Violin repertoire composed in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries placed new demands on performers. While numerous pedagogues have written etudes and treatises analyzing traditional techniques, far fewer have thoroughly examined contemporary techniques. Many of the existing etudes and exercises inspired by contemporary violin repertoire are of a very high difficulty level and may seem unapproachable to students with little to no experience performing the music of recent decades. As a result, many violin students are unacquainted with the language of new music. This dissertation is intended to help fill a gap in the pedagogical literature by serving as a resource that familiarizes advanced students with the notation and proper execution of the non-traditional techniques commonly found in contemporary violin music. This document includes a survey of violin repertoire written since 1970, an analysis of the non-traditional techniques used most often in the works examined, methods for approaching specific technical problems that arise in them, and nine etudes originally composed by this author. The etudes focus on nine contemporary techniques, ranging from contact point variations to changing subdivisions, and are intended for study by advanced violinists interested in performing contemporary music.

François Couperin (1668-1733) was one of the earliest French Baroque composers to merge the Italian style into the French tradition. He had great influence on the development of French Baroque music from the end of the seventeenth century until his death. Couperin's four Concerts Royaux and the ten Concerts Nouveaux (published in 1722 and 1724) were written for the enjoyment of Louis XIV. Those suites were popular in the court before they were published, as they were requested to be performed every Sunday during the years 1714 and 1715 to give pleasure to the king. Rittrato dell'amore is the ninth suite out of the fourteen suites. The purpose of this study is to provide a performance guide and a practical edition of François Couperin's Neuvième Concert Ritratto dell' amore. It also contrasts Italian style and French tradition in the Baroque period, and how Couperin blended both styles together in his Neuvième Concert. In addition, this dissertation summarizes the general principles of Baroque performance practice that one may encounter in Neuviéme Concert, including notes inégales (unequal notes), ornamentation, over-dotting, and other issues. It is especially important for one to understand the performance style of French Baroque music in order to perform …

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.

Anthony Plog's Concerto for Flute and Wind Ensemble is a substantial but relatively unknown work from the composer's early compositional period. It deserves wider exposure and recognition in the repertoire for solo flute and wind ensemble, given its accessibility for both the soloist and the ensemble.

Korean art songs are valuable cultural assets that exhibit their own cultural spirit and ethnicity, however, they are not introduced to Western singers because of the language barrier. As there are European-language diction books for singers used in pedagogy, this dissertation introduces Korean diction for non-Korean-speaking singers by using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to pronounce Korean ‘Hangeul'. Moreover, this document aims to help singers enter into a new world of Korean art songs by introducing ten Korean art songs selected from various compositional periods, along with transcriptions using the IPA, transliterations, translations, and the musical scores.

This document examines current practices and opportunities in the music performance field related to artistic citizenship, community engagement, and the field of teaching artistry. The relationship of musicians to their audiences and communities has shifted significantly in the twenty-first century, and there is an increasing need to redefine the essential skills of the professional musician. Derived from the field of teaching artistry, the concept of "activating artistry" suggests that our greatest strength and power as artists lies in drawing out individual artistic expression in other people, and it is with this power that artists as a workforce can create meaningful change in society. This intention could be manifested in many different contexts during the course of a given music career, however, developing the tool kit necessary for engaging in such work is not widely emphasized in the training of musicians. What tools can be provided for students and professionals to help them navigate both traditional and evolving career paths in music? How are bassoonists doing as a field in addressing the imperative of community engagement and artistic citizenship? How might we explore more collaborative ways to engage with our diverse communities – ways that value their perspectives? These questions guide …

William Mason (1829–1908) was a well-known American composer, pianist, and pedagogue. Researchers have mainly focused on Mason's career as a pedagogue in the United States and his pedagogical treatises, which are widely considered and used as the conceptual core of teaching materials on the nineteenth century. However, there has been only an annotated catalogue of Mason's music works, and no performance guide to his piano compositions. This dissertation is designed to be the first performance guide to his solo piano repertoire and act as an introduction to his music through an examination of selected works suitable for the intermediate student. This study provides instruction for students on how to practice these works through the analysis of the elements of practice – pedaling, phrasing, technique practice, touch, and musical expression – which were all considered as essential by Mason himself for a good performance. The five piano works selected are: Three Preludes, Op. 8, No. 1; Ballade et Barcarole, Op. 15; Valse Caprice, Op.17; Spring-Dawn, Mazurka–Caprice, Op. 20; and Spring Flower–Impromptu, Op. 21.

