Theses and Dissertations from UMD
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New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM
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Item 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).Item IN SEARCH OF A THEME: ALTERNATIVE STRUCTURES FOR THE MODERN VIOLIN RECITAL(2022) Ducreay, Phillip Alexander; Stern, James O; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)It is the purpose of this dissertation, at its core, to ask and explore a central question: Can a successful and diverse recital program be curated not based on a pre-set historical or theoretical theme but rather on some type of narrative arc that runs throughout the program? By exploring how these programs work I hope to find hidden connections which both tie these pieces together and justify my programming in the order I have chosen. The curation I have proposed aims to change the way audiences consume and engage with music by connecting them with new works and a well-ordered musical experience. Inspired by the flexibility of nineteenth and twentieth century programs, modern programs can be crafted with a narrative approach in mind. Just as a composition can express an idea or feeling, the order and narrative of a program can be crafted to do the same in the manner I have put forth. The first recital described in this dissertation was performed in Gildenhorn Hall at the Clarice Smith Center on April 14th 2021 at 5pm with the pianist Alexei Ulitin. The second recital was performed in Ulrich Hall in the Tawes building at UMD on December 9th 2021 with the pianist Leili Asanbekova. The recording submitted as part of this dissertation is of the second recital program, recorded in Nashville, TN at Laura Turner Hall in the Schermerhorn Symphony Center on Oct. 13th and 26th with pianist, Megan Gale.Item The Rise and Fall of the Composing Violinist: Composition and Interpretation in Recital(2021) Sugiyama, Kei; Stern, James; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)On a program for a classical music recital today you will typically find the names of the performers, as well as the names of the various composers who wrote the music. At first, this seems perfectly ordinary, until we consider that there was a time when such a distinction between performer and composer was not always so ordinary. Today, musical composition and performance are seen as separate practices. Looking at the works that dominate the modern repertoire of today’s recitals, a disproportionate number of them are written by composers who also performed those very works themselves. This investigation has traced the history of the composing violinist back to the beginnings of the French Violin School of the 19th century. The composing violinist underwent a transformation into the interpreting and performance-oriented violinist in the latter half of the 19th century as a result of a growth in historical and interpretive performance practices popularized by the Hungarian violinist, composer, and pedagogue, Joseph Joachim. Composing violinists have contributed greatly to the modern violin repertoire and their works comprise a significant portion of essential learning materials for the consummate violinist. This dissertation explores such works, through scholarly examination and performance, composed by Niccolò Paganini, Eugène Ysayë, and Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst. These are complemented by works written by composers associated with the rise of the interpreting violinist, including Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven. Finally, the program is completed with three original works composed by myself as a composing violinist.Item A SHARED HERITAGE: CROSS-CULTURAL INFLUENCES BETWEEN POLISH AND RUSSIAN VIOLIN REPERTOIRE OF THE NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH CENTURIES(2021) Munoz, Jesse Blane; Salness, David; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: A SHARED HERITAGE: CROSS-CULTURAL INFLUENCES BETWEEN POLISH AND RUSSIAN VIOLIN REPERTOIRE OF THE NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH CENTURIES Jesse Muñoz, Jr., Doctor of Musical Arts, 2021 Dissertation directed by: Professor David Salness, School of Music This dissertation research discusses the shared cultural heritage of Polish and Russian music through the lens of the classical violin repertoire. The goal of this paper is to establish a clearly defined lineage connecting Polish and Russian music by studying works specifically written for the violin. The history of violin music has been marked by incredible contributions from Polish and Russian composers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. A deeper understanding of the shared and reciprocal influences between these two cultures can help those studying these works appreciate their odd mix of pan-Slavic qualities. In particular this research focuses on three distinct periods in Polish and Russian history, 1860–1900, 1917–1919, and 1945–1950. The research culminates in the creation of a family tree, linking the history of Polish and Russian music from Chopin to Shostakovich and his contemporaries.Item A Survey of the Evolution of the Violin Repertories by Composers from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau in the Twentieth Century(2021) Sin, Cheuk Hang; Mureșanu, Irina Roxana; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In comparison with the vast canon of repertoire written for solo violin in the western classical tradition, relatively few works by Chinese composers are regularly studied, programmed, or performed. The purpose of this dissertation is to highlight violin repertoire, both as a solo instrument and in chamber music setting, by twentieth century composers from the Greater China region. The violin was introduced to the general Chinese public in the nineteenth century, but it was not until the twentieth century that Chinese musicians began writing music for the violin, after learning western classical compositional techniques while studying abroad. Despite a century of political turmoil and rapid globalization, Chinese folk elements have remained a major component in violin works. Folk materials from a wide region were used by various composers: from the south in Canton to the north in Inner Mongolia, and from the east in Taiwan to the west in Tibet and Sinkiang.Though more than a century has passed since the first violin composition was written by a Chinese composer, this repertoire has yet to become standardized within the western musical canon. While traditional Chinese music is relatively well-documented and studied, there is limited research and few publications focusing on contemporary Chinese violin literature. This survey will spread awareness of previously under-represented works and highlight the historical context of music from this region. Chinese composers who have written the most representative music for the violin and have had great influence on their homeland and internationally are discussed in the dissertation.Item BLACK COMPOSERS OF THE CLASSICAL MUSIC GENRE FROM THE EIGTHTEENTH CENTURY TO THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY(2019) Joyner, Amyr; Salness, David; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation research paper will be an examination of a number of prominent Black composers in the Classical music genre and their influences and contributions to the Classical music violin literature. The overall intent of the paper is to act as an additional resource for violinists and