Hendrik Hofmeyr is considered one of the most important and influential living composers in South Africa. His music for solo saxophone is not well-known in the classical saxophone repertoire. His four works for solo saxophone (Concerto per saxofono contralto e orchestra, Concerto per saxofono baritono e orchestra, Partita canonica, and Necromancer) are substantial and terrific repertoire for the instrument. This study is intended to inform a saxophone performer's understanding of these compositions through analysis of form, melodic, and harmonic content relevant to performance; and, demonstrate through example the conclusions determined by the analysis about apparent compositional techniques in the music.

The dissertation consists of four recitals: one chamber music recital, two solo recitals, and one lecture recital. The repertoire of these programs was chosen with the intention of demonstrating the capability of the performer to deal with problems arising in works of varying types and of different historical periods. The lecture recital, Aaron Copland's Concerto for Clarinet, begins with biographical information, followed by a discussion of various other works of the composer and of important stylistic traits that are contained therein. After thus setting the Concerto in perspective to other major works, an investigation is made into various aspects of form and style which make the Concerto atypical in some respects to the composer t total body of works. Particular emphasis is given to rhythmic and melodic characteristics of the piece which are related to jazz and Latin-American popular music. The formal and stylistic analysis is followed by a discussion of problems involved in performing the Concerto with a piano reduction of the orchestral part, and the lecture concludes with a survey of interpretative problems posed by the work. At the conclusion of the lecture portion of the presentation, the Concerto was performed.

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The purpose of this monograph is to promote Costa Rican academic music by focusing on Costa Rican composer Carlos Escalante Macaya and his Concerto for Clarinet and Strings (2012). I hope to contribute to the international view of Latin American composition and to promote Costa Rican artistic and cultural productions abroad with a study of the Concerto for Clarinet and Strings (Escalante's first venture into the concerto genre), examining in close detail its melodic, rhythmic and harmonic treatment as well as influences from different genres and styles. The monograph will also include a historical context of Costa Rican musical history, a brief discussion of previous important Costa Rican composers for the clarinet, a short analysis of the composer's own previous work for the instrument (Ricercare for Solo Clarinet) and performance notes. Also, in addition to the publication and audio/video recording of the clarinet concerto, this document will serve as a resource for clarinet soloists around the world. Carlos Escalante Macaya (b. 1968) is widely recognized in Costa Rica as a successful composer. His works are currently performed year-round in diverse performance venues in the country. His compositions vary widely, including orchestral, choral, and chamber music works, as well as music for dance, theater, and film. He is associate composer for the national dance and theater companies, and also receives many other commissions. He has received important national and Latin American composition awards, but his music, as that of other Costa Rican composers, is yet to be discovered outside of Latin America. Only one book, Música académica costarricense: Del presente al pasado cercano (2012), includes a commentary on Carlos Escalante Macaya. In it Costa Rican musicologist Ekaterina Chatski briefly analyzes two of his most important compositions: Los huesos tristes, commissioned in 2006 for the Choreographer's Festival, and Sinfonía Centenario (1997), winner of the Latin American Composition Competition of the centenary of the National Theater of Costa Rica. This book also includes a short biography of the composer and a list numbering 81 of his compositions up to the year 2008. The composer provided most materials necessary for my study, including multiple scores, inspirational visual materials, as well as a full interview (completed August 12, 2013) that will be included as an appendix. It is also important to mention that this concerto was written for me. The composer made significant effort to create a piece that would be, in his own words, a "perfectly fitted dress." My feedback ultimately made this piece what it is today, and my premiere of it on September 14, 2012, with the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, was an absolute success. This piece was so well received by the Costa Rican public that it was included in the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica's latest CD recording of Costa Rican Music Composers. This recording is the first album of the National Symphony Orchestra to include a solo artist, so it is an honor for me to have been part of this wonderful project. Having been involved in all stages that brought this piece to life, I believe I am in the best position to present an analysis of the piece, to provide a historical background, and to offer performance recommendations for the future. / Music Performance

Sergei Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto is one of the most frequently performed and beloved works. It is ironic that, however, despite its huge popularity, there are not many in-depth studies of this concerto, offering pianists few opportunities to examine the work from an analytical perspective. The detailed analysis presented in this study reveals that the main structure of this concerto is directly related to a motto comprising three-notes, designated the 6-5-1 motto. In his use of this motto in the Second Piano Concerto, Rachmaninoff was profoundly influenced by the German-born composer Adolf von Henselt. Indeed, while von Henselt's importance for Russian music has been generally recognized, his impact, especially upon Rachmaninoff, has received insufficient attention in the scholarly literature. This study also examines Henselt's Piano Concerto Op. 16 in depth in order to demonstrate how Rachmaninoff's masterwork relates to its precursor. Additional studies of the 6-5-1 motto in European compositions from the nineteenth century trace the motto's origins.

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The present study makes available a modern performing edition of an eighteenth-centyry clarinet concerto. Written by the Mannheim oboist and composer Ludwig August Lebrun, the Concerto in B-flat for solo clarinet and orchestra has existed solely as a set of manuscript parts for over 200 years. The following chapters present biographical information on Ludwig August Lebrun as an oboist and composer of the late eighteenth century, the historical background of Lebrun's Concerto in B-flat. a thematic and harmonic analysis of the concerto's three movements, and a summary of the procedures followed in preparing the present edition of orchestral parts and piano reduction. Contemporaneous sources which provided pertinent performance practice information in the areas of articulation and ornamentation are also discussed. A copy of the piano reduction and orchestral performing parts are included in the appendices.

The purpose of the following study is to make an analysis of the structural elements and stylistic characteristics in the Second Concerto for Violin by the modern Russian composer, Serge Prokofieff. These include the composer's treatment of form, melody, rhythm, harmony, and medium of expression.