The evolution of twentieth century American music involves much more than the continuation of European tradition. The music of black Americans before and after the turn of the century had a profound impact on the musical sensibility of American culture in general. Additionally, the fledgling popular music publishing industry had a dramatic effect on the course of "classical" tradition. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the music of George Gershwin. Gershwin's importance in the history of American art music is undisputed. Why his music sounds the way it does is less understood. This paper considers the popular and folk genres that most influenced the young caiposer, and traces specific stylistic elements through their various popular and folk incarnations of the previous thirty years into Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue of 1924.

This dissertation focuses on the first Parable of Vincent Ludwig Persichetti, written for alto flute in 1965. Persichetti spent from 1965 to 1986 (almost the last twenty years of his life) composing twenty-four additional Parables for various solo instruments, instrumental combinations, and even one in the form of an opera.

The trumpet was one of the wind instruments Hindemith used frequently in his chamber music, and he employed it prominently in five works from 1925 to 1954. These works are the Sonate fur Trompete (1939), the Konzert fur Trompete in B und Fagott mit Streichorchester (1954), Drei Stucke (19251 the Septett fur Blasinstrumente (1949), and "Morgenmusik," from the collection Plöner Musiktag (1932). This study examines and compares Hindemith's writing for the trumpet in these selected works, noting features in his use of the instrument which determine the applicability of the works to the Gebrauchsmusik concept.

Johann Joseph Fux's influence on the development of eighteenth-century alto trombone literature is significant. His music, when compared with that of other composers who wrote for the alto trombone before 1730, reveals a more elaborate and frequent use of the instrument. Many of Fux's compositions call for alto, tenor, or bass trombone, but his Sonata a Quattro K. 347 and Alma Redemptoris Mater K. 186 are of particular interest in regard to the composer's treatment of the alto trombone. This study points out the technical demands placed on the trombonist in Fux's works as compared to such contemporary composers as Antonio Caldara and Marc'Antonio Ziani. The primary goal of this study is to substantiate the importance of Fux's role in the development of the alto trombone repertoire. Published and unpublished works by Fux that significantly incorporate the instrument have been studied and compared to compositions of his contemporaries. A thorough discussion of Sonata a Quattro and Alma Redemptoris Mater illustrates the technical aspects of his alto trombone writing. The secondary goal of this study is to create a performing edition of Sonata a Quattro and Alma Redemptoris Mater. The existing editions in Denkmaler der Tonkunst in Osterreich and Johann Joseph …

Johann Friedrich Fasch's music displays a stylistic variability characteristic among some composers of the early eighteenth century, a time in which the mature Baroque style period of Western art music was beginning to show new elements of the Classical style. Opinions regarding Fasch's contribution vary from praise for his role as one of the most important pioneers to simple acknowledgment as merely one among many significant, forward-looking, transitional composers. During the early eighteenth century, a wealth of fine literature for solo oboe was produced. Current oboe repertoire includes many standard, mature Baroque concertos of the early eighteenth century; few works representative of evolutionary compositions hinting toward the development of a new historical style period are available. The primary purpose of the lecture recital is to introduce to the oboe repertoire an edition of a concerto by Fasch, one representative of the transition from Baroque to Classical eras.

This study focuses on the central role which fugue d'ecole, as defined and taught by the post-revolutionary Conservatoire de Paris, played in re-establishing standards of excellence in organ composition and aiding the development of the French Symphonic Organ School. An examination of counterpoint and fugue treatises by Cherubini, Dubois, and Gedalge reveals the emergence of a specific school fugue form, intended for academic purposes only, as a means to instilling discipline and honing the technical skills required in all forms of musical composition.

The ornamentation in the keyboard sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti is investigated in light of evidence from late seventeenth and early eighteenth century Spanish treatises and collections. Additionally, calligraphic and statistical evidence from the earliest known manuscripts and printed source for the keyboard sonatas is explored. The study is focused on three ornaments--the appoggiatura, trill, and tremulo--and concludes that: the appoggiaturas in this repertoire were short unless cadential or present in a cantabile tempo, in which case they could be one-third to two-thirds the value of the resolution note; trills were begun on the main note unless preceded by a grace note; tremulo was usually an alternation of a main note with its lower neighbor note and this ornament is normally indicated at points of harmonic prolongation. The last chapter discusses general approaches to arranging these works for the guitar and the specific influence of ornamentation on the performance of the sonatas on guitar. Details from eight sonatas arranged for the guitar are used to exemplify the conclusions of the research.