Frédéric Chopin produced a remarkable body of piano works. Even though most of his works are essential repertoire in piano literature, some of them remain less familiar. One such significant work is the Allegro de Concert in A major, op. 46, which was apparently intended to be the first movement of a third piano concerto. Despite the praise the work has received, it is rarely heard, and references to performance are lacking in the scholarly literature. Some reasons include the substantial technical challenges, such as risky skips, trills in double notes, thick harmonic textures, complex passagework, and the perpetual motion. This study provides a performance guide for the Allegro de Concert, looking at various perspectives of an informed musical performance. The historical backstory of the intended third concerto and a detailed form analysis demonstrate that the work has a combined form, incorporating elements of both concerto and sonata-allegro form. The chapter on performance presents the technical issues and a comparative analysis of various editions and arrangements of this work to inspire musical ideas and suggest appropriate solutions to the musical and technical difficulties.

Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857) is widely recognized as a founding father of Russian classical music, but in fact, his music represents a bridge: it establishes a distinctive Slavic sound built on the Italian roots of Glinka's musical inspiration. As a young man, Glinka traveled abroad, which included three years spent in Italy, where he gained extensive exposure to and familiarity with what modern scholarship refers to as the Old Italian School of Singing. This influence makes his songs an ideal introduction to Russian lyric diction while reinforcing the tenets of sound vocalism. This study explores four Glinka melodies: "Doubt ," "To Molly," "The Lark," and "Cavatina." Previously published only in their original keys, the songs are presented here transposed into keys suitable for a young bass and a young baritone singer, with the melody line placed in the bass clef and corresponding IPA transcriptions beneath the original Cyrillic text. Following both an introduction that contextualizes Glinka as a composer enamored of 19th-century Italian opera and a discussion of technical and stylistic aspects regarding the production of sound in that same era, there is a brief examination of Russian lyric diction intended to inspire further study of this unique and rewarding singing …

Charles Koechlin (1867–1950) has been a notable figure in French music since the late nineteenth century. However, Koechlin's mélodies are not performed as often as the art songs of many other French composers. Koechlin's Cinq chansons de Bilitis is a collection of five songs based on Pierre Louÿs's Les chansons de Bilitis. The cycle was completed in 1898–1908. The stories of Bilitis are beautifully set by Koechlin, who uses his wide compositional facility. This dissertation serves as a guide to be used by performers, vocal coaches, and instructors in their preparation and performance of Koechlin's Cinq chansons de Bilitis. The introductory Chapter 1 is followed by Chapter 2, which presents Koechlin's biography, an overview of his selected vocal works, and information related to Cinq chansons de Bilitis. Chapter 3 includes Pierre Louÿs's biography and information related to Les chansons de Bilitis. Chapter 4 concentrates on the stories of the invented figure Bilitis from Les chansons de Bilitis. Chapter 5 examines the five songs by discussing the background of each song; giving an analysis of the music and performance suggestions; providing an International Phonetic Alphabet transcription and a word-for-word translation; and evaluating the difficulty level. Chapter 6 summarizes the significance of …

Chinese art songs—which are derived from over four thousand years of Chinese culture and combine unique Chinese literary and musical flavors with Western compositional techniques—remain largely unknown in the Western world. Chinese art song, a treasure of a genre, deserves more attention from Western singers and scholars. With a population of 1.41 billion, China has the largest potential market for bel canto singing. Not only will studying Chinese art songs enrich a singer's worldview and repertoire choices, doing so will also be advantageous when singing internationally. In order to assist non-Chinese-speaking singers overcome the difficult language barrier that often prevents them from studying Chinese art songs, I have chosen six songs by the renowned early twentieth century Chinese composer, Huang Zi (1904–1938) to analyze. Although he remains virtually unknown in the Western scholarly world, Huang's Chinese art songs, which include both ancient and contemporary Chinese poetry as well as Chinese and Western musical characteristics, are representative of this genre. By analyzing the poetry and musical settings of six Chinese art songs by Huang Zi, providing pronunciation instructions for Mandarin Chinese, word-for-word and poetic translations, practical International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) transcriptions from the Pinyin system, and creating an interpretive guide of …