musicians that are interested in exploring the composers and their works, while also increasing exposure to and awareness of Black classical composers. While the purpose of this dissertation lies specifically with exploring influential Black composers, their chosen works in the programs, and how they fit within the broad spectrum of classical music, I am hopeful that it will nevertheless promote a further discussion regarding incorporating a more extended study of minority and women composers in the general curriculum of music institutes, as well as encourage more widespread practice and performances of their works along the likes of Bach, Beethoven, Mahler, and Bartók.Item When the Cello Speaks Alone: Cello Cadenzas in Chamber Music Duos(2019) Borowsky, Frances Grace; Kutz, Eric; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation explores chamber duo works in which the cello has one or more significant solo passages. Works studied are sonatas for cello and piano by Luigi Boccherini (1771), Anton Rubinstein (1855), Edvard Grieg (1883), Alexander Tcherepnin (1924), and Marcus Paus (2009); show pieces by David Popper (Hungarian Rhapsody, 1894), Sulkhan Tsintsadze (Five Pieces on Folk Themes for Cello and Piano, 1950), Joachim Stutschewsky (Three Hebrew Melodies, 1934), and Buxton Orr (A Carmen Fantasy, 1985); and two duos with violin by Zoltán Kodály (1914) and Bohuslav Martinů (1927). Short biographical notes are provided on each composer and cadenzas are analyzed for their role and placement in each respective composition. Works have been organized according to the following categories: improvised cadenzas, cadenzas that prolong harmonic tension, virtuosic cadenzas based on folk and ethnic traditions, cadenzas providing an introduction or transition, and reflective cadenzas. In the conclusions, it is noted that post-Classical era composers place the cadenzas in a variety of locations, including at the opening of the work, before the recapitulation, and between themes of the recapitulation. Some composers use the cello alone for transitions or to introduce material at the beginning of the piece or movement. Few of the cadenzas include previously stated themes, and most cadenzas discussed in this paper wholly abandon the traditional function of delay. In all of these, the inclusion of a cello cadenza augments the emotional and textural dimension and variety.Item PARADOX AND PARALLEL: ALFRED SCHNITTKE'S WORKS FOR VIOLIN IN CONTEXT(2019) Chernicoff, Lydia; Stern, James; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In his works for violin, Alfred Schnittke explores and challenges the traditional boundaries of Western composition. This dissertation project is founded on the conviction that these works by Schnittke, despite their experimental and idiosyncratic nature, hold an integral place in the standard violin repertoire as well as in the broader canon of Western classical music. The argument will be supported by three recital programs that place the works in the context of that canon and an investigation of how Schnittke’s compositional language relates to that of the western European composers, revealing his complex and distinctive voice. By tracking his deconstruction and reworking of the music of other composers, we see Schnittke’s particular formality and musical rhetoric, as well as his energetic and artistic drive, and we see that his works are not merely experimental—they renew the forms whose boundaries they transgress, and they exhibit a gravity, a timelessness, and a profound humanity, earning the composer his rightful place in the lineage of Western classical music. The first and third recitals were performed in Ulrich Recital Hall, and the second recital was performed in Gildenhorn Recital Hall, all at the University of Maryland. Recordings of all three recitals can be accessed at the University of Maryland Hornbake Library.Item HALF OF HUMANITY HAS SOMETHING TO SAY, ALSO: WORKS FOR VIOLIN BY WOMEN COMPOSERS(2018) Colgate, Laura; Salness, David; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The intent of this dissertation is to increase recognition of prominent and lesser-known women, living and deceased, composing high-quality violin literature. This performance dissertation consists of three recitals featuring works for violin solo or chamber works including violin by twenty-two women composers, living and deceased, and program notes containing pertinent biographical and compositional information. Many shorter compositions were included in an attempt to give further recognition to as many women as possible. Although women composers are still outnumbered by men, it is evident that more and more women are becoming successful in their careers as composers. More women are being recognized by established institutions, having their works recorded, performed by major orchestras, and receiving honors and commissions. However, it is clear that much work is still to be done before women composers are to be given the same recognition as their male counterparts. It is my intention to not only make these works more accessible but also to bring to everyone’s consciousness the marginalization of women composers in the classical music field and increase awareness of the lack of effort on the part of presenters, organizations, and musicians towards gender equity. It is my hope that this dissertation will energize and mobilize others to create a level playing field on which women composers are fairly represented.Item Selected Violin Concertos: In Search of a Missing Link(2016) Dovgalyuk, Yevgeniy; Stern, James; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)My dissertation presented seven violin concertos in three recital programs. Three of these concertos are acknowledged masterpieces performed in established concert venues throughout the world. They are the concertos of Mozart, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky. The other four are less standard and are composed by Viotti, Kreutzer, Rode and Spohr. These less standard concertos were popular during their time yet they seem not to have stood the test of time. A curriculum devoted exclusively to the standard concertos creates problems for the young violinist. The Mozart violin concertos are often the first standard concertos that the young violin student encounters. They are considered to be the least technically demanding of the standard concertos. The next most advanced standard concertos that the student will usually encounter are Bruch’s G minor concerto, Wieniawski’s D minor concerto and Barber’s concerto. The trouble is that the work on Mozart concertos does not adequately prepare a student for the next most advanced standard concerto. There is a discontinuous leap in the progression of technical difficulty between the Mozart concertos and the next most advanced concertos. Likewise the standard concerto repertoire provides no smooth historical or stylistic progression between the Mozart concertos and the next most advanced concertos. If the young violinist is limited to the standard repertoire then she has no smooth progression either technical, historical or stylistic. I seek to demonstrate that, by adding concertos of Spohr, Viotti, Kreutzer, and Rode to the standard violin curriculum, one could remedy this problem. The first and third recitals were performed in the Gildenhorn Recital Hall and the second recital in the School of Music’s Smith Lecture Hall, both at the University of Maryland. All three recitals can be found in the Digital Repository at the University of Maryland (DRUM).