This doctoral dissertation discusses music criticism in the New York Times and the New York Tribune from 1851-1876.

It would be impossible to trace the evolution of the form of the scherzo without treating also to some extent the history of the minuet, as the scherzo would hardly have come into being in the way it did had there not been the minuet, even though as the scherzo grew to maturity it resembled less and less its parent-form. This thesis examines the early use and origin of the scherzo, and its use and evolution in the works of Beethoven.

Ravel' s "Tombeau de Couperin," a suite for piano, was published in 1918 by Durand. Its first performance was in the Salle Gaveau in Paris in April, 1919. Shortly afterwards Ravel scored four of the six movements of the piano suite for small orchestra, composed of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, and horns in pairs, English horn, trumpet, harp, and strings, The new version was introduced in America in 1920. The four orchestrated movements, Prelude, Forlane, Menuet, and Rigaudon, have no programmatic content and the titles identify the forms used. "Le Tombeau de Couperin" is a souvenir of World War I. Each movement is dedicated to the memory of a French soldier fallen in battle. The "Tombeau" form dates from the seventeenth century and is a musical "homage" to Francois Couperin, clavecinist of Louis XIV, and one of the great names of French music. "The separate movements, cast in eighteenth century dance forms often used by Qouperin have been described as "tonal wreaths," not too somber nor too profuse, laid with tenderness on an unforgotten tomb." This piece represents Ravel's extreme effort to express himself in the simplest possible manner. The music is subtly archaic; form, line and texture artfully suggest …

This thesis centers around a certain twentieth-century compositionaI device, the method of composition with twelve tones. There are many terms to designate this device, for example: "basic set," "tone-row," "note-series," "serialism," "serial technique," "twelve-note series," "twelve-tone technique" or "twelve-tone method." TI is thesis is a methodical research demonstrating the contemporary conventional way of scientifically and artfully manipulating twelve equal tempered degrees of the chromatic scale to produce a desirable system. In order to arrive at any substantial conclusions, it is necessary to make a critical examination and evaluation of known twelve-tone compositional procedures from as many angles as possible, so as virtually to exhaust every practical and speculative potentiality included in the technique, that is, within the range and limits of our present needs. This examination and evaluation will also involve a comparative investigation of various uses of the device, in order to produce and suggest ideas for further theoretical insights. The ultimate purpose of this thesis is to pinpoint the "hows" and "whys" of Rochberg's use of the twelve equal tones in Sonata-Fantasia.

The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that of comparing the medieval musical traditions of two of the world's most influential religions. The similarities are discussed in two major categories: the comparison of liturgical texts and ritual, and the comparison of the music appearing in each ritual. This study has one main purpose. That purpose is to demonstrate how, through musical traditions, each religion has developed through the influence of the other. Samples of the liturgies from the musical portions of the services were obtained from prayer books and references dealing with those religions. Investigations of English translations from the Latin and Hebrew revealed a close identity between the two, not only in scriptural uses, but also in prayers and responses. Musical examples demonstrating similar elements in Hebrew and Christian worship were found in the extensive research of A. Z. Idelsohn and Eric Werner. Due to the dispersal of world Jewry, the best examples of Hebrew medieval music were obtained from the most isolated Jewish communities, such as those of Yemen, Musical similarities included modes, melodic formulas, and hymns and songs. This report concludes that the musical portions of the services of Christianity and Judaism in the Middle …