Scriabin composed the piano work ¡§Prelude¡¨ Op.11 during 1886 to 1889. This set of 24 preludes is regarded as the essential early work of Scriabin. The composition is influenced by Chopin¡¦s work ¡§Prelude¡¨ Op.28. The first part of the thesis are discussed the life of Scriabin, then, the definition and the development of preludes. The second part generalize the early style of Scriabin and compare the relationship between Scriabin¡¦s ¡§Prelude¡¨ Op.11 and Chopin¡¦s ¡§Prelude¡¨ Op.28. Finally, the focus would be on analyzing difficult skills of the Scriabin¡¦s ¡§Prelude¡¨ Op.11 and explaining the practicing process. The main purpose of this research is to present the compositional technique and idea of Scriabin, so it will benefit the performers who are learning this piece.

Frederic Francois Chopin was the first composer to write a Ballade as an instrumental musical work. From 1831 to 1843 he wrote a total of four Ballades. This study primarily discusses Chopin's use of contrast in the Ballade in G minor, opus 23 and in the Ballade in F minor, opus 52. First, it discusses the background of Chopin's life and his composition of the Ballades. Second, it reviews the origin and development of those genres of poetry and music called "ballad" or "ballade" that relate to Chopin's Ballades. Finally, it focuses on the ways that Chopin utilizes contrast in the G minor Ballade and the F minor Ballade, on whether or not the contrasts appear differently in different musical forms, and on allowing the performer to understand the unique kinds of writing in the Ballades. It is hoped that the performer who plays the Ballades, in addition to having the required technical ability, is also able to understand in more depth the content of these Ballades and the ideas they are meant to express.

In 19th century, the western music was propelled by the romanticism. Composers leaned toward the seeking of self-consciousness, and left away from the constraints of the traditional music form. Therefore, the ¡§character variation¡¨ became the most distinguished method of variations in this period. In the Symphonic Etudes, Schumann put the idea of variations into his etudes. Based on one subject, he developed it by using the technique of character variation to make each variation not only shows virtuoso practicing, but also keeps it full of creativity and imagination, in which showed his unique composing style. On the other hand, in order to show the ¡§symphony¡¨ character, lots of counterpoint textures were applied in op. 13, along with the application of massive chords in order to create the colorful gradation effect just like an orchestra. Therefore, in Symphonic Etudes op. 13, no matter you are looking at it from its harmonic texture of subject, switch of tonality, and the tone color change, one can see that Schumann used his unique composition writing and the mature techniques of variation. Therefore op. 13 is not only filled with Schumann¡¦s personal music language, but also the artistic value of the romantic etude. This thesis is divided into three chapters in addition to the preface and the conclusion. Chapter one is to focus on the background of op. 13, in which the combination of ¡§Variation¡¨, and ¡§Etude¡¨ is explained in detail. Chapter two is to thoroughly investigate the composition method in op. 13, in which divided into four sections for analysis, including rhythm, harmony, melody texture, and orchestral effects. The final chapter is to make a summary based on the variation characters, and the special piano techniques.

Erik Satie was active from the end of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth century in France. His style of composition is unique. Even though he is not classified to any denomination of music, the impact of the future can not be denied. First, the thesis investigates Satie's compositional background to understand his learning experience and personality. Second, according to the four periods classified by The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, his music style from the first period to the third period will be discussed. Finally, the piano solo works "Sports et Divertissements" (1914) which belongs to the third period will be studied carefully. "Sports et Divertissements" combines diverse artistic elements such as music, pictures, and poems. A further research through studying the relation between music and pictures, the combination between music and poems, the association between music and visual elements, and Satie's unusual harmony will be explored.

Abstract Schumann is one of the most important composers in the Romantic period of music, furthermore, his piano works also stay in a firm position in the 19th century piano literature. Due to Schumann's enthusiasm for literature, his piano compositions are always linked to literature closely. There are three methods that Schumann used to integrate the art of literature and music: by using a poetry as a motto for an entire work, transforming the literary inspirations into his musical composition, and transferring directly from letters to notes. Among Schumann's numerous piano works, the composition of character piece is noteworthy. The ¡§Carnaval¡¨ is representative in this type. This work consists 21 pieces. For each piece, Schumann gives a title to describe his own duel-personalities, the features of his good friends, and the characteristics of each role from ¡§Larventanz¡¨. There are five chapters in this paper: the first chapter is the introduction, and in the second chapter it includes the relationship between Schumann's piano music and literature. The character pieces of Schumann will be discussed in the third chapter. The fourth chapter will focus on the compositional background and stylistic features of ¡§Carnaval¡¨. In the Fifth chapter, the unity of thematic materials and tonal structure of melodic frame will be discussed in details.

