Analyzes music of Ravel, Debussy, Schoenberg, Webern, Milhaud, Bozza, Francaix, Poulenc, Cowell and Riegger.

Orientador: Lia Vera Tomás / Banca: Graziela Bortz / Banca: Mario Videira / Resumo: Merleau-Ponty em O Visível e o Invisível apontou que, nas ciências clássicas, a interpretação e o estudo da realidade física mais recente venham sendo confrontados em seus pressupostos ontológicos de cunho cartesiano. Neste sentido, hoje assume-se como possível parte essencial, intrínseca e inalienável da constituição ontológica da realidade, a relação mutuamente tecida entre observado e observador, e isto conflita com o conceito cartesiano de dicotomia absoluta entre objeto e sujeito. Se nossa hipótese se demonstrar correta, é provável que verifiquemos o mesmo problema com relação à ontologia da música, visto a prolífica e controversa variedade de interpretações dadas ao fazer e fruir musical a partir do séc. XX. Em face dessas considerações, nossa hipótese é a de que talvez seja também necessário considerar, como intrínseco e inalienável à ontologia da música, as relações mutuamente tecidas entre observado (música) e observador (escuta) / Abstract: In The Visible and the Invisible Merleau-Ponty pointed out that, in the classical sciences, interpretation and study of the most recent physical reality has been questioned in its Cartesian ontological presuppositions. In this sense, today it is assumed as possible that the relationship mutually woven between observer and observed could be responsible to the ontological constitution of reality itself, and it conflicts with the Cartesian concept of absolute dichotomy between subject and object. If our hypothesis is correct, this work will reveal that the same problem is present also in the ontology of music, in face of the prolific and controversial variety of interpretations of making and enjoing music from the Twentieth Century. Given these considerations, our hypothesis is that it should be necessity to consider that the relationship mutually woven between observer (listening) and observed (music) concerns to the ontological constitution of music itself / Mestre

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Frederic Rzewski (1938- ) is a composer and pianist fluent in the styles of traditional pianism as well as the contemporary avant-garde. His musical breadth is most clearly demonstrated through his piano compositions, which are often large-scale, virtuosic, and tonal. For these reasons, they are frequently compared to works of the Romantic era. Furthermore, his pieces also display experimental, avant-gardistic leanings and thereby demonstrate complexity and eclecticism. The thread of continuity in Rzewski's works may be found through his incorporation of programmatic associations, which embrace controversial and universal socio-political themes.This study examines three of Rzewski's compositions for piano that typify the composer's diverse yet communal approach to composition: 36 Variations on "the People United Will Never Be Defeated!, the North American Ballads, and De Profundis. Through the integration of a predominantly tonal musical language with bold, contemporary techniques, all three pieces represent a melding of the past with the present. Thus, they celebrate the complex nature of the human experience through the realm of musical expression.Frederic Rzewski was interviewed by this author, as was pianist Ursula Oppens (a strong advocate of contemporary works generally and Rzewski's pieces specifically). Their insights appear throughout the document, on topics ranging from the generally relevant to specific items connected to the above-mentioned compositions. Related issues of prominent educational influences, the contemporary avant-garde movement, critical review, extant dissertations, improvisation, neo-tonality, and the trend of political music were researched for their invaluable associations with the above-mentioned pieces.This study contends that, through these works, Frederic Rzewski demonstrates a commanding ability to weave varied musical and programmatic components into compelling, cohesive compositions. Furthermore, these pieces offer keen insights into compositional style and practice for piano in the latter half of the twentieth century and thereby present pianists and pedagogues with the opportunity for the introduction to (and immersion in) essential, idiomatic writing as related to late twentieth-century piano composition. / School of Music

