Although Robert Schumann’s late style has been the subject of several probing studies in recent years, few scholars have concentrated their attention on the chamber works composed in the autumn of 1851. Perhaps most intriguing are the opp. 105 and 121 violin sonatas, whose first movements suggest a dialogue with the eighteenth-century sonata form by preserving many of the same rhetorical and structural elements. Throughout both movements, however, Schumann uses an intricate web of tonal ambiguities, metrical dissonances, and unusual key relationships to recast the internal workings of these outwardly conventional sonata forms. As he uses these techniques to undermine important structural moments of each movement, Schumann significantly changes the overall plot of the eighteenth-century sonata form, while also demonstrating his sensitivity to the dramatic possibilities of this historical form in the middle of the nineteenth century. By discussing Schumann’s dialogue with the eighteenth-century sonata form throughout the opp. 105 and 121 violin sonatas, this study attempts to situate these works within both their historical and contemporary musical contexts, and thus considers a previously unexplored avenue toward rehabilitating the reception of Schumann’s late chamber works. / School of Music

There is no abstract available for this thesis. / Department of History

This submission investigates the interpretation and performance of selected solo and chamber works for flute by American composers Lowell Liebermann (b.1961) and Robert Beaser (b.1954). The exegesis presents a discussion of the interpretation and preparation of the included works from two differing perspectives. First, it examines the repertoire from the perspective of the composer, drawing on audio recordings of interviews and lessons conducted by the author in the United States of America. Second, it reviews the recitals from the perspective of the performer with emphasis on the preparation and performance of the selected repertoire. The discussion draws on two recitals by the author and associate artists that were recorded and presented in Elder Hall, The University of Adelaide on 11 December 2008 and 16 June 2009. Excerpts from the recitals are used to demonstrate the discussion and the CDs of the complete recitals are therefore integral to the submission. / Thesis (M.Mus.) -- University of Adelaide, Elder Conservatorium of Music, 2009

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Tübingen, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Zugl.: Erlangen, Nürnberg, Univ., Diss., 2006

Thesis (doctoral)--Technische Universität, Berlin, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 385-396).

Thesis (doctoral)--Paris IV. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 37-84 (2nd group)) and index.

Academisch proefschrift - Amsterdam. / Issued also without thesis statement.

Une nouvelle tentative pour faire face au défi sceptique est menée depuis une quarantaine d’années. Cette tentative repose sur une théorie de la connaissance centrée sur la notion d’alternatives pertinentes. La thèse se propose de montrer les faiblesses de cette théorie, même lorsqu’elle s’appuie sur l’appareillage des mondes possibles, et suggère que le scepticisme demeure la meilleure position épistémologique. Dans le premier chapitre on passe en revue une série de difficultés liées au sujet des alternatives pertinentes et l'on essaye d'argumenter en faveur de l'idée qu'il n'y a peut-être pas, finalement, de moyens en quelque sorte objectifs pour établir quelles sont les alternatives pertinentes relativement à une situation quelconque. À partir du deuxième chapitre, il est procédé à une analyse critique des tentatives de certains auteurs qui se sont servis, pour élaborer leurs propres conceptions bien précises, du langage des mondes possibles. Dans le deuxième chapitre, l'on se concentre surtout sur la question du degré de proximité qu'un monde possible donné doit exhiber pour être considéré comme suffisamment proche du monde actuel et l'on essaye de montrer qu'il n’est probablement pas possible de tracer d'une manière non arbitraire une ligne de démarcation entre ces mondes possibles qu’on peut ignorer et ceux qu’on ne peut ignorer dans nos attributions de connaissance. Dans le troisième chapitre, l'on se concentre surtout sur la question des critères qui devraient guider nos évaluations de proximité et l'on essaye de montrer le caractère discutable de n'importe quelle règle visant à établir quels seraient ces critères-là. / Over the last forty years, a new attempt to answer to the skeptic challenge has been proposed. This attempt is based on a theory of knowledge, which is grounded on the notion of relevant alternative. My dissertation aims to show the problems of such a theory, even when formulated in terms of possible worlds, and suggests that in the end skepticism remains the best epistemological option. In the first chapter, I will offer a discussion of the issue of relevant alternatives, and I will argue in favor of the idea that perhaps there are no objective criteria to establish which are the relevant alternatives with respect to a certain given situation. In the second chapter, I will propose a critical analysis of the attempts of some philosophers to formulate their own proposals in the language of possible worlds. In particular, I will focus on the issue of the proximity degree that a certain possible world must have in order to be considered as sufficiently closed to the real world, and I will try to show that perhaps it is not possible to draw a sharp line of demarcation between those possible worlds that we can ignore and those that we must take into account in our attribution of knowledge. In the third chapter, I will critically discuss the criteria that should guide our evaluations about proximity, and I will show the problematic aspects of any rule aimed to establish which these criteria in effect should be.

This paper proposes an analytic framework for the balancing or weighing test, as an instance of a Multiple-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), like the ones used in disciplines like management or operations research. The change in perspective allows for an enrichment of our comprehension concerning the test, and permits an increment in its pretentions of rationality in the process of solving conflicts, in which is necessary to arrive to an optimal solution. In the first section we propose a conceptual framework concerning the development of MCDA models. Then we show three models of balancing tests proposed in the specialized literature, one of which is the model proposed by Robert Alexy. Finally, departing from a comparison between constitutional balancing and the reasonableness test, used by Indecopi, we present a complex model of balancing, which counts with two perspectives: one synchronic, and the other diachronic. / El presente artículo propone un análisis del test de ponderación como una caso particular de los exámenes o test de decisión multicriterio (MCDA) desarrollados en otras disciplinas como la gestión y la investigación de operaciones. Este cambio de perspectiva permite enriquecer nuestra comprensión de dicho test, e incrementar sus pretensiones de racionalidad para resolver conflictos en los que se debe arribar a una solución óptima. En la primera parte se plantea un marco teórico sobre el desarrollo de los análisis de toma de decisiones multicriterio. A continuación se analizan las interrelaciones entre tres modelos ponderativos que se han propuesto en la literatura especializada, entre los que se encuentra el de Robert Alexy. Finalmente, a partir de una comparación entre la ponderación constitucional y el examen de razonabilidad de una medida, empleado por Indecopi, se presenta un modelo complejo de toma de decisiones en la ponderación. Dicho modelo cuenta con una perspectiva diacrónica y sincrónica de análisis.