Carl Czerny (1791-1857) was an Austrian piano teacher, composer, pianist, historian, and theorist, who made many contributions to the musical world. He wrote many pieces of music over the course of his life, the most familiar to us being his exercises. His other types of work are less known and studied nowadays for various reasons. Yet it cannot be denied that Czerny was a very important figure who should not be allowed to fade away. We must delve deeper into his life and uncover more of his pieces, to reveal aspects of his work that are unknown for us. This study concentrates on the forgotten piece Fantaisie sur des mélodies de Beethoven, Op. 752. This is one of the pieces that I included in a World Premiere release recording issued by Toccata Classics. The intent of the program for the recording was to change the traditional concept of Czerny's work and show that his compositions are worth adding to today's recital repertoire. The program included five forgotten pieces by Czerny, of which Op. 752 was the most complicated and virtuosic. The purpose of this study is to analyze the piece and illustrate practicing methods or solutions for the technical challenges of different types that it requires, thus constituting a performance guide. Furthermore, this dissertation also gives suggestions for using the piece in teaching. The aim is to help pianists and teachers to understand and successfully perform the piece on the modern piano. Moreover, I hope that this study will draw more attention to Czerny and inspire others to uncover more of his works.

This study provides background information, International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) transcriptions and pronunciations, poetic translations, and pedagogical analyses of ten Francesco Paolo Tosti songs. Included is the connection between the rhythm and meter of the poetry and its’ influence on Tosti’s setting of the text to music. In addition, a portion is devoted to an overview of pedagogy, specifically, appoggio, registers and passaggi in the lyric tenor voice, range and, as well as chiaroscuro. This document addresses potential vocal challenges presented for the lyric tenor voice within each song, as well as the benefits. In particular, suggestions for vowel modifications in the passaggi of the lyric tenor voice in relationship with the provided IPA transcription are addressed. Finally, by gathering all of the necessary information on Aprile, Non t’amo più, Luna d’estate, Preghiera, La serenata, Ideale, A vucchella, In van preghi, L’alba sepàra dalla luce l’ombra, and L’ultima canzone, this performance guide creates a concise tool for teachers and singers in the vocal studio seeking ideal performance practice suggestions.

abstract: The main objective of this research project is to expand the bassoon repertoire with the addition of three pieces. The first composition, Rust for bassoon and piano, was written by Christopher Marchant and is six minutes in duration; august, for woodwind quartet (flute, oboe, B-flat clarinet, and bassoon) was composed by Matthew Triplett and is four minutes in duration; the third composition, Rhapsody for woodwind quartet, was written by Conor Anderson and is six minutes in duration. The present document includes background information and a performance guide for each of the commissioned works. The performance guide provides recommendations and tips to aid musicians in preparing these works. This document also contains transcripts of interviews with each composer and performer. Finally, this document is accompanied by a recording of each piece. / Dissertation/Thesis / Christopher Marchant - Rust / Matthew Triplett - august, I. wake / Matthew Triplett - august, II. cicada breath / Conor Anderson - Rhapsody / Doctoral Dissertation Performance 2019

This project provides International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) transcriptions, translations and a vocal pedagogical analysis of “Six Songs of Poetry by Gellert” by Ludwig van Beethoven. There is discussion of technical concepts applicable to singing, vocal relationships between text and poetry; and background information concerning Ludwig van Beethoven, Christian Gellert, and Christian Neefe. This document addresses possible vocal challenges a baritone might encounter when studying the Gellert Lieder. This guide provides suggestions for vowel modification in the passaggio, as well as a section dedicated to appoggio, aggiustamento, and vocal registration. Finally, this research provides a concise preparation for performance manual for singers and teachers of singing to use in the vocal studio.

This study provides a performance guide to the nine song settings of Mother Goose Lyrics and Mother Goose Lyrics II by American composer Richard Faith (b. 1926). Included is a biography of the composer. The primary purpose is to provide analysis that shows that these nine songs are accessible to undergraduate singers and that these are arguably Faith’s most approachable songs for the young singer. As is pertinent to each individual song the discussion may include information on the poetry, musical form, textual support, pedagogical issues, harmonic progressions, melodic ideas, rhythmic devices, character analysis, as well as information on text setting devices. This is accomplished through the author’s own analysis and study of Faith’s songs, interviews with the composer, and references to the three other dissertations covering Faith’s song compositions. This performance guide will provide an introduction to Richard Faith and his musical style, as well as provide a tool for teachers and singers seeking performance practice guidance.

