In the new generation of artists emerging in South Africa, Alexander Johnson is considered the most prolific young composer of his day. In a recent review in the Pretoria News, Johnson has been praised by eminent critic Paul Boekkooi as a composer who has “an ear for the exotic and knows exactly how to bring it off....” He continued by noting that his music is “mentally engrossing, pleasurable to the senses and seems refreshingly free from dogmatic formulas." Johnson writes for musicians and the general public to equal satisfaction. His accessible compositions and catching use of melodic materials have made his writings very popular both in South Africa and abroad. During his residency in Belgrade in 1993-94, Johnson met Croatian pianist Dorian Leljak. Impressed with Johnson's compositional ideas and output, Leljak commissioned a work from Johnson for piano and orchestra. The result was the Niš Concerto, which Johnson completed in April 1994. The world premiere took place on June 23, 1994 with the Niš Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Anatoli Nowiestski with Dorian Leljak as soloist. The Niš Concerto received its South African premiere in 1995 during a simultaneous celebration for “Europe Day” and the new democracy of the Republic of …

Since the founding of "New China" in 1949, the musical culture has undergone numerous periods of identity crisis, particularly during the ten-year "Cultural Revolution," due to the fact that music had always been used to serve the needs of political propaganda. Even the development of a "National Style" encouraged by the central government was a political "brainchild" under the socialist ideology. Nevertheless, professional musicians struggled to create a new path in musical composition while walking on the thin ice of harsh political climate. Isolated from the rest of the world for almost two decades, China's musical development had not been able to keep pace with the world until the late 1970s, when the central government reevaluated its agenda on how to lead the country. This change of political environment eventually led to a more open society. The newly established contact with the outside world in the musical scene lent great opportunities for Chinese musicians to study the newest thinking about music, which ultimately, in the early 1980s, fostered the emergence of a new "National Style"- the so-called "New Wave." The style of "New Wave" differs drastically from the earlier "National Style" in that it employs primarily twentieth-century compositional techniques in …

The main objective of this document is to explore the life and spiritual convictions of composer Peter Lieberson, and the creation of his Piano Concerto. Lieberson is a sought after composer who has won many awards and commissions. His works have been premiered and performed by some of the best musical artists of the late twentieth- and early twenty-first-century, such as Peter Serkin, Emmanuel Ax, Yo-Yo Ma, and Pierre Boulez. This study is divided into six chapters. After the Introduction, a biographical summary of Peter Lieberson's life, his spiritual beliefs and compositional style is presented. Chapter II contains background information on the Piano Concerto, along with biographical sketches of Peter Serkin, for whom the work was written, and Seiji Ozawa, music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and conductor of both the premier performance and Serkin's recording of the piece. Chapter III is a selective survey of the compositional techniques used in Lieberson's Concerto, in terms of the application of twelve-tone theory and the resulting octatonic, pentatonic, and whole-tone scales. Chapter IV introduces a general overview of the influence of Buddhism as a source of inspiration in the Piano Concerto. Chapter V examines aspects of performance practice issues. Chapter VI …

The musical developments of the 20th century have expanded the role of the accompanist. As the compositional output of our time increases, and the opportunity to perform as soloist with an orchestra diminishes, piano reductions of an orchestral score are becoming the most frequent vehicle for concerto performances of twentieth and twenty-first century instrumental literature. While the current state of research provides solid support to many accompanists, it is in the area of instrumental accompanying, especially with regard to the challenges of playing a reduction of an orchestral score with an instrumental soloist, that the lack of discourse becomes strikingly evident. It is the goal of this study to provide the instrumental accompanist with concrete, practical approaches and considerations in order to perform an orchestral reduction in a manner consistent with the integrity of the score. Problems such as identifying the represented orchestral instruments, delineating importance of musical lines, and basic uses and misuses of pedal, articulation, and rubato are discussed. The pianist is led through ways of deciphering and negotiating specific passages, in order to guide the accompanist through the possible pitfalls and challenges unique to many orchestral reductions. By focusing on twentieth century reductions, providing examples of problems …

