Franz Peter Schubert (1797-1828) created the accompanied art song as we know it. His achievement as a composer of Lieder stands at the very core of his labors as a creator. Franz Liszt (1811-1886) in addition to being a composer of genius, was also the greatest virtuoso pianist of the nineteenth century. He had a particular affinity for Schubert's music, which led him to transcribe as many as 54 of the Lieder for piano solo. These transcriptions are faithful recreations of Schubert's musical thought, yet the pianistic layout is completely Lisztian. Franz Schubert was hardly a public figure during his lifetime, and he gave just one public concert of his works, on March 26, 1828 in Vienna. According to Hans Gal: "In 1828 there were the beginnings of an improvement in his circumstances. His songs were becoming more widely known, German publishers were beginning to show an interest in his music, and Schubert was induced by his friends to give a public recital of his works. It was his first and last... Schubert's supporters could easily fill a hall, and the undertaking was both artistically and financially a great success."

Felix Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Opus 11, is important primarily as a transitional work. It is the first work in which Mendelssohn deploys large orchestral forces in the traditional form of the symphony; thus, it provided Mendelssohn with the means of making the important transition from the relatively small, chamber-music ensemble in which he had previously worked (as represented by the "string symphonies") to large-scale symphonic works. Its historical or biographical importance definitely outweighs its importance as a musical work in its own right; this can be seen by the fact that it is much less performed today than other symphonies by Mendelssohn. In these later symphonies the composer displays his talents in a more fully developed form. Nonetheless, Symphony No. 1 has many excellent qualities. It has several memorable melodies and shows the working of a vigorous, youthful, though somewhat derivative musical intelligence. It has several brilliant and memorable moments, although considered as a whole it must still be regarded as a work that promises a greater talent than it displays.

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The Eight Songs for a Mad King lends itself very nicely to the analysis of the various Sprechstimme and "extended vocalism" techniques. Peter Maxwell Davies uses all the conventional Sprechstimme techniques as well as vocal sounds and notation of his own design. By explaining and illustrating these techniques before the performance of the work, the audience can gain additional insight into and understanding of the performance. The historical aspect of the text used in the Mad King is also of interest to the listener. The poems were inspired by a small mechanical organ supposedly once owned by King George III and which played eight tunes. A scrap of paper sold with the organ explains that "This organ was George the third for Birds to sing". The songs are understood to be his monologue while listening to his birds perform. The text incorporates many sentences actually spoken by George III in both his sane and insane moments.

Though there has long been debate concerning the dating and the inception of the Serenade for Thirteen Instruments in B Flat Major, K. 370a (K. 361), the greatest inquiry has arisen in this century with the public discovery and examination of the autograph score. Coincidental with traditional Mozart scholarship has been that which finds parallels in the wind band movement of this country encompassing the past twenty-five to thirty years. With the growing importance of the wind ensemble and its capacity to perform literature of various instrumentations, many contemporary scholars from the U.S. as well as Europe have responsibly probed questions directly related to early wind music, particularly the period of the late eighteenth century. Notable among these are Frederick Fennell, David Whitwell, Daniel Leeson and Neal Zaslaw of the United States, and Marius Flothuis, Erik Smith, and Roger Hellyer of Europe. Through their efforts much new information has come to light which both changes the perspective by which certain works have come to be viewed, and the very nature of performance practice itself. Indeed, the current deepening involvement with the wind ensemble approach in our colleges, universities, and even selected high schools, demands that solid historical inquiry be made concerning all early wind literature. Only in this way will wind players, conductors, and eventually the listening public become conscious of the aesthetic value of this music in our society. The Serenade in B Flat, despite the ambiguity surrounding its inception and the accuracy of the various manuscript and printed editions, is a vital staple in the repertoire of the wind band as well as that of the orchestra. In that it comes from the pen of Mozart's maturity and constitutes such an extensive display of imaginative writing within its seven movement span, the unreserved attention it receives in performance is easily matched by its musicological significance. This paper attempts to examine in general terms the period of harmoniemusik, Mozart's contributions to this genre, as well as the critical aspects of K. 370a in some detail. Included in the Appendices is a chronological list of owners of the autograph score, a survey list of Mozart's strictly wind works, a formal analysis of K. 370a, and a complete harmonic analysis of the Neue Mozart Ausgabe (NMA) score. Frequent use of the following abbreviations should be noted: AMA = Gesammtausgabe Mozart's Werke (1878 -1905); NMA = Neue Mozart Ausgabe (1955 and on); K1, K3, K6, K7 = respective Köchel catalogue editions. The use of Köchel numbers is in accordance with the latest major revision of the catalogue, namely, the sixth edition; older Köchel numbers appear in brackets. A comparison of Köchel equivalents between K1, K3 and K6 is given in Appendix A.

