Music Theses and Dissertations

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TEACHER PRACTICES AROUND REPERTOIRE LEARNING AND SELECTION IN THE ELEMENTARY GENERAL MUSIC CLASSROOM
(2024) Nixon, Elizabeth Rivera; Elpus, Kenneth; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
In music education, it is sometimes said that “the repertoire is the curriculum.” This research seeks to study the ways that elementary general music teachers select repertoire for use in their classrooms, and how the repertoire that they choose in turn influences what students are taught. By interviewing four elementary general music teachers about their practices around repertoire selection, with a focus on one specific lesson, I attempted in this research to answer the following questions:What resources (textbooks, digital resources, etc.) do teachers report utilizing when seeking repertoire for use in their classrooms? When selecting repertoire for their classrooms, what musical and extra-musical factors do elementary general music teachers consider? How do teachers describe the influence of repertoire selection on the concepts taught in elementary general music classrooms? After conducting these interviews and analyzing the data collected, I have determined that the teachers in this study report drawing repertoire from a variety of different resources, including digital resources, print books, and their colleagues. From these resources, they select repertoire based on a variety of overlapping selection criteria, including content-based, aesthetic, functional, and repertoire that provides opportunities for learning about different cultures. The repertoire selected has impacts on the remainder of the lesson, whether through pedagogical or structural impacts. Finally, this paper discusses the impacts of teacher pedagogical approaches on repertoire selection, and the ways in which repertoire is transmitted between colleagues within the world of elementary general music education.
Four X Three: Unconventional Contemporary Chamber Music Trios Featuring Solo Trumpet
(2024) Rye, Dylan; Gekker, Paul C; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Although the trumpet has been largely absent from the instrumental color palette used by composers of chamber music, the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries have spawned new conceptions of the trumpet in the context of the chamber music trio. Recent chamber music features extremely diverse instrumental combinations, producing novel compositional effects and technical demands on performers. A study of developing ideas about the trumpet in the chamber music environment tracks the trumpets’ growing acceptance in the chamber music sphere and its recent liberation from the confines of the brass family. Analysis of two twentieth century chamber trios with solo trumpet shows that advancements in trumpet design and technique have made the instrument suitable in many instrumental contexts, and that modern composers have used it to great effect in “neo-tonal” music. Examination of two twenty-first century chamber trios with unorthodox orchestration tracks contemporary composers' evolving use of the trumpet.
EXPLORING THE GUATEMALAN PIANISTIC LEGACY: REVEALING THE HIDDEN GEMS OF THE 20TH AND 21ST CENTURY
(2024) Hernandez Mendoza, Francisco Alfonso; Dedova, Larissa; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
In the 20th and 21st centuries, the country of Guatemala produced an extraordinary amount of excellent music written for the piano. Composers Manuel Martínez-Sobral, Ricardo Castillo, Jesús Castillo, Jorge Sarmientos, and more contemporary figures such as Joaquín Marroquín, Enrique Solares, and Xavier Beteta all contributed to the evolution of piano compositions. In this performance dissertation, I will perform selected works from this legacy. I will also provide an in-depth analysis of the selected works and historical context, educational influences, and cultural exchanges that have shaped this musical tradition. The repertoire will be explored with a particular emphasis on pointing out various composer’s stylistic characteristics.The selected dissertation repertoire includes my two-piano arrangement of Jorge Sarmientos’ “Concierto para Piano No. 1 Op. 10” for its academic value and to aid in studying and performing this pivotal Guatemalan piano concerto. This DMA dissertation project includes two solo recitals and a two-piano recital, showcasing my arrangement of Sarmiento’s concerto. The written portion of the dissertation also presents the score of this arrangement. All recitals were held in the Gildenhorn Recital Hall at the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland. The live audio recordings of these recitals can be found in the University of Maryland's Digital Repository.