In the vast output of Dmitri Dmitryevich Shostakovich, the chamber music hold a special place. These compositions, which the composer regarded them as ¡¥personal diary¡¦ himself, reflected both aspects of the social situation and the words forbidden by the power. With the ¡¥Piano Trio No.1 in C Minor, op. 8¡¦, we could trace back the traditions descended to Shostakovich during his early years. After stepping into his mature period, the interrelationship between structure perfection and motive development marked the ¡¥Piano Trio No.2 in E Minor, op. 67¡¦ a unique masterpiece. This article had taken research into both works, with discussion of two recordings by the composer and variable score editions. Hope this would make the performer grasp a full conception of these works and transmit the acurate spirit while performing.

Tchaikovsky is one of the most distinguished Russian composers in the world of the 19th century. With his unique personality and life experience, Tchaikovsky¡¦s music always reveals sentimental, sad and pessimistic emotional content. The Russian folk elements were employed in his works to show his patriotic passion. At the same time, Tchaikovsky was also influenced by the musical style of Western Europe. The international feature in his music makes Tchaikovsky staying on the important position of classical music world after his death for more than 100 years. Tchaikovsky¡¦s Album for the Young, op.39, was composed in 1878, including twenty-four pieces. Strongly inspired by Album for the Young, op. 65 of Robert Schumann, each piece of Tchaikovsky¡¦s op.39 has a lovely title and cantabile melodic lines. The performance duration is short with concise formal structures. As he always did, Tchaikovsky added several Russian country folksongs and various rhythmic and dance music types within this work. It is suitable for elementary level students into the intermediate ones to learn in terms of playing technique. Furthermore, musically increasing learners¡¦ imaginative and expressive ability through Tchaikovsky¡¦s Album for the Young, op.39, it is indeed a valuable instructional work in piano pedagogy field.

Abstract The study explores various compositional techniques in John Cage¡¦s "Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano." In the music not only does the composer develop his individual styles, but also uses traditional idioms. In this composition, Cage displays different methods that are used to create a sense of indeterminacy. His use of time proportion, form and Micro-Macrocosmic Structure in the work breaks away from tradition idioms. This technique of composition reflects important characteristic in Cage¡¦s oeuvre. Thus, Cage holds the important status in the piano and in the history of Western music. The thesis consists of four chapters: Chapter one provides an overview of the American social movements in relation to the music of twentieth-century, investigating the influences on Cage¡¦s compositions. Chapter two deals with works in different stages, discussing the characteristics and related process in the works. Chapter three provides a detail analysis of "Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano." Chapter four summarizes the findings of this research.

John Cage ¡]1912-1992¡^, American composer who received most attention on the development of 20th century music. His new concepts of music transformation gave tremendous influence to the 20th century music development. In 1940, Cage was invited to compose for dance, in the process, he applied the experience of studing with Henry Cowell; completed the first prepared piano work, Bacchanale. The apex of composing prepared piano works was from 1942 to 1952. Cage all together composed twenty pieces for prepared piano. Prepared piano is a concept that changes the timbre and pitches of traditional piano by insert some preparations, like bolts, screws, rubbers or woods into the strings. According to the material quality, these preparations that Cage used including five types, hardware, woods, rubbers, plastics and clothes. We can make piano to produce timbre like percussions through these preparations. Besides introduction and conclusion, this research consists of three parts. Part one discusses the development of avant-garde and non-traditional piano techniques in America in 20th century. Part two discusses Cage¡¦s life to realize the multiformity of his composition ideas. Part three discusses the origination of prepared piano, and takes Mysterious Adventure as example to explore the type materials of preparation and the similarities with gamelan music.

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), is the most important composer of Impressionism after Claude Debussy (1862-1918) in twenty century. Ravel¡¦s works can be found in many areas, such as orchestra music, operas, art song, chamber music, piano works and ballets. Miroirs, one of Ravel¡¦s outstanding piano works, was his early work full with Impressionistic style. This work includes five pieces: Noctuelles, Oiseaux tristes, Une barque Sur l¡¦Océan, Alborada del gracioso, La vallée des cloches. This study contains three main sections: The first section is focus on the historical background which includes the relationship between Ravel and the French Impressionism, the usage of the Neoclassicism qualities and foreign musical elements. The second section is about the compositional background of Miroirs and the analyzing of the compositional technique and elements. The musical form, scale, mode, harmony, melody, meter and rhythm of Miroirs. The third section is primarily a discussion on the diversified tone changing of Ravel¡¦s work, and the usage of the pedal in Miriors. This investigation of Miroirs is undertaken to obtain a deeper understanding of Ravel¡¦s unique compositional technique and musical style, in order to interpret Miriors in the pertinent way.