This thesis supplements "The Piano Sonata of the Eighteenth Century in Germany" (Vol. 2 in the publication series "Contributions to the development of the Piano Sonata"). It does not aim at a comparative study between Pieto Augusto and his contemporaries but intends to establish the composer's individual characteristics in the light of the general development of the piano sonata during the eighteenth century.

The Piano Concerto represents an experiment in form in which a set of five continuous variations are partitioned into three movements, corresponding to the listener's expectations of a traditional tripartite concerto. Through the analysis of phrase structure, pitch and motivic variation, links amongst the variations are uncovered and developmental strategies discussed in an attempt to clarify the processes of musical creation. By proceeding in analysis from the highest levels of organization downwards, structural trends emerge which lend consistency to the work— low level patterns often reflect larger structural forces. In addition, a variety of symmetrical constructs are extant in the form of consistently used pitch collections (e.g., [0 1 4 9], a triad with both M3 and m3, subset of [0 1 4 5 8]), phrase organization (as in the second variation and the second movement) and the grouping of the variations themselves. Seeded initially as a recorded improvisation by the composer (which became the Aria), the Concerto displays formal tension as areas of rigid organization (Variations 1, 3, and 5) alternate with more freely organized regions (Variations 2 and 4), a dichotomy which springs from the Theme itself. The listener is taken on a linear journey through the telescoping development of material which maintains more or less explicit connections to the Theme throughout In general, the further into the work the listener progresses, the less literal the Thematic references become until a brief recapitulation appears at the end. The aesthetic which drives this work is based on a fundamental adherence to traditional procedures, tempered with unique approaches to form. This aesthetic and certain cohabiting non-traditional aspects of the Concerto will be discussed in the analysis that follows. / Arts, Faculty of / Music, School of / Graduate

This study relates Alfred Schnittke's Five Aphorisms for Piano (1990) both to an earlier set of piano pieces, Dmitry Shostakovich's Aphorisms (1927), and to the poetry of Joseph Brodsky (1940-96). The study identifies musical and extra-musical connections between Shostakovich and Schnittke and examines the genesis of their musical sets in light of the composers' biographies and writings. Later it explores Schnittke's relationship with Brodsky, to whom the Five Aphorisms was dedicated, and whose poetry was intended to be recited before the performance of each of the five pieces. It analyzes the worldview and philosophy of Schnittke and Brodsky within the context of Postmodernism in order to shed new light upon their artistic intentions. Finally, the study considers the broader question of the relationship between music and poetry in late Soviet artworks.

Pedagogical methods in piano instruction are constantly evolving. Traditional approaches for beginning students typically focus on teaching music theory and developing the skills necessary to read music. Some contemporary methods, however, are centered on training students to use their whole body while playing the instrument. These more recent methodologies allow students to bond with the piano in a more personal manner, as if they were playing a game with a big toy. One of the most representative works of this approach is the eight-volume collection Játékok (1973) by György Kurtág (b.1926). Volume 1 of Játékok consists of short pieces featuring a new graphic notation devised by Kurtág himself. It also incorporates the use of unusual piano techniques, such as playing with the palm, fist, and forearm. The method also explores the use of the entire range of the instrument. Though the work is over 40 years old, Játékok is only infrequently used as a teaching tool for piano instructors in Hungary, and is unknown in the United States. This probably stems from the fact that it presents students and teachers with atypical musical elements such as unusual notation, use of an unlimited register, and pieces that feature varying degrees of difficulty within the same volume. This study provides a guideline which will assist instructors in implementing Játékok’s Volume 1 effectively as a pedagogical tool by introducing instructor’s teaching content, rearranging the original order of pieces in ascending level of difficulty, and providing a methodology to creatively teach the three most significant musical skills to be developed through Volume 1.

abstract: This research document focuses on rarely performed piano transcriptions. A total of 28 works are discussed. These works have high artistic value and should not be forgotten by pianists. Most of the transcribers are renowned pianists, such as Harold Bauer and Alfred Cortot, or composers themselves. Unfortunately, these works are seldom played in today's public concerts, or on online resources such as YouTube, Vimeo, or iTunes. Some people may think these works are neglected because the scores are hard to find, but they can be easily obtained online. Pianists around the world can access these scores in just a few minutes via the Internet. In this research document, I discuss the transcriptions one by one. First, I introduce the background of the pieces, the composers, and the transcribers. Then, through comparison of the original pieces with the transcribed ones, I discuss the approaches of transcription and highlight the special features of each work. Finally, I recommend the concert occasions appropriate for the transcriptions based on their characteristics. I offer many musical examples from the works discussed. These excerpts should help the pianist to understand the style and technical difficulty, as well as to decide if the work meets their programming needs. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Music 2019

abstract: Louis Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) was a pioneer of 19th century Romanticism in France. In the mid-19th century, he broke the traditional mold by connecting poetry and music through French song. This development transformed French song from the simple and structured Romance of the 18th century into the structural freedom of what he established as the a Mélodie. His song cycle Les nuits d’été, op 7 was composed first for voice and piano in 1841 and later arranged for voice and orchestra in 1856. After the 1856 orchestral version was completed, Les nuits d’été received greater recognition than it had from its original scoring for voice and piano. This paper examines three major aspects to Les nuits d’été. First, it will discuss the reasons why Berlioz re-scored the work for orchestra and transposed the vocal part for various voice types in this later orchestral version. Second, it examines the difference between musical interactions in these two versions by comparing the existing scores of each version with its respective accompaniment based on Berlioz's use of word painting. Finally, this paper provides the author's original transcription of Les nuits d’été in a version for voice and piano that incorporates the later orchestral versions which were not included in the original version for voice and piano. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Music 2017