Resonance of Change: An Exploration of Repertoire Programming Shifts in Choral Conducting Graduate Programs in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic and George Floyd Protests
(2024) Helms, Mark; Ferdinand, Jason M; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Few decisions made by a choral conductor are as important as the selection of repertoire. This study seeks to uncover the ways repertoire selection practices may have shifted in choral conducting graduate programs following two major concurrent disruptive events: the COVID-19 pandemic and the George Floyd protests. The study also seeks to fill a gap in the literature by examining repertoire trends in standard concerts on university campuses rather than in concerts occurring exclusively in festival settings (such as ACDA conferences). Complete repertoire data for four academic years (2017–2019 and 2021–2023) were collected from sixteen research universities with choral conducting graduate programs. The design of the study was guided by four major questions, which concerned: (1) the overall characteristics of the body of repertoire performed, (2) changes in the characteristics of performed repertoire between the two-year time periods studied, (3) similarities and differences in programming practices among the sixteen participating schools, and (4) whether the trends found in the present study echo those found in previous studies of repertoire trends in festival settings. The data were also analyzed with two hypotheses in mind: (1) that composer and composition diversity and representation would increase (in part in response to the George Floyd protests), and (2) that composition difficulty would generally decrease (due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic). Findings reveal high variation in the works and composers performed by the sixteen schools in the study, with few specific composers and works seeing broad performance across a majority of the schools. Demographically, performed composers were overwhelmingly White and male, though the percentage of non-White- and non-male-composed works performed at each school increased significantly between 2017–2019 and 2021–2023. It was found that much of this increase could be attributed to non-idiomatic works by Black composers, though this increase did not come at the expense of idiomatic works by the same. The data further suggest that conductors may often select a single piece to fill both race- and gender-based diversity goals. Performed compositions skewed significantly toward newly-composed works, though to what extent varied substantially between schools; the data suggest these variations are largely attributable to the programming practices of individual faculty members. A high level of variation among the schools was seen for sacred/secular status and accompaniment status. No conclusive result was found concerning the average difficulty of performed works, but English- language works were found to be inversely related to composition difficulty; the percentage of English-language works increased significantly between 2017–2019 and 2021–2023, suggesting a corresponding decrease in average difficulty.
“CHARACTERS” IN DIVERSE WORKS FOR PIANO, 1720-1944
(2024) Chan, Ham; Dedova, Larissa; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Abstract Title of Dissertation: “CHARACTERS” IN DIVERSE WORKS FOR PIANO,1720-1944 Dissertation directed by: Ham Chan, Doctor of Musical Arts, 2023 The main aim of this research project is to gain a thorough comprehension of piano music classified as “Character Pieces,” as well as music that exhibits similar musical traits but is not officially categorized as such. In a narrative context, a character is typically defined as a person depicted within a story, either through description or direct speech. In the realm of music, characters are often linked to the mood or atmosphere. Expanding on this, characters in music should assist performers and listeners in creating a musical scene through their individual imaginations. The fundamental essence of “Character Pieces” can be distilled to compositions imbued with distinctive musical qualities. While there exists no unanimous consensus regarding the precise criteria for characterizing a piece as such, there is a general consensus that compositions bearing evocative titles such as Ballade, Fantasy, Nocturne, and Mazurka are commonly regarded as character pieces. In a more scholarly context, the Harvard Dictionary of Music aptly defines the term “Character Piece” as a convenient designation encompassing a substantial body of short compositions from the 19th century, designed to express a definite mood or programmatic idea. Most of these compositions are written in ternary form, a structure that proves especially suitable for depicting two contrasting moods, such as the dramatic section A and the lyrical section B.A notable feature of the genre is its freedom from a fixed naming convention, enabling compositions to encompass a wide array of titles. This stands in stark contrast to other genres such as Sonatas and Variations, which are inherently defined by predetermined names and structural elements. However, influences on “Character Pieces” in terms of structure and musicality can be found in some of these genres. Several of these works will also be highlighted in the program. “Character pieces” can be viewed as a genre conceptualized by scholars to encompass the majority of piano music from the 19th century that may not adhere to conventional notions of “serious” music. Given the flexibility of this classification, the three planned recitals have been carefully curated to showcase music relate to this genre, spanning from works of Bach to Prokofiev composed between 1720 and 1944. Each recital will revolve around a central theme, with the initial installment titled “Fantasies and Ballades,” followed by “Humanity” in the second recital, and concluding with “Literary Inspirations” in the final recital.