Undergraduate cellists from diverse pedagogical backgrounds with various levels of technical proficiency often struggle to adapt to the demanding performance standards of the university environment. Frequently, these challenges are caused by technical concepts that have been incorrectly learned or unaddressed in the cellist's previous educational experience. Designed for university cello professors and undergraduate cello students, this study is a remedial and enhancement technical method for developing efficient performance habits; it presents a synthesis of cello performing ideologies, comprehensive technical analysis, physical conformation solutions, original sequential exercises, practice models, and recommendations for supporting literature. The method provides a structured path to expressive mastery and artistic freedom in performing advanced cello repertoire.

Modern flute pedagogy tends to focus on repertoire which utilizes or builds upon tonal and Romantic stylistic conventions, largely ignoring works that disregard or reject these conventions until later in student's education. This lack of stylistic diversity in commonly studied works from the first half of the twentieth century can be problematic when students are approaching avant-garde or modernist repertoire for the first time, as they are unfamiliar with the style and technical needs of the pieces. This dissertation provides a style guide and progressive curriculum for the avant-garde repertoire of the early- and mid-twentieth century to help students bridge the gap from commonly-studied early-twentieth century repertoire to Post-War Modernist works. The curriculum and style guide are accompanied by an overview of avant-garde musical styles prominent in Europe and American between the 1890s and 1970s, a discussion of the pedagogical challenges of avant-garde repertoire, and two performance guides for avant-garde pieces included in the curriculum, Diaphonic Suite No. 1 by Ruth Crawford and Variations for Solo Flute by Ursula Mamlok.

Wonju Lee (b. 1979) has already made her own unique contribution to Korean art song. Her songs commissioned by classical Korean music performers have been recorded and released on record labels such as Universal Music and Sony Music. Albums include the Gagok collection, Lee Hwa-woo, The Pear Blossom Falls published by Soo Moon Dang. Some songs have been published by music publishers in the United States such as Classical Vocal Reprints and in Korea by the Korean Traditional Music Resource Center. Wonju Lee's songs are being performed by singers not only in Korea but also in the United States. This study provides information regarding the history of Gagok (Korean art songs) and discusses two duets "Scent of Ink" and "Under the Cherry Tree," and three solo songs "Sam-Arirang," "Relationship," and "Loom Song" by Wonju Lee. This critical essay includes biographical information about the composer and poets, IPA transcriptions for each song, and both word-for-word and poetic translations. In addition, using the methodology from Carol Kimball's book Song: A Guide to Art Song Style and Literature, style sheets of musical characteristics for each song and for the composer are provided and serve as the basis for interpretive recommendations for performers.

Since the creation of the first all-state vocal jazz ensemble in 1978, similar ensembles have been established in roughly half of the United States. This paper contains historical summaries of the creation of all-state vocal jazz ensembles in nineteen of those states, primarily as recounted via interviews with those ensembles' founders. Each semi-structured interview was conducted over video conference or phone and lasted approximately one hour; resulting interview data was analyzed using qualitative methods. During the creation of each ensemble the respective founders needed to secure the support of a host organization, determine where and when to convene, and decide how to address auditions, sound reinforcement, rhythm sections, and funding. The diversity of solutions to these shared challenges reflects the diverse priorities of each founder as well as the unique conditions in which each all-state vocal jazz ensemble was established. However, several elements were common across these stories, including the influence of existing festivals and all-state ensembles, and tensions within the choral education community regarding the value of the vocal jazz idiom relative to traditional choirs, show choirs, and other vocal ensembles. In a few cases, established all-state vocal jazz ensembles were discontinued; these stories further illustrate the challenges such …

