Sonata in C Major for Violin <br>J.S. Bach <br>Bach began composing his six sonatas and partitas for solo violin while in Weimar, but completed the set during his time as Kapellmeister in K��then. Although completed in 1720, during a time in which the solo violin repertoire was actively growing, these works were not published until 1802 and did not gain recognition until Josef Joachim began performing them. Today the six sonatas and partitas are an essential part of the violin repertoire and have served as an example for later polyphonic compositions for solo violin. The Sonata in C Major is the penultimate piece in Bach���s set of sonatas and partitas. It is the first of the set written in a major key, although the key area and tonality are very ambiguous in the first movement, Adagio. The Fuga is the longest and most complex movement, illustrating many contrapuntal techniques, such as stretto, inversion, and double counterpoint. The four movements of the Sonata in C Major follow the typical slow-fast-slow-fast pattern of the sonata da chiesa form. <br>Graceful Ghost Rag <br>William Bolcom <br>William Bolcom, American composer and pianist, wrote Graceful Ghost Rag, in 1970. Although his earliest compositions followed serial technique, this piece follows his mission to embrace a variety of musical styles, in an effort to break boundaries between popular music styles and high art music styles. This philosophy began to influence his compositions in the 1960���s. Throughout his career, Bolcom has composed pieces across many genres, including operas, concerti, symphonies, string quartets, sonatas, rags, cabaret songs, and musical theater works. Bolcom is also an avid performer. He has recorded twenty albums in collaboration with his wife, mezzo-soprano Joan Morris. The couple���s most often performed and recorded works include showtunes, parlour, and popular songs from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. <br>Sonata No. 9 for Violin and Piano in A Major, Op. 47, ���Kreutzer��� <br>Ludwig van Beethoven <br>Although Beethoven���s ninth violin sonata is named after the great violinist of the time, Rodolphe Kreutzer, it is rumored that Kreutzer never played it, claiming that it was too difficult to understand and to play. Beethoven originally dedicated the sonata to George Bridgetower, another prominent violinist at the time, who performed the premiere with Beethoven at the piano. The 8:00am premiere was a success, despite the fact that Bridgetower was sight-reading the piece. However, shortly after the premiere, Beethoven became angry with Bridgetower and rededicated the sonata to Kreutzer when Bridgetower made a disparaging remark about a woman whom Beethoven was fond of. Today, the ���Kreutzer��� sonata is one of the most loved and demanding pieces of the violin and piano repertoire. <br>The ���Kreutzer��� sonata was composed in the period after Beethoven���s Heilegenstadt Testament. In 1800, Beethoven had begun to loose his hearing. Despite a trip to Heilegenstadt to rest in an attempt to reverse or stop his hearing loss, it was now certain that he would suffer permanent and complete hearing loss. In a letter to his brothers, he contemplated suicide but ultimately decided against it, citing the reason for his change of heart as his need to express himself in music. This document was found after his death and is now known as the Heilegenstadt Testament. It is not only an important document used to understand the life of Beethoven but also a chapter in the beginning of the idea of music as self expression, ushering in the Romantic Era. <br>The third movement of the ���Kreutzer��� was originally composed for another sonata, but Beethoven felt that it was too brilliant in sound and style; therefore, he saved it for a later composition. Because the three movements are so different in character, it may seem that the third movement was simply added to the end of the first two, but after closer study, it is apparent that the rhythmic motive of the Presto inspired the first two movements. The ���up-down��� feeling of the rhythm in the Presto can be felt in all movements, even in the violin chords at the beginning of the piece, which are to be played essentially as two double-stops. / Mary Pappert School of Music / Music Performance / MM; / Recital;

