The musical compositions of Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998) have their own unique voice, and the Concerto for Piano and Strings is not an exception. Through the examination of Schnittke’s life and piano works in the context of the art and literature of his time, this monograph introduces Schnittke’s Concerto for Piano and Strings as something much more than just the analysis of a typical piano concerto while giving meaning to the polystylism existent in his works. Alfred Schnittke was of Jewish and German background and experienced living in the Soviet Union during World War II. An internal struggle for identity and the conflict present in the world at that time is evident in the works of Schnittke, which juxtaposes the dichotomy of good and evil. One cannot clearly understand the meaning behind the many different techniques and compositional devices of Schnittke’s music without a deeper knowledge of his life and the literature and art of the time; his music poses many poignant questions about religion and philosophy. The paper that follows consists of five chapters which begin with an introduction to Schnittke’s life, followed by a discussion of his pianistic style, an analysis of his works for piano, and a discussion of his piano concertos. The sections consist of a discussion of his Concerto for Piano and Strings within the context of his other works of the time and works of literature. Part of this discussion draws important parallels between Schnittke's Concerto for Piano and Strings and two literary works: The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov and Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann. It is hoped that this paper will bring a greater interest in Schnittke’s Concerto for Piano and Strings and his other piano works which are not frequently performed. / Music Performance

John Mayer (1929-2004) was a British Indian composer and violinist. Despite his contributions to bringing Indian music to the West and his large output of works, the majority of his compositions remain largely unknown. This document focuses on Mayer's only oboe concerto, Shanai Awaz, which translates to "Sound of the Shanai" in Hindi. It is representative of his fusion of Indian and Western techniques. The performance guide helps the oboist navigate the fusion elements of the piece. Because no piano reduction of the score was made by the composer, the piece has likely not been performed since 1983. A piano reduction of the score was created as part of this dissertation to make it more accessible to oboists.

The purpose of this dissertation is to introduce Violin Concerto No. 2, "Scherben der Stille" (2021) by Unsuk Chin (b. 1961), a South Korean composer based in Berlin. This violin concerto creates a sonic drama. The sound material of this work resembles a "shard," as the subtitle of the work suggests: Shards of Silence. Through this work, Chin shows how music can deliver her dreams and fantasies through unconventional use of instruments and sounds. The dissertation includes a brief biography, observations on the composer's significant works and compositional style, and an overview and analysis of the work. Despite the increasing popularity of Violin Concerto No. 2, the piece has never gained scholarly attention. This writing should also contribute to the available sources about the composer Unsuk Chin and to the study of complex contemporary music that may seem resistant to formal analysis by analyzing its constituent fragments.

This thesis presents an historical and technical analysis of the Mozart horn concerti.

Today’s leading brass chamber ensemble is the brass quintet, whose inception was relatively late compared to the string quartet or woodwind quintet. The first modern brass quintet formed in the 1950s, while the first string quartet can be traced to the 17th century. Compositions for woodwind quintet were written as early as 1811 during the Classical Period. The New York Brass Quintet, American Brass Quintet, and Annapolis Brass Quintet commissioned a large portion of the currently existing brass quintet literature. The literature grew exponentially as the brass quintet became popular in the 1960s. Also during this time, a new genre of works emerged for brass quintet with orchestral accompaniment. The paper references fifty-seven works for the brass quintet with orchestral accompaniment that were found through music catalogues, reviews, recordings and searching JSTOR, World Cat and Google. Since the author was not able to discover any scholarly treatment of this genre, this paper will address the gap and unearth the quantity of literature available. Many of these works are unrecorded. While there are many existing scores in the literature, there is a resurgence of compositions currently being written for brass quintet with orchestral accompaniment. This document is presented in two parts: Part I, “Overview of Brass Chamber Music in the Twentieth Century,” “Earliest Music in the United States for Brass Chamber Ensembles,” “A Brief History of the Modern Brass Quintet,” “Annapolis Brass Quintet,” and “A Survey of Existing Works for Brass Quintet and Orchestra.” The second part of this dissertation contains materials which are pertinent to the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree which include recital programs, program notes, and vita.

La version intégrale de ce mémoire est disponible uniquement pour consultation individuelle à la Bibliothèque de musique de l’Université de Montréal (www.bib.umontreal.ca/MU). / Le présent mémoire est une analyse de trois pièces musicales composées dans le cadre de ma maîtrise en composition instrumentale. L’analyse se concentrera sur divers points importants pour chacune de ces œuvres et détaillera la structure formelle de chacune. Les œuvres présentées dans ce mémoire sont : 1. Groove, Fanfare & Finale pour quintette de cuivres ; 2. Voyage pour orchestre ; 3. Fantaisie pour piano et orchestre. La composition de ces œuvres s’est révélée être un laboratoire de recherche exceptionnel pour l’élaboration d’un langage musical personnel. Ce langage se caractérise entre autre par des textures hautement contrapuntiques, une économie de moyens, la recherche de transitions efficaces entre diverses idées et un souci d’unité formelle. / This memoir contains a musical analysis of three musical works. These works were composed as part of my master’s degree in instrumental musical composition. The analysis will focus on some important aspects for each of these works, and will detail the structure of each. The works analyzed in this memoir are: 1. Groove, Fanfare & Finale for brass quintet; 2. Voyage for orchestra; 3. Fantasia for piano and orchestra. The composition of these works has provided a tremendous opportunity for me to develop a personal musical style. This style is characterized by highly contrapuntal textures, economy of means, a constant search for efficient transitions between musical ideas and an emphasis on structural unity.

