This dissertation consists of four programs: one lecture- recital, two recitals for piano solo, and one (the Schubert program) in combination with other instruments. The repertoire of the complete series of concerts was chosen with the intention of demonstrating the ability of the performer to project music of various types and composed in different periods.

Inasmuch as this investigator can determine, no major study has been done concerning music's relation to the "isms" selected for this discussion. The contemporary interest in the movements themselves has been so widespread that the documentation of them, in scattered accounts, is enormous. It is disappointing that these records provide little or no information about the musical aspects of the movements; the graphic and literary accounts, on the other hand, have been accorded generous treatments. Since futurism, cubism, and surrealism, in their origins, were oriented toward the visual and literary arts, it is not surprising that these two aspects would receive the greatest amount of attention. The meager attention to music and the distortion of its role in the movements, as has largely been the case, has created an artistic imbalance, This writer's efforts have been directed toward an exhaustive search for factors which have, in some way or other, linked music with these movements. Musical futurism has been the easiest to identify, although its underlying theories are not always clear, since the futurists, in explaining their theories, were not always convincing, perhaps even to themselves. This writer's main attempt has been to interpret ideas that were frequently vague and …

The purpose of this study is to trace the invention and development of a greatly abused instrument, the saxophone, and its use in the symphony orchestra. The first chapter concerns the instrument's invention and acceptance. The second chapter discusses physical characteristics of the saxophone. The third chapter deals with the particular methods of using the saxophone in orchestral literature by various composers, from its use in the nineteenth century through the present. An appendix provides a comprehensive listing of orchestral literature in which the saxophone is utilized.

In this thesis, Ned Rorem's Poems of Love and the Rain is analyzed, with conclusions being drawn in the sphere of musico-textual relationships within individual songs.

Four contrasting recitals were presented to fulfill the requirements for the degree Doctor of Musical Arts. The first recital contained music of miscellaneous composers. Two Preludes and Fugues by the North German Baroque composers Vincent Libeck and Dietrich Buxtehude were separated by Samuel Scheidt's Variations on the Netherlands folk song "Ach du feiner Reiter". The Brahms Chorale Prelude "0 wie selig seid ihr doch, ihr Frommen" and the Louis Vierne "Intermezzo" from the Third Symphony represented Romantic-style composition. The major work of the program was the Carl Nielsen Commotio, a large work in orchestral style. The second recital consisted completely of music by J. S. Bach. Four works of contrasting styles were presented: Concerto, Opus 3, No. 8, composed by Antonio Vivaldi and transcribed by Bach, Partita on Sie gegrisset, Jesu gtig, Sonata IV, and Fantasy and Fugue in G Minor. The third recital was the lecture recital: Registration of Orchestral Textures in Organ Music. This lecture was an attempt to deal with the contemporary problem in performance practice of registration of Romantic organ music. The trends in organ building in the twentieth century have ranged from a deeper exploration of the possibilities of the Romantic organ to the reevaluation …

The purpose of the present study is to determine the stylistic characteristics of Beethoven's early piano trios. For the purposes of this study, the term "piano trio" is defined as any work for three instruments in which a piano participates. Of the twelve such trios written by the composer, the first six are dealt with. There is in addition a brief discussion of a trio of uncertain origin. These six piano trios were composed over a span of about ten years (1785-1795), between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five. Although there is a great deal of uncertainty as to the exact time and place of origin of these trios, the first three are generally considered to have been written in Bonn, and the last three in Vienna.

The purpose of this study is to trace the early development of a popular twentieth-century chamber music ensemble, the woodwind quintet. The first chapter concerns the history and background of the use of woodwinds in chamber music leading to the development of the quintet. The second chapter discusses the first compositions for this ensemble and their composers. An appendix provides musical examples illustrating the use of the instruments in the early woodwind quintets.

The selected works by the composers studied in this thesis might well stand as illustrative of the normal development of the use of the bass trombone near the close of the nineteenth century. Although notable progress was made by the cited composers in increasing the bass trombone's usefulness in the orchestra, each composer also continued to use the bass trombone as it had been used in previous years, such as in doubling bass parts, harmonic backgrounds, and for strong rhythmic punctuations.

Since the nineteenth century the Two Part Inventions have become standard repertoire for piano students. However, piano teachers have often failed to give serious consideration to the suitable selection of Inventions for study. Piano students have commonly formed a dislike for Bach's piano music because of an ungratifying initial experience. There is little material written in English dealing with the Two Part Inventions. Those studies of the Inventions which do exist consist mainly of brief articles in periodicals and limited discussions in piano literature books. Therefore, there seemed to be a need for a systematic collection of pedagogical ideas concerning the Two Part Inventions. In addition, it was felt that an analysis of the problems in each piece and a subsequent graded list of the Inventions would be a step toward a more intelligent and more knowledgeable approach in the teaching of these compositions.

The purpose of this study was to examine the justifications for and production problems of presenting elementary children in public performances.

The need for a valve mechanism of some type was first felt by French horn players, and after the horn's valve system had somewhat proved itself to composers as well as instrumentalists, it was adapted for the other brass instruments.