Max Reger is a composer who lived between the end of the nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth century. There were shocking new sounds in music due highly to using chromaticism of Wagner. Harmonies within music collapse, which in turn influences rhythms, sounds and textures emancipated gradually. The music style of Reger which has been compared to the contemporary music environments was more conservative, but he also tried to use modern elements such as dissonant harmonies. However, his inclusion of these elements wouldn¡¦t interfere with the tonality itself. In 1930, he published a treatise on a basic theory which contained chromaticism and skills of modern modulations. In fact, his music style has become refined since 1915. It was still criticized by contemporary critics of music, but this didn¡¦t influence the development of the polyphonic music of Reger. Afterwards, the value of Reger¡¦s work was gradually recognized in the twentieth century. People thought that his pieces imitating the model of Bach¡¦s music had significant meaning and used the spirit of modern day to introduce the ancient music to the world rather than being overly ostentatious. Thus, we know that the art value of a composer and their work cannot be confined to the people and the times that they live in. The lecture-recital discourse includes three main parts. The first and second chapters summarize the development of German music in nineteenth century and the personal review of Reger and his music style. The third chapter gives an analysis on techniques of the ¡§Cello Suite, Op. 131c, No. 2¡¨. More importantly, it would make the writer understand it more and interpret closed to the original meaning of Reger with my personal style.

Diss.--Berlin, 2000--Humboldt-Universität. / Bibliogr. p. 389-418. Index.

Texte remanié de: Dissertation--Fachbereich 2--Essen--Folkwang Hochschule, 2007. / Bibliogr. p. [369]-410.

Thesis (M.M.)--Ball State University, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Mar. 08, 2010). Creative project (M.M.), 3 hrs. Includes bibliographical references (p. 21-22).

Thesis (M.M.)--Ball State University, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Mar. 01, 2010). Creative project (M.M.), 3 hrs. Includes bibliographical references (p. 11).

This study is concerned with conventions of notation and of performance in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. The small-note Vorschlag represents one of the most puzzling and least understood aspects of western musical notation during the period under discussion. Although the issue has been examined extensively in the past. the lack of consensus among scholars and performers - coupled with Bach's copious use of the small-note Vorschlag - indicates that a reassessment is warranted. The aim is to arrive at an understanding of Bach's notation of the Vorschlag and its implications for informed performance of his music. Initially, the study places Bach's notation within the context of contemporary practice. An examination of the composer's awareness of French and German music reveals that both anticipatory and 'on-beat' resolutions of the ornament were current during Bach's professional life. A relationship between differing resolutions and notation is identified - 'schematic' notation - in the music of Dieupart, Walther, Telemann and Muffat where contrasted sigla are employed to indicate the metrical placement of the ornament. Additionally, Bach's custom of using the Vorschlag in both written-out and small-note forms is investigated. The core of the study is contained in a series of case-studies. Following a broadly chronological sequence, these case-studies examine in detail Bach's use of differing notational forms for the Vorschlag. Through the application of comparative analytical methods, the extent to which Bach's practice reflects that of his contemporaries is assessed, and how far the evidence permits judgement as to Bach's intended resolution of the ornament.The final chapter provides a synthesis of the findings of the study. In so far as they may be determined, the conventions of performance current in Bach's music are defined. From this, it emerges that there is a loose correlation between notation and metrical placement. The study concludes by considering the implications of how this observation impacts on an understanding of Bach's ornamental style, in particular his assimilation of new stylistic currents in the last two decades of his life.

The literature about the unfinished ending of J S Bach’s The Art of Fugue (Die Kunst der Fuga) BWV 1080 is in universal agreement that the work remained unfinished at Bach’s death; some texts go a step further to say that it is unfinished because he died. After giving a series of performances of the work, the author became convinced that this latter view must be incorrect, and that Bach left the work unfinished deliberately. This thesis explores this idea in detail and, by presenting a number of new theories, suggests not only that Bach left the work unfinished deliberately as an invitation to the reader, student or performer to work out his or her own completion, but also that he left a number of clues, hidden to a greater or lesser extent, to indicate that that was his intention and to supply vital information about the content of the missing bars. Divided into two parts, the thesis first considers some of the evidence contained within the manuscript itself, up to and including the final written bar, and then in the second part goes on to consider two essential aspects of the completion. By way of introduction, the first chapter surveys the controversial area of Bach’s use of numbers in his music and draws attention to the number of the final bar, which can be interpreted as a clue to the fact that Bach expects the music to be continued. Chapter Two invites a reconsideration of Christoph Wolff’s famous “Fragment X” theory, which suggests that the continuation of the final fugue was written on a separate, now lost, piece of paper. Many inconsistencies and details in the manuscript suggest strongly that Wolff’s theory is incorrect. As part of this theory, the author reports on his own examination of the original manuscript in Berlin. Chapter Three, through a detailed study of the architecture of the final fugue, makes the bold claim that the author has definitively proved the exact number of bars required to complete the music in accordance with Bach’s intentions: this theory develops and refines the work of Gregory Butler in this area, and, to corroborate the theory, presents a possible interpretation of the unusual markings at the end of Bach’s score and of a significant correction made by Bach in his manuscript. Finally, in Chapter Four, the question of the proposed inverted combination of all four fugue subjects is revisited – a combination that several writers have claimed to be impossible – and a new and convincing solution to this problem is presented and justified.

