Thesis (M.A.)--Eastern Illinois University, 1964. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [87-89]).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Melbourne, 1996. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 444-466).

This study investigates the educational theories and beliefs of the Russian composer and educator Dmitri Borisovich Kabalevsky as they relate to his piano music for children. / A biographical sketch of the composer’s public life was developed incorporating the significant events in his life as they relate to the compositions, and in particular, his work with children. The primary sources for this study are the composer’s own writings - some of which were specially translated from Russian into English for the purpose of this study. / Kabalevsky offered an alternative philosophy to that of many Western educators and musicians. His educational and musical views are discussed in the context of the overriding political philosophy to which he adhered throughout his life. The clearest expression of his educational views is seen in his book A Story of Three Whales and Many Other Things and the recorded talks with children entitled What Music Says, both of which were translated from the Russian for this study. / An overview of Kabalevsky’s music was developed, with particular reference to his music for children. Kabalevsky’s piano music for children is discussed in the larger context of his output for the instrument. Particular emphasis is placed on the use he made of the song, the dance and the march - the three major genres that are the basis of the small character pieces which constitute the majority of his works for children. / Five sets of music, from the twelve-volume collection entitled Piano Music for Children and Young People, have been selected for investigation in this study. The sets are In the Pioneer Camp Op. 3/86 (127/1968), From Pioneer Life Op. 14 (1931/1968), Thirty Children’s Pieces Op. 27 (1937-38), Twenty-Four Easy Pieces Op. 39 (1943) and Thirty-Five Easy Pieces Op. 89 (1972). / A descriptive analysis of each of the 100 pieces (under set criteria) was carried out, highlighting the major focus of the piece as well as the important pedagogical elements. An important aspect of this study was the identification and classification of the piano pieces in terms of the genre or style of the song, the dance or the march; only some were identified as such by the composer. The classification of pieces provided an important link between Kabalesky’s educational philosophy and his piano music for children.

The aim of this thesis is to explore life, works and pedagogical benefits of the Russian composer Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky. I would also like to focus on children's piano instructive literature by D. Kabalevsky because it is very appreciative recitative methodological material widely used at elementary schools of art. The thesis also includes a methodological analysis of instructive compositions, formal analysis of piano sonatas and concertos aesthetic analysis.

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