Music Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2796
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Item Rachmaninoff's Performance Style As Heard In His Recordings: An Artistic And Technical Survey(2022) HENRY, DAVID; Gowen, Bradford; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation explores the piano recordings made by Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff, in particular the works he recorded multiple times, identifying the larger developmental arc of his playing during the twenty-four years of his latter career. We show that the common axes of technique and interpretation provide an insufficient lens through which to understand his changing style; instead, we propose an additional dimension of identity which better captures Rachmaninoff’s evolution as a performer. Furthermore, this point of view allows a separation of his recordings into three distinct periods. Rachmaninoff stands as a unique figure in modern musical history, reflecting an improbable convergence of events: 1. he was a world-renowned composer for the first half of his career. 2. upon the emergency of the Russian revolution in 1917, he emigrated with his family to America at the age of forty-five, industriously working to become one of the leading concert artists of his generation. 3. he was one of the first pianists to leave a recorded legacy. Appropriate historical and biographical context is provided to better understand Rachmaninoff and his times, and to place his recordings in a fuller context. We also present the current state of knowledge and availability of Rachmaninoff’s extant recordings, the various technologies by which they were made, and the recording companies with which Rachmaninoff chose to work. We describe the importance of matrix numbers, alternate takes, potentially unreleased recordings, piano rolls, and unintentional recordings. Rachmaninoff’s recordings currently exist across many fragmented sources, some difficult to learn of and acquire. This dissertation thereby provides a modern guide to these recordings in hope of aiding future scholars.Item Preserving the Narrative of 20th Century Art Song: A Guide for Instrumental Transcriptions of Vocal Music(2020) Spence, Luke Jonathan; Gekker, Paul C; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Art song, by nature, is a combination of media: text and music. Composers map these two domains onto each other using established correspondences known as conceptual metaphors. The outcome, known as a conceptual blend, manifests a different cognitive perception than if the domains are experienced separately. The purpose of this dissertation is to keep these blends intact when performing instrumental transcriptions of vocal music. Without the ability to utter words, the performer must consider how they can bring life to the narratives through their instrument. A comprehensive set of performance practice guidelines are discussed, largely for practical application to the trumpet. Accompanying this dissertation are seventeen video recorded transcriptions of 20th century art song from German, French, and American composers, which implement a solution to be used along with these guidelines: subtitle translations. The addition of subtitles not only allows for the audience to experience the narratives in real-time with the music, but also creates an opportunity for instrumentalists to perform vocal repertoire that has yet to be explored in great depth. The expressive atonal and twelve-tone works of the Second Viennese School, experimental and Transcendental works of Charles Ives, deep Symbolist poetry set by Lili Boulanger, and evocative, text-driven works of Libby Larsen can be brought to life in compelling ways with their narratives intact.Item THE CORNO D'AMORE - A BAROQUE TRANSCRIPTION PROJECT(2019) Drew, Justin Thomas; Miller, Gregory E; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Throughout my musical career, I have always enjoyed Baroque music, especially in a church setting. I have had some opportunities to experience this first hand on the horn, but realized that the Baroque repertoire available to a horn player is incredibly limited. Furthermore, there became a realization that French horn music students do not interact enough with Baroque music. While undergraduate Music Education and Performance majors seek a complete education and experience in performing all genres of music, horn players are often left with a void of music and techniques from the Baroque Period. It is also not common for students to own period instruments, nor is it common for university studios to own these instruments. The baroque horn also follows Baroque tuning A=415, which is far lower than the modern traditional tuning, which is A=440. Therefore, I have created four Baroque transcriptions for Horn and Organ to add to the horn repertoire. Two transcriptions were taken from Oboe concertos and two from Oboe D’amore concertos. All of these works were originally accompanied with small string ensemble and continuo. I chose Oboe and Oboe D’amore because the melodies were accessible for the modern day horn player, where flute, violin, viola, and cello features brushed up against virtuosity. These melodies also embody four different types of baroque style and melodic mastery. The project includes a professional recording, the sheet music of the transcriptions, and a CD cover with liner notes. The CD was recorded at Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church on November 10, 12, 17, and 25, 2019. The horn used was a Lukas Horn #4 with an Osmun Chicago cup and Geyer rim. The organ is a Rieger Tracker Organ designed by Josef von Glatter-Gotz in 1973-4, performed on by Julie Vidrick Evans. My engineer and producer was Neil Brown, through the recording company Arts Laureate. The arrangements were created using the music writing software, Sibelius. The cover photo is credited to Kyung Jung at Yellowhale Photography.Item Transcribing Viola da Gamba Literature for the Modern Double Bass(2015) Alger, Shawn; Murdock, Katherine; Manzo, Anthony; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The double bass, in its modern incarnation, dates from the late nineteenth century, which means that any performer wishing to play solo music from an earlier era must resort to transcriptions. For modern bassists wishing to play music from the Baroque era, the options of existing transcriptions are severely limited. Currently a handful of composers dominate the landscape of baroque music for double bass, and the music tends to borrow from either violin or cello repertoire. The fact of the matter is that Baroque music is tremendously underrepresented when compared against the entire oeuvre of available music for the double bass. This dissertation will present a collection of transcriptions from viola da gamba literature in a variety of styles and genres in order to illustrate the potential this music has for expanding the baroque repertoire for double bass. The scope of this paper will include solo music with accompaniment, unaccompanied transcriptions, and music for two and four basses. In transcribing these works I have kept as close to the original manuscripts and publications as possible with regards to bowing and notation. Deviations from the original have been clearly marked so that modern performers may decide for themselves how faithfully to reproduce what the composer wrote. It will also serve as a starting point toward reinventing this wonderful body of music that has heretofore been taken for granted.