The compositions of Fisher Aubrey Tull are widely performed and many have become standard repertoire. Tull's compositions encompass a multiplicity of performance media including works for orchestra, chorus, symphonic band, jazz band, brass choir, and solo and chamber works. Tull's compositional output for the trumpet is prolific and is acknowledged to be music of high quality. An examination of Trumpet and Brass Programs, compiled and published annually by the International Trumpet Guild, shows Tull's solo and ensemble works for trumpet to be frequently performed. Furthermore, his compositions for trumpet have been performed and recorded by internationally acclaimed artists including Vincent DiMartino, Terry Everson, Håkan Hardenberger, Anthony Plog, Carl "Doc" Severinsen and Allen Vizzutti.This study investigates Fisher Tull's eight solo works for trumpet, which include: Vignette for Trumpet and Piano (1954); Concerto No. 1 for Trumpet and Orchestra (1964); Concerto No. 2 for Trumpet and Band (1974); Three Bagatelles for Trumpet and Piano (1975); Eight Profiles for Solo Trumpet (1978); Rhapsody for Trumpet and Band (1980); Sonata for Trumpet and Piano (1986); and Chromutations for Solo Trumpet (1988). Histories of each composition are chronicled. An analysis of formal organization and significant style features examines musical structure, harmonic language, rhythmic character, instrumentation, …

Aaron Copland has been in the forefront of the American musical scene since the 1920s. He has been called an "American composer" for his ability to formulate the essence of American folk music into a wide variety of mediums. The variety and scope of his compositions encompass a diverse array of styles and techniques. From the jazz influenced works that dominated his early period to the works for Hollywood films, from the chamber music that was directly influenced by his Jewish background to the partial acceptance of serial technique, Copland has managed to delve equally into all these styles. Yet, one could arguably rank his works for the stage as his most popular and generally most successful compositions of his career. The extent to which the American public has accepted these works as being "folk" is a case for the genius and adaptability of Copland's talent. Although works like Appalachian Spring, Rodeo, and Lincoln Portrait command the attention of the general public, of whom Aaron Copland was constantly aware, there are works for the piano that deserve and demand close study by pianists. One such work is the Piano Variations. Written in 1930, it has been acknowledged as a twentieth …

Composer William Bolcom (1938-) has shown a remarkable capacity for incorporating disparate materials and combining them to create original compositions, while often using traditional genres and forms. This style has earned Bolcom the reputation as a leading composer of American postmodernism. This study provides a brief sketch of Bolcom's development as a postmodern composer, his repertoire for violoncello and piano, and it examines his compositional style as applied in his Sonata for Violoncello and Piano (1989). In the Sonata Bolcom applies a wide variety of musical vocabulary from serious and popular traditions. He juxtaposes contrasting ideas to create and resolve rhythmic, melodic and harmonic tensions and amalgamates concepts of three centuries of music history into one new integral work. All these disparate elements with classical, romantic, impressionist, expressionist, modernist and popular connotations are molded together to form a serious piece of musi c with a sense of humor. The three contrasting movements of the Sonata share many common rhythmic, melodic and harmonic traits. The movements form a congruent work of Classical and Romantic spirit, often reminiscent of Brahms' music, despite the mixed use of traditional, popular, and modernist musical languages.

The Sonata for Trumpet and Piano by Peter Maxwell Davies is one of his earliest works, and a notoriously difficult work to perform. While using serialism and other twentieth-century compositional techniques, this work also uses older historical forms, including sonata-allegro and sonata-rondo forms. An analysis of the work is presented, identifying the older historical forms, and considerations for performers when making decisions on how to perform the work are provided.

Toward the end of his life, from 1908 to 1909, Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) composed Das Lied von der Erde (The song of the earth). This piece is a cycle of six song movements based on seven poems selected from Die chinesische Flötem - Nachdichtungen chinesischer Lyrik (The Chinese flute - free adaptation of Chinese lyric poetry) by Hans Bethge. The Chinese verse was written by Li-Po (numbers 1, 3, 4 and 5), Tchang-Tsi (number 2), and Mong-Kao-Jen and Wang-Wei (combined in number 6). Subsequently, in 1921, Arnold Schoenberg reduced the work to a simple chamber version transcription from Mahler's original massive score for full orchestra, a version completed in 1983 by Rainer Riehn. While the main melodic material in the vocal parts was maintained, the orchestral parts underwent substantial changes. This dissertation explores Mahler's reconfiguration of textual material and the setting of these texts in the orchestral medium. After consulting the various textual editions, I establish misreading and translational differences from the original Chinese through its various Western European incarnations; how and why Mahler chose the Bethge edition; what influenced his specific selection of poetry; and how these poems inform one another and the work as a whole. I also …