This thesis focuses on a group of keyboard pieces composed in the first half of the twentieth century entitled ‘prelude’, and explores the issue of genre, investigating the significance in the application of this generic title, and the development of the piano prelude in this period. The application of a generic title often invokes the expectation of its generic features its conventional and formal characteristics. Though the prelude is one of the oldest genres in the history of keyboard music, it has relatively few conventions, and hence, with the abandonment of its primary function the prefatory role in the nineteenth century, it has been considered an indeterminate genre. Rachmaninoff, however, asserted that a generic title should carry with it appropriate generic manifestations, which parallelled similar generic concepts in literature. This expectation of generic traits is like setting up a ‘generic contract’, offering an invitation to either conform or reform, and thus affecting its course of development. A survey of the prelude’s historical development points to six rather consistent generic conventional and formal characteristics: (i) tonality, (ii) pianistic/technical figuration, (iii) thematic treatment and formal structure, (iv) improvisatory style, (v) mood content, and (vi) brevity. Though these general characteristics may overlap with other genres, it is their collective characteristics that have contributed to the genre’s unique identity. These features form the basis for an exploration of the conformity to, or further evolution of, these characteristics in the preludes of the early twentieth century. From the substantial number of piano preludes composed in this period, selected sets, representative of the various stylistic manifestations of the period, are analysed in relation to the identified generic characteristics. The examination reveals that these preludes, though apparently diversified in style and outlook, exhibit affinity in one form or another to the generic characteristics. Each example exhibits different treatments of the generic characteristics reflective of twentieth-century developments, whilst retaining its generic identity. The prelude is thus an amalgamation of a tonal, technical and affective piece, which may be considered a combination of a tonal essay, a study/toccata, and a character piece; and collectively, a sequence of tonalities, a collection of pianistic technical studies, and a compendium of musical styles/genres in miniature.

Orientadora: Lia Vera Tomás / Banca: Ricardo Nascimento Fabbrini / Banca: Mário Rodrigues Videira / Banca: Marcos José Cruz Mesquita / Banca: Mauricio Funcia de Bonis / Resumo: O filósofo francês Jean-François Lyotard (1924-1998) desenvolve uma estética calcada no conceito de sublime a partir de seus escritos sobre arte pertencentes às décadas de 1980 e 1990. Tais formulações são pertencentes ao seu período filosófico caracterizado como virada kantiana, embasado na leitura da filosofia crítica de Kant, porém, com nuances de influência burkeana. O presente trabalho tem por objetivo investigar os conceitos descritores desta estética do sublime de Lyotard, bem como a maneira como eles são utilizados no comentário de questões da música, em especial, das vanguardas musicais do século XX. Pretende-se problematizar o papel da música na constituição da estética de Lyotard, bem como o alcance e adequação dos compositores elencados pelo filósofo como exemplos de autores comprometidos com os valores do sublime. Apresenta-se por hipótese principal a afirmação de que o sublime de Lyotard encontra uma adequação privilegiada e singular na obra do compositor norte-americano Morton Feldman (1926-1987), devido à busca pelo despojamento do espírito-sujeito-consciência presente tanto na obra do filósofo quanto na obra ensaística e musical do compositor. Como consequência, conclui-se que uma crítica musical que deseja abordar as presentes questões do sublime demanda uma escrita ensaística que ecoa uma filosofia do acontecimento, evocando a abertura de determinação da linguagem em favor de uma maneira (e não um método) de investigação de tipo reflexiva, nos termos da lei... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The French philosopher Jean-François Lyotard (1924-1998) develops an aesthetic based on the concept of sublime from his writings on art from the decades of 1980 and 1990. Such formulations belong to his philosophical period characterized as Kantian turn, based on the reading of Kant's critical philosophy, but with nuances of Burke's influence. The present work aims to investigate the descriptive concepts of Lyotard's aesthetic of the sublime, as well as the way they are used in the commentary of music issues, especially those of the musical avant-gardes of the twentieth century. It is intended to problematize the role of music in the constitution of Lyotard's aesthetics, as well as the scope and appropriateness of the composers listed by the philosopher as examples of authors committed to the values of the sublime. The main hypothesis is the assertion that Lyotard's sublime finds a privileged and singular fit in the work of the American composer Morton Feldman (1926-1987), due to the search for the divestiture of the spirit-subject-consciousness present both in the work of the philosopher and in the essayist and musical work of the composer. As a consequence, it is concluded that a musical critique that wants to address the present issues of the sublime demands an essayist writing that echoes a philosophy of the event, evoking the opening of language determination toward a manner (and not a method) of reflexive type of investigation, in terms of Lyotard's reading of the Kant'... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

