Music travels across the past in the form of composers borrowing from each other. Such musical borrowings and quotations involve not only the use of melodic materials but also musical structures, texts, symbolism and other types of inspiration. The pre-existing musical idea being used is linked to a specific memory of a particular composer and time. The artistic allusions of composers connect the present and the past. Music also travels across the present and into the future. The outcome of contemporary composers borrowing from each other influences the present period and affects later composers' musical inspiration, i.e., it affects future composers, and therefore, the future. Composers frequently refer to melodies or musical idea from contemporaries and reinterpret them in their own compositions. This is largely because composers do not write in isolation and have been inspired and influenced by contemporary musicians and cultural contexts. However, these musical borrowings sometimes raise questions about the composers' creativity and authenticity. This is largely due to the nature of inspiration and imagination, which determines who or what is original. With this in mind, why do composers still borrow musical ideas despite the risks involved? In what ways do they overcome criticism and demonstrate the …

Much socialist realism art from Soviet-era Russia has been misunderstood by scholars. It has been considered "synthetic art," which ordinary citizens were forced to admire under the Soviet regime. It also has been interpreted as peasant kitsch art because of its seemingly unacademic and unchallenging theoretical language utilized in order to meet the expectations of Soviet communism. This ideology conditioned artists to make art accessible and nationalistic to serve the perceived needs of the Russian proletariat. Nikolai Rakov (1908-1990), a Soviet-era composer, is also all too often received as a second-class socialist realistic composer. There are, however, other approaches to understanding art created in Soviet Union. Within music scholarship, alternative perspectives on Soviet art remain largely unexplored. It is in that spirit that I turn to Rakov, whose works carry his artistic idea of irresistible beauty, elegance, irony and charm. They evoke colorful images and feelings that draw the audience into Rakov's own compositional world despite his reputation of technical simplicity and uninventive language at a glance. In this dissertation, I therefore turn my attention to the aesthetic side of Rakov's music in order to reevaluate his works. In order to achieve this, I develop and utilize a hermeneutical approach …

In the world of chamber music, programmatic suites are more rarely composed and consequently more rarely presented in recital than other musical forms. Perhaps partially for this reason, George Enescu's Impressions d'enfance for violin and piano, his last chamber piece written in the tumultuous year of 1940, has been overlooked for a long time; even the composer himself did not make a recording of this seldom performed piece. This dissertation examines Impressions d'enface in order to explore the relationship between the underlying Romanian folk rhythmic and melodic patterns, to provide an analysis, as well as to serve as a performance guide to assist performers in surmounting the technical challenges and thus create a more effective ensemble. I hope this dissertation will encourage more duos to experiencing the joy of George Enescu's richly fulfilling Impressions d'enfance for themselves.

The purpose of this research is to explore the synthesis of folk and Western traditions in Kazhgaliev's Piano Concerto No. 2 and also to examine the uncommon performance practices associated with the genre. The dissertation gives a brief historical background of Kazakhstan, its folk music, and the significance of the country's piano performance practice. It mainly discusses Kazhgaliev's concerto, which is influenced by folk music. I hope that the dissertation will assist in the promotion and comprehension of the Kazakh piano repertoire among international musicians, researchers, and performers.

The early stage of piano students' training is one of the most important, because it is then that they establish their habits for life. Those who teach beginners need clear principles for developing a solid technical foundation and for preventing bad technical habits. One of the most difficult principles to inculcate in young students is that of tone production and quality. The primary purpose of this study is to provide a pedagogical guide to help piano teachers teach tone production to elementary-level students. To accomplish this purpose, the strategies of the twentieth-century pedagogues Josef Lhévinne, Josef Hofmann, and Heinrich Neuhaus are examined, and applied to the elementary-level piano literature. This study offers practical training suggestions to teachers of elementary piano students as well as musical examples from high-quality piano literature to accompany these suggestions.

Improvisation is an art form which has arguably been present since the existence of music itself. Inventing music on the spot, like spontaneous speech, is a common expression of artistry throughout history and across musical boundaries. While improvisation has maintained its importance in jazz, classical organ music and the music of many eastern cultures, this dissertation will focus on the presence of improvisation as acceptable performance practice within the tradition of western classical music. At several points in history, this musical tradition was encouraged and even expected to be a regular part of a musician's life, and yet in the classical music tradition of the twenty-first century, improvisation is rarely, if ever, heard from the concert stage, nor is it regularly included in the general education of the conservatory student.