This study investigated the associations between sleep patterns and singing voice quality in 231 adult singers of various skill levels across the United States. The four-part survey using a general questionnaire on demographics, musical background, vocal health, and three established survey instruments: the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Singing Voice Handicap Index-10 (SVHI-10), and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) found that while scores were worse than normative values for the PSQI and the SVHI-10, a Pearson correlation between the two showed a moderate association. A linear regression also yielded that 8.9% of the variance in SVHI-10 scores could be predicted from PSQI scores. While further research is needed in this area, this study suggests that the amount of sleep needed for an optimal singing voice may be different from the amount needed to feel well-rested for some singers. Moreover, singers may overestimate the influence of sleep on their singing voices.

English, Italian, French, German, and Russian songs often appear in the repertoire of Western singers, but only a few singers try to sing Chinese songs. Chinese songs have a wealth of musical material uninterrupted for nearly 10,000 years. However, the lack of clear and correct International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) makes non-Chinese singers confused and unable to pronounce Chinese accurately. In this study, I have used the IPA that singers are familiar with to change the old version of Chinese IPA, which applied many phonetic transcriptions that are not included in the Western phonetic alphabet and even wrong phonetics. The new version Chinese IPA I created solves the problem of the old version. To demonstrate the practicality of this new IPA version, I have then used this revised IPA in six songs by Zaiyi Lu, who is one of the most outstanding contemporary Chinese composers. His vocal music works are among the finest works of contemporary Chinese art songs. I added Chinese pinyin to the song translation, given a performance guide to introduce the songs' background, IPA with word-by-word translation, poetic translation, singing skills, and emotional expression for both singers and pianists. This study developed a useful tool (new version of …

‘Richte mich, Gott' exemplifies Jaakko Mäntyjärvi's pluralistic compositional approach through an interlaced organization of tonal and non-tonal pitch content. The development of ideas in the text of Psalm 43 and the concluding doxology is depicted across both layers of pitch organization and governed by specific structural pitch collections: (0145) and (0257). Moreover, the organic transformation of these structural pitch collections' intervallic content emerges as a fundamental means of progression throughout the work, in turn influencing the intervallic content of surrounding tonal material. This process of transformation and its relationship to the text is revealed through tonal and pitch-class analysis; a flexible approach to segmentation; and an exploration of two-way and three-way symmetry, and the disruption thereof, in pitch space and pitch-class space. An understanding of the interrelationship between pitch material from the tonal and non-tonal layers of pitch organization can aid singers, conductors, and analysts in the efficacy of their study, preparation, and performance of the psalm. The accompanying appendix of targeted choral warm-ups in this document offers choirs a practical method for studying, internalizing, and performing the non-tonal pitch content in the work.

The American Clarinet School includes approaches to clarinet playing from European immigrants who instilled their musical style and ideas in the first generation of American-born clarinetists. Some of the first influential pedagogues from Europe include Daniel Bonade (1896-1976), Gustave Langenus (1883-1957), Gaston Hamelin (1884-1951), and Simeon Bellison (1881-1953). Even though they inspired many ideas of the American approach to clarinet, they were known in their time as performers rather than teachers first. The aim of this dissertation is to provide further examination into the modern clarinet professorship in the United States by examining three of the first generation of American-born clarinet professors and their contributions to pedagogy: Keith Stein (1908-1980), William Stubbins (1911-1975), and Himie Voxman (1912-2011). Topics discussed include embouchure, hand position, articulation, technique, expression and phrasing, equipment, teaching beginners, and repertoire.

