Thesis (D.M.A.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI/Dissertation Abstracts International.

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Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra is a twenty-two minute work cast in a traditional three movement concerto form. The basic harmonic/melodic materials are hexads and complementary hexads built on intervallic projections as propounded in Howard Hanson's Harmonic Materials of Modern Music. The opening movement is in double exposition form with a cadenza before the recapitulation. Marimba techniques used in the opening movement include chromatic thirty-second notes, mirrored octaves and single hand alternate sticking patterns. The form of the second movement is a rondo song form: a- b- a (inversion)- b (inversion)- c- c (retrograde)- b (retrograde-inversion)- a. The marimba plays rolled chords throughout much of the movement. The form of the third movement is a fast sonata-rondo form: a - b - a - development - b - a - coda. The development section of this final movement develops materials from both of the preceding movements and thus creates a cyclic form for the work. Marimba techniques explored in the third movement include dead strokes, octave dead strokes alternating with rolled octaves and, thirty-second note hexad patterns in fast alternation with the orchestra. This movement also contains sections in which the xylophone plays in duet with the marimba. Some of the compositional techniques used in the Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra include rhythmic modulation, augmentation, diminution, ostinato, inversion, retrograde, mirroring, odd meters, fragmentation, parallel motion, contrary motion, African rhythmic structure, harmonization with complementary sets and register sweeps.

System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Accompanied by 1 recital, recorded Oct. 22, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 55-56).

Keiko Abe's contributions to the contemporary marimba repertoire have been a milestone in the development of the marimba as a solo concert instrument. Besides the creation of a new repertoire through commissions and her own compositions, Abe's contributions to the marimba include the improvement of the sound quality of the marimba and the establishment of the five octave instrument as the standard concert marimba. During the last four decades, Abe's compositions have been performed and studied worldwide and become standard literature for the marimba. Abe has written more than sixty compositions for marimba, including concertos, duets and solo pieces. The goal of this dissertation is to provide a comprehensive method for the performance and preparation of two major Keiko Abe's compositions, Marimba d'Amore composed by Abe in 1998 and Prism Rhapsody for Marimba and Orchestra composed in 1996. This dissertation will discuss theoretical as well as performance issues related to these two compositions. Each piece is discussed with regard to its distinctive compositional approach and inherent performances issues. In order to provide the reader an explanation of the compositional procedures used by Abe, specific directions for the performance and preparation of these two works are offered.