In this thesis I have examined different bird calls by transcribing them and incorporating them into my music. The incorporation included the writing of three compositions based on the transcriptions and the use of elements derived from the bird calls in my improvisations. The music was performed by an ensemble consisting of eight musicians, including myself, at a concert the 2nd of March 2020. In the first chapter, the purpose of this work is explained, the reader is given insight into how the idea of the project came into being and is being presented to how bird calls have been used earlier in the history of music. In the second chapter, I explain how I transcribed the birds, how I wrote the music, how I worked with improvisation and how the concert was set up. In the third chapter, the thoughts that aroused during the project are discussed and finally, in the fourth chapter, I summarise the experiences I have gained, and how I am going to continue to work in the wake of those. / <p>Sofia Svensson – sång</p><p>Sebastian Jonsson – sopransaxofon och tvärflöjt</p><p>Oskar Forsberg – fagott</p><p>Daniel Gahrton – basklarinett</p><p>Linnea Jonsson – trumpet</p><p>Anna Gréta Sigurðardóttir – piano</p><p>Johan Tengholm – kontrabas</p><p>Magnus Jonasson – trummor</p>

Brazilian composer Leopoldo Américo Miguéz (1850–1902) lived in the cosmopolitan city of Rio de Janeiro at a time when the prevailing cultural background of the aristocracy was still prominently European. His entire production consisted of thirty-eight works with opus numbers and few other works that have not yet been published, all of which were influenced by European romantic music traditions while demonstrating no strong connection with Brazilian local and popular culture. He wrote a small quantity of twelve piano works represented in ten opus numbers, one collection of pieces without opus number, and one unpublished piece. These are mostly in short forms such as mazurkas, nocturnes, and character pieces with suggestive titles in the manner of short piano works by Brahms, Chopin, Fauré, Grieg, Mendelssohn, Liszt, and Schumann. With few exceptions, no great significance has been attributed to his piano works throughout the written history of Brazilian music. This is partly due to the lingering effect of two lines of negative criticism published during and after his lifetime that hurt his reputation and turned him into an obscure and forgotten composer. One was regarding his symphonic works, which were heavily influenced by Wagner, Berlioz, and Liszt. The other was in the context of an enduring process of nationalization of Brazilian arts and a rupture from European influences in the beginning of the 20th century. The music of Miguéz fell greatly out of favor during this campaign, resulting in lasting damage to his name that has yet to be reversed. The purpose of this dissertation is to draw attention to his pianistic output, asserting its integrity, quality, and valuable contribution to the development of music in Brazil. Biographical information as well as in-depth musical analysis of each piano work are supplied in the course of the narrative. My hope is that by providing and disseminating this information, Leopoldo Miguéz will be better understood, accepted, and more often performed.

This study focuses on the transformation of Leo Ornstein’s (1893-2002) musical language of his early years into the strikingly different approach found in his later years. Ornstein’s initial radical compositions from the mid-1910s were no doubt representative of the direction in which modern music was moving. Despite the intense fame and notoriety of his early works, Ornstein did not feel connected to the trends of modern music development, and by the end of the 1930s he withdrew from the public scene and turned to teaching. By the 1950s Ornstein had been almost forgotten, and in later life he became a very private person. He worked in almost total isolation composing a substantial amount of music well into his nineties, and died at the age of 109. The music of Ornstein’s “second life” is very different from the initial works of his early years, and most of it is unknown to the public and should be brought into scholarly light, especially since Ornstein has been considered by historians as a pivotal figure in twentieth-century music. This study examines selected music from different stages of Ornstein’s career: Wild Men’s Dance (1913), Suicide in an Airplane (1913), Arabesques (1918), A Long Remembered Sorrow (1964), Piano Sonata No. 7 (1988). A discussion of the selected compositions will provide an understanding of Ornstein’s compositional transformation, and will familiarize musicians and scholars with this widely unknown music.

Libby Larsen’s The Birth Project (2015) is a groundbreaking song cycle which centers around pregnancy and childbirth. Until this song cycle, no art song had dealt with this topic in first-person narrative. This is surprising, given the total fertility rate of about 2.5 children per woman. After a brief biographical background of Libby Larsen and her output, the sociological implications of such a song cycle in the canon of music is explored. The topic is contextualized among other art forms, modern and ancient, showing that art song is the only place where such a dearth in pregnancy and childbirth stories exist. The texts are explored fully: author biographies, text sources, meaning, and Larsen’s text settings. An analysis of Larsen’s compositional features within the cycle is then presented, connecting text meaning to the theoretical elements in the music. An interview with Libby Larsen offers unique insight into the project’s genesis. This interview, combined with the author’s contributions, unite to form a guide to interpretation in order to assist performers as they prepare the work.