Master of Music / Department of Music / Frank C. Tracz / This document is constructed on the comprehensive examination question based on the Graduate Conducting Recital of Gavin W. Smith. The theoretical and historical analysis includes Spring Wind – Weather Movement I and Storm Warning and Dance – Weather Movement II by Steve Riley, Prelude Op. 34, No. 14 by Dmitri Shostakovich, and Tempered Steel by Charles R. Young. Along with the analysis, this document contains the rehearsal plans and procedures for the preparation of the literature. The recital was performed by Kansas State University’s Symphony Band on March 13, 2007 in McCain Auditorium at 7:30pm.

This document's purpose is to analyze dualities found in different films of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Each version brings different ideas to it. By analyzing each version and focusing on the Ghost Scene, comparisons of the scene's symbolism are made between the musical scores. The beginning chapters provide a history of film, film music, the play, and events up to the ghost scene. After these chapters come analyses of the scene itself. Each version uses different parts of the play for its own purposes, but there are many commonalities between them. The score for each version of the Ghost Scene will be analyzed independently of each other. This work will contribute to musicology, film research, Shakespeare studies, and English scholarship.

Performance practice is a term familiar to serious musicians. For the performer, this means assimilating and applying all the education and training that has been pursued in a course of study. Performance practice entails many aspects such as development of the craft of performing on the instrument, comprehensive knowledge of pertinent literature, score study and listening to recordings, study of instruments of the period, notation and articulation practices of the time, and issues of tempo and dynamics. The orchestral literature of Eastern Europe, especially Germany and Russia, from the mid-nineteenth century through the mid-twentieth century provides some of the most significant and musically challenging parts for the tuba. The works of Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, and Dmitri Shostakovich, along with their orchestral contemporaries, represents a significant portion of this literature. This study examines a seminal work in the orchestral genre from each of these three Russian composers. The role of the tuba in each work is discussed. Excerpts of the tuba part are examined in terms of performance issues such as range, rhythm, phrasing, and scoring. Comparisons and contrasts are drawn as to how each composer used the tuba and the effectiveness of the utilization.

Este trabalho apresenta uma reflexão sobre a música do compositor soviético Dmítri Chostakóvitch baseada na análise da Sinfonia nº 10 op. 93. Concluída logo após a morte de Jôsef Stálin, a obra carrega notáveis marcas de seu tempo e sua leitura demanda um cuidadoso estudo das questões relativas à significação musical, em especial uma discussão do conceito de ironia aplicado à música em suas mais diversas manifestações, desde a construção de estruturas musicais expressivas até a disposição de elementos singulares, que requerem uma leitura semiótica. Esta abordagem alinha-se com a perspectiva discursiva que relaciona ironia, intertextualidade e interdiscursividade: o cruzamento de vozes e a confluência de discursos, que constituem elementos fundamentais do conceito de polifonia proposto por Mikhaíl Bakhtín, são identificados aqui como uma chave de leitura capaz de evidenciar, também na música, a ironia como elemento estruturante. A análise da Sinfonia nº 10 a partir dessa perspectiva dá fundamento a novas hipóteses interpretativas e estéticas sobre a obra de Chostakóvitch, evidenciando no texto musical as contradições que surgem no desdobramento analítico do discurso sinfônico e confrontando a crítica histórica da música de Chostakóvitch com uma interpretação semiótica baseada na teoria dos tópicos musicais, desenvolvida a partir das propostas de Leonard Ratner. / The purpose of this work is to present a reflection about the music of the Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich based on an analysis of the Symphony no. 10 op. 93. Written immediately after Joseph Stalin\'s death, the symphony carries remarkable traces of its time, and the unfolding of its singularities demands a careful study of musical signification\'s issues, specially a discussion about the concept of irony applied to music in its various manifestations, from the expressive construction of musical structures to the disposition of singular elements. This kind of analysis requires a wide theoretical perspective, which includes a semiotic approach. This analysis is thus aligned with the discursive perspective that relates irony, intertextuality and interdiscursivity: the voice-crossing and discourse confluence, which constitute fundamental elements of Mikhail Bakhtin\'s concept of polyphony, are taken as keys to identify irony as a structural element in music as well. The analysis of the Symphony no. 10 from this perspective grounds new interpretative and aesthetic hypotheses about Shostakovich\'s music, by revealing on the musical text the contradictions which emerge at the level of symphonic discourse, and by confronting the historical criticism of Shostakovich\'s music with a semiotic interpretation based on topic theory proposed after Leonard Ratner.

