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The purpose of the following study is to make a stylistic analysis, on the basis of form, harmony, melody, and rhythm, of the Concerto For Two Pianos and Orchestra by Harl McDonald, a twentieth-century American composer.

abstract: As with many concertante, Fantasy focuses on the interplay between the soloist and the orchestra. Contrast is a fundamental principle for creating the formal design of the composition. Adjacent sections are related to one another by the contrast of any or all of the following: register, timbre, and texture. Fantasy derives inspiration from the musical languages of Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Moravec, and Debussy. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Music 2018

Nicolai Medtner (1880-1951) is regarded as an accomplished composer and one of the most brilliant pianists of his time. He composed numerous compositions for piano that fall into three main categories: piano solo, piano with voice, and piano chamber music. He composed four large-ensemble pieces, including three concerti and the piano quartet in C major. This essay will concentrate on the lesser-known Piano Concerto No. 3, subtitled "Ballade." This three- movement work is extremely challenging because of its large and complex structure. Gaining a clear understanding of the structure and its formal innovation is paramount for performance success. It is my hope that this essay will contribute to bringing this piece into the standard repertoire. There are four chapters in this essay. In Chapter I, a general discussion of the composer's life and his music will be presented. The background of the concerto will be introduced and the purpose of this essay will be discussed in Chapter II. In Chapter III, a detailed analytical discussion of the structure of the concerto will be presented, in order to clarify the structure and the use of thematic materials. Lastly, practice and interpretative suggestions for this concerto will be discussed in Chapter IV.

The dissertation consists of a Piano Concerto, written for first performance in Fall 2008 by Blair McMillen, piano, and the Raleigh Civic Symphony conducted by Randolph Foy. The three movement work is scored for piccolo, 2 flutes (1 doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets in B-flat, bass clarinet in B-flat, 2 bassoons, 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in C, 2 tenor trombones, bass trombone, tuba, timpani, 3 percussionists, strings, and piano solo. The work is approximately twenty minutes in duration. The first movement, "Fantod," employs a neo-Romantic idiom, featuring the soloist as both aggressive virtuoso and as a subtle residual resonance which emerges from the orchestral texture. The second movement, "Lament," serves as a simple, pensive, and sorrowful aftermath to the frenzied first movement. In the third movement, "Rondoburlesque," the mood of the work becomes considerably more lighthearted, and moments of the first two movements are caricatured. The Concerto's harmonic and melodic organization derives from a set theoretical design. The first movement uses the harmonic minor scale and its inversion, the second movement uses the melodic minor scale, and the last movement uses the natural minor scale (the major scale). Important and unique subsets of these scales are used to provide both contrast and interrelatedness between movements. In particular, the main melodic theme of the first movement returns at the end of the last movement. / Dissertation

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