The master's thesis deal with the personality of Ferrucio Busoni. The first part is about his life, the second part is focused on his piano pieces and the third part centers in the analysis of the three main pieces - Ciaccona, Piano concerto and Klavierübung.

Although well-respected as a pianist, teacher, and theorist, Ferruccio Busoni is overlooked as a composer. His works are viewed as being old-fashioned and conservative, especially in light of his avant-garde ideas. However, his ideas and music, especially his operas, reflect early twentieth-century Modernist aesthetics. This thesis examines Busoni's objective approach, eclecticism, and anti-realist stance in his opera Turandot. Busoni's libretto and his use of the commedia dell'arte and exoticism encourage critical, active participation from the audience. The conscious theatricality in Turandot is remarkably similar to Bertolt Brecht's very Modernist idea of the Verfremdungseffekt. The parallels between Busoni and Brecht demonstrate that Busoni's Turandot mirrors contemporary interests, and even anticipates future developments.

This study focuses on a comparative analysis of two piano paraphrases, Pastiche on Habanera from ‘Carmen’ by Kaikhosru Sorabji and Variations on a Theme from Bizet’s ‘Carmen’ by Vladimir Horowitz. These compositions idiomatically distort the original material in a manner that was not explored up to the moment of their respective conception. They expose each composer’s free compositional approach, reflecting musical freedom rooted in the originality of their musical thinking. The aesthetic uniqueness of these two compositions strongly stimulates and justifies academic interest to explore their technical construction, musical differences, and artistic significance. This study proposes to undertake a comparative study of these two compositions, analyzing (1) aspects of the musical character, which are linked with embellishment, or rearrangement of original material, and (2) differences in performance approach based on recorded examples and critical observations by others of the performances of these works by Sorabji and Horowitz.

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The invention of the synthesizer meant the possibility of achieving virtually any sound in one mechanism, a superbly convenient device for musical creativity. Perhaps the perfect space for this approval of sound creativity was in the modern electronic film score. The synthesizer also flourished in popular music immediately following its emergence, but a common form began to solidify itself among synthesizer music. Shortly after, improvements in electronic instrument technology led to the democratization of electronic music and equipment, ultimately leading to electronic music as the new mainstream.

The purpose of this study is to analyze sets of variations on Paganini's theme by three twentieth-century composers: Ferruccio Busoni, Ignaz Friedman, and Robert Muczynski, in order to examine, identify, and trace different variation techniques and their applications. Chapter 1 presents the purpose and scope of this study. Chapter 2 provides background information on the musical form "theme and variations" and the theme of Paganini's Twenty-fourth Caprice, Op. 1. Chapter 2 also deals with the question of which elements have made this theme so popular. Chapters 3,4, and 5 examine each of the three sets of variations in detail using the following format: theme, structure of each variation, harmony and key, rhythm and meter, tempo and dynamics, motivic development, grouping of variations, and technical problems. Chapter 6 summarizes the findings from this study and attempts to compare those elements among the three variations. Special attention is given to the application of the motivic cells, which are drawn from the original Paganini theme, in the development of succeeding variations. This study shows how these motivic cells contribute to the construction of new motives and melodies in each variation. Additionally, this study attempts to examine each composer's efforts in expanding variation procedure to the areas of structures and tempo markings in succeeding variations.