The discussion dealt with stylistic influences, compositional techniques, and performance considerations of chamber music involving clarinet composed by Bohuslav Martinu and included a performance of three of his works: Quartet. for clarinet, horn, cello, and side drum, Madrigals for oboe, clarinet, and bassoon, and Sextet for flute, oboe, clarinet, two bassoons, and piano. The selections performed and discussed in the lecture show compositional growth of the composer through the three periods of his life in which he composed chamber music which included winds. These three time periods are 1923-40 during his residency in Paris, 1941-56 during his residency in the United States, and 1957 until his death in 1959 when he returned permanently to Europe.

In an appendix section, three notable arias have been transcribed for two clarinets, voice, and piano. A further evaluation of Classical period opera orchestration will aid modern performers and musicologists in their understanding of what clarinets and clarinetists were able and expected to do.

While China possesses one of the world's richest musical heritages, it remained unaffected by Western music until early in this century. Subsequently, there was a movement of nationalism in music approximately three decades after the introduction of Western music. This movement, aimed at utilizing Western compositional techniques to create musical works that still would be uniquely Chinese, continues even today. Huang's piano concerto was written in 1982, just a few years after the Cultural Revolution. At the time, most Chinese composers were "handicapped" by their lack of knowledge of Western contemporary music and by their limited study of both Western and Chinese traditional forms. Huang Anlun, a composer-in-residence at the Central Opera House in Beijing, traveled to North America to study at the University of Toronto and Yale University. Subsequently his music is widely performed and well received around the world. After presenting background information on Western music in China and an introduction to basic Chinese music theory, this study has analyzed Huang's piano concerto, with a particular focus on identifying, comparing, and analyzing elements of Western and Chinese music. After a survey of the formal structure of the concerto, this study has discussed Chinese modality and Western harmony--the two …

An analysis of re-orchestrations of Robert Schumann's four symphonies employed by conductor Felix Weingartner (1863-1942). The text includes a brief history of Schumann's orchestral writing career and an overview of Weingartner's life as a conductor. The bulk of the dissertation discusses actual changes suggested by Weingartner (with score examples). Patterns of modifications are identified and discussed as they relate to historically entrenched problems perceived with Schumann's originally employed practices of orchestration. The analysis focuses on overall patterns of alteration imposed by Weingartner and their perceived effectiveness in achieving a noticeably improved aural outcome.

An examination is conducted of the life, career and musical styles of Richmond Matteson, an influential jazz euphonium and tuba performer of the twentieth century. The study includes a brief history of the euphonium's role in concert bands. A description of Matteson's background as a musician and clinician including education, influences and career changes will also be discussed. Analysis of Matteson's improvisational style and a transcription from the recording Dan's Blues is included. A formal analysis of Claude T. Smith's Variations for Baritone is provided, as well as a brief biography of the composer. Matteson's stylistic traits which Smith employed for the composition of Variations for Baritone are illustrated. The conclusion calls for further study of jazz styles by euphoniumists with more frequent performances of Variations for Baritone. Appendices include lists of Matteson's compositions and arrangements, a selected discography and a list of clinics and performances from 1982-1992.

The songs of Puccini provide another approach to understanding the composer's musical development. The objective of the study is twofold; first to provide a discussion of the musical style of Puccini's songs; and second, to show how Puccini utilized and integrated the preexistent material into the operas. The songs are grouped and characterized in three stylistic periods. In each period, Puccini was concerned with different issues in text setting. They anticipated or corresponded to the musical style of his operas, and this is evident by his use of the earlier songs in the later operas. Three examples of such cases are examined. The details involved in the transformation of self-borrowing are illustrated in terms of recomposition, expansion of the vocal line and orchestration. Each case illustrates the textual and/or musical consideration by Puccini of the original source for the new dramatic context of the opera. The borrowed material, often incorporated with new themes and expressive orchestration, blooms as an effective dramatic piece of music in his operas. In addition to the lecture recital, based on the dissertation and given on June 23, 1997, three other public recitals were performed. The first, on February 27, 1989, included works of Schubert, Brahms, …

An historical perspective of Theobald Boehm (1794-1881) and his design of the modem alto flute. Chapters I and II discuss the development of design, playing technique and repertoire of the ancestors of the modem alto flute beginning with the Renaissance consorts detailed in the treatises of Agricola, Praetorius and Mersenne, through the Baroqueflate d'amour and its use in the music of J.S. Bach, to Boehm's alto flute design (c. 1855) and its use in early twentieth-century orchestral and chamber repertoire such as Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps (1911), ending with specific aspects of contemporary alto flute design and manufacture since 1950, including the innovations of Dutch flutemaker Eva Kingma. Chapters III and IV concentrate on Boehm's mechanical and acoustical developments for the concert flute in C, the resulting modem alto flute in G, and his career as a virtuoso flutist, teacher, and composer. Chapter V is a critical commentary on Boehm's arrangement of Beethoven's Largo from the Concerto for Piano, Op. 15, No. 1 for alto flute and piano (c. 1858). Appendices A and B include the facsimile of the unpublished Largo manuscript and a list of Boehm's works for alto flute.