Alexander Tcherepnin (1899-1977) was a Russian-born American composer, his musical style represents the modern and diverse features of much twentieth-century piano music. The purpose of this research is to conduct a comprehensive pedagogical analysis of Alexander Tcherepnin's Bagatelles, Op. 5 with the goal of introducing contemporary characteristics in twentieth-century piano music for the late-intermediate student. Chapter 2 contains overall biographical information regarding Alexander Tcherepnin and a discussion of the general compositional style of his piano works. Chapter 3 analyzes the Bagatelles, Op. 5 from the perspective of musical challenges concerning the contemporary characteristics, including contemporary harmony: interval of seconds, non-tertian chords, special use of the seventh chords, and ninth chords; contemporary rhythm and meter: shifted accents, asymmetric meter, meter change, and ostinato; modal melodic resources and tonalities; and other special tonalities. Chapter 4 has suggestions on fingering, pedaling, articulation, tone, dynamics and phrasing, and practicing procedures for individual technical difficulties. Studying the Bagatelles, Op. 5 provides a transition for the student from learning standard repertoire of the eighteenth and the nineteenth century, to contemporary repertoire through the combination of Russian compositional traditions with twentieth century repertory.

The present dissertation consists in an original composition for solo piano, titled Seven Nocturnes (2020). The score is preceded by a critical essay in which I discuss the overall aesthetic and formal qualities of the work, its musical, philosophical, theoretical, and historical background, as well as specific performance suggestions for future interpreters. Particular emphasis is given to the work's experimental use of musical time and original approach in relating expanded time with directional harmony.

As one of the few piano works with Tibetan folk characteristics, the piano suite Tibetan Sketches composed by Bingyuan Cui presents a vivid depiction of the Tibetan people with colorful sound and considerable imagination. As a Tibetan, I have been greatly honored to research and perform this work and incorporate my understanding into this dissertation. The composer took into account Western composition techniques as well as Eastern music, combining religious and folk musical elements of Chinese ethnic minorities with Western piano techniques to create a wonderful work. This dissertation introduces the characteristics of Tibetan music and analyzes the work, then explores the use of Tibetan elements and the varied styles in the three movements of Tibetan Sketches. Cui uses a large number of Tibetan elements in this work, closely related to the local Tibetan music style in melodies, decorations, harmonies, tone color changes, and performance techniques. Based on the historical background and influence of Western music on the development of Chinese music and some other aspects, a brief description is given of the Eastern and Western music styles in the work. This dissertation introduces my own performance and learning experience when I studied this work, communications and an interview with …

As a political disturbance and social movement, the Cultural Revolution hugely impacted the development of Chinese piano art. The piano went through many stages throughout this ten-year period. This dissertation examines the suppression and later expansion of piano music in China during the Cultural Revolution, along with the historical motivations and forces that shaped each stage of its development. The study is supported by historical documents and relevant literature. This dissertation includes an analysis of the roles that piano music played during this era and the piano's relationship with the Cultural Revolution's modernizing goals. The analysis focuses on the musical characteristics of three piano pieces from this period and explores the instrument's historical importance, to better understand how Chinese piano music maintained a careful balance between its value as a tool for socio-political propaganda and its transformation under the burden of political pressure and creative limitations. Additionally, this dissertation examines playing techniques in these works that define a distinctly Chinese piano style that is enormously popular today. To complement the dissertation, these piano pieces were performed during the dissertation recital.

Contemporary repertoire is not commonly taught or explored by teachers during the intermediate level, when a student's musical training is transitioning to an advanced level. Nonetheless, it is important for piano instructors to be open-minded about contemporary music and have some perspective on the development of music repertoire in the future. The purpose of this dissertation is to provide a performance and pedagogical guide to Stephen Chatman's (b. 1950) Fantasies, from both technical and artistic viewpoints. The collection, which consists of eleven pieces, features a wide variety of contemporary idioms, styles, and means of notation. For instance, there are jazz-like syncopated rhythms, asymmetrical accents reminiscent of Primitivism, and Impressionistic or dissonant sonorities. Fantasies is not only a valuable tool for students to explore new sounds and improve their performing techniques while executing nontraditional notations and contemporary idioms, it is also a great teaching resource for instructors to promote students' musicality through hearing, seeing, and thinking. In this study, I provide individual, detailed descriptions for each of the pieces in the score, adding examples on how to address the difficulties they present to the performer. As a result, instructors can better understand how to help students prepare to perform this collection …

Adolf von Henselt (1814–1889) was one of the most renowned German pianists and composers of his day. The majority of his compositions are for the piano, one of his most successful being the set of Piano Études, Op. 2. It consists of twelve etudes, each of which is designed for developing a particular technique. Henselt's etudes are as demanding as Chopin's and Liszt's, so this pedagogical guide is designed for advanced-level students. Henselt uses many finger extensions and stretches larger than an octave, which may be difficult for smaller hands to play, but proper flexibility and relaxation should enable all students to play them. This dissertation describes the specific technique for six selected etudes and provides exercises to help students learn each technique effectively. The selected etudes—Nos. 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, and 11—were chosen to cover all three technical levels of less-advanced, advanced, and very advanced as well as a variety of musical styles and technical challenges.

