Both of the Chopin concertos are the earliest of his works to be found in the ordinary piano repertoire, and they possess the direct influences and inherited traits of the composer. Since he did no more orchestral work after completing these two works, it is evident that he thought only in terms of pianistic expression. Probably one of the reasons for Chopin's ineffectiveness as an orchestral writer is due to his inability to conform to the classical form: sonata allegro. The e minor concerto is representative of his treatment of the larger forms. Analyzing the elements of an early work of the composer reveals the degree of maturity in individual traits. Elements of basic chord structure and use of harmony, melodic characteristics, and pianistic expression mark the style of a composer. This concerto demonstrates the beginning of chromatic harmony in his time and in his own writing; it contains melodic beauty and pianistic features which make it acceptable in standard concerto repertoire in spite of its many defects.

The purpose of this research was to investigate ways classical composers of African descent have been included in the mainstream academic canon. I examined the insights of four scholars who have been committed to including classical composers of African descent throughout their music careers. The initial research questions of this study were: 1) How do participants describe their frameworks for making the commitment to include classical composers of African descent throughout their careers? 2) What have been the challenges and benefits associated with their commitment? 3) What might contemporary scholars view as strategies for integrating classical composers of African descent into the mainstream academic canon? Four musicians, who have contributed to the scholarship related to classical works by composers of African descent in very different ways, participated in this qualitative collective case study: Dr. Ysaye Maria Barnwell, a composer and performer; Dr. Dominique-Rene de Lerma, musicologist; Dr. Anthony Thomas Leach, educator, conductor, and organist; and Mr. Hannibal Lokumbe, composer, trumpeter, and visionary. Through two in-depth interviews with each of the four scholars, a related question emerged: How have the participants contributed to the inclusion of classical composers of African descent throughout professional careers and personal lives? I transcribed the interviews, returned them to the participants for member checks, and prepared final, revised transcripts based on their feedback for analysis. I examined the interview data to obtain a collective representation related to the research questions. I analyzed the data for emerging codes, categories, and themes until details considered substantive to the research emerged. Themes that emerged focused on the need to identify the importance of seeing the contributions for classical composers of African descent from an Afrocentric as well as a Eurocentric perspective; the impact of the Civil Rights Movement on how each participant engaged the music throughout their lives; the importance of informal and formal education and the roles family, community, and school played in their relationship with the music they shared; and, the significance of creating access to their works through publications and professional associations. / Music Education

In this thesis, I explore the careers and songs of Florence Price and Margaret Bonds—two African American female composers who were part of the Chicago Renaissance. Price and Bonds were members of extensive, often informal, networks of Black women that fostered creativity and forged paths to success for Black female musicians during this era. Building on the work of Black feminist scholar Patricia Hill Collins, I contend that these efforts reflect Black feminist principles of Black women working together to create supportive environments, uplift one another, and foster resistance. I further argue that Black women's agency enabled the careers of Price and Bonds and that elements of Black feminism are not only present in their professional relationships, but also in their songs. Initially, I discuss how the background of the Harlem and Chicago Renaissances and racial uplift ideology shaped these women's artistic environment. I then examine how Bonds and Price incorporated, updated, and expanded versions of these ideals in their music and careers. Drawing on the scholarship of Rae Linda Brown, Angela Davis, and Tammy L. Kernodle, I analyze Price's "Song to the Dark Virgin," "Sympathy," and "Don't You Tell Me No" and Bonds's "Dream Variation," "Note on Commercial Theater," and "No Good Man" through a Black feminist lens. I contend that although Price and Bonds depicted harsh realities of Black women's experiences, they also celebrated Black women's resistance in spite of intersectional oppression. Ultimately, analyzing Black feminism in these composer's careers and songs opens a path for further exploration of how Black women's agency can facilitate activism through art.