Frederic Rzewski (1938- ) is a composer and pianist fluent in the styles of traditional pianism as well as the contemporary avant-garde. His musical breadth is most clearly demonstrated through his piano compositions, which are often large-scale, virtuosic, and tonal. For these reasons, they are frequently compared to works of the Romantic era. Furthermore, his pieces also display experimental, avant-gardistic leanings and thereby demonstrate complexity and eclecticism. The thread of continuity in Rzewski's works may be found through his incorporation of programmatic associations, which embrace controversial and universal socio-political themes.This study examines three of Rzewski's compositions for piano that typify the composer's diverse yet communal approach to composition: 36 Variations on "the People United Will Never Be Defeated!, the North American Ballads, and De Profundis. Through the integration of a predominantly tonal musical language with bold, contemporary techniques, all three pieces represent a melding of the past with the present. Thus, they celebrate the complex nature of the human experience through the realm of musical expression.Frederic Rzewski was interviewed by this author, as was pianist Ursula Oppens (a strong advocate of contemporary works generally and Rzewski's pieces specifically). Their insights appear throughout the document, on topics ranging from the generally relevant to specific items connected to the above-mentioned compositions. Related issues of prominent educational influences, the contemporary avant-garde movement, critical review, extant dissertations, improvisation, neo-tonality, and the trend of political music were researched for their invaluable associations with the above-mentioned pieces.This study contends that, through these works, Frederic Rzewski demonstrates a commanding ability to weave varied musical and programmatic components into compelling, cohesive compositions. Furthermore, these pieces offer keen insights into compositional style and practice for piano in the latter half of the twentieth century and thereby present pianists and pedagogues with the opportunity for the introduction to (and immersion in) essential, idiomatic writing as related to late twentieth-century piano composition. / School of Music

This thesis focuses on a group of keyboard pieces composed in the first half of the twentieth century entitled ‘prelude’, and explores the issue of genre, investigating the significance in the application of this generic title, and the development of the piano prelude in this period. The application of a generic title often invokes the expectation of its generic features its conventional and formal characteristics. Though the prelude is one of the oldest genres in the history of keyboard music, it has relatively few conventions, and hence, with the abandonment of its primary function the prefatory role in the nineteenth century, it has been considered an indeterminate genre. Rachmaninoff, however, asserted that a generic title should carry with it appropriate generic manifestations, which parallelled similar generic concepts in literature. This expectation of generic traits is like setting up a ‘generic contract’, offering an invitation to either conform or reform, and thus affecting its course of development. A survey of the prelude’s historical development points to six rather consistent generic conventional and formal characteristics: (i) tonality, (ii) pianistic/technical figuration, (iii) thematic treatment and formal structure, (iv) improvisatory style, (v) mood content, and (vi) brevity. Though these general characteristics may overlap with other genres, it is their collective characteristics that have contributed to the genre’s unique identity. These features form the basis for an exploration of the conformity to, or further evolution of, these characteristics in the preludes of the early twentieth century. From the substantial number of piano preludes composed in this period, selected sets, representative of the various stylistic manifestations of the period, are analysed in relation to the identified generic characteristics. The examination reveals that these preludes, though apparently diversified in style and outlook, exhibit affinity in one form or another to the generic characteristics. Each example exhibits different treatments of the generic characteristics reflective of twentieth-century developments, whilst retaining its generic identity. The prelude is thus an amalgamation of a tonal, technical and affective piece, which may be considered a combination of a tonal essay, a study/toccata, and a character piece; and collectively, a sequence of tonalities, a collection of pianistic technical studies, and a compendium of musical styles/genres in miniature.

John Corigliano's Etude Fantasy (1976) is a significant and challenging addition to the late twentieth century piano repertoire. A large-scale work, it occupies a particularly important place in the composer's output of music for piano. The remarkable variety of genres, styles, forms, and techniques in Corigliano's oeuvre as a whole is also evident in his piano music. This profusion of sources and its application to the Etude Fantasy are explored in the introduction, which is a general discussion o f the composer's background and aesthetic stance. The intriguing title of the Etude Fantasy implies the coexistence of two genres and raises the issue of the role of each genre in the thematic and structural organization o f the work. It is this issue which is the principal subject of inquiry in the thesis. Chapter I examines the historical background o f the etude genre, discussing similarities between the pianistic techniques employed in Corigliano's work and those found in specific historical instances of the etude genre over two centuries. Chapter II focuses on the historical background of the fantasia genre, emphasizing contrasting characters, textures, and keys as the main indicators o f a free form, and at the same time drawing attention to thematic transformation as a device of structural unification. Chapter III concentrates on elements that produce structural and formal coherence in John Corigliano's Etude Fantasy. These elements are motivic, intervalic, melodic, and harmonic in nature.