Mexico, a land of contrast and mystery, was the birthplace of the two composers included in this study. These two composers were chosen for several reasons: the two men represent the enigma of the country that influenced their development and each of them molded Mexico's popular musical heritage into a classical format. Miguel Bernal Jiménez was considered in 1941 as the most brilliant composer of Catholic Mexico; Silvestre Revueltas received the title of Mexico's greatest composer, yet today the composers are almost unknown in the United States. Arizona, and Tucson in particular, are situated so near to Mexico that it is important to become aware of that country's varied musical heritage in the classical idiom, as well as its other cultural and historical aspects. As a resident in Mexico for three years with a previously acquired interest in Latin American music, the writer became increasingly involved in study of the music. Her residence laid a foundation for research into these two composers. When the Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México, one of Mexico's major symphony orchestras based in Toluca near Mexico City, made a nationwide tour of the United States in June 1975, Revueltas' orchestral composition Sensemayá received several performances. The Tucson Symphony also performed Sensemayá in 1979 with Dr. George Trautwein conducting. The writer found this work to be fascinating and she wondered if Revueltas had written works for cello; with research she found that he did not write for cello solo, but that he composed for string quartet. The writer first encountered the Cuarteto Virreinal by Miguel Bernal Jiménez when she performed the work from manuscript with a professional string quartet sponsored by Patrimonio Cultural in Toluca, Mexico. The work is a pleasant combination of classical and Mexican qualities; the writer decided that someday she would like to perform it for audiences in the United States.

The purpose of this project is to examine the extent to which sign language can be used as a means of communicating the text for hearing audiences attending classical vocal recitals. The project discusses historical practices for providing text translation of classical repertoire sung in foreign languages and gives an account of the increasing popularity of sign language interpretation for hearing audiences within the contemporary, commercial music industry. A trial performance is undertaken in order to examine the effectiveness of the idea in the context of classical vocal music. Feedback is gathered from the audience and singer’s perspective during performance and through observations made by studying the video documenting the performance. / <p>The sounding part of the work consists of the following recording: NJones100619. The Corona virus situation spring semester 2020 has caused limitations in the recording possibilities. The recording may be supplemented. </p>

Master of Music / Department of Music / Frank C. Tracz / This document is comprised of research and analysis of the comprehensive examination of the graduate conducting recital of Luke D. Johnson. This recital was performed by the Lansing High School Wind Ensemble on February 24, 2008 at McCain Auditorium in Manhattan, KS, and again on February 25, 2008 at Lansing High School in Lansing, KS. The examined repertoire for these recitals includes Mother Earth by David Maslanka, English Folk Song Suite by Ralph Vaughn Williams, Symphony #1 In Memoriam Dresden – 1945 by Daniel Bukvich, and Concertino for Solo Clarinet with Band Accompaniment by Carl Maria Von Weber, OP. 26. This document contains theoretical and historical analysis and outlines the methods of planning and preparing a graduate conducting recital according to the Blocher/Miles and Tracz formats.

Master of Music / Department of Music / Jennifer R. Edwards / This report consists of extended program notes and translations for programmed songs and arias presented in recital by Elizabeth Ann Rodina on April 22, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. in All Faith's Chapel on the Kansas State University campus. Included on the recital were works by George Frideric Handel, Franz Schubert, Reynaldo Hahn, Jules Massenet, Clifford Shaw, and Giacomo Puccini. The program notes include biographical information about the composers and a textual and musical analysis of their works.

This thesis presents extended program notes for a recorded graduate classical guitar recital consisting of the following works for solo guitar with string quartet and chamber orchestra: Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Quintet for Guitar and Strings, Op. 143; Leo Brouwer: Concerto No. 3 (“Elegiaco”). Both works are pioneering and invaluable contributions to guitar literature. Tedesco’s Quintet for Guitar and Strings, Op. 143 is the first quintet ever composed to properly showcase the virtuosity of the guitar within a chamber setting. Concerto “Elegiaco” demonstrates the refinement of Leo Brouwer’s use of post-modern tonality and minimalism within classical form, and showcases his unique compositional style.