A CONDUCTOR’S GUIDE TO BÉLA BARTÓK’S CANTATA PROFANA
(2024) Lofton, Nathan; Ferdinand, Jason M; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Béla Bartók composed Cantata Profana in 1930, at the height of his interwar European career. Bartók’s only major choral-orchestral work, the cantata is a synthesis of Bartók’s immersion in Eastern European folk music and his mature compositional aesthetic. Cantata Profana is a work of modest scale, approximately twenty minutes in duration, though it is also one that makes considerable musical demands of a double chorus, tenor and baritone soloists, and a full orchestra. Above all, it is a work that is considered by many prominent Bartók scholars to be among the composer’s finest creations. Despite all of this, Cantata Profana is so infrequently performed that most musicians know it only by reputation or through one of the handful of existing recordings, if they know it at all. This dissertation gathers the resources a choral conductor needs when preparing to perform Cantata Profana. These resources include a brief history of the cantata’s genesis and analyses of the work’s structure and musical elements. The dissertation examines the required performing forces, choral divisi, Hungarian diction, rehearsal strategies, and programming considerations, and provides possible solutions to these as some of the challenges inherent in the work. The last section of the dissertation considers the interpretation and meaning of the cantata. Appendices are devoted to a literal English translation and International Phonetic Alphabet transliteration of Cantata Profana’s Hungarian text; a selected performance history of the work; and an annotated discography of the available recordings. The ultimate goal of this dissertation is to make Cantata Profana a more approachable work, and to encourage more conductors, choruses, and orchestras to undertake its performance.
21st CENTURY AMERICAN TRUMPET SONATAS: THE PERFORMANCE PRACTICE AND PEDAGOGICAL INFLUENCES OF FOUR SONATAS
(2024) Rudy, Brennan; Gekker, Paul C; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Sonatas for trumpet and piano have played an impactful role in the development of the trumpet as a recital instrument. Thorvald Hansen’s 1903 sonata for cornet and piano was the earliest sonata for our instrument, later leading to the first two sonatas for the Bb trumpet and piano in 1939 by German composer Paul Hindemith and Soviet composer Boris Asafiev. The first American sonata for trumpet and piano was written by Harold Shapero in 1940 and was dedicated to his teacher, Aaron Copland. These early sonatas led to other prominent 20th Century trumpet sonatas that were written by American composers Kent Kennan, Halsey Stevens, and Eric Ewazen. As a modern solo instrument, performance and pedagogical practices for the trumpet are strongly based on compositions of the 20th Century or earlier. As we are now almost 25 years into the 21st Century, trumpet sonatas and their composers have continued to evolve and create a lasting impact on the use of the trumpet and its pedagogy. This dissertation will discuss the pedagogical impacts and musical developments of several 21st Century sonatas for trumpet and piano. Accompanying this dissertation are four recordings of some of the most recently published trumpet sonatas from 2015-2023, each by American composers of diverse backgrounds. The four recorded sonatas previously had very few or no professional recordings and exemplify modern developments on traits originally established by composers of early trumpet sonatas. Through this dissertation and accompanying recordings, I hope to encourage the use of modern trumpet sonatas for application in pedagogical instruction, performances, and college and university juries and entrance auditions.
I Shall But Love Thee Better After Death: A Rediscovery of Eleanor Everest Freer’s Sonnets from the Portuguese, Op. 22 (1910)
(2024) Kalbacker, Courtney Ann; Ziegler, Delores; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Though largely unheard of today, Chicagoan Eleanor Everest Freer (1864-1942) was a relentless and effective supporter of early American vocal music and an accomplished composer. Freer not only possessed musical talent and a refined compositional craft, but also the foresight and means to preserve her work for posterity. This dissertation focuses on Freer’s magnum opus: a forty-four song cycle Sonnets from the Portuguese (1910). Freer is still the only composer to have ever set and published all forty-four poems of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s masterwork of English poetics, yet this work remains mostly unknown. The initial chapter of this dissertation offers a biographical background of the composer, including her musical training, advocacy for American vocal music, and compositional work. Chapter 2 discusses the work of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, her masterwork of the Sonnets, and Freer’s composition of the cycle. Chapter 3 gives a performance and critical reception history of the song cycle. The next sections outline notable aspects of the cycle as a whole, offers a table of performance practice guidance for each of the forty-four songs, and highlights notable features of each of Freer’s sonnet settings. Chapter 6 considers other settings of the poems by women (Larsen, Hall, and Branscombe), comparing them to the work of Freer. Conclusions and suggestions for continued scholarship and performance follow. Ultimately, this paper shows that because of Freer’s persistent advocacy for American vocal writing and her own compositional masterwork Sonnets from the Portuguese (1910), Freer deserves not just to be remembered, but celebrated for her accomplishments.
flight 295 | a string quartet in two parts.
