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Treatise (D.M.A.) -- Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Frank Kowalsky, Florida State University, School of Music. Title and description from treatise home page (viewed 2-11-05). Document formatted into pages; contains 146 pages. Includes biographical sketch. Includes bibliographical references.

It is the purpose of this thesis to present a study of the development of writing for the clarinet in chamber music during the period from Mozart (1756-1791) through Brahms (1833-1897). The first part is a brief history of the clarinet showing the stages of development of the instrument from its beginning to its present form and also surveys the field of chamber music in general, with special attention to the chamber music for the clarinet, and to the performers for whom many of these works were written.

Student clarinet performers often encounter bass clarinet for the first time in a high school or university wind ensemble, so it is logical for clarinet pedagogues to encourage and assist their students in learning this wind band literature. In addition to becoming familiar with this oft performed repertoire, students will develop a set of specialized bass clarinet skills that one cannot learn on soprano clarinet. These skills include increased air capacity and support, timbre consistency in differing registers, intonation tendencies of the lower instrument, voicing flexibility, right hand thumb dexterity for keys that do not exist on soprano clarinet, technical facility for eleven pinky keys (as opposed to the seven pinky keys on a typical soprano clarinet, and effective altissimo fingerings. The purpose, then, of this document is to provide a performance guide for select bass clarinet solo excerpts from the wind band literature and to provide supplemental exercises intended to help students acquire the specialized bass clarinet skill set they will need in order to perform the selected excerpts successfully. The solos discussed in this document are excerpted from H. Owen Reed’s La Fiesta Mexicana, Florent Schmitt’s Dionysiaques, Percy Grainger’s Lincolnshire Posy, Frank Ticheli’s Blue Shades, William Bolcom’s First Symphony for Band, and Andrew Rindfleisch’s The Light Fantastic.

This thesis takes as its broad area of study the solo instrumental music produced since 1960 by the virtuoso performer-composer, and focuses on the works of Australian clarinettist and composer Brigid Burke. The 1960's in music was a decade like no other; the effects of serialism and indeterminacy, the rise of electronic music, and the general climate of experimentation resulted in an explosion of new musical ideas and compositional approaches. One development of this period was the growth of a musician type new to the twentieth century: the virtuoso performer-composer. Brigid Burke (1960- ) is a clarinet soloist, visual artist and a composer of over one hundred works. The majority of Burke's compositional output comprises works for clarinet. In writing almost exclusively for the clarinet, the instrument of which she is a national and international performer, Burke can be viewed as continuing the virtuoso performer-composer trend emanating from the 1960's. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the extent to which Burke's clarinet works represent a unique voice in the international and Australian contemporary clarinet repertoire. Four of Burke's works were chosen for study: Three Sounds on Buildings 2 (2005),

The lecture recital was given on July 25, 1977. Transcriptions and arrangements for clarinet and piano of nineteenth-century Italian opera were popular during the virtuoso wind era and are representative of an important phase in the history of clarinet playing. Arias of Rossini and Verdi and a fantasia based on Rigoletto were performed during the lecture recital. In addition to the lecture recital, three other public recitals were performed, including solo compositions for clarinet and chamber works including clarinet.

The dissertation consists of four recitals: one chamber music recital compiled from two years' series of chamber music performances in residence, 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, The Fifth and Sixth Clarinet Concertos by Johann Melchior Molter, begins with perhaps the first performance of the Concerto No. 4 in D Major, Mus. Hs. 337, for clarinet in D with orchestral accompaniment reduced for piano. Bibliographical, historical and technical information is marshaled to justify the solo designation of Badische Landesbibliothek concerto manuscripts 334 and 328 to D clarinet rather than clarino. An investigation into the formal and stylistic aspects shows these two questionable works to be comparable to the composer's other four clarinet concertos. The analysis is followed by a short discussion of the problems involved in the transcription and performance of the works. The lecture concludes with the first performance of the Concerto No. 6 in D Major, Mus. Hs. 328, for clarinet in D with orchestral accompaniment reduced for piano.

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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.

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