Hummel's Concerto for Trumpet (Concerto a Tromba principale) is overtly operatic and is stylistically reminiscent of Mozart's Don Giovanni. Using the methodology of Leonard Ratner and Wye J. Allanbrook, it is possible to explore gesture and rhetoric in Hummel's Concerto for Trumpet and Mozart's Don Giovanni, and achieve a deeper understanding of the stylistic similarities shared between the two works. In the third movement, dance is the most significant link to Don Giovanni. In the second movement, Hummel alternates between the emotions of Donna Anna and Don Ottavio as they appear in act 1, scene 13. The first movement makes extensive use of contrasting topics identified with buffa and seria characters to advance the musical narrative. Comparing Hummel's concerto and Mozart's opera is a hermeneutical approach that illuminates several performance practice implications. Knowing the expressive similarities and rhetorical strategies common to both works clarifies several issues, such as tempo, ornamentation, and above all, expression. Though Mozart's Don Giovanni and Hummel's Concerto for Trumpet are unequal in significance, it would be valuable to any interpretation of Hummel's concerto if the performer and audience acknowledge that the work is rhetorically and stylistically similar to Mozart's Don Giovanni.

Balakirev's two early piano and orchestra works, Grande Fantaisie on Russian Folk Songs and Concerto Op. 1 in F# Minor, were composed in the middle of the nineteenth century when in Russia there were no particularly important works for piano and orchestra. Balakirev was still a teenager when he wrote these two pieces and unfortunately both remained unfinished. However the beauty and remarkable compositional achievement of these works should be highly recognized. There are six chapters in this essay. The general background, purpose and the state of research are discussed in the first chapter. The second chapter presents Balakirev's biographical information and the overview of his works for piano and orchestra is stated in Chapter III. Individual works, Grande Fantaisie and Concerto in F# Minor are discussed in the chapters IV and V, which including discussing compositional background, analysis and diagram of structural schemes. The last chapter concludes with Balakirev's contribution to Russian music and the development of the Russian concerto coming into its own. It deals particularly with Balakirev's approach to folk songs, which gives the concerto a unique Russian aesthetic, in addition to his ability to write in the European tradition.

Orientador: Yara Borges Cáznok / Resumo: O objeto de pesquisa desta Tese é o 2 o . Concerto para Piano e Orquestra de Béla Bartók (1881-1945), composto em 1931. Após a contextualização da obra, apresentamos uma análise musical. Nossa perspectiva dialoga com duas principais correntes analíticas: a Teoria da Forma Sonata (Hepokoski e Darcy, Caplin e Schmalfeldt) e as Teorias Pós-tonais (Antokoletz e Straus). A análise concentrou-se no 1 o . Movimento que, segundo o compositor, possuiria a Forma Sonata. Partindo desta declaração, procuramos compreender como opera, formalmente, a dinâmica entre ideias temáticas, motivos, coleções referenciais, relações contrapontísticas e texturais, e direcionalidade. O modelo da Forma Sonata foi colocado em discussão, realçando seus limites, sua maleabilidade e seus pontos de tensão, à luz dos procedimentos formais encontrados neste 1 o . Movimento. Os resultados analíticos descritos textualmente apresentam-se sintetizados por meio de gráficos, considerados parte integrante do procedimento metodológico. / Abstract: Béla Bartók’s (1881-1945) Concerto No. 2 for Piano and Orchestra, composed in 1931, is the primary focus of this thesis. Following the contextualization of the work, we present a musical analysis. Our aim is to bring together two analytical currents: the Sonata Theory (Hepokoski and Darcy, Caplin and Schmalfeldt) and Post-tonal Theories (Antokoletz and Straus). The analysis focuses on the First Movement, which according to the composer, is in Sonata Form. Based on his statement, we intend to understand how thematic ideas, motifs, referential collections, counterpoints, directionality, and texture interact against a formal background. We discuss the Sonata Form, highlighting its limitations, malleability, and points of tension, in light of the formal procedures found in the First Movement. The descriptions of analytical results are supported by graphs, which are considered an integral part of the methodology. / Doutor

The Cello Concerto in B-flat major, G.482, by Italian composer Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805), is the composer's most beloved work for the instrument, as well as one of the most performed pieces in the Classical concerto repertoire. Historically, cellists performing this work have used an edition prepared by German cellist Friedrich Grützmacher (1832-1903). However, an 'original' version that was discovered in 1949 is significantly different from that of Grützmacher. A comparison of both editions has revealed that Grützmacher in fact made considerable modifications to Boccherini's 'original.' Along with the issue of having two editions, cellists that have played the 'original' edition have noted that there are certain practical and interpretative matters that are not favorable to the cellist, particularly in terms of the way the music is notated and how it lacks many details. This dissertation provides clarity to these issues by undertaking a comprehensive analysis of both editions in order to make cellists become aware of the differences between both editions by comparing musical elements from a performance practice viewpoint. In addition, I discuss relevant issues that are present in the 'original' version, ultimately providing an alternative performance edition to this score that is based on historically informed performance (HIP) practices. Finally, I hope to draw attention on how a performance edition like this can be useful as a rare critical source to one of the major works from the eighteenth-century cello repertoire.