The purpose of this project is to help bridge the gap of available solos for the novice bass tuba player. It is necessary for the growing tuba player to transition to the bass tuba for solos at the professional level, but the majority of pieces that are written for the bass tuba are at the professional level, and it leaves very little for the transitional phase from a repertoire standpoint. Through transcribing vocal works, an aspiring bass tuba soloist can focus on fundamental aspects of tuba playing like tone quality, breathing, intonation, and musicianship. Generally speaking, tuba solos are written for the contrabass tuba and accessible to late high school and early college musicians, or they are written at the professional level for bass tuba. There is a gap in the repertoire for the solo tuba, pieces that can help transition young students to the later repertoire demands of the bass tuba. This project will address the need for more novice solo works accessible to the young collegiate tubists transitioning to the bass tuba by identifying current deficiencies in the repertoire available for the developing solo tubist. This project concludes with a transcription and performance edition of Franz Schubert's Op. …

Pierre Boulez (1925-2016) composed Dialogue de l'ombre double for clarinet and live electronics in 1985. This same year, Alain Damiens of Ensemble InterContemporain premiered and recorded the work with the help of Andrew Gerzso of Institut de Recherche et de Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM). The piece alternates between pre-recorded and live sections that are performed with varied levels of amplification and reverberation creating a dialogue between the parts. Boulez also includes detailed instructions for the spatialization of the pre-recorded tracks that play through six equidistant speakers that surround the audience. Furthering the complexity of this work, it is available in two published versions: version aux chiffres arabes (Arabic numeral version) and version aux chiffres romains (Roman numeral version). Each version includes much of the same musical material, but arranged in a different order. Performance of Dialogue de l'ombre double requires extraordinary technical facility and musical understanding from the clarinetist, the dedicated involvement of a highly qualified sound technician, and the use of a spacious, technologically equipped performance venue. This performance guide aims to facilitate greater accessibility and understanding of this challenging work, in order to encourage widespread performance of this extraordinary piece.

Alfred Schnittke was a prolific and nuanced musical figure of the twentieth-century, contributing significantly to the fields of musical philosophy and composition. One of his most researched contributions, that bridges both disciplines, is his definition and implementation of the compositional technique, polystylism. His 1971 essay, "Polystylistic Tendencies in Modern Music," served as the first serious discussion of the term, providing a narrower definition, differentiating it from other techniques, and discussing its importance in the oeuvre of twentieth-century artists. Schnittke is also known for his fervent desire to overcome the gap between Ernstmusik (serious music) and Unterhaltung (music for entertainment). This lifelong pursuit, combined with polystylism, lead him to create an eclectic catalogue that championed the ideas it was pioneering. However, there is little research done on the 1947 literary work that served as a creative catalyst to all these ideas: Thomas Mann's Doctor Faustus: The Life of German Composer Adrian Leverkühn as told by a Friend. In contrast to other telling's of the Faust legend, Mann's version features a composer-protagonist, Adrian Leverkühn, who sells his soul for twenty-four years of creative musical-genius. During this time, Leverkühn composes numerous successful works, even developing a new system of musical composition. Mann's telling …

Chinese contemporary composer Qigang Chen describes himself as "a Chinese tree replanted in France." His piano solo work Instants d'un Opéra de Pékin presents both Eastern and Western elements equally. While the main motives and melodic ideas are based on Chinese modes and scales, Chen incorporates many Western compositional techniques, particularly those of Olivier Messiaen, such as fragmentation and elimination, rhythmic augmentation and diminution, octave displacement among others. In this dissertation, I review the historical development of Peking Opera. Through the musical examples, I also illustrate the incorporation of two fundamentally different musical backgrounds and compositional styles that interact, express, and present themselves as equally relevant in both Eastern and Western musical language.

Specific movements within the pelvic floor, abdomen, diaphragm, ribs, and spine are show to be associated with either inspiration or expiration when playing the alto saxophone. These movements support tone production during the performance of large intervallic leaps and altissimo register notes. During expiratory breath, specific vocal-tract formations and movements are show to be adaptive with either the higher and lower registers. Anatomical areas studied include the glottis, larynx, pharynx, velum and soft palate, tongue arch, and tongue proximity to the reed. Flouroscopy and endoscopic research by Watkins, Pattnoede, and Jordheim challenge common pedagogical advice for palm-key and altissimo register notes such as using a high tongue arch, fast air and the "ee" vowel. Literature by historical and even current pedagogues do not clarify their use of the terms "larynx" or "throat." In the context of their writing those terms could ambiguously mean oropharynx, laryngopharynx, glottis, neck muscles or vertical position of larynx. Mental tension, fear, and negative inner dialogue are shown to cause reflexive and tension-based movement. These issues negatively impact the formation and direction of adaptive vocal-tract movements for large ascending intervallic leaps and altissimo-register note production. Repeated failure by a student can provoke negative self-talk as well …

