Thesis (Doctor of Musical Arts)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1982. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 71-73).

Thesis (M.Phil) - University of Queensland, 2005. / Includes bibliography.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1974. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 228-241).

No description available.

This dissertation contextualizes Brahms's vocal quartets within a largely forgotten discourse about Hausmusik that flourished in German-speaking lands in the second half of the nineteenth century. In numerous texts about Hausmusik from ca. 1848-1900, authors conceived the genre as an aesthetically and politically conservative expression of German identity and connected its accessible style to an ideal of social cohesion in the pre-industrial age. Similar issues of national identity and musical style arise in the reception of Brahms's quartets, which, I contend, was informed by the works' generic status as Hausmusik. Critics either praised Brahms's works for their simple, folk-like style or disparaged their complexity, artifice, and foreignness. Ultimately, I argue, Brahms sought to elevate the genre of Hausmusik in his vocal quartets by integrating aesthetic and cultural values associated with this genre with a more sophisticated musical style. The works' stylistic and generic ambiguity and the disparity in critics' responses reveal competing aesthetic, political, and cultural world views immediately before and after German unification. Chapter 2 shows how discourse about Hausmusik constructed German identity in the private sphere by promoting a folk-like aesthetic and accessible musical style over the perceived cosmopolitanism and commercialism of Salonmusik and other repertoires. Chapter 3 investigates the tension between Hausmusik and chamber styles and their associated opposing cultural values. Chapter 4 explores a similar conflict between folk and popular musical styles manifested in reactions to the Liebeslieder, which were interpreted as either Ländler or Viennese waltzes. Finally, chapter 5 demonstrates how reception of the Zigeunerlieder reflects the impulse to define German identity in opposition to a foreign "other" by sharply distinguishing between German and exotic musical styles. By relating these descriptive reviews of Brahms's works to largely prescriptive texts about Hausmusik, I define the genre by delimiting its boundaries and demonstrate the crucial role domestic music-making played in the expression of German identity in the second half of the nineteenth century.

No description available.

This monograph analyzes recordings of three orchestral excerpts for the oboe made between 1910 – 2016 and studies trends in interpretation, showing how performance practice is continually evolving as musical tastes change. The chosen excerpts span several style periods from the early nineteenth century to the twentieth century. The first excerpt, the cadenza from the Allegro con brio movement of the Fifth Symphony by Beethoven, has been under-studied by oboists and musicologists and yet it plays a pivotal role in the first movement of this iconic piece. The second excerpt, the Adagio solo from the second movement of Brahms’s Violin Concerto, has much room for individual interpretation and soloistic freedom on the part of the both the oboe and violin soloists. Finally, recordings of the technically-challenging twentieth-century excerpt, the “Prélude” solo from le tombeau de Couperin by Ravel, show how standards of musical perfection have been raised overtime as a result of the recording industry. Preference is given to recordings from countries with strong traditions in oboe performance, such as the United States, England, Germany, and France. To give a clear picture of performance trends, I study approximately ten recordings per decade. A large-data recording study such as this has never been attempted of orchestral excerpts for the oboe. Findings common to all three excerpts over time include: a decline in small-group, rhetorical phrasing; a decline in national schools; tempos becoming slower in the mid-twentieth century and faster towards the end of the twentieth century; and strongest similarities in playing styles of oboists with a shared pedagogical lineage. / Music Performance

The lecture recital was given October 15, 1971. The subject of the discussion was Brahms and the Character Piece: Emotion Guided by Intellect, and it included historical and biographical information, an analysis of Brahms' romantic-classic style, a general analysis of the six character pieces in Opus 118, and performance of Opus 118 by memory. In addition to the lecture recital, three other public recitals were performed. These three programs were comprised of solo literature for the piano. The first solo recital was on April 15, 1971, and included works of Brahms, Chopin, Mozart, and Ravel. The second program, presented on April 28, 1972, featured several works of Beethoven. Performed on Septemhber 25, 1972, the third recital programmed compositions by Chopin, Debussy, and Prokofieff. Magnetic tape recordings of all four programs and the written lecture material are filed together as the dissertation.

With the advent of the Ballades, Intermezzi, Cappriccios and Rhapsodies of Johannes Brahms the musical world was to witness the apex of a development of a particular style of pianoforte composition which began in the nineteenth century with the publication in 1803 of a group of seven pieces called Bagatelles, opus 33 by Ludwig van Beethoven. This style thus originated was the Caracterstücke.

Instead of putting the emphasis on color in his orchestration, Brahms felt that the music was more important; not the orchestration. However, it would be a mistake to feel that he was deaf to orchestral color. When discussing color in regard to Brahms' orchestration it is necessary to realize that his use of color is much different than that of his contemporaries. This thesis discusses the four symphonies of Brahms and his usage of brass instruments within these symphonies, specifically the french horn, trumpet, trombone and tuba. It is apparent that he used considerable care in writing for the brasses as well as the other instruments and had complete command of the use of their individual colors.