Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1997. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [94]-97).

Thesis (D. Mus. Arts)--University of Washington, 1994. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [88]-92).

During the Nineteenth century, with the population of the public concert, many performers have started devoting themselves to the development of technique, expecting that could appeal to more audience. Under the influence of Paganini, virtuoso not only gets to the top, but also let the pianists devote themselves to develop technique on the keyboard, expecting that they can win brilliant results in the concert. Under such situation, studies have been published in a great amount. Gradually, composers and pianists try not to only make the music with virtuositic spirit but also with lyricalism within them. In addition to the introductions and conclusions, the research could be divided into three chapters. The first chapter, discussion of the musical background, includes the music environment during the nineteenth century, the mechanism improvement of the pianos, and the development of the concert etude. Chapter two is the analyses of the concert etude technique and characters. Famous composers, such as Chopin, Schumann and Liszt, their concert etudes will be discussed. Chapter three investigates the concert etudes of the other composers in terms of their nationalities-Germany, France, Russian, American, and Poland. Concert etudes that developed in the nineteenth century would be no longer the simple etudes for finger exercise, but the masterpieces with the inner intension. To pianists in late twenty century, these concert etudes should be not only methods for teaching but also essential in concert programs.

Thesis (D.M.A.)--Boston University

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.

Born April 2, 1873, on the estate of Oneg in the province of Novgorod, Russia, Sergei Vassilyvitch Rachmaninoff was the fifth of the six children of Vassili and Lyoubov Boutakova Rachmaninoff. Rachmaninoff's aristocratic descent was traced to the Hospodars Dragosh, rulers of the realm of Molday from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century. One of the daughters from this family had married a son of the Grand Duke Ivan III of Moscow. The son's nephew was named Rachmanin, and from this source the family name originated.1 Rachmaninoff's mother was the daughter of a general, head of Araktcheyev Military College in Novgorod and the owner of a number of estates in the district. It was with a dowry of five of these estates that Lyoubov Boutakova married Vassili Rachmaninoff, and on one of these estates, Oneg, the couple settled down to married life.

The purpose of this thesis is to show through the presentation and analysis of authoritative information, and opinions drawn from the information and analysis, the development of violin technique from its basic rudiments as an accompanying instrument to the plane of a brilliant solo instrument, a position it still maintains today. This thesis aims to deal exclusively with the technical evolution of the violin. Many books on the history of the violin have been written, but none have dealt exclusively with the technical evolution of this instrument, and it is hoped that the materials in this thesis will constitute a contribution to this field.

No description available.

Paganini's 24th caprice still remains to this day one of the most celebrated themes in classical music history. Many composers have used this theme to create variations and each composer attempted to produce stylistically unique variations on this piece. Hamelin's Variations on a Theme of Paganini stands out because his piece incorporates musical borrowing and many different composers' styles. His variations integrate music from different centuries, using pastiche and musical borrowing from figures such as Beethoven, Liszt, Brahms, Chopin, and Rachmaninoff. More provocatively, Hamelin's variations reach outside of Classical music, even adopting elements from salsa and friska. The spectrum of composers and styles included in this set are so radical and shocking that it creates a parody of not only Paganini's theme, but also the tradition of theme and variation pieces it has inspired. Due to its multiple variations juxtaposing extremely different styles, Hamelin's Variations on a Theme of Paganini presents the listener with a musical puzzle that is designed to invoke surprise. The juxtapositions of extremely different styles in these variations create disjointed variations with polystylism. The polystylism in this work diversifies his variations, while unifying these seemingly unbalanced movements through broad musical references. As such, both performers and listeners stand to benefit from a detailed, critical examination of the piece. I consider not just the musical sources themselves, but also the ways in which they interact, paying close attention to Hamelin's use of parody and humor.

Dans l’art de la musique instrumentale, il y a certainement eu des moments de développement extraordinaires. La plus grande révolution dans le domaine du violon aura probablement été Paganini, avec ses innovations dans le cadre de la technique, de la texture et des effets timbriques du violon. Dans le domaine du piano, Liszt, suite à sa rencontre avec le violon assimilateur et imitateur du Génois, reforma son jeu et reconçut le pianisme de l’époque. Dans cette mission, il fut accompagné par des améliorations techniques à l’instrument. L’art du jeu du piano, qui hérita de Paganini le côté assimilateur et imitateur, qui abandonna le salon et s’installa dans les grandes salles, fut reconnu comme la « grande manière » ou le « grand style ». Ces termes, provenant principalement de l’art de Liszt, qui fut apparemment son premier représentant, se réfèrent à un style pianistique particulier, basé sur de grands effets acoustiques et de nouvelles techniques d’exécution. Le corpus de l’étude est constitué des œuvres de Liszt d’après Paganini, telles que les Études d’exécution transcendante d’après Paganini, les Grandes Études de Paganini, La Grande Fantaisie de bravoure sur La Clochette et les œuvres en relation avec Paganini des générations suivantes de pianistes de la « grande manière ». Celles-ci incluent les versions des études de Liszt réalisées par Ferruccio Busoni, son Introduzione e Capriccio (Paganinesco), les arrangements des Caprices de Paganini par Michael Zadora, les Variations sur un thème de Paganini de Mark Hambourg et les Études d’après un thème de Paganini op. 47b d’Ignaz Friedman. L’étude tente de tracer la « grande manière » dans les formes pianistiques appliquées dans les œuvres citées ainsi que d’identifier les particularités du « pianisme » des auteurs concernés. / In the art of instrumental music there were moments of extraordinary evolution. The greatest revolution in the domain of the violin was probably the appearance of Paganini and his innovations in the technique, the texture of violin writings and the exploitation of the timbrical effects of the instrument. In the domain of the piano, Liszt, after having heard the assimilating and imitating violin of the Genovese, reformed his playing and transformed the pianism of his époque. In that mission, he was accompanied by technical improvements of the instrument. The art of piano playing, which inherited from Paganini the assimilating and imitating tendencies and left the salon in favor of big halls, was recognized as the “grand manner” or the “grand style” grand style’, first represented by Liszt. These terms, mainly originating from the conceptual grandeur of his art, refer to a particular pianistic style, based on big acoustic effects and new techniques of execution. The corpus of the present study is constituted by the works after Paganini by Liszt, including the Études d’exécution transcendante d’après Paganini, the Grandes études de Paganini, La Grande fantaisie de bravoure sur La Clochette, and the works related to Paganini of the following generations of pianists of the « grand manner”. These include the arrangements of Liszt’s studies of Busoni, the Introduzione e Capriccio paganinesco, the Variations sur un thème de Paganini of Mark Hambourg and the Paganini-Studies op. 47b of Ignaz Friedman. The study tempts to trace the “grand manner” in the pianistic forms applied in the cited works, and to identify the specificities of the pianism of the concerned authors.