The nineteenth and twentieth centuries witnessed the rapid growth of musical culture in Russia. This resulted in a large repertoire of piano music — ranging from miniatures to virtuosic etudes and sonatas. Growing out of the nineteenth century romantic tradition, and highly influenced by the social conditions of the time, Russian composers developed a distinctive style which closely reflected their culture, personalities and ideologies. There are several approaches to studying performance practice. One is to study the interpretations of other pianists. While this does have many advantages, it has not been adopted in this paper as it has one flaw: it still fails to capture the distinctive language of these composers. Rather, the paper will study the social and musical influences on the composers, and, more importantly, their philosophies about pianism and the purpose of music. This will be related to interpretative issues in the works. The repertoire has been divided into four areas. The paper commences with a study of the miniature, which is valuable in finding the ‘essence’ of a composer’s musical language expressed on a small scale. Here, the ‘elementary’ considerations in performance practice will be studied. The second chapter discusses etudes. This is useful in gaining an insight into composers’ conception of technique, and how this relates to performance practice. The third chapter deals with music that has extra-musical themes. This provides opportunity for a more detailed cultural and biographical study of the composers. To represent the large-scale repertoire of Russian composers, the sonata will be studied. Here, a detailed analysis of the composers’ musical language and its relationship to expression will be discussed. / Masters Thesis

Av analysen kan Michelle sammanfatta att om hon skulle starta en kvartett i framtiden för till exempel lansering skulle hon ha en kvartett redan färdig och redo för repetition innan start av liknande projekt. Momentet att hitta potentiella medlemmar till stråkkvartetten på så kort tid är orimligt och även om hon hittade medlemmar till kvartetten så skulle det inte hålla i längden. Efter att Michelle fått erfarenhet av personer som inte hållit de muntliga avtal som faktiskt gjordes kommer hon lägga mer tid på att finna rätt personer. Dessutom hade alla de punkter angående mål, promotion och avtal diskuteras med kvartetten detaljerat för att allihop ska få en likvärdig respekt och förståelse i det samarbete som komma skall. Inget bör vara otydligt.  Hon kan också sammanfatta att om arrangerande av sådan typ av musik som inte är anpassat för stråkkvartetter, också kräver omsorg. Då detta tillfälle dyker upp nästa gång kommer hon att ha genomgått denna process tidigt under arbetets gång för att det ska finnas tid över att kunna gå tillbaka i arrangemangen för reflektion.Av analysen kan Michelle sammanfatta att om hon skulle starta en kvartett i framtiden för till exempel lansering skulle hon ha en kvartett redan färdig och redo för repetition innan start av liknande projekt. Momentet att hitta potentiella medlemmar till stråkkvartetten på så kort tid är orimligt och även om hon hittade medlemmar till kvartetten så skulle det inte hålla i längden. Efter att Michelle fått erfarenhet av personer som inte hållit de muntliga avtal som faktiskt gjordes kommer hon lägga mer tid på att finna rätt personer. Dessutom hade alla de punkter angående mål, promotion och avtal diskuteras med kvartetten detaljerat för att allihop ska få en likvärdig respekt och förståelse i det samarbete som komma skall. Inget bör vara otydligt.  Hon kan också sammanfatta att om arrangerande av sådan typ av musik som inte är anpassat för stråkkvartetter, också kräver omsorg. Då detta tillfälle dyker upp nästa gång kommer hon att ha genomgått denna process tidigt under arbetets gång för att det ska finnas tid över att kunna gå tillbaka i arrangemangen för reflektion.

<p>Av analysen kan Michelle sammanfatta att om hon skulle starta en kvartett i framtiden för till exempel lansering skulle hon ha en kvartett redan färdig och redo för repetition innan start av liknande projekt. Momentet att hitta potentiella medlemmar till stråkkvartetten på så kort tid är orimligt och även om hon hittade medlemmar till kvartetten så skulle det inte hålla i längden. Efter att Michelle fått erfarenhet av personer som inte hållit de muntliga avtal som faktiskt gjordes kommer hon lägga mer tid på att finna rätt personer. Dessutom hade alla de punkter angående mål, promotion och avtal diskuteras med kvartetten detaljerat för att allihop ska få en likvärdig respekt och förståelse i det samarbete som komma skall. Inget bör vara otydligt.  Hon kan också sammanfatta att om arrangerande av sådan typ av musik som inte är anpassat för stråkkvartetter, också kräver omsorg. Då detta tillfälle dyker upp nästa gång kommer hon att ha genomgått denna process tidigt under arbetets gång för att det ska finnas tid över att kunna gå tillbaka i arrangemangen för reflektion.Av analysen kan Michelle sammanfatta att om hon skulle starta en kvartett i framtiden för till exempel lansering skulle hon ha en kvartett redan färdig och redo för repetition innan start av liknande projekt. Momentet att hitta potentiella medlemmar till stråkkvartetten på så kort tid är orimligt och även om hon hittade medlemmar till kvartetten så skulle det inte hålla i längden. Efter att Michelle fått erfarenhet av personer som inte hållit de muntliga avtal som faktiskt gjordes kommer hon lägga mer tid på att finna rätt personer. Dessutom hade alla de punkter angående mål, promotion och avtal diskuteras med kvartetten detaljerat för att allihop ska få en likvärdig respekt och förståelse i det samarbete som komma skall. Inget bör vara otydligt.  Hon kan också sammanfatta att om arrangerande av sådan typ av musik som inte är anpassat för stråkkvartetter, också kräver omsorg. Då detta tillfälle dyker upp nästa gång kommer hon att ha genomgått denna process tidigt under arbetets gång för att det ska finnas tid över att kunna gå tillbaka i arrangemangen för reflektion.</p>