Rapsodies pour voix, clarinette, alto, et piano is a set of three songs by Charles Martin Loeffler (1861-1935) with text by Maurice Rollinat (1846-1903). The songs were composed in the summer of 1898 but never published during Loeffler's lifetime. This study compares Loeffler's holograph and copyist scores, showing differences in pitch, rhythm, and various articulation markings. Loeffler and Rollinat's biographies are included, along with scans of the holograph and copyist scores.

Like numerous other Baroque pieces, the Ciaccona attributed to Tomaso Antonio Vitali (1663-1745) was transformed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The German violinist and composer Ferdinand David (1810-1873) was the first to edit and publish the piece. The composition became popular after being included in the second volume of his Die Hohe Schule des Violinspiels [The Advanced Method of Violin Playing] (c.1867). Since then, Vitali Ciaccona became an essential work in the violin repertoire and is often heard in concert halls. However, what many audiences hear in concerts is essentially an arrangement of the Ciaccona. Acknowledging the "double life" of the piece as both Baroque and Romantic, this dissertation examines the advantages and disadvantages of playing the Ciaccona attributed to Vitali on both the Baroque and modern violins.

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 link between trumpet playing and emulation of the human voice has been acknowledged by a number of prominent teachers, authors, and composers since the inception of the trumpet as a melodic instrument. This dissertation is a pedagogical guide to lyrical trumpet performance based on the verismo style of singing consistent with the authentic interpretations of operatic soprano arias by Pietro Mascagni, Ruggero Leoncavallo, and Giacomo Puccini. Included are chapters that examine various aspects of the verismo style, as well as comparison and application of late 19th-century voice pedagogy to trumpet practice and performance. This resource examines six recordings of sopranos who created or popularized operatic roles during the verismo period. Included are transcriptions of the six arias for trumpet and piano, with performance notes based on dramatic and textual contexts, as well as interpretive aspects, namely tempo, dynamics, and vibrato.

The American composer Charles Ives is well known for musical quotation/borrowing: composing music with or from pre-existing musical sources, such as folk tunes, hymns, chants, or other composers' works. His Third Violin Sonata is one of few works that used his unique technique of cumulative setting with only hymn tunes. For analysis of his instrumental music, the text of the hymn tunes is generally disregarded, as the compositions are for instruments. Ives' Third Violin Sonata is challenging to understand in comparison with other violin sonatas, because it lacks information such as titles and subtitles. Even though Ives never mentioned the piece's meanings or extramusical meanings, almost all the elements of the piece indicate hope as a common theme. This dissertation examines which hymn tunes were quoted in the piece, gives the meanings of the hymn tunes, and discusses how Ives uses these tunes as themes with textual meanings. The study includes a brief life of Ives and his historical circumstances and presents a brief musical analysis. The research should give a better understanding of the piece to performers and others curious about it.

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.

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. …

The purpose of this study is to analyze the first movements of Sergei Bortkiewicz's two piano sonatas and compare them with works by other composers that may have served as compositional models. More specifically, the intention is to examine the role of the subdominant key in the recapitulation and trace possible inspirations and influences from the Classical and Romantic styles, including Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert. The dissertation employs Schenkerian analysis to elucidate the structure of Bortkiewicz's movements. In addition, the first movement of Mozart's Piano Sonata K. 545, Beethoven's Coriolan Overture, and the first movement of Schubert's "Trout" Quintet in A, D. 667, are examined in order to illuminate the similarities and differences between the use of the subdominant recapitulation by these composers and Bortkiewicz.