During a long and distinguished career, the Canadian composer Jean Coulthard (b. 1908) has become widely recognized for her many works for voice, keyboard, choir and chamber ensembles. Until recently, however, her large and diverse catalogue of works for orchestra has been overshadowed. The present study presents a critical assessment of her orchestral catalogue of music composed from the late 1930s until the present. In a biographical introduction, Coulthard's initial training with Vaughan Williams in London is discussed, as is her life-long identification with the early French modern figures Debussy and Ravel. As her career progressed, her earliest orchestral scores were championed by the Australian-born composer/conductor Arthur Benjamin (who resided in Coulthard's native Vancouver, Canada, during the formative years of her development as an orchestral composer). Further training brought her into contact with figures such as Copland, Milhaud, Bartok, and Schoenberg, as well as studies with Bernard Wagenaar in New York. Following her protracted apprenticeship, Coulthard began to teach at the University of British Columbia and to commit to the major genres of orchestral writing. In this later respect she was somewhat atypical of Canadian composers of her generation, and has been viewed by earlier scholars as an exponent of the "conservative tradition" in Canadian music of the 20th century. More recent perspectives stress the quality of her work, her regional significance, and the uniqueness of her achievement in a field of music not traditionally associated with women. Paralleling Coulthard's personal and artistic development, a consideration of Canadian orchestras and the emergence of a Canadian orchestral repertoire is presented. Coulthard's orchestral repertoire includes orchestral suites, small scale orchestra compositions, works for strings, works for soloist(s) and orchestra, concerti, and symphonies. A comprehensive overview of Coulthard's extant orchestral works is presented, with a number of particularly important compositions singled out for detailed analysis. As well major style elements, aspects of Coulthard's role in Canadian music and a brief assessment of her creative personality are included. / Graduate

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The musical developments of the 20th century have expanded the role of the accompanist. As the compositional output of our time increases, and the opportunity to perform as soloist with an orchestra diminishes, piano reductions of an orchestral score are becoming the most frequent vehicle for concerto performances of twentieth and twenty-first century instrumental literature. While the current state of research provides solid support to many accompanists, it is in the area of instrumental accompanying, especially with regard to the challenges of playing a reduction of an orchestral score with an instrumental soloist, that the lack of discourse becomes strikingly evident. It is the goal of this study to provide the instrumental accompanist with concrete, practical approaches and considerations in order to perform an orchestral reduction in a manner consistent with the integrity of the score. Problems such as identifying the represented orchestral instruments, delineating importance of musical lines, and basic uses and misuses of pedal, articulation, and rubato are discussed. The pianist is led through ways of deciphering and negotiating specific passages, in order to guide the accompanist through the possible pitfalls and challenges unique to many orchestral reductions. By focusing on twentieth century reductions, providing examples of problems and discussing ways to solve them, the pianist will able to apply these to any reduction encountered, not just those specifically illustrated here. These basic principles of discerning common problems and appropriately reconciling them are then applied in a more advanced form to Robert Nelson's Concertino for Baritone Saxophone (1996). Through commentary from the composer, and a comparison of the orchestral score to the reduced piano score, the accompanist will explore detailed techniques of performing this work in a manner that upholds the original “orchestral” intent of the music.

Klaas van Oostveen is best known in South Africa for his Six Miniatures, published by UNISA in the Grade 6 piano album, list D. What is not that well-known is the fact that between 1936 and 1982 he had composed more than 80 pieces, encompassing a multitude of different genres and instrumental combinations. The method of composition Van Oostveen employed can be described as melodically based and to that end he had written an unpublished work entitled The Art of MelodyWriting. As teacher of Harmony, Counterpoint and Composition at the University of the Witwatersrand, Van Oostveen ·left as legacy a number of leading South African music educators that today impart his methods of composition to numerous students in these subjects. This thesis broadly attempts to quantify the extent to which Van Oostveen's compositional theories correlate with his actual compositions, and to that end some of his best known works were analysed from a mainly melodic viewpoint. The compositions included in the study spans a wide array of musical genres demonstrating Van Oostveen's control of all these different musical formats. A CD compilation of recorded works has been included to give the reader a practical insight into the music of Klaas van Oostveen. / Art History, Visual Arts & Musicology / D. Mus.