(2024) Visser, Johannes Hendrik; Gibson, Robert; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
This work is a critique of the social injustices committed by the oppressive South Africangovernment at the height of the Apartheid era. Its commentary is exemplified through the metaphor of Flight 295 – a South African Airways flight that crashed in the Indian Ocean in the late 1980s. The crimes against humanity committed throughout South Africa by the Apartheid regime find a chilling parallel in the events that caused the crash of Flight 295. En route from East Asia, it is widely acknowledged that the Boeing 747-200 Combi was carrying volatile arms in its cargo compartment. Severe turbulence is said to have caused the arms to destabilize, causing a fire that engulfed the aircraft mid-flight. The recklessness of the government in smuggling unstable black-market arms to South Africa (which would then be used to fight a “war” against people of colour) on board a passenger flight, showed their lack of concern for human life. It is an awareness of these atrocities that this composition strives to share with audiences through the expression of the emotions that I feel when I think of the events of that horrific era in the history of my country and culture. I believe that it is important to share this uncomfortable historical event with people so that we can fight against similar human rights violations happening daily around the world.
OBJECT SOUNDS: CONNECTING MUSIC EDUCATION AND MUSEUM EDUCATION AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE
(2024) Folk, Christian Michael; Giebelhausen, Robin; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), part of the Smithsonian Institution (SI) complex in Washington, D.C., is the only SI museum with a permanent music exhibition, titled Musical Crossroads. This exhibit traces significant figures and developments in African American musical cultures, demonstrating “how African American music provided a voice for liberty, justice, and social change” (NMAAHC, 2016). In this document, comprised of three interrelated studies, I navigated the connections between music education and museum education in this unique space. In the first study, I relayed the narratives of performing arts curator Dr. Dwandalyn Reece and her team on the development of Musical Crossroads. For the second study, I surveyed current NMAAHC visitors to determine the efficacy of the Musical Crossroads exhibit. Finally, in the third study, I described the experiences of three music teachers who use SI’s online platform, Smithsonian Learning Lab (SLL), to teach lessons on African American musical cultures using objects found in Musical Crossroads. In the final chapter, I traced the throughline of these studies and provide implications for future connections between music education and museum education pedagogies. The first study, a narrative inquiry, traced the development of Musical Crossroads from the perspectives of three key figures in the exhibit’s history: Dr. Dwandalyn Reece, former curator of music and performing arts; Dr. Kevin Strait, a former curatorial assistant for the exhibition; and Ms. Hannah Grantham, a current curatorial and research assistant for NMAAHC. These narratives are bound by temporality, sociality, and place, highlighting the crux of music and museum education in the development of Musical Crossroads. I identified several common themes through their stories, including: (a) the educational, professional, and musical backgrounds of participants; (b) the themes and objectives of Musical Crossroads; (c) the curation and collaboration process; (d) tensions in the development process; and (e) the role of education in Musical Crossroads. Although three distinct experiences were present throughout, I funneled the three perspectives into one cohesive narrative. In the second study, I distributed surveys to Musical Crossroads visitors (n = 422) over several months to examine if visitors meet the experiential and educational goals set by NMAAHC staff. The survey contained questions on visitors’ overall experience in the exhibit, what genres they experienced, what elements of the exhibit they interacted with, if they learned about various themes of African American musical cultures, and several demographic items. Results of the survey showed that Musical Crossroads visitors generally had a positive experience in the exhibit, had varied levels of interaction with exhibit elements, and are learning about key themes of African American musical cultures developed by NMAAHC staff. In the conclusion of this study, I discussed implications based on various survey items, including visitor demographics, exhibit interactive spaces, musical genres, and exhibit themes. For the final study, I conducted a multiple case study of music teachers’ perceptions and implementations of the Smithsonian Learning Lab (SLL) program. SLL is an online platform that provides users access to millions of museum artifacts, specimens, recordings, and other materials from all museums across the SI ecosystem, including NMAAHC. I tasked three music teachers with using SLL to conduct two lessons that included African American musical cultures. Each participant approached these lessons differently based on their varied classrooms and comfort with the SLL program. I identified several findings, including the varied impressions of SLL from the teachers, how they incorporated SLL based on various specialties and grade levels taught, and how they perceived and practiced culturally relevant pedagogy and object-based learning using SLL. Along with these findings, I discussed how music teachers may utilize SLL in the future and possible improvements to SLL. I conclude this dissertation with an overview of the three studies, their connections to each other, and their relevance in music and museum education. Additionally, I discuss how this dissertation uniquely contributes to the music and museum education literature. Finally, I provide a reflection on this specific project and how music and museum educators can influence each other in future projects and research.