In this study, background information, International Phonetic Alphabet pronunciations, poetic translations, and musical analyses of the ten songs that comprise Gabriel Fauré’s La Chanson d’Ève, Op. 95 are provided. Included is the relationship between his original poetry and Fauré’s resultant song cycle. Additionally, a portion is dedicated to an overview of the registers of the mezzo-soprano voice, and it specifically addresses who is best suited to perform La Chanson d’Ève. This document looks at the vocal challenges presented for the mezzo-soprano voice within each song, particularly the subject of vowel modification as it relates to the IPA pronunciation guide. Finally, by gathering all the pertinent information on Fauré’s La Chanson d’Ève into one document, this performance guide creates a succinct tool for singers and teachers in the vocal studio.

abstract: This project includes a recording and performance guide for three newly commissioned pieces for the clarinet. The first piece, shimmer, was written by Grant Jahn and is for B-flat clarinet and electronics. The second piece, Paragon, is for B-flat clarinet and piano and was composed by Dr. Theresa Martin. The third and final piece, Duality in the Eye of a Bovine, was written by Kurt Mehlenbacher and is for B-flat clarinet, bass clarinet, and piano. In addition to the performance guide, this document also includes background information and program notes for the compositions, as well as composer biographical information, a list of other works featuring the clarinet by each composer, and transcripts of composer and performer interviews. This document is accompanied by a recording of the three pieces. / Dissertation/Thesis / shimmer / Paragon / Duality in the Eye of a Bovine, Movements I and II / Duality in the Eye of a Bovine, Movement III / Duality in the Eye of a Bovine, Movement IV / Doctoral Dissertation Music 2016

abstract: This paper is a performance guide for Quatro Canções da Floresta do Amazonas [Four Songs of The Amazon Forest] by Brazil's most prolific composer, Heitor Villa-Lobos. The primary purpose of the paper is to serve as a source for the correct pronunciation of the Brazilian Portuguese language of the songs. It will begin with an overview of Heitor Villa-Lobos's life and career, showing how his compositions catalyzed the Nationalistic movement in Brazilian classical music. His inclusion of native and folk elements into classical compositions was a significant innovation, which places Villa-Lobos as one of the most important Brazilian classical composers. Furthermore, this paper will explore the issue of Brazilian Portuguese diction in depth, using the Quatro Canções da Floresta do Amazonas to aid non-native Brazilian speakers. This includes an International Phonetic Alphabet transcription of the songs, as well as a recording of the songs being read and sung by the author, a link to which can be found in the appendix. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Music 2017

abstract: This research concentrates on the five sonatinas for piano by Walter Saul. It consists of a recording and a document providing musical analyses and performance guides to these sonatinas. The purpose of the research is to introduce Walter Saul’s five sonatinas, composed from 1998 to 2015. Walter Saul is a gifted living American composer and pianist. He has written a quantity of piano music intended for study by young performers. His five sonatinas, in traditional sonata forms, use a variety of compositional techniques, including twelve-tone rows, jazz elements, modulations, modes, scales, and contrapuntal procedures. Performers may find that the analyses in this document are useful in understanding these pieces. The guides are likewise provided to teachers and students studying these pieces. This paper consists of six chapters. It begins with an introduction in Chapter 1; Chapter 2 presents a biography of Walter Saul; Chapter 3 observes characteristics of Walter Saul’s piano music; Chapter 4 deals with background of the five sonatinas; Chapter 5 provides performance guides including simple analyses; Chapter 6 arrives at a conclusion. / Dissertation/Thesis / APPENDIX B: A RECORDING OF FIVE PIANO SONATINAS OF WALTER SAUL BY AHYEON YUN, PIANO / Doctoral Dissertation Music 2017

abstract: Charles-Valentin Alkan’s Grande Sonate Op. 33 ‘Les quatre âges’ is a unique four-movement work for piano solo that programmatically represents a man’s life through four decades, passing from age 20 to 50, with each movement being progressively slower than the previous. Published in 1847, it was destined for obscurity until it was rediscovered and premiered in 1973 by English pianist Ronald Smith. Its absence from the public’s reach can be attributed to multiple reasons including the reclusive nature of the composer during the time of composition and the societal issues surrounding the French Revolution of 1848. Much of Alkan’s music has a reputation for being nearly unplayable because of its complexity and the extremely high level of technical facility a pianist must possess in order to perform it convincingly. Aside from its performance length of nearly an hour, there are many technical issues that prevent Alkan’s Grande Sonate from being performed more frequently. This paper is an exploration of some of these performance and technical issues for consideration by pianists interested in solving the riddle of performing Alkan’s Grande Sonate. The findings explored are based in part on the author’s experience in performing the complete Grande Sonate in recital, as well as on extant research into Alkan’s life and the interpretation and performance of his works. The paper concludes with an appendix and link to the author’s live performance of the work, another appendix renotating the fugato from Quasi-Faust, and a third appendix providing extensive fingering and voice redistribution for Les enfans [sic] from 40 ans. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Music 2018