1 for Piano, Op. 74 of Aleksandr Konstantinovich Glazunov (1865-1936) and illustrates the incorporated Russian musical elements. The study has the twofold purpose of firstly defining musical elements idiomatic of Russian folk song, Russian Orthodox Church music and the Mighty Five; and secondly finding their representation in Glazunov's piano sonata. The introductory chapter describes the purpose of this study and the need for identifying the idioms of musical Russianness. The second chapter provides a historical background and explores characteristics of Russian folk music and Russian Church music, which are intrinsic to Russian musical culture. The third chapter discusses the historical background of Russian nationalism in music, the establishment of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, and the contributions of the Mighty Five to the rise of a truly Russian national style as opposed to the Western traditions. Chapter four provides biographical information about Aleksandr Glazunov. The first part of chapter five presents historical background of Sonata No. 1 for Piano, Op. 74. The second part of this chapter discusses the composition within the context of Russian musical elements as identified in chapters two and three. The concluding chapter six summarizes the observations of the author. It was the premise of this study that the compilation of historical and analytical evidence would lead to an identification of the idioms of musical Russianness and of their use by Aleksandr Glazunov. The analysis performed here captures the musical elements of Russianness and offers a deeper understanding of Glazunov's achievement in integrating them with traditional Western compositional techniques.

In the new generation of artists emerging in South Africa, Alexander Johnson is considered the most prolific young composer of his day. In a recent review in the Pretoria News, Johnson has been praised by eminent critic Paul Boekkooi as a composer who has “an ear for the exotic and knows exactly how to bring it off....” He continued by noting that his music is “mentally engrossing, pleasurable to the senses and seems refreshingly free from dogmatic formulas." Johnson writes for musicians and the general public to equal satisfaction. His accessible compositions and catching use of melodic materials have made his writings very popular both in South Africa and abroad. During his residency in Belgrade in 1993-94, Johnson met Croatian pianist Dorian Leljak. Impressed with Johnson's compositional ideas and output, Leljak commissioned a work from Johnson for piano and orchestra. The result was the Niš Concerto, which Johnson completed in April 1994. The world premiere took place on June 23, 1994 with the Niš Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Anatoli Nowiestski with Dorian Leljak as soloist. The Niš Concerto received its South African premiere in 1995 during a simultaneous celebration for “Europe Day” and the new democracy of the Republic of South Africa. The Delegation of the European Commission of South Africa sponsored the celebration, which took place in the Aula Auditorium on the campus of the University of Pretoria. The performers included the Artium Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Dutch-born Prof. Henk Temmingh and Johnson himself as piano soloist.

abstract: This project discusses the horn, tuba, piano sub-genre of brass chamber music. Alec Wilder wrote the first piece for this instrumentation in 1963 for his friends John Barrows and Harvey Phillips. Wilder's compositional style was directly affected by life events and relationships. Through letters, biographies, recordings and autobiographies the importance of his friendship with Barrows and Phillips are displayed to show the links between the two men and the composer's compositional output. A deeper look into the life of Alec Wilder and a thematic analysis of his Suite No.1 for Horn, Tuba and Piano (1963), and Suite No.2 for Horn, Tuba and Piano (1971) shed light on the beginnings of the genre and provide a deeper understanding of the works. Since Wilder's two trios there have been at least twenty works written for this instrumentation. A brief overview of works written for the trio since 1971 provide a broad sense of the quantity and benefits of the trio in the hopes of inspiring new performances and compositions. This paper will combine the seemingly random compositions for the instrumentation into a collected repertoire. With an increase in exposure, the trio for horn, tuba and piano has the potential to become a standard brass chamber group that will benefit students, performers, and audiences alike. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Music 2015

Esta pesquisa teve por objetivo investigar empiricamente as decisões interpretativas quanto ao timing e dinâmica de quatro execuções do primeiro movimento da Sonata para piano n.1 de Francisco Mignone. Por meio da comparação de gravações, foram identificadas estratégias expressivas adotadas pelos intérpretes em relação ao timing, dinâmica e articulação, evidenciando assim o direcionamento expressivo do discurso musical em determinados trechos da obra. Tendo em vista os eventos musicais característicos de cada seção da Sonata, foi realizada uma análise da organização rítmica que apoiou a análise das gravações. / This research aimed at empirically investigating the interpretative decisions regarding timing and dynamics of four recorded performances of the first movement of Sonata n.1 for piano by Francisco Mignone. The comparison identified the expressive strategies adopted by the chosen interpreters in relation to articulation and dynamics thus bringing out the temporal profiles of predetermined spans. Issues such as background and organizational planning of the Sonata were taken into account in view of the musical events characteristic of each section. Theories of rhythmic organization supported the analyses of recordings.

Esta pesquisa teve por objetivo investigar empiricamente as decisões interpretativas quanto ao timing e dinâmica de quatro execuções do primeiro movimento da Sonata para piano n.1 de Francisco Mignone. Por meio da comparação de gravações, foram identificadas estratégias expressivas adotadas pelos intérpretes em relação ao timing, dinâmica e articulação, evidenciando assim o direcionamento expressivo do discurso musical em determinados trechos da obra. Tendo em vista os eventos musicais característicos de cada seção da Sonata, foi realizada uma análise da organização rítmica que apoiou a análise das gravações. / This research aimed at empirically investigating the interpretative decisions regarding timing and dynamics of four recorded performances of the first movement of Sonata n.1 for piano by Francisco Mignone. The comparison identified the expressive strategies adopted by the chosen interpreters in relation to articulation and dynamics thus bringing out the temporal profiles of predetermined spans. Issues such as background and organizational planning of the Sonata were taken into account in view of the musical events characteristic of each section. Theories of rhythmic organization supported the analyses of recordings.

Esta pesquisa teve por objetivo investigar empiricamente as decisões interpretativas quanto ao timing e dinâmica de quatro execuções do primeiro movimento da Sonata para piano n.1 de Francisco Mignone. Por meio da comparação de gravações, foram identificadas estratégias expressivas adotadas pelos intérpretes em relação ao timing, dinâmica e articulação, evidenciando assim o direcionamento expressivo do discurso musical em determinados trechos da obra. Tendo em vista os eventos musicais característicos de cada seção da Sonata, foi realizada uma análise da organização rítmica que apoiou a análise das gravações. / This research aimed at empirically investigating the interpretative decisions regarding timing and dynamics of four recorded performances of the first movement of Sonata n.1 for piano by Francisco Mignone. The comparison identified the expressive strategies adopted by the chosen interpreters in relation to articulation and dynamics thus bringing out the temporal profiles of predetermined spans. Issues such as background and organizational planning of the Sonata were taken into account in view of the musical events characteristic of each section. Theories of rhythmic organization supported the analyses of recordings.