In 1861, Jerôme Savari (1819-1870) composed Duo for Soprano Saxophone and Alto Saxophone. Since then, more than 400 duets were written, yet many musicians are not aware of this repertoire. The lack of recommended repertoire and insufficient information regarding this genre reduces the use of the saxophone duet in both pedagogical and concert settings. The purpose of this study is to examine the importance of the saxophone duet genre by identifying the standard repertoire and creating an annotated bibliography. Twenty-three composers with twenty-six selected works have been identified and will be annotated. All selected works in this document are (1) composed for any two members of the saxophone family; (2) originally composed for saxophone duet (i.e., no transcriptions will be included); (3) published either by companies or by the composers themselves; and, (4) composed between the nineteenth-century through present day. This annotated bibliography of selected repertoire contains two sections: (1) repertoire for performance; and, (2) repertoire for pedagogy. It is the intent of this project that the annotation for each piece could assist performers, teachers and students with their search of currently published works for this genre. The descriptive information in each annotation regarding the composition and its performance considerations …

This dissertation examines pre-Kantian rational philosophy and the development of the discipline of aesthetics in the North German Enlightenment. With emphasis on the historical conception of the physiological and psychological experience of music, this project determines the function of music both privately and socially in the eighteenth century. As a result, I identify the era of rational aesthetics (ca.1750-1800) as a music-historical period unified by the aesthetic function and metaphysical experience of music, which inform the underlying motivation for musical styles, genres, and means of expression, leading to a more meaningful and compelling historical periodization. The philosophy of Alexander Baumgarten, Johann Georg Sulzer, and others enable definitions of the experience of beautiful objects and those concepts related to music composition, listening, and taste, and determine how rational aesthetics impacted the practice, function, and ultimately the prevailing style of music in the era. The construction, style, and performance means of the free fantasia, the most personal and expressive genre of the era, identify its function as the private act of solitude, or a musical meditation. An examination of pleasure societies establishes the role of music in performance and discussion in both social gatherings and learned musical clubs for conveying the morally …

For more than three centuries, violin pedagogical practices have been extensively developed towards music covering the common practice period. However, a problem arises when a violin student performing avant-garde music needs to find realistic solutions to problems that are not addressed in the standard repertoire. This critical essay offers a pedagogical approach to a work that fits well within this paradigm: Four Nocturnes (Night Music II), George Crumb’s only published work for violin and piano duo. The multi-dimensional aspect of this avant-garde work requires an equally multi-faceted approach to overcoming the inherent technical hurdles. Through practical illustrations and concise explanations, musical examples indicate how the score may be re-notated and simplified to create a preliminary step towards advancing to the original notation. Borrowing from the methodology of Otakar Ševčík and other leading twentieth-century violin pedagogues, the author shows how students can modify their approach to fit contextually in the realm of avant-garde music. Students who approach the work with this methodology will find it helpful in eliminating many of the potential pitfalls that they are likely to encounter.

“The Art of Phrasing” is a chapter from Arban’s Complete Celebrated Method for the Cornet (published in 1864) that contains a selection of 150 melodies from Classical and early Romantic works. This section of Arban’s method was necessary for a new generation of cornet and trumpet players to learn melodic phrasing and style. A larger part of the trumpet solo repertoire was written for the clarino register or composed in fanfares due to the limitation of the valveless trumpet. The newly chromatic cornet grew to be a prominent solo instrument in symphonies and wind bands by the mid 19th century, and Arban's “Art of Phrasing” instructed players in musical style. Due to today’s vast number of musical genres, it is unlikely that present day students will be exposed to the melodies of “The Art of Phrasing.” With advancements in music streaming technology and with increased accessibility to countless recordings via the internet, trumpet players are able to access recordings of the melodies. However, there are errors and omissions in the chapter that prevents students from finding recordings with ease. This dissertation presents a new compilation of melodies organized by musical period from medieval to modern day, complete with proper title, …

This dissertation verifies Professor Han, Xianguang as the most significant Chinese horn player and teacher in the twentieth century. He was the first Chinese horn player to win in an international horn competition and the first president of the China Horn Association. He was the premier performer of the only known Chinese horn concerto: Fantasy-Concerto <In Memory>, composed by Professor Shi Yongkang in 1962. Professor Han also served as a judge for many international horn solo and chamber music competitions, and was president of the first (2012), second (2013), and third (2014) CCOM (Central College of Music) International Horn Festivals in Beijing. This dissertation explores Professor Han’s professional and pedagogical contributions to the horn world. These contributions will, in turn, provide an overview of the evolution of the horn and horn playing in China. The horn, historically and musically an instrument of Western Europe, was transported to Asia by many horn players and teachers, with Professor Han the most significant figure in its evolution in China. During Professor Han’s 60-year teaching career, he developed a special pedagogical system. A number of his outstanding horn students, including two sons, eventually became principal hornists in orchestras throughout China, with a few hired …

