Wind bands have been recording for over one hundred years. Through advancements in both technology and process, recordings have made a monumental impact on the wind band and its repertoire. These advancements have created clarity regarding the performance practice of pieces and helped to preserve the wind band repertoire. Many early works have gained masterwork status due, in large part, to the fact that recordings have preserved them. The increase in popularity of recording and, in particular, the wind band, warrants an investigation into the various aspects of the process. Additionally, gaining insight from wind band professionals who record will help to evaluate the contributions that recording has made to the education of performers and listeners, the preservation of repertoire and the artistic enhancement of the wind band. Each chapter explores aspects of the recording process and how those aspects have shaped the wind band, its repertoire and performance practice. Information from conductors, composers and engineers provide valuable insight pertaining to the educational, historical and artistic components of the recording process. The goal of all involved in the recording process should be the pursuit of technical perfection, which does not eclipse the ultimate musical goals of the project and the …

The clarinet works of Marcel Mihalovici (1898-1985) represent significant contributions to the twentieth-century clarinet repertoire. Metric and rhythmic variability, melodic primacy, counterpoint, structural clarity, and elements of Romanian folk music permeate his writing and reflect a highly developed musical language. Mihalovici's educational background and cultural heritage provide important clues toward understanding his artistic legacy. His clarinet works are musically demanding and contain some of the most technically challenging passages in the repertoire, while at the same time, exhibit a distinctively French style influenced by traditional Romanian music. Mihalovici's writing follows familiar but variable formal procedures and conveys a diverse, modally influenced approach to tonality. While his harmonic language is frequently dissonant, his clarinet music offers a unique variety of musically rewarding styles.

Nicknamed "Mr. Bass Trombone" for his role as a prominent, trailblazing recording artist, George Roberts (b. 1928) has often been recognized as redefining the role of the bass trombone in popular music as well as setting new standards for technical refinement and expressive possibilities of the instrument. Through two interviews and a comparison between ten recorded performances by Roberts and corresponding lead sheets, I make observations about Roberts' performance techniques and illustrate various examples of those techniques. The document includes 35 pp. of interview transcriptions.

China's role in Western music is ever-expanding. Echoing the growth of classical music in China is the importance of Chinese musicians in the global music world. However, it is easy to forget that Western classical music is a foreign import to China, one that has been resisted for most of its history. The intent of this study is to evaluate the role of Chinese music in the Western classical world. This includes Western education, Western repertoire, and also a historical exploration into the mutual influence of the two styles. One Chinese composition in particular, Huang An-lun's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 57, is selected to analyze the Western and Chinese elements present in the work. This analysis will shed light on the relationship of the two styles and how they amalgamate in modern Chinese music. Although Western classical music today has a strong foothold in China, Chinese contributions to piano literature are largely unknown to the West. China possesses one of the richest musical histories in the world, one which until the twentieth century has largely remained unaffected by Western elements. Its musical heritage extends over thousands of years, deeply rooted in tradition and nationalism. Over the …

Olivier Messiaen and Naji Hakim are both representative composers of the twentieth century. For the performer this "modern" music is difficult to analyze because of the increased complexities of its harmonic language. Therefore the purpose of this study is to demonstrate a way to approach Naji Hakim's Le Tombeau d'Olivier Messiaen through Messiaen's own musical language. This study examines how Hakim has borrowed Messiaen's theory and used it in his own piece. Chapter I outlines the purpose and motive of this study. Chapter II briefly outlines the piece, introduces the meaning of Tombeau in music history, and presents Messiaen's modes of limited transposition, one of the main sources used in the composition of Le Tombeau d'Olivier Messiaen. Chapter III details Messiaen's influence in Hakim's piece. This influence consists of four elements: melody, mode, harmony, and extra-musical ideas. This chapter is the primary portion of the document. After examining the influence of Messiaen, a conclusion of this study is offered in Chapter IV. Four appendixes are attached to this document: an interview with Naji Hakim about Le Tombeau d'Olivier Messiaen; the modes of limited transposition in Le Tombeau d'Olivier Messiaen; a biographical sketch of Naji Hakim; and program notes from Le …

Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908) contributed to the development of violin performance through his innovative virtuosic techniques and popular Spanish characteristics, and his influence on violin performing style remains even in the present day. He composed virtuosic compositions to showcase his excellent technique, and well-known composers of the time such as Camille Saint-Saëns and Edouardo Lalo composed for him as well. These compositions include not only virtuosity but also Spanish characteristics that were suitable to Sarasate's nationalistic heritage. The combination of Spanish and virtuosic characteristics made these pieces as standard violin repertoire for modern violinists. At the end of the nineteenth century, it was his distinct performance style that broke the boundary of technical virtuosity in violin performing. The following generations - Kreisler, Heihetz, and in the present day, Isaac Permann - developed their performance techniques based on Sarasate's performance style. To examine Saraste's influences and contributions to the development of violin performing style, this dissertation focuses on Sarasate's performance practices, his technical developments, his unique style of playing, and his music to discuss his influences on composers and violinists alike. This study places Sarasate's performance style in the context of nineteenth- and twentieth-century violin performance practices through a discussion of …