FACILITATING EASE AND EXPRESSIVITY IN LEFT-HAND BALANCE, FINGER ARTICULATION, AND NAVIGATING THE BOUTS ON THE VIOLA
(2024) Burton, Tonya; Murdock, Katherine; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Prior to the emergence of the viola as a solo instrument in the twentieth century, the viola was often treated like a bigger violin. This has led to a lack of clear and consistent pedagogy for left-hand technique on the viola. The purpose of this project is to offer a resource for left-hand technique specifically for the viola, with an emphasis on areas which there is a lack of other written material. Violists often have preconceived notions about left-hand technique, stemming from ideals of violin technique which often use a different approach from what is needed or helpful on the viola. This can greatly hinder potential fluency and expressive freedom for violists and can even lead to physical harm. Additionally, the absence of a uniform size and shape for violas combined with the unique body of the player make standardization of left-hand technique nearly impossible, requiring violists to analyze technique in an individualized manner. In order to enable violists to discover healthy and fluid body motions in relation to particulars of their specific viola, the techniques will be primarily approached as movement. Part One equips the violist to take ownership of their technical journey with an exploratory mindset, a somatic viewpoint and discovering body balance with the viola. Part Two applies these concepts to left-hand balance, finger articulation, and navigating the shoulder bouts while dispelling common misconceptions and interweaving basic anatomical information alongside practical exercises and examples from the repertoire. My goal in this dissertation is to empower violists on a path towards greater technical ease and fuller expression by approaching left-hand technique as an individualized exploration of body movement and musculoskeletal understanding.
Persistence and Resistance: Examining the White Racial Frame in Metal Music
(2024) Creek, Meghan J; Lie, Siv B; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
In this dissertation, I examine how systemic racism and white supremacy have shaped the metal scene in the Western World, the ways in which the scene’s white racial frame is maintained, and how scene members are challenging this racial hierarchy. One of the main aims of this dissertation is to bring to the fore the diverse range of political and racial ideologies present in the metal scene. To gain insights into how the metal scene has served as an incubator for neo-Nazism and other white supremacist causes for over thirty years, I designed this project to analyze both the overt and covert ways in which white supremacy affects the metal scene. Chapter One is a case study of one of the most influential metal musicians of all time, Phil Anselmo, whose white supremacist behaviors and rhetoric and simultaneous, continuous popularity and success provide ample evidence of how the metal scene’s white racial frame is constructed and maintained. Chapters Two and Three investigate the metal scene’s opposing and diverse political orientations, drawing mostly on historical and current discourses and events tied to black metal, an extreme metal subgenre with deep-rooted ties to neo-Nazism. I compare the artistic aesthetics and non-musical communicative acts of certain far right and anti-fascist black metal bands to illustrate the ways in which overt and covert white supremacy operate and how some artists are subverting the aesthetic conventions of black metal to contest the scene’s white racial frame. I also discuss the extramusical anti-fascist activism by members of the scene, shining a spotlight on the work of the international Antifascist Black Metal Network, which formed in 2021. This dissertation is grounded in an interdisciplinary approach to research. In addition to drawing on frameworks from multiple fields in combination with musicology, such as semiotic anthropology, sociology, and linguistics, I incorporate methodologies from both historical musicology and ethnomusicology. I conducted semi-structured interviews with six individuals, participant observation at live musical performances, virtual fieldwork, and digital archival work. Most of my research is qualitative, but in Chapter Two I rely, in part, on a quantitative approach to gather evidence to support my argument that there are many more white supremacist metal bands than the average person in the scene realizes. My research findings demonstrate that the growing far-right faction within the metal scene do not exist in a vacuum. Rather, I argue that overt manifestations of white supremacy are but one effect of the metal scene’s white racial frame. By drawing attention to the less visible and unrecognized manifestations of white supremacist ideologies, my work emphasizes the significant effects of white supremacy still inherent to the scene today, adding to and expanding the ways in which those who study and participate in this genre think about and discuss these important issues.