This survey presents a transcription for horn and piano of Siete Canciones populares Españolas (Seven Popular Spanish Songs) by Manuel de Falla (1876-1946). Siete Canciones populares was written originally for voice and piano and previous transcriptions with different instrumentation have been published after the original work. In order to provide a faithful representation in my version, my study explores three main subjects: the style of Manuel de Falla; the significance of Siete Canciones; and the composer's horn writing in his orchestral work The Three-Cornered Hat. The solo horn repertoire originates in the central European countries and remains a product of their traditions until the second half of the twentieth century, when it was broadened by composers worldwide. My transcription helps to fill a gap in the repertoire for horn and piano by Spanish composers before 1950. It will serve as both a resource for horn players and a valuable contribution to horn recital repertoire.

There are very few significant sonatas for flute and piano written between 1880 and 1918, a period of unusually rich stylistic diversity. Gabriel Pierné composed his Sonata in D Minor, Op. 36 for piano and violin in 1900, and later transcribed it for flute and piano. Unfortunately, the work has not been embraced to a significant extent by either violinists or flutists. The wealth of violin sonatas from this period might explain it not becoming part of the canon for violinists, but this is not the case for the flute repertoire, where it seems that it should hold a place of genuine importance. Since little has been written about Pierné as a composer or about this piece in either of its versions, this project is intended to promote an understanding of the work in its historical and theoretical context and to advocate for more frequent performances. This document also suggests an alternate version of several particular passages so it can better represent the characteristics of today's flute and its modern techniques. This research will help other flutists and flute professors to introduce and spread an awareness of its existence and ideally helping to establish its place in the flute repertoire. …

Paul Tortelier's How I Play, How I Teach (1975) is an invaluable addition to the limited amount of comprehensive cello methods written during the second half of the 20th century. Although Tortelier's influence on cello performance is still being felt today, the application of his method has not been sufficiently explored. An exceptional performer and devoted pedagogue, Paul Tortelier (1914-1990) can undoubtedly be ranked among the greatest cellists of the 20th century. Influenced by Pablo Casals' (1876-1973) approach to cello playing, How I Play, How I Teach develops his views on intonation, sound production, shifting, and articulation. However, Tortelier also introduces numerous daring inventions of his own into his method. These include playing with a flattened last joint of the finger for a more expressive vibrato, "rolling the stick of the bow" while playing for a wider palette of tone colors, new pizzicato and thumb position techniques, new legato fingerings for double stops, and the "pianistic passing of the thumb," among others. Due to their highly unorthodox nature and often condensed, minimalistic explanations, many of Tortelier's ideas have failed to gain acceptance since their publication and are regularly considered to be types of extended technique, mostly applicable to contemporary music …

Jack Heggie's 2011 song cycle Pieces of 9/11: Memories from Houston is a collection of six songs with texts by Gene Scheer. Commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera, it was premiered on September 11, 2011 at the Rothko Chapel in Houston, TX. Based on interviews with people from Houston by Gene Scheer, this cycle tells stories and experiences by those affected by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, The Pentagon in Washington DC, and those aboard United Flight 93 that crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Scheer's acclaimed storytelling in each song is beautifully set to varying styles of music composed by Heggie, with the familiar theme from Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 woven throughout the cycle. This document is an in-depth look at the cycle to be used by vocal coaches and singers in their preparation and performance. The first introductory chapter is followed by a chapter detailing the song cycle from concept to fruition. The third chapter concentrates on the uses of Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007. The fourth chapter discusses the six individual songs first by discussing the background of …

Florence Price (1887–1953) was one of the most important African American woman composers of the early twentieth century. Price's music is known for combining techniques of Western art music with elements of the African American musical heritage. Although Price composed many works for piano, from large virtuoso pieces to characteristic miniatures, this study will address only her Piano Sonata in E minor. The purpose of this study is to analyze this sonata and discuss her compositional techniques and musical style as a combination of African American elements and Classical European procedures, combined and coordinated yet remaining in tension. Traditional European harmony, tonality, and form are successfully combined with African American characteristics: pentatonic scale, spirituals, syncopations, repetition, and dance rhythms. Indeed, Price's work is a considerable achievement, and she is one of the important African American women composers who should be better recognized today.