Traditional scholarship has stated that the serpent and ophicleide (as well as their successor, the tuba) were developed and added to the standard orchestra to add a bass voice to the brass, allowing a tonal compass to match a similar downward expansion in the strings and woodwinds. A closer reading of the earliest scores calling for these instruments reveals a more coloristic purpose, related to timbre as much as to compass. Indeed, the fact that composers rarely wrote for serpent and ophicleide makes two points: it proves them to be inadequate choices as a brass bass, and when they were called for, they had an expressive, often descriptive purpose. Despite his conservative musical education supervised by Carl Friedrich Zelter, the seventeen-year-old Mendelssohn, under the influence of A. B. Marx, used the Corno inglese di basso, an upright version of the serpent, in his Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream to give a more rustic flavor to Bottom's ass-braying. Even when the English bass horn functioned as a bass voice, it was playing in contexts that were descriptive, where it often demonstrated its musical inadequacy. Berlioz's descriptive writing for the serpent and ophicleide are well known. A remarkable feature which Symphonie …

An investigation of current practices in the teaching of the bass tuba in the applied studios of U.S. colleges and universities as determined by survey. Survey recipients were low brass teachers at American colleges and universities who were members of one or more of the following professional organizations: International Tuba Euphonium Association, College Music Society, National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors. Topics examined are: general practices among teachers, including performance usage and literature, pedagogy and equipment. The survey instrument as well as a list of the respondents is included.

Sonatas for oboe in the classical period are classified as 'solo sonatas.' These 'solo sonatas,' which originated in the baroque period, consist of a melody instrument and basso continuo. Solo sonatas for oboe, which account for a sizeable repertory in the baroque period, continued to be composed in the classical period but in the baroque style. The basso continuo setting for sonatas gradually disappeared toward the end of the period, developing into the duo sonata in which a solo instrument and piano played an equal role in presenting melodic material. While the fully developed classical sonata was written for piano alone, and duos for violin and piano and cello and piano, the sonatas for oboe did not make this transition. The duo sonatas for oboe and piano by Jacques Christian Michel Widerkehr are exceptions to the baroque style 'solo sonatas.' Widerkehr's sonatas are the only true 'duo sonatas' for oboe and piano written in the classical period. François Devienne's sonatas deserve special recognition as the only 'solo sonatas' for oboe written predominantly in the classical style. In addition to presenting an overview of sonatas for oboe, biographical information on Widerkehr and Devienne, current state of research of Widerkehr's sonatas, changes …

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate and document the compositional components and innovations in the compositional style of Jean-Michel Defaye as they relate to two of his works for solo trombone, Deux Danses (1953, trombone and piano) and Fluctuations (1980, trombone solo, six trombones and two percussionists.) This document investigates the circumstances surrounding the creation of each piece as well as the compositional processes of Monsieur Defaye. Jean-Michel Defaye is an important composer for his commitment to the quality and challenge of the trombone literature he creates. The importance of Deux Danses is in the fact that it was this piece that put Defaye in the international spotlight. Solo works with chamber ensemble, such as Fluctuations, must be more seriously considered for performance if the standard solo repertoire for trombone is to be further expanded. Jazz style is an integral part of both of these important works and a necessary component to fully realize the composer's intent. Monsieur Defaye has demonstrated a commitment to composing for the instrument over the long term and has a sustained interest in participating in the further development of serious literature for all brass instruments. This study will add to the limited published …

The significance in Jung-Sun Park's Arirang Mass is the discovery of artistic value in folk song and its applicability to art music. By using fragments of the Arirang folk songs, or by imitating its musical character, composer could create and develop musical characteristics that are recognizably Korean. The work exhibits his remarkable compositional style, which shows a relationship between Korean traditional style and Western style. This analysis demonstrates specific examples of the elements of Korean traditional folksong, such as Sikimsae, Jangdan, Han, and pentatonic scales which are permeated into this mass setting, and how composer uses fragments of the Arirang tune.

Performance practice is a term familiar to serious musicians. For the performer, this means assimilating and applying all the education and training that has been pursued in a course of study. Performance practice entails many aspects such as development of the craft of performing on the instrument, comprehensive knowledge of pertinent literature, score study and listening to recordings, study of instruments of the period, notation and articulation practices of the time, and issues of tempo and dynamics. The orchestral literature of Eastern Europe, especially Germany and Russia, from the mid-nineteenth century through the mid-twentieth century provides some of the most significant and musically challenging parts for the tuba. The works of Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, and Dmitri Shostakovich, along with their orchestral contemporaries, represents a significant portion of this literature. This study examines a seminal work in the orchestral genre from each of these three Russian composers. The role of the tuba in each work is discussed. Excerpts of the tuba part are examined in terms of performance issues such as range, rhythm, phrasing, and scoring. Comparisons and contrasts are drawn as to how each composer used the tuba and the effectiveness of the utilization.

The purpose of this study is to provide scholastic research on Robert Muczynski's Second Piano Trio (1975) by presenting his biographical background, discussing influences and his musical style, and analyzing the work. Robert Muczynski (b.1929), a composer-pianist of Polish descent, studied with Alexander Tcherepnin (1899-1977). From traditional forms and techniques, he fashioned his own unique and innovative compositional style. The second piano trio, in particular, was deeper and more complex in its conception and affect than previous compositions. The first movement Andante molto opening leads to an allegro section, and the somber second movement builds to a heavy climax. The third movement is highly rhythmic and dramatically driven. Chapter I outlines the purpose of the study and the composer's biography. Chapter II describes Muczynski's compositional influences and the evolution of his musical language. Emphasis in this respect will be placed on the pedagogical role of Alexander Therepnin, as well as the important connections between Prokofiev, Tcherepnin and Muczynski. An exploration of other elements that have informed Muczynski's style is offered. Chapter III details the circumstances, general characteristics, and compositional technique of the Second Piano Trio. Detailed analysis of all three movements will be provided, with particular attention paid to aspects …