Piano teachers tend to approach pedagogy by treating technical studies and repertoire as separate parts of the curriculum, often using etudes by Charles-Louis Hanon, Josef Pischna, and Carl Czerny to build the student's technique. Yet, although these methods are popular, pedagogues disagree about their value. In any case, many pieces suitable for intermediate pianists integrate technique and musicality, such as Friedrich Burgmüller's 25 Etudes, Op. 100, Muzio Clementi's Preludes and Exercises, Op. 43, and Ignaz Moscheles's 24 Etudes, Op. 70. Although these exercises can indeed build technique through intermediate-level recital pieces, many similar piano works from the Russian school are rarely used, and yet they could better serve students who will eventually move on to the advanced Russian piano repertoire. This paper provides a pedagogical guide for introducing technical skills through various levels of the Russian piano repertoire. The guide focuses on technique in the context of musical expression, especially tone production, wrist motion, and finger technique, progressing systematically through elementary, intermediate, and advanced Russian piano pieces, composed in a Romantic style—both elegant and rich with melody and expression. The repertoire used as examples should develop the finger technique as well as the musicality of the student. The examples come …

The main purpose of this dissertation is to offer classical guitarists an additional analytical technique for interpreting and performing the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. While this mode of analysis can be successfully applied to any of the instrumental works by Bach frequently transcribed and performed by guitarists, I have chosen for this study my recent transcription of the Partita in A minor for solo flute traverso, BWV 1013. With a continuo-based, harmonic realization of the Partita, I contribute to the existing guitar repertoire by offering a new transcription of this work, while demonstrating how historical concepts of rhetorical structure and aesthetics found in relevant primary source material can inspire a new approach to analysis, transcription, and performance practice. In this way, my investigations create additional perspectives for classical guitarists regarding the analysis and performance of this work, while complementing traditional harmonic analysis and subject labeling. Although it is my hope that this new transcription of the Partita will serve as an important contribution to the existing literature, the main purpose of this dissertation resides in the musico-rhetorical analytical technique and its implications on performance practice for classical guitarists.

Padre José Maurício Nunes Garcia (1767-1830) was perhaps the most prolific, revered, and successful composer in 18th and 19th century colonial and postcolonial Brazil. Padre José Maurício's favor with King Dom João VI, the Portuguese Royal Court, and a catalogue of hundreds of compositions, is validation of his success, yet there is comparatively little academic research and recognition in comparison to his European contemporaries. Padre José Maurício's employment of the trombone within his ambitious capstone, his Missa de Santa Cecília showcases his recognizable and original compositional language. The influence of two contemporaries of Padre José Maurício, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) and Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868), had an integral and clear influence on the Missa de Santa Cecília without resulting in rote imitation. Mozartian text emphasis, independent part writing, technical demand, and traditional use of the trombone for sacred or supernatural imagery were synthesized by Padre José Maurício swiftly and originally. Simultaneously, Rossinian orchestration, close scoring, limited range, subverted structural arrivals, and emulated percussive effects were personalized and employed by Padre José Maurício. His insular development and instantaneous adaptation of new orchestration and theatrical models yields trombone writing that is idiomatic, in alignment with sacred and symphonic tradition, and essential to the …

With the emergence and development of Chinese opera market, a large number of excellent composers and original Chinese operas have emerged. Responding to the market demand for opera singers, many jobs came into being. The dissertation is used for western male singer who wants to get job opportunities to perform in China. The dissertation discusses three original Chinese operas, each of which features one tenor aria and one baritone aria. The research results in a performance guide for these six Chinese opera arias, in addition to providing detailed pronunciation rules of the Chinese alphabet along with an IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) guide, a word-for-word translation of each aria, an analysis of vocal skills and difficulties, and some of the physical requirements of the staging.