Audience Engagement: An Artist-Researcher's Approach to Meaningful Concert Experiences
(2024) Jansen, Madeleine Anna; Stern, James; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
As classical music concert attendance wanes, much attention has been given to improving and sustaining audience engagement. This doctoral dissertation investigates audience experience at classical music performances from the perspective of the performer. Using a mixed-methodology of arts-based research and qualitative research, I organized and performed seven violin and piano recitals in which I experimented with different types of venues, repertoire, and modes of communication. Data results based on written surveys from 81 concert attendees, as well as semi-structured interviews with numerous other attendees, revealed that audience members engaged better with performances when concert conditions promoted feelings of inclusivity. This finding is consistent with other literature in audience research, but this study contributes a more nuanced discussion from the perspective of the performer of venue choice, programming, and verbal contextualization of the music.
THE VIRTUOSO PIANIST AS COMPOSER: AN ANALYSIS OF CLARA WIECK-SCHUMANN’S COMPOSITIONS AS INFLUENCED BY HER CONCERT REPERTOIRE
(2023) Kim, SooJung Diana; Sloan, Rita; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Clara Schumann, born Wieck (1819-1896), demonstrated exceptional promise as a pioneering nineteenth-century pianist and composer. Trained by her father, Friedrich Wieck, she became a distinguished pianist of the Romantic era and gained public admiration for her compositions. The dissertation divides her musical life into three periods: early, middle, and late, analyzing her concert repertoire and compositions during each phase. It explores the correlation between her performances and contemporary compositions, revealing shifts in style and focus. It also contextualizes her within the broader history of women composers, highlighting her impact on classical music.The document investigates Clara’s unique position as a woman pianist and composer in the nineteenth century, especially as the wife of Robert Schumann. It explores the intertwining of her personal history with her artistic expression, shedding light on the challenges she faced in a male-dominated profession. The varied nature of her concert repertoire across all three periods is examined, providing insights into representative works and their significance. Examples from her programs are discussed in relation to her period and connections to her husband's compositions and those of other contemporaneous artists. Furthermore, the dissertation addresses the absence of published piano compositions in her later period, focusing on transcriptions and collaborations. In conclusion, the dissertation contributes to a greater understanding of her legacy, acknowledging her rightful place in the history of Western classical music and advocating for the continued recognition of women's contributions in the field. Accompanied by written document, I performed two recitals on May 6, 2022, at Seoul Arts Center and May 30, 2023, at Youngsan Arts Center in Seoul, South Korea. These recital programs include piano compositions not covered in this dissertation, aiming to introduce more of her repertoire. Both live recordings of these recitals can be found in the Digital Repository (DRUM) at the University of Maryland.
EXPLORING AND PROPAGATING OBOE MUSIC FROM COMPOSERS OF SOUTH ASIAN, AFRICAN, AND MIDDLE EASTERN HERITAGES
(2023) Helgerman, Michael Andrew; Hill, Mark; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Though the oboe has enjoyed both a rich history and contemporary renaissance as a solovoice, the instrument’s repertoire bears some rigidity and limitations in representing composers from diverse backgrounds. A repertoire survey from a 2001 edition of the Double Reed Journal denotes a clear tendency towards homogeneity of composer background in the instrument’s canon. After contacting oboe professors employed at universities across the United States, compiler Susan Lundberg published lists of concerti, sonatas, chamber pieces, and other works that “oboists should know”; every piece listed in the top ten results of each genre was written by a male composer of European or American descent.1 This dissertation project will serve as a small step among the many needed for the oboe’s solo repertoire to evolve into a canon that equitably represents composers from all backgrounds. In particular, composers with South Asian, African, and Middle Eastern roots will enjoy the spotlight in this dissertation, as these cultures boast rich musical foundations whose synthesis with the modern oboe has yet to receive significant research. The following works (ordered alphabetically by composer) will be performed in a live recital and recorded with the intention of distribution on digital platforms: • “Longa Nahawand” from The New Egyptian Arabic Sufic Art Music by AbdoDagher (1970) • Bôn búć tranh (Four Pictures) for Oboe, Two Percussion, and Piano by Đỗ Hồng Quân (2001) • Pranayam for Oboe and Piano by Reena Esmail (2022) • Ashakiran for solo English Horn by Meera Gudipati (2019) • Six Sketches for Oboes and Piano by Fred Onovwerosuoke (2008) • Cinq Pièces pour Hautbois et Piano by Tôn-Thất Tiết (1965) Additionally, a set of scholarly program notes will highlight each featured composer and discussvarious aspects of the historical, theoretical, and social contexts that influenced each work’s composition. 1 Susan M. Lundberg, “What Every Oboist Should Know: Methods and Repertoire Selections,” The Double Reed24, no. 4 (2001): 106.