Bibliography: p. 792-808 / 808 p. : music ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Music 1993?

John Corigliano's Etude Fantasy (1976) is a significant and challenging addition to the late twentieth century piano repertoire. A large-scale work, it occupies a particularly important place in the composer's output of music for piano. The remarkable variety of genres, styles, forms, and techniques in Corigliano's oeuvre as a whole is also evident in his piano music. This profusion of sources and its application to the Etude Fantasy are explored in the introduction, which is a general discussion o f the composer's background and aesthetic stance. The intriguing title of the Etude Fantasy implies the coexistence of two genres and raises the issue of the role of each genre in the thematic and structural organization o f the work. It is this issue which is the principal subject of inquiry in the thesis. Chapter I examines the historical background o f the etude genre, discussing similarities between the pianistic techniques employed in Corigliano's work and those found in specific historical instances of the etude genre over two centuries. Chapter II focuses on the historical background of the fantasia genre, emphasizing contrasting characters, textures, and keys as the main indicators o f a free form, and at the same time drawing attention to thematic transformation as a device of structural unification. Chapter III concentrates on elements that produce structural and formal coherence in John Corigliano's Etude Fantasy. These elements are motivic, intervalic, melodic, and harmonic in nature. / Arts, Faculty of / Music, School of / 3 Cass, 1 CD / Graduate

This dissertation draws some of the innovative composers from the early 1900's to the 1960's into the spotlight to highlight their new musical and pianistic ideas. These composers, including Debussy, Schoenberg, Webern, Bartók, Cowell and others, brought new creative forces into piano music, generating many distinctive features of modern music. The discussion of new resources in harmonic language, timbre, texture, form and concept of time has a direct bearing on aspects of Richard Wilson's Eclogue itself as well as aspects of performance problems. American Composer, Richard Wilson, has written three substantial piano solo works, Eclogue, Fixations, and Intercalations. Eclogue, from 1974, is a one-movement work. The detailed analysis of Eclogue covers aspects of form, harmonic language, timbre and texture, and rhythm and time. In addition, essential issues of performance problems such as notation, rhythmic control, extended techniques, hands distribution, and pedaling are also discussed.

The Revolution of 1910 in Mexico marked a great political and social upheaval. At the same time a recasting of Mexico's music occurred. Modern Mexican music is a unique combination of the influence inherited from Europe and the indigenous music of the country. This work attempts to trace the development of that combination. Chapter I gives a background of music in Mexico through Pre-Cortesian times, the colonial period and the operatic nineteenth century. Chapter II deals with the men who shaped present day music in Mexico. Chapter III is an analysis of selected twentieth century piano works. The analysis shows the tendencies of ten Mexican composers in their use of melody and rhythm. It includes a discussion of harmonic structure and tonality. The composers whose works were chosen for consideration in the analysis range from Manuel M. Ponce, considered the father of modern Mexican music, to Carlos Chavez, recognized as the outstanding exponent of music in Mexico today.

This study demonstrated that the piano, a typical Western instrument, became the Chinese composer's tool for expressing the sound ideals and tone qualities that are intrinsic to Chinese music. A new musical idiom was created in these piano compositions, an idiom that combined Western compositional techniques and traditionally-based Chinese ideals.

Toru Takemitsu's piano works reveal a new scope to the concept of sound in modern piano literature. He achieves originality through his imagination and his Japanese cultural and musical heritage. Subtle Japanese elements, which have been embedded for centuries in Japan's culture and music, lend a unique, but not outwardly Japanese, feeling to this work.

This thesis is a study of Prokofiev's musical ideas as they emerge in his early writing for piano. It is concerned with elucidating the connections between Prokofiev's pianistic technique and his compositional technique. In doing so, the study explores the genealogy of composer's musical gestures and thematic ideas. Both his playing and his compositional styles have been labelled as distinctive: the thesis attempts to deconstruct that distinctiveness by pinpointing the origins of the composer's playing and compositional styles, tracing their gradual evolution into a mature idiom. The first chapter is concerned with Prokofiev's juvenilia (1898 to c. 1906). Drawing upon a large amount of previously unpublished archival resources, this chapter uncovers the original gestures and thematic ideas which characterize Prokofiev's early style. The next chapter focuses on Prokofiev's period at the St Petersburg Conservatory, tracing his development into a virtuoso pianist, examining the nature of that virtuosity and chronicling the creation of Prokofiev's performing persona. The gestures and idea- types identified in the first chapter are then examined within the context of Prokofiev's works for solo piano, his early works with orchestra and his first two major operas. Conclusions are then drawn about the nature of Prokofiev's distinctiveness, his compositional legacy and about his current position as a major twentieth-century composer.