Ping Gao is a composer-pianist in China. The purpose of this research is to provide a pedagogical analysis of Ping Gao's solo piano suite Distant Voices (1999), with intent to introduce Chinese folk music and contemporary characteristics in the twentieth century to early advanced piano students. After an introduction, chapter 2 presents an overview of Ping Gao's biographical information and his compositional style. Chapter 3 provides resources and information of folk music tradition related to this selected work. Chapter 4 analyzes Distant Voices with respect to the Chinese folk idioms, including folk songs, the sound of the folk instruments, and pentatonic modes and scales. Chapter 5 then analyzes the work with respect to its contemporary characteristics, including non-traditional harmony (secundal, quartal, and quintal chords) and contemporary rhythm and meter (shifted accents, asymmetric meters, and mixed meter). Chapter 6 examines some further technical challenges in performing the work. This work can be considered a helpful source for piano teachers to incorporate folk music styles from different regions of the world into their teaching, cultivating students' appreciation for other cultures and music styles.

Henglu Yao is a contemporary Chinese composer who has composed a large number of intermediate piano works using a blend of traditional Chinese musical elements and modern Western compositional techniques. This dissertation uses Yao's Mikrokosmos from Chinese Nationalities, composed in 2017, to conduct a comparative study with last three volumes of Bartók's Mikrokosmos, exploring the folk music characteristics of the two composers' respective nationalities. Furthermore, this dissertation observes the musical and technical similarities and differences in modern piano teaching repertoire, especially those that are influenced by their respective national musical traditions. The comparison and elaboration of the two composers' use of modern harmony, modern rhythms, imitation of folk instruments, and application of mathematical concepts are detailed in the text. In addition, I provide pedagogical suggestions on the challenges of practicing the contemporary music in Yao's Mikrokosmos, including aural training, asymmetrical rhythmic training, and phrasing practice. Lastly, I provide detailed suggestions for certain pedaling and fingering aspects with which students may struggle.

Over the past century, the widespread popularity of Western art music, in particular that of the standard operatic repertoire, has gradually expanded the development of opera in China. In order to bolster a broad range of classical music genres and help promote the development of Chinese opera, opera houses and opera companies have been built in several major Chinese cities. Moreover, a series of first-rate international vocal competitions have been established to promote original Chinese operas and art songs. Nonetheless, performing this modern repertoire can represent a novel and demanding experience for both Chinese and non-Chinese speaking singers. This dissertation examines eight representative works of Chinese music: four arias and four art songs for soprano. These pieces challenge the singer both in terms of their musical style and their singing techniques. The purpose of this study is therefore to provide a detailed performance guide for sopranos that can assist them to successfully perform these works. In addition, this research will supply relevant background information on the selected compositions, an overview of their historical significance, the origin of the source poem or drama, and acquaint the reader with the key features of the main characters. Furthermore, to better understand the original …

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.

In the late 19th century, Georg Schumann (1866-1952) composed an attractive sonata for the cello that remains largely unknown today. By presenting a performer's analysis, this dissertation aims to position Georg Schumann's Sonata for Cello and Piano in E minor, Op. 19 (1898) amongst other more commonly performed sonatas of the era. This paper provides a detailed analysis of each movement of the sonata, an overview of the history and development of the cello sonata and an overview of Georg Schumann's biography leading up to the composition of his cello sonata.

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 …

This dissertation examines the contributions of the early twentieth-century Chinese composer Huang Zi to the genre of Chinese art songs. It discusses how he combined Western compositional techniques with traditional Chinese music and ancient or contemporary Chinese poetry, focusing on his works 花非花 Flowers in the Mist, 点绛唇, 赋登楼 Ode to Ascending the Tower, 思乡 Missing Homelands, and 春思曲 Spring Nostalgia. Huang's songs, which created a bridge between East and West, are still significant today in China and deserve performance in the West, too. Translations and a phonetic guide to the four songs are provided so that Western singers have the tools they need to perform these songs.