The pieces discussed throughout this dissertation provide evidence of the evolution of the fanfare and the ability of the fanfare, as a form, to accept modern compositional techniques. While Britten’s Fanfare for St. Edmundsbury maintains the harmonic series, it does so by choice rather than by the necessity in earlier music played by the baroque trumpet. Stravinsky’s Fanfare from Agon applies set theory, modal harmonies, and open chords to blend modern techniques with medieval sounds. Satie’s Sonnerie makes use of counterpoint and a rather unusual, new characteristic for fanfares, soft dynamics. Ginastera’s Fanfare for Four Trumpets in C utilizes atonality and jazz harmonies while Stravinsky’s Fanfare for a New Theatre strictly coheres to twelve-tone serialism. McTee’s Fanfare for Trumpets applies half-step dissonance and ostinato patterns while Tower’s Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman demonstrates a multi-section work with chromaticism and tritones. By applying modern compositional techniques to an older, abstract form, composers have maintained the original aesthetic while allowing for fanfares to be used as concert music. This document adds to the limited body of scholarly writing on modern fanfares.

Charles Wuorinen’s contributions to contemporary music are significant. He has produced more than 260 compositions in a wide array of genres including pieces for orchestra, opera, ballet, chamber ensemble, and soloists. This document serves as an analysis and performance guide for Charles Wuorinen’s work for solo flute, Flute Variations II. Issues of analysis include serial techniques, time-point nesting, and pitch centricity and provide insight into the compositional style of the composer. As this work exhibits techniques borrowed from traditional shakuhachi performance, this document provides a brief history of the shakuhachi and an overview of the shakuhachi techniques utilized in Flute Variations II. The performance guide provides a pedagogical narrative to aid in the synthesis of conceptual ideas with contemporary techniques.

The choral music of Abbie Betinis is being widely performed and commissioned by prominent high school, university, and civic choruses. This study examines From Behind the Caravan: Songs of Hâfez, a five-movement work by Betinis for women’s chorus, vielle, oud, and Persian percussion. Four ghazals by Hâfez of Shiraz, a fourteenth century Sufi poet, are used as the text for Betinis’s Caravan. When considering a performance of this work, a conductor must understand proper treatment of the text, available translation options, Hâfez’s vast world of imagery, vocal demands inherent to the work, alternate instrumentations available and the benefits of each, how to approach improvisatory passages, how to engage heterophonic elements, and how to prepare a Western choir and audience with very little to no understanding of the philosophies of Sufism that heavily influence the work. This study addresses the body of practical knowledge gained after a year of examining, researching, teaching, and performing this work.

Robert Dick is best known as a leading proponent of contemporary music and extended techniques for the flute; however, his teaching is informative on a broader level that encompasses technical and musical aspects of traditional playing as well as contemporary practices. This dissertation is intended to serve as a resource for flutists, providing a detailed documentation of his approach to playing and teaching the flute. Dick’s highly integrated pedagogy—informed by his traditional training, revolutionary work in documenting and codifying extended techniques on the flute, and his equal personal involvement in performance, composition, and improvisation—provides a strong basis and clear trajectory, musically as well as technically, to his students. The primary research material for this document is the author’s personal collection of detailed notes from her studies with Dick. Additionally, as no pedagogy exists in a vacuum, a number of sources including historical treatises and more recent published documentations of flutists’ pedagogies provide context and support. Such publications are of current and continuing educational value; considering Dick’s contributions to the development of flute playing and his integrated approach to teaching the flute, a document that accurately and thoroughly addresses his pedagogy is a logical addition to this literature.

When the tubist is first introduced to the bass tuba, Mahler's songs can be used as effective solo material. Through transcription, practice, and performance of art songs, novice bass tubists focus primarily on fundamental musical components such as tone quality, intonation, breathing, and musicianship. By identifying deficiencies in the current solo repertoire as related to the early stages of development on the bass tuba, I intend to address the need for more solo works through the transcription and performance of Mahler's Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit.

A unique and significant composition, the Althorn Sonata by Paul Hindemith contains several enigmas and anomalies: details about the premiere remain unknown; scored for the alto horn, a band instrument of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the piece seldom finds itself performed on that instrument; although Hindemith composed his instrumental sonatas as composition exercises, for the instruments he intended to use in his large-scale works, his sonata for alto horn marks an unusual exception; the work evolves through Baroque sonata da chiesa form; a Morse code message from a Renaissance painter appears in the second movement, along with references to numerology; and, after the third movement, the horn player and pianist recite a poem, penned by the composer, which becomes musically depicted in the final movement. Hindemith’s apparent fondness, for the art of word play, proves the inspiration for enigmas and anomalies found in this sonata. The key to his mystery lies in plain sight: “Alt” translates as both “alto” and “old.” The purpose of this dissertation is to unveil to the musical world, especially to horn and saxophone players, the several enigmas and anomalies found in Hindemith’s Althorn Sonata. By exposing the nature and depth of this …