Este trabalho apresenta uma reflexão sobre a música do compositor soviético Dmítri Chostakóvitch baseada na análise da Sinfonia nº 10 op. 93. Concluída logo após a morte de Jôsef Stálin, a obra carrega notáveis marcas de seu tempo e sua leitura demanda um cuidadoso estudo das questões relativas à significação musical, em especial uma discussão do conceito de ironia aplicado à música em suas mais diversas manifestações, desde a construção de estruturas musicais expressivas até a disposição de elementos singulares, que requerem uma leitura semiótica. Esta abordagem alinha-se com a perspectiva discursiva que relaciona ironia, intertextualidade e interdiscursividade: o cruzamento de vozes e a confluência de discursos, que constituem elementos fundamentais do conceito de polifonia proposto por Mikhaíl Bakhtín, são identificados aqui como uma chave de leitura capaz de evidenciar, também na música, a ironia como elemento estruturante. A análise da Sinfonia nº 10 a partir dessa perspectiva dá fundamento a novas hipóteses interpretativas e estéticas sobre a obra de Chostakóvitch, evidenciando no texto musical as contradições que surgem no desdobramento analítico do discurso sinfônico e confrontando a crítica histórica da música de Chostakóvitch com uma interpretação semiótica baseada na teoria dos tópicos musicais, desenvolvida a partir das propostas de Leonard Ratner. / The purpose of this work is to present a reflection about the music of the Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich based on an analysis of the Symphony no. 10 op. 93. Written immediately after Joseph Stalin\'s death, the symphony carries remarkable traces of its time, and the unfolding of its singularities demands a careful study of musical signification\'s issues, specially a discussion about the concept of irony applied to music in its various manifestations, from the expressive construction of musical structures to the disposition of singular elements. This kind of analysis requires a wide theoretical perspective, which includes a semiotic approach. This analysis is thus aligned with the discursive perspective that relates irony, intertextuality and interdiscursivity: the voice-crossing and discourse confluence, which constitute fundamental elements of Mikhail Bakhtin\'s concept of polyphony, are taken as keys to identify irony as a structural element in music as well. The analysis of the Symphony no. 10 from this perspective grounds new interpretative and aesthetic hypotheses about Shostakovich\'s music, by revealing on the musical text the contradictions which emerge at the level of symphonic discourse, and by confronting the historical criticism of Shostakovich\'s music with a semiotic interpretation based on topic theory proposed after Leonard Ratner.

This diploma thesis deals with Dmitry Shostakovich and his works. Its aim is to map the life of the composer and to further characterize his two works, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 1 a minor op. 77 and String Quartet No. 8 in C minor op. 110. The thesis is divided into three chapters. The first chapter is about composer's life in the difficult living and creative conditions of the Soviet Union of that time and about selected compositions of his. In the following two chapters, the analyzes of the two above-mentioned works and the historical context in which they were create are presented. The thesis also provides an interpretative analysis of the Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 1 a minor, which is also an interpretative comparison of the concert recordings of David Oistrach and Julian Rachlin.

In Chinese contemporary piano music, large-scale piano compositions featuring innovative polyphonic musical languages are rarely found. Chang-Lei Zhu's Ballade for Solo Piano represents his development of contrapuntal techniques passed on from J. S. Bach and Dmitri Shostakovich in their polyphonic works for solo keyboard or piano. This study focuses on an analysis of Zhu's Ballade as an idiosyncratic composition that makes a significant contribution to the Chinese contemporary piano music repertory. Comparative analysis is made of Zhu's Ballade and J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier Books 1 and 2, as well as Dmitri Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues for Solo Piano, Op. 87. Zhu, a living Chinese composer born in 1976, uniquely writes the twenty variations of his Ballade based on the opening theme, a single melody in ten subphrases. This research lays out the close relationship of the opening theme with twenty variations in the Ballade. This study also illustrates how Zhu is an innovative voice in Chinese contemporary piano music literature. This comparative study constitutes the first scholarly study of Zhu's Ballade. Chapter 1 is an introduction to my comparative study. In chapter 2, comparisons on selected excerpts are conducted between Zhu's Ballade and J.S. Bach's WTC, Books 1 and 2, as well as Dmitri Shostakovich's Op. 87. Taking into consideration the pedagogical function of the Ballade, this study includes how the work can be used in Zhu's Ballade in piano pedagogy as an addition in chapter 3.