The purpose of this dissertation is to offer a pedagogical guide to Woodsprite and Waterbug Collection (1977) by Dan Beaty (1937-2002) through an analysis of its pedagogical values and teaching applications. This set consists of twelve short, intermediate-level pieces, featuring various contemporary idioms. Each piece is also pedagogically written to help intermediate students to refine specific pianistic techniques beyond the elementary level. In addition, Beaty's collection expands students' musical vision and musicianship for more advanced studies via the incorporation of contemporary music theory and techniques. These qualities make Woodsprite and Waterbug Collection a valuable tool for intermediate piano students. It is also useful for instructors searching for repertoire to introduce contemporary idioms. The author hopes that this study will encourage performers, teachers and scholars to consider this work and Beaty's other piano compositions. By studying Woodsprite and Waterbug Collection, students will be more appreciative of contemporary repertoire and will welcome learning similar pieces in the future.

In Chinese contemporary piano music, large-scale piano compositions featuring innovative polyphonic musical languages are rarely found. Chang-Lei Zhu's Ballade for Solo Piano represents his development of contrapuntal techniques passed on from J. S. Bach and Dmitri Shostakovich in their polyphonic works for solo keyboard or piano. This study focuses on an analysis of Zhu's Ballade as an idiosyncratic composition that makes a significant contribution to the Chinese contemporary piano music repertory. Comparative analysis is made of Zhu's Ballade and J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier Books 1 and 2, as well as Dmitri Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues for Solo Piano, Op. 87. Zhu, a living Chinese composer born in 1976, uniquely writes the twenty variations of his Ballade based on the opening theme, a single melody in ten subphrases. This research lays out the close relationship of the opening theme with twenty variations in the Ballade. This study also illustrates how Zhu is an innovative voice in Chinese contemporary piano music literature. This comparative study constitutes the first scholarly study of Zhu's Ballade. Chapter 1 is an introduction to my comparative study. In chapter 2, comparisons on selected excerpts are conducted between Zhu's Ballade and J.S. Bach's WTC, Books 1 and …

The first chapter introduces the purpose and significance of this study for the piano teacher who wants to teach twentieth-century piano music effectively at the elementary or intermediate level, combining it and comparing it with nineteenth-century piano music. The second chapter presents an overview of both Schumann and Liebermann's Album for the Young. In the third chapter, the two collections are analyzed pedagogically and compared in detail. The study should provide piano teachers with an understanding of the musical concepts of each piece and how to effectively teach students about twentieth-century music by pairing them.

In his Art of Piano Playing, the renowned Russian pianist and teacher Heinrich Neuhaus asserts that the concept of an "artistic image" can give musical meaning to the score, help pianists to understand the musical content of a composition, and help students to find pianistic expression in the details. The concept of artistic image can be applied in pedagogy, guiding young pianists to learn content and organize their practice. The artistic image is the picture of a musical idea and the musical language, which comes from melody, phrasing, musical structure, and the emotional and poetic content. Twelve Children's Pieces of Medium Difficulty, Op. 31, is one of the important works for young pianists by Reinhold Glière (1875–1956). The set has emotional characteristics that allow intermediate young pianists to grasp its rich content and then develop technically. His piano works have been little studied by scholars as part of a pedagogical approach. This pedagogical guide uses the concept of artistic image in Glière's work to help young pianists, or their teachers, prepare this work thoroughly and perform it successfully on the stage.

The purpose of this research is to document how Claude Debussy’s compositional style was used in Louis Vierne’s organ music in the early twentieth century. In addition, this research seeks standard nineteenth-century practices in Vierne’s music. Vierne lived at the same time as Debussy, who largely influenced his music. Nevertheless, his practices were varied on the basis of Vierne’s own musical ideas and development, which were influenced by established nineteenth-century practices. This research focuses on the music of Louis Vierne’s Pièces de fantaisie, Opp. 51, 53, 54, and 55 (1926-1927). In order to examine Debussy’s practices and standard nineteenth-century practices, this project will concentrate on a stylistic analysis that demonstrates innovations in melody, harmony, and mode compared to the existing musical styles.