The literature about the unfinished ending of J S Bach’s The Art of Fugue (Die Kunst der Fuga) BWV 1080 is in universal agreement that the work remained unfinished at Bach’s death; some texts go a step further to say that it is unfinished because he died. After giving a series of performances of the work, the author became convinced that this latter view must be incorrect, and that Bach left the work unfinished deliberately. This thesis explores this idea in detail and, by presenting a number of new theories, suggests not only that Bach left the work unfinished deliberately as an invitation to the reader, student or performer to work out his or her own completion, but also that he left a number of clues, hidden to a greater or lesser extent, to indicate that that was his intention and to supply vital information about the content of the missing bars. Divided into two parts, the thesis first considers some of the evidence contained within the manuscript itself, up to and including the final written bar, and then in the second part goes on to consider two essential aspects of the completion. By way of introduction, the first chapter surveys the controversial area of Bach’s use of numbers in his music and draws attention to the number of the final bar, which can be interpreted as a clue to the fact that Bach expects the music to be continued. Chapter Two invites a reconsideration of Christoph Wolff’s famous “Fragment X” theory, which suggests that the continuation of the final fugue was written on a separate, now lost, piece of paper. Many inconsistencies and details in the manuscript suggest strongly that Wolff’s theory is incorrect. As part of this theory, the author reports on his own examination of the original manuscript in Berlin. Chapter Three, through a detailed study of the architecture of the final fugue, makes the bold claim that the author has definitively proved the exact number of bars required to complete the music in accordance with Bach’s intentions: this theory develops and refines the work of Gregory Butler in this area, and, to corroborate the theory, presents a possible interpretation of the unusual markings at the end of Bach’s score and of a significant correction made by Bach in his manuscript. Finally, in Chapter Four, the question of the proposed inverted combination of all four fugue subjects is revisited – a combination that several writers have claimed to be impossible – and a new and convincing solution to this problem is presented and justified.

The literature about the unfinished ending of J S Bach’s The Art of Fugue (Die Kunst der Fuga) BWV 1080 is in universal agreement that the work remained unfinished at Bach’s death; some texts go a step further to say that it is unfinished because he died. After giving a series of performances of the work, the author became convinced that this latter view must be incorrect, and that Bach left the work unfinished deliberately. This thesis explores this idea in detail and, by presenting a number of new theories, suggests not only that Bach left the work unfinished deliberately as an invitation to the reader, student or performer to work out his or her own completion, but also that he left a number of clues, hidden to a greater or lesser extent, to indicate that that was his intention and to supply vital information about the content of the missing bars. Divided into two parts, the thesis first considers some of the evidence contained within the manuscript itself, up to and including the final written bar, and then in the second part goes on to consider two essential aspects of the completion. By way of introduction, the first chapter surveys the controversial area of Bach’s use of numbers in his music and draws attention to the number of the final bar, which can be interpreted as a clue to the fact that Bach expects the music to be continued. Chapter Two invites a reconsideration of Christoph Wolff’s famous “Fragment X” theory, which suggests that the continuation of the final fugue was written on a separate, now lost, piece of paper. Many inconsistencies and details in the manuscript suggest strongly that Wolff’s theory is incorrect. As part of this theory, the author reports on his own examination of the original manuscript in Berlin. Chapter Three, through a detailed study of the architecture of the final fugue, makes the bold claim that the author has definitively proved the exact number of bars required to complete the music in accordance with Bach’s intentions: this theory develops and refines the work of Gregory Butler in this area, and, to corroborate the theory, presents a possible interpretation of the unusual markings at the end of Bach’s score and of a significant correction made by Bach in his manuscript. Finally, in Chapter Four, the question of the proposed inverted combination of all four fugue subjects is revisited – a combination that several writers have claimed to be impossible – and a new and convincing solution to this problem is presented and justified.