Composed in 1927 and dedicated to Segovia, Ponce's Sonata III, one of the staples of the classical guitar repertoire, is the focus of this paper. To put this piece into proper perspective among Ponce's other works, biographical information leading up to the composition of the piece is presented first. Each of the three movements is then analyzed with regard to formal construction as well as harmonic and melodic language. Analysis is an important precursor to actually playing the piece, as Sonata III is a work that departs from Ponce's previous compositional style. The main portion of this paper addresses the preparation and interpretation of Sonata III. The insight gained through initial analysis of the piece is used to arrive at a musically satisfying interpretation of the work. Specific performance suggestions are included. Technical issues are addressed and possible solutions are presented. Alternate fingerings are provided to alleviate some of the common technical challenges the guitarist will encounter. A transcription and discussion of the Segovia revisions are also present. The paper concludes with general suggestions for improving performance that would be applicable to other works for guitar as well. This synthesis of biographical information, analysis, editorial options and performance suggestions, has …

Herbert Howells composed three large works for chorus and orchestra: a requiem (Hymnus Paradisi), Latin mass (Missa Sabrinensis) and finally a Stabat Mater. Writings, performances and recordings of the Stabat Mater, however, have been few. As the Stabat Mater is believed to be the culmination of his musical prowess, it is important to bring this major work to light. Chapter 1 begins with a brief introduction to Herbert Howells, then continues as a brief biographical sketch. Howells's life is discussed from birth, as organ scholar, student at the Royal College of Music, his teaching professorship at the same institution, and important compositions by decade until his death. Chapter 2 is an overview of the Hymnus Paradisi and Missa Sabrinensis. The chapter gives historical information on each work, including reasons for commission, dates of composition and performance, orchestration and choral composition, type of soloists, conductor and recordings. Chapter 3 is an in depth study of the Stabat Mater. The chapter includes reasons for the genesis of the work, current and past events that affected the composition, musical influences, and the death of his son Michael Kendrick Howells. A second section to this chapter addresses the text of the Stabat Mater, including …

Stephen Goss composed Cinema Paradiso, a six-movement suite for solo guitar, as an homage to films and film directors. Goss cites nihilism as a theme in Dogville, the film that inspires the fourth movement, "Mandalay," but I assert that all the films and many musical devices throughout the piece can be read through the lens of nihilism. The first movement, "Paris, Texas," depicts the stark landscape of the opening scene of the 1984 Wim Wenders film of the same name. "Modern Times" chronicles Charlie Chaplin's slapstick-laden descent from the factory to the insane asylum in the opening sequence of his 1936 Modern Times. "Noir" is a tribute to the procedures of film noir: violent storylines that depict the harshness of life, dim lighting, and anti-hero characters, all accompanied by jazz. Lars von Trier's Dogville provides the movement "Mandalay" with its nihilistic meaning, but Goss writes that he invokes the musical style of Kurt Weill's opera The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. Just as the book people of François Truffaut's Fahrenheit 451 had to pass on books orally, Goss has burned the score for his "451," forcing guitarists to learn it by watching a video and listening to …

The purpose of this research is to examine John La Montaine's only two song cycles for soprano and orchestra, Songs of the Rose of Sharon, opus 6 (1947) and Fragments from the Song of Songs, opus 29 (1959). In this investigation-the first ever specific to these works-I examine the works and cultural context in which they were created. I then evaluate the reasonable possibility that La Montaine used his public platform as a composer and performer to subtly celebrate taboo themes of feminism, sexuality, and blackness while shining a light on human injustice. Through close examination of social and historical context, I argue two points. Firstly, Rose of Sharon and Fragments are landmark American works. They are anomalies in classical music history in that a white male heralds texts about a black woman in an unlikely time in American history, thus arguably becoming an unlikely part of the evolution of African-American women in artistic endeavors. Secondly, in the performance guide, I advocate that these works would readily adapt to a staged performance. I discuss how La Montaine's musical settings illustrate the inherent drama of the text, provide a context for interpreting the protagonist in Rose of Sharon and Fragments, and …

The Cello Concerto in B-flat major, G.482, by Italian composer Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805), is the composer's most beloved work for the instrument, as well as one of the most performed pieces in the Classical concerto repertoire. Historically, cellists performing this work have used an edition prepared by German cellist Friedrich Grützmacher (1832-1903). However, an 'original' version that was discovered in 1949 is significantly different from that of Grützmacher. A comparison of both editions has revealed that Grützmacher in fact made considerable modifications to Boccherini's 'original.' Along with the issue of having two editions, cellists that have played the 'original' edition have noted that there are certain practical and interpretative matters that are not favorable to the cellist, particularly in terms of the way the music is notated and how it lacks many details. This dissertation provides clarity to these issues by undertaking a comprehensive analysis of both editions in order to make cellists become aware of the differences between both editions by comparing musical elements from a performance practice viewpoint. In addition, I discuss relevant issues that are present in the 'original' version, ultimately providing an alternative performance edition to this score that is based on historically informed performance (HIP) …