I contend that young students should be introduced to intercultural contemporary music, as this exposure brings benefits to their artistic development and fosters appreciation of other cultures. Variations sur un thème populaire coréen by Sung-Ki Kim (b. 1954) and Six Pieces for Piano ‘Nori' by Chung-Sock Kim (b. 1940) are effective pedagogical works that fit perfectly into the intercultural mold mentioned above, and both are suitable for late intermediate or early advanced level students. A detailed comparison of these two works can help instructors understand the ways by which these composers incorporate Korean folk materials and blend them with Western contemporary techniques. An analysis of Sung-Ki Kim's Variations sur un theme populaire coréen and Chung-Sock Kim's Six Pieces for Piano ‘Nori' can be divided into three categories: harmony, rhythm, and performance-related aspects. By analyzing these two pieces, these study illustrates in greater depth their intercultural aspects, showing the way by which both composers merged traditional Korean folk idioms through the inclusion of traditional Korean rhythms, and the imitation of sounds of several traditional Korean instruments with Western contemporary technique such as non-traditional sounds and use of sostenuto pedal. Finally, this study provides some practicing suggestions and listing exercise on how …

Young Ja Lee (b. 1931) is regarded as one of the most important living female composers in Korea. She leads and contributes to the Korean classical music society as a gifted composer and a dedicated educator. This study focuses on how she has combined Western compositional techniques with elements of Eastern traditional music in some of her compositions, in particular, her Variations pour piano "Umma ya, Nuna ya." An interpretation of her Variations pour piano "Umma ya, Nuna ya" reveals that the composition features many of the particular and sublime aspects of Western compositional techniques in conjunction with traditional Korean music style. This study is an investigation of the interaction and assimilation of these disparate elements. The results of this study may inspire further research into traditional Korean music and bring recognition to important Korean composers, as well as encourage music educators to teach Korean composers' compositions.

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.

The dissertation seeks to rediscover Julius Schloss, a German Jewish composer victimized by the Nazis. Except for the promising start of his career in his early years, Schloss suffered a hard life as an exiled refugee. However, his unusual experiences inspired him to compose two Chinese Rhapsodies during his last years of exile in Shanghai, in which he synthesized Western composition techniques and Chinese folk materials, amalgamating influences from both Western and Eastern music cultures. Focusing on Schloss's First Chinese Rhapsody, the dissertation explores how Schloss links the new to the old, the West to the East, through an analysis of the way he employs Chinese folk song material and serial polyphonic voice-leading in his post-tonal musical language. Since the Rhapsody has both serial and polyphonic voice-leading aspects, both are analyzed, showing how they are integrated in the form.

While he was composing his important orchestral tone poem Finlandia in 1899–1900, Jean Sibelius (1865–1957) made his own piano arrangement of it. The purpose of this study is to compare the piano arrangement and orchestral version and to see further the similarities with Sibelius's other piano compositions from the same time period (1899-1904). Through this study I have found compositional patterns, which are typical for the composer and defined his composition style for piano during his "Kalevala-Romantic" phase. Sibelius's piano style was characterized as unpianistic and bulky by some. However, through my research I can show that with an analysis of certain harmonic structures, subtle use of pedal and correct voicings, his piano texture is indeed very thoughtful and transparent with a clear focus on counterpoint while remaining pianistic and comfortable to play. In order to fully understand the idiosyncrasies of the two versions of Finlandia, a detailed comparative analysis of the piano and orchestral scores is necessary. For this purpose, I primarily used the printed scores of both the piano and orchestral versions. In addition, the manuscript of the piano version of Finlandia was consulted as an important resource. From the orchestra manuscript, only one page has been found. …

In Chinese musical history, piano works have played an important role in modern times. The flourishing of the instrument and its music have in fact greatly developed Chinese modern music. Zhao Zhang's masterpiece Pi Huang, with its elements of Peking Opera, is one representative of the latest Chinese classic solo piano works. By coincidence, the introduction of the first Western keyboard instrument to China and the rise of Peking Opera came almost at the same time, during the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). Therefore, the incorporation of Peking Opera into Pi Huang is a reasonable and creative combination. This dissertation conducts a pedagogical analysis of Pi Huang, showing how it was influenced by elements of Peking Opera. The three main chapters discuss the background of Peking Opera, the biography of Zhao Zhang, and the musical background and performing issues of Pi Huang.

Marianna Martines (1744-1812) was a highly celebrated composer, singer, and keyboardist during her lifetime in Vienna, praised by such dignitaries as Dr. Charles Burney, and achieving the honor of being the first woman composer to be admitted to the Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna in 1773. She composed both large-scale and smaller works, including masses, oratorios, keyboard sonatas and concerti, cantatas, and arias. Yet today, despite a revival of interest in this important composer, she remains largely unknown and her nearly 70 surviving works remain all too underperformed. The purpose of this dissertation is to add to the existing scholarship by exploring the first movement of her Harpsichord Sonata in G Major, the last of her three extant sonatas, which is marked Allegro brillante, and is indeed a work of technical brilliance and difficulty, through various theoretical frameworks. This study demonstrates the extraordinary nature of this work by invoking classical formal theory, topic theory, with particular emphasis on the "brilliant" and "singing" styles, and the more recent feminist studies illuminating gender-coding in music. This theoretical analysis is considered against the backdrop of sociological studies examining the gender politics of Vienna and other parts of Europe during this time period. This study …