The theoretical part of the thesis describes the live of Franz Liszt and his personality, focusing also on his personality, pedagogical work and innovative approaches in music. The practical part analyzes interpretation problems in his piano cycles Consolations, Harmonies poetiques et religieuses, Hungarian rhapsodies and Grandes Etudes de Paganini.

This dissertation on Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, Op.43 is divided into four parts: 1) historical background and the state of the sources, 2) analysis, 3) semantic issues related to analysis (discourse), and 4) performance and analysis. The analytical study, which constitutes the main body of this research, demonstrates how Rachmaninoff organically produces the variations in relation to the theme, designs the large-scale tonal and formal organization, and unifies the theme and variations as a whole. The selected analytical approach is linear in orientation - that is, Schenkerian. In the course of the analysis, close attention is paid to motivic detail; the analytical chapter carefully examines how the tonal structure and motivic elements in the theme are transformed, repeated, concealed, and expanded throughout the variations. As documented by a study of the manuscripts, the analysis also facilitates insight into the genesis and structure of the Rhapsody. How Rachmaninoff develops his ideas through several notebooks - including sketches and drafts - is described. Later parts of the dissertation deal with programmatic aspects of the Rhapsody. Related to the composer's significant use of the Dies Irae melody, semantic issues concerning "love and death" are taken into account and closely related to the specific structure of the piece. Rachmaninoff's symphonic poem, The Isle of the Dead, is a work which bears some intriguing resemblances to the Rhapsody in its larger structure as well as its ideology. Therefore, an interpretation of this work is provided to show the special relationship between the two pieces. The last chapter presents a discussion of two recordings of the Rhapsody by Rachmaninoff and Moiseiwitsch made in 1934 and 1938 respectively. Comparing and contrasting the different interpretations of each variation in these two historical recordings, this concluding part of the study explores ways in which analysis can be realized through performance.

Only a few of RakJimaninov's compositions were popular with audiences during the lifetime of this Titan of the piano. Such youthful works as the Prelude in c# minor, op. 3, no. 2 and the Piano Concerto no. 2, op. 18 demonstrated only one facet of a creative process that evolved throughout his life. The purpose of this thesis, therefore, is to consider the extent of Rakhmaninov's stylistic evolution, especially the changes embodied in the large scale piano solo, Variations on a Theme of Corelli, written in the last decade of the composer's life. In the discussion of Rakhmaninov's lifelong stylistic development the author considers three distinct stages in his life as important landmarks. The first stage shows certain early influences upon the composer's creative powers, whether conscious, such as his acknowledged sensitivity to melody, or unconscious, such as medieval chant (Dies Irae), the sound of church bells, poetry and painting. The second addresses the question of the mixed legacy of Rakhmaninov's break with the past, when he left Russia in 1917 to re-settle in the United States the next year. On the one hand he never entirely broke his links with "Mother Russia," his fascination with the sounds of bells and chants, in his last decade of musical composition. For example, a comparison of the ancient Dies Irae theme with the La Folia tune that Corelli had used reveals striking similarities that Rakhmaninov undoubtedly found attractive, albeit unconsciously. On the other hand, he was inspired to seek a new conciseness of style and form in composition. The third stage relates to trends nurtured perhaps by his friendship with eminent string players and performers in America such as Fritz Kreisler. It is not surprising that Rakhmaninov's last two important works owe their themes to famous violin pieces: the Folia tune used by Arcangelo Corelli in the Corelli Variations and Paganini's well known 24th Caprice in the Paganini Rhapsody. These new directions in Rakhmaninov's music are most clearly present in the Corelli Variations, which are examined in terms of: (a) a new keyboard style; (b) string influenced variations; (c) elements of American jazz; and (d) a new clarity of structure. Finally, the writer examines similarities between the Corelli Variations and the Paganini Rhapsody that writers have sometimes touched upon. / Arts, Faculty of / Music, School of / Graduate

This paper discusses the historical background of the Rapsodie for Orchestra and Saxophone by Claude Debussy and includes a comparison of two piano performance editions. Chapter I includes information on Elise Hall, her work with the Boston Orchestra Club and the circumstances of her commission of Claude Debussy which yielded the Rapsodie. Chapter II discusses the Editions Durand piano reduction and the reasons for its neglect by saxophone performers. This chapter includes a study of the techniques used by Eugene Rousseau to create his arrangement of the Rapsodie for saxophone and piano. The study concludes that the arrangement by Rousseau is more attractive to saxophonists and will be performed more frequently than the Durand reduction.

Born April 2, 1873, on the estate of Oneg in the province of Novgorod, Russia, Sergei Vassilyvitch Rachmaninoff was the fifth of the six children of Vassili and Lyoubov Boutakova Rachmaninoff. Rachmaninoff's aristocratic descent was traced to the Hospodars Dragosh, rulers of the realm of Molday from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century. One of the daughters from this family had married a son of the Grand Duke Ivan III of Moscow. The son's nephew was named Rachmanin, and from this source the family name originated.1 Rachmaninoff's mother was the daughter of a general, head of Araktcheyev Military College in Novgorod and the owner of a number of estates in the district. It was with a dowry of five of these estates that Lyoubov Boutakova married Vassili Rachmaninoff, and on one of these estates, Oneg, the couple settled down to married life.

Orchestral excerpt books have become a staple in instrumental study for those pursuing a career in the orchestra. Many of these books, especially those for clarinet, are catered towards the popular and prolific clarinet solos found in principal clarinet parts. However, there is a lack of quality resources geared towards those pursuing second clarinet positions. Former materials might be outdated or are filled with inconsistencies or mistakes. The purpose of this document is to provide a resource and guide for select second clarinet orchestral excerpts. In this guide, certain aspects of playing second clarinet will be discussed as a whole and as it pertains to selected excerpts. The excerpts included in this document are: Bartók Concerto for Orchestra, Mendelssohn The Hebrides and Scherzo from A Midsummer Night's Dream, Ravel Daphis et Chloé and Rapsodie Espagnole, and Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5.

Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (1892-1988) was an English composer-pianist of Parsi descent. Although he composed many works for piano, these compositions remain largely unknown to the public due to the composer's self-imposed 40-year ban on public performances of all his works and the immense technical difficulty of his music. This research proposes a comparative study of Sorabji's two versions of Rapsodie espagnole de Maurice Ravel-Transcription de concert pour piano (1923, 1945). These transcriptions are based on Ravel's orchestral work and are different in terms of the style of their arrangements: the 1923 version is more of a literal transcription, whereas the 1945 version has been expanded upon the former. This dissertation compares the differences between the two versions, as well as identifying how Sorabji infused his own style into the 1945 transcription. This study relies on primary sources including writings and manuscripts of Sorabji, and secondary sources such as articles on interpreting Sorabji's piano works and biographies about Sorabji.