The quality of piano education in international schools in China has been affected by an increasing number of piano students and piano teachers experiencing heavy teaching loads. The research questions in this qualitative case study included both teachers' and parents' perceptions of the quality of teaching and learning in piano classes at multicultural international schools in a suburban district of Beijing. The 4 principles of the Suzuki method provided the conceptual framework for the study. Data were collected through interviews with 10 experienced piano teachers, 10 selected parents of K-12 piano students, and observations of 3 group piano classes, 8 individual lessons, and 3 student recitals. All data were coded and analyzed using the Suzuki principles of character, use of the mother tongue, parental involvement, and positive environment. Findings indicated that school leaders, teachers, parents, and students need to understand each party's expectations to build and maintain a healthy relationship and positive learning environment as promoted by the principles of the Suzuki method. A professional development program, Piano Teaching in a Beijing Suburb: 21st Century Effective Piano Teaching, was created to engage and support local piano teachers' needs and to improve their understanding of various eastern and western teaching approaches, traditional and functional piano teaching, and effective teaching strategies to better prepare them for teaching in diverse classrooms. Implementation of the project might affect social change and benefit the local international community by providing a professional development model for all piano teachers to help international piano students during their transitional years in China.

John Corigliano (b. 1938) is a contemporary American composer who has in the last twenty years established himself as a composer whose versatility and accessibility are appreciated by a wide range of audiences. He has labeled himself an eclectic composer who unashamedly borrows from other musical styles and periods in an effort to create works that appeal to a variety of listeners. He has been mentioned along with George Rochberg, George Crumb, and Jacob Druckman as an advocate of the post-modern movement in contemporary American music, a trend that has been crucial to the development of contemporary concert music. The purpose of this study is to examine the two solo piano works of Corigliano in terms of style, structure, and musical influences. The Etude Fani-agy (197 6) is a set of five etudes, performed without pause. The etudes are unified through an elaborate use of thematic transformation in which a row-like idea generates most of the material. The keyboard writing is varied and dramatic, with similarities to Debussy, Bartok, Prokofiev, and Copland. Fantasia on an Qstinato (1985), commissioned for the van Cliburn International Piano Competition, is an atmospheric tone poem that transforms the theme from Beethoven's Symphony no« 7 (second movement) . The rhythmic and harmonic structure of this theme are retained through much of Corigliano's work. Full quotations and fragments of the symphony are combined with newly-composed material influenced by Beethoven's theme. Influence of minimalist techniques associated with Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass is apparent throughout the work; rhythmic phasing, repetitive patterns, and musical stasis are used extensively in the second section. A comparison of the Etude Fantasy and Fantasia nn an OstinatQ confirms the eclectic characteristics of Corigliano's style. In both works, the composer borrows freely from a variety of musical traditions, combining and modifying traditional and avant-garde techniques. It is this intelligent combination of elements, along with expert craftsmanship, that has become Corigliano's trademark and have earned him an important place in contemporary American music.

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Call number: LD2668 .R4 1975 L69 / Master of Music / Music, Theatre, and Dance

Thesis (MMus) -- Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Two of the most frequently reported performance problems amongst musicians are memorisation and performance anxiety. For the purposes of this study, memorisation is investigated regarding its importance in a musician's life; different faculties of memorisation are discussed; and practice methods are proposed providing the memoriser with maximum memory security and confidence. Performance anxiety, as a corollary of memory insecurity, is investigated regarding its symptoms, causes, and possible cures. It was found that memory insecurity and extreme performance anxiety result because of insufficient or inadequate practice and/or a lack of trust in the musician's own abilities. Musicians should prepare the best they can and then, during performance, they should put trust in the preparation that has been done. A healthy self-esteem, as well as good health, are requisites for success as a performer. It was also found that performers should concentrate less on the feat of technique and memory, and more on making music. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Memorisasie en verhoogvrees is twee van die grootste probleme wat deur uitvoerende musici aangemeld word. Die belangrikheid van memorisasie word ondersoek; die verskillende faktore daarby betrokke word bespreek; en oefenmetodes word voorgestelom die memoriseerder te vergewis van maksimum geheue-sekerheid. Verhoogvrees, as 'n uitvloeisel van memorisasie, word ondersoek ten opsigte van sy simptome, oorsake en moontlike oplossings. Daar is bevind dat onsekerheid betreffende die geheue sowel as ekstreme verhoogvrees die gevolg is van onvoldoende voorbereiding en/of 'n gebrek aan selfvertroue in die musikant se eie vermoëns. Musici moet bloot na die beste van hul vermoëns oefen; tydens die optrede moet daar dan vertroue geplaas word in die voorbereiding wat getref is. 'n Gesonde selfbeeld, saam met goeie gesondheid, is vereistes vir 'n uitvoerende kunstenaar om suksesvol te kan wees. Daar is ook bevind dat uitvoerders minder op die oorwinning van tegniek en geheue moet konsentreer, maar wel meer daarop moet konsentreer om musiek te maak.