Conducting Classicism: Theory and Practice in Late Nineteenth-Century Orchestral Performances of Beethoven's Symphonies
(2023) Szwarcman, Gregory; Haldey, Olga; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
This thesis explores the orchestral performance practice of the late nineteenth century,specifically how it pertained to conductors’ interpretations of Beethoven’s symphonies. By this time, two competing conducting styles were widely perceived to have existed with respect to these works: a Classical and a Romantic aesthetic, each of which claimed to best fulfill the composer’s intentions. The former stressed the need for transparency with the performer maintaining steady tempi with little interference from the conductor, whereas the latter emphasized the active involvement of the conductor, particularly through wide ranging tempo modifications. While scholars have analyzed written nineteenth-century sources that describe these conducting styles, it is much less clear how they were manifested in actual performances. Likewise, studies of early orchestral recordings tend not to contextualize their findings with nineteenth-century aesthetic debates, preferring instead to contrast these performance styles with those practiced today. By comparing concert reviews to early recordings of Beethoven’s symphonies made by conductors born in the nineteenth century, I elucidate precisely how the descriptive language of observers of concerts during the late-Romantic era corresponded to the sounds they heard. I argue that a clear distinction can be made between the Classical and Romantic approaches to conducting an orchestra, while maintaining that the differences were often more nuanced than observers liked to admit.
Programmatic Music in Violin Literature
(2023) Zhong, Qian; Salness, David DS; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
This dissertation explores programmatic music in the violin literature, highlighting how composers convey extra-musical meaning in their works, inspired from literature, stories, or even personal experience. The research is organized into three thematic recitals: "Love," "Nature," and "Legend," each showcasing a range of compositions unified by a common theme. The paper will explore each piece from a variety of perspectives: cultural influences, composers' style, and their life experiences. It aims to investigate how music can tell stories while emphasizing how composers use similar themes yet with their unique approaches create distinctly personalized works. These programmatic pieces often make a deep emotional connection with the audience all the while inspiring the imagination. The paper also addresses, with specific suggestions, the technical challenges of performing transcriptions of orchestral scores that have been arranged for much smaller instrumentation, such as solo violin with collaborative piano. The "Love" themed recital includes Poème, Op. 25, by Ernest Chausson (1896); Suite from Romeo and Juliet for Violin and Piano, by Sergei Prokofiev (1935) and arranged by Lidia Baich and Matthias Fletzberger; Three solos for Violin and Piano from Swan Lake, Op.20, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1875-1876) and arranged by Endre Granat; Suite from West Side Story for Violin and Piano, by Leonard Bernstein (1957), and arranged by Raimundo Penaforte. The "Nature" recital features Sonata Representiva for Violin and Continuo in A Major, by Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber (1669); The Lark Ascending, by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1914); Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 8, RV 315, "Summer" (L'estate), by Antonio Vivaldi (1718- 1720) and arranged by Christopher Hogwood; Verano Porteño Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello, by Astor Piazzolla (1965) and arranged by José Bragato; Summer Night, by Shanle Yang (1952); Summertime, by George Gershwin (1935) and arranged by Jascha Heifetz. The "Legend" themed recital presents Butterfly Lovers’ Violin Concerto, by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang (1959); Myths, Op.30, by Karol Maciej Szymanowski (1915); Red Violin Caprices, by John Corigliano (1999). This dissertation also contains three live recitals. The live audio recordings of these three recitals can be found in the Digital Repository of the University of Maryland (DRUM).