Timing och sväng är begrepp som återkommit frekvent i min musikutbildning. Min upplevelse är att ämnet är viktigt, men att det samtidigt saknas forskning på området. Studien syftar till att få en djupare insikt i hur pianopedagoger definierar begreppen timing och sväng samt hur de ser på undervisning när det gäller dessa. Jag är intresserad av att hitta didaktiska redskap och metoder för att på ett konkret sätt kunna tillämpa timing och sväng i pianoundervisningen. Undersökningen genomfördes med hjälp av en kvalitativ intervju-form där jag intervjuade fyra pianopedagoger, med inriktning jazz, verksamma på olika musikhögskolor och konservatorier. Resultatet visar, enligt respondenternas tolkning, att timing och sväng spelar en viktig roll i musiken i stort. För att komma åt detta i pianoundervisningen presenteras olika redskap. Viktiga aspekter för att spela svängigt pianospel är exempelvis kopplingen till kroppen, dynamik och underdelningar. Resultatet visar också att timing och sväng handlar om att göra musiken levande.

Winterreise : D. 911 / Franz Schubert. / text

Ariadne auf naxos : prologue / by Richard Strauss ; libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal -- Das Lied von der Erde = The song of the earth / by Gustav Mahler ; libretto take from Hans Bethge's Die chinesische Flote. / text

Sonate pour basson et piano, op. 71 / Charles Koechlin -- Lachrymae : op. 48 / Benjamin Britten -- Concerto for saxophone and orchestra / Henri Tomasi -- Das Rosenband : op. 36, no. 1 ; Traum durch die Dammerung : op. 29, no. 1 ; September / Richard Strauss. / text

John Cage, (1912-1992) pioneer in new music, innovator, inventor of the happening and philosopher, writer and artist was one of the most creative forces of the twentieth century. His earliest works were 25-tone contrapuntal compositions. He later developed a strong interest in writing for percussion ensembles and collected instruments that were both found and made. He conducted his own percussion orchestras and discovered that they were the answer to his philosophy of the sounds of the future. He considered percussion music the transition from keyboard-influenced music to music which allowed for all sounds and silences. From 1939-1951 John Cage composed several works for prepared piano that used time as a structural device. Many of these works were written for the dance in collaboration with Merce Cunningham. This document addresses the historical significance of these works and relates Time to other areas that influenced Cage--including Zen and the Dance. This document provides descriptive analyses of Bacchanale, Music for Marcel Duchamp and selected Sonatas from the Sonatas and Interludes. To this writer's knowledge there have not yet been any analyses of Bacchanale or Music for Marcel Duchamp. The analyses reveal Cage's primary structural techniques in which he uses duration of spaces of time. Time lengths and the square root method appear to be the most important. These techniques first appeared in Imaginary Landscape #1 and First Construction in Metal--both dating from 1939. A brief description of all his prepared piano works is included to demonstrate Cage's commitment to rhythmic structuring. All of these works have been studied by this writer and several have been performed in concert by this writer. These include: Music for Marcel Duchamp, Primitive, For a Valentine Out of Season, A Room, Prelude for Meditation, Amores (Movements I and IV), and selected Sonatas from Sonatas and Interludes. A section has been included which explains the nature of materials used for preparations and their timbral effects. A Conclusion is provided demonstrating that Cage chose rhythm over harmony to structure his music. This information is drawn from the influences on Cage, his early percussion works, procedures employed in the percussion works and transferred to the prepared piano and the influence of dancers and Oriental philosophy. An Appendix is included with charts of the Sonatas. A Bibliography which shows the references consulted is included.