GABRIEL FAURE (1845-1924): INNOVATOR OF THE FRENCH MODERN STYLE AS SEEN IN HIS WORKS FOR CELLO AND PIANO
(2003) Oh, Jooeun; Elsing, Evelyn; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
Gabriel Faure was a deeply influential leader in establishing modem trends in early twentieth-century French music. His individualistic compositions include both traditional and modern aspects incorporated into his own distinctive style. This doctoral project is a study of Faure's contributions to French chamber-music and explores especially his works for cello. In the first chapter of this dissertation, a brief biography of Faure is presented, and Faure's personal relationships with several influential contemporaries, including Camille Saint-Saens, are discussed. The second chapter describes Faure's highly effective career as Professor and then Director and reformer at the Paris Conservatoire. In the third chapter, Faure's chamber music is discussed, with emphasis on his works for cello. His works can be divided into three time periods, each representative of the composer's unique musical style and illustrative of Faure's stylistic development throughout his career. The fourth and final chapter examines the evolution of Faure's musical approach, while his complete works for the cello are analyzed and compared. Diverse reactions of his contemporary critics to Faure's late-period chamber works are also presented. As part of this doctoral project two recitals of works by Faure and his contemporaries were performed at the University of Maryland School of Music. The works performed in the first recital include Camille Saint-Saens' Romance for Violoncello and Piano, Opus 36 ( 1877); Maurice Ravel's Sonata for Violoncello and Violin ( 1920-22); Claude Debussy's Sonata for Violoncello and Piano ( 1915); and Faure's Violoncello Sonata No. I in d minor, Opus I 09 ( 1917). The second recital incorporated selections from all three of Faure's compositional periods: Elegie for Violoncello and Piano, Opus 2-1 ( 1880); Papillion for Violoncello and Piano, Opus 77 ( 1885), Romance for Violoncello and Piano, Opus 69 ( 1894 ), Sicilienne for Violoncello and Piano, Opus 78 ( 1898, originally 1893 ); Violoncello Sonata No. 2 in g minor, Opus I I 7 ( 1921 ); and Piano Trio in d minor, Opus I 20 ( 1922-1923 ).
PERFORMANCE OF THE VIOLIN CONCERTO AND SONATAS OF JOHANNES BRAHMS WITH AN ANALYSIS OF JOSEPH JOACHIM'S INFLUENCE ON HIS VIOLIN CONCERTO
(1997) Hsieh, I-Chun; Heifetz, Daniel; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
This dissertation consists of a performance project and extensive studies of selected works by Johannes Brahms, including the Violin Concerto, Sonatensatz, and three Violin Sonatas. The performance project was presented in two recitals at the University of Maryland, College Park, on November 14, 1997, and November 16, 1997. The first recital featured Brahms' s Sonatensatz in C Minor, Violin Sonata No. I, Op. 78 in G Major, and Violin Sonata No. 3, Op. 108, in D Minor. The second recital included Brahms' s Violin Sonata No.2, Op. 100, in A Major and Violin Concerto Op. 77, in D Major. Section One gives an overview of this dissertation project. Section Two introduces the violin virtuoso Joseph Joachim, his relationship with Johannes Brahms, and Brahms' s life and major violin works. This section also analyzes Joachim' s performance practice and his teaching style. The end of this section focuses on the influence of Joseph Joachim on Brahms' s Violin Concerto and indicates the differences between Brahms' s original manuscript and the version suggested by Joachim. Section Three is composed of the programs of the two recitals. Section Four consists of program notes for the two recitals. The first recital was performed by I-Chun Hsieh, violin and Roy Hakes, piano. The second recital was performed by I-Chun Hsieh, violin and Chia-Hsuan Lee, piano.
Exploring and Propagating Oboe Music From Composers of South Asian, African, and Middle Eastern Heritage
(2023) Helgerman, Michael Andrew; Hill, Mark
Though the oboe has enjoyed both a rich history and contemporary renaissance as a solo voice, the instrument's repertoire bears some rigidity and limitations in representing composers from diverse backgrounds. A repertoire survey from a 2001 edition of the Double Reed Journal denotes a clear tendency towards homogeneity of composer background in the instrument's canon. After contacting oboe professors employed at universities across the United States, compiler Susan Lundberg published lists of concerti, sonatas, chamber pieces, and other works that "oboists should know"; every piece listed in the top ten results of each genre was written by a male composer of European or American descent. This dissertation project will serve as a small step among the many needed for the oboe's solo repertoire to evolve into a canon that equitably represents composers from all backgrounds. In particular, composers with South Asian, African, and Middle Eastern roots will enjoy the spotlight in this dissertation, as these cultures boast rich musical foundations whose synthesis with the modern oboe has yet to receive significant research.

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