VIRTUOSIC ELEMENTS IN THE COLLABORATIVE PIANIST’S REPERTOIRE: SELECTED SOLO, VOCAL, AND CHAMBER WORKS OF RACHMANINOFF AND RAVEL

This dissertation project explores some of the technical and musical challenges that face pianists in a collaborative role—specifically, those challenges that may be considered virtuosic in nature. The material was chosen from the works of Rachmaninoff and Ravel because of the technically and musically demanding yet idiomatic piano writing. This virtuosic piano writing also extends into the collaborative repertoire. The pieces were also chosen to demonstrate these virtuosic elements in a wide variety of settings. Solo piano pieces were chosen to provide a point of departure, and the programmed works ranged from vocal to two-piano, to sonatas and a piano trio. The recitals were arranged to demonstrate as much contrast as possible, while being grouped by composer. The first recital was performed on April 24, 2009. This recital featured five songs of Rachmaninoff, as well as three solo piano preludes and his Suite No. 2 for two pianos. The second recital occurred on November 16, 2010. This recital featured the music of both Rachmaninoff and Ravel, as well as a short lecture introducing the solo work “Ondine” from Gaspard de la nuit by Ravel. Following the lecture were the Cinq mélodies populaires grecques and the program closed with the substantial Rachmaninoff Sonata for Cello and Piano. The final program was given on October 10, 2011. This recital featured the music of Ravel, and it included his Sonata for Violin and Piano, the Debussy Nocturnes transcribed for two pianos by Ravel, and the Piano Trio. The inclusion of a transcription of a work by another composer highlights Ravel’s particular style of writing for the piano. All of these recitals were performed at the Gildenhorn Recital Hall in the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland. The recitals are recorded on compact discs, which can be found in the Digital Repository at the University of Maryland (DRUM).

Bridging the Divide Between the Soloist and the Ensemble Player

In conservatories and music schools, the general practice for an aspiring pianist is to focus on solo performance learning mainly solo repertoire. With the advent of the advanced degree in collaborative piano, pianists could submerge themselves in the study of duo sonatas, larger chamber music ensembles, and art song. The appearance of this degree was an important step in the development of pianists, as this kind of work requires specific training and focus to master the vast repertoire involved. However it also more clearly brought out the invisible divide separating the solo pianist from the collaborative pianist, a.k.a. the accompanist. While geniuses such as Bach, Beethoven and Brahms were known to compose and perform all types of music, the appearance of super stars such as Liszt and Paganini helped bring into being the term accompanist and since then music world has tacitly embraced this divide. The goal of my dissertational study is to show that this divide need not exist. The three recitals which comprise this dissertational project were all performed at the University of Maryland, the first on 12 November 2010 at Gildenhom Recital Hall, the second at Ulrich Recital Hall on 10 September 2011, and the third at Gildenhorn Recital Hall on 11 November 2011. The repertoire included Rachmaninoff Prelude in g# minor op. 32 no. 12 and Etude-Tableaux in Eb minor op. 29 no. 5, Brahms Sonata for Piano and Violin in d minor op. 108, Mendelssohn Piano Trio in d minor op. 49, Chopin Sonata No.2 in Bb minor, Franck Sonata for Piano and Violin, Prokofiev Piano Concerto no. 2 in g minor op. 16 with pianist Elizabeth Brown as orchestra, Beethoven Sonata for Piano and Violin in A op 47 (Kreutzer), and Paul Schoenfield Cafe Music. All works with violin and cello were performed with violinist Rebecca Racusin, and cellist Devree Lewis. The recitals were recorded on compact discs and are archived within the Digital Repository at the University of Maryland(DRUM).

REVOLUTIONARY VIOLIN LITERATURE IN THE TRANSFORMATIVE PERIOD OF THE 20TH CENTURY, 1900-1970

In satisfaction of requirements for a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Maryland, College Park, three recitals were given consisting of works of the early 21st Century European composers. The works performed on these recitals showcase a variety of compositional styles that explore different qualities of the violin. The purpose of this project was to demonstrate how the war and conflict in Europe and attendant radical cultural and social developments affected these composers. The first recital program includes: Sonata for Violin and Cello and Piece en Forme de Habanera by Maurice Ravel; Op. 30 Mythesfor Violin and Piano by Karol Szymanowski; Concertina for Violin and Piano and Sonata No.2 for Violin Solo by Grazyna Bacewicz. The second recital program consists of: Sonata for Violin and Piano by Leos Janacek; Quartet for the End of Time: movement VIII "Louange a l'Immortalite de Jesus" by Oliver Messiaen; Sonata for Solo Violin by Erwin Schulhoff; and Passacaglia & Fuga for String Trio by Hans Krasa. The third recital highlights the works of Russian composers: Sonata for Violin and Piano Op.134 by Dmitri Shostakovich; and Violin Sonata No.2 in D major Op. 94 by Sergei Prokofiev. These composers represent individual, distinct and fascinating adaptation to events beyond their control as well as their power of transformation. The first recital was performed in collaboration with Hsiang-Ling Hsiao on piano and Gozde Yasar on cello. The second recital was given with Hsiang-Ling Hsiao on piano, Gozde Yasar on cello, and Asli Gultekin Ozek on viola. The third recital was performed with David Ballena on piano. The recitals were recorded on compact discs and are archived within the Digital Repository at the University of Maryland (DRUM).

Post-1945 Danish Piano Trio Literature: A Recording Dissertation

This recording dissertation surveys post-1945 literature written for piano trio (violin, violoncello and piano) by ten Danish composers. The literature was first considered for inclusion by searching a database provided by the Danish Music Information Center (www.mic.dk). Scores were rented from the publisher Edition Wilhelm Hansen AS, or purchased from the publisher Samfundet til Udgivelse af Dansk Musik. An additional score published by Viking Musikforlag was used as well. The music was then studied and evaluated for selection. During the selection process, the following criteria were considered: 1) quality of the compositions; 2) recognition of the composers at the national or international level; 3) whether the compositions had been previously recorded; and 4) variety of compositional styles. The selected works are written by Niels Viggo Bentzon, Vagn Holmboe, Anders Koppel, Herman D. Koppel, Bent Lorentzen, Anders Nordentoft, Per Norgard, Michael Nyvang, Karl Aage Rasmussen, and Poul Rovsing Olsen. The selected compositions were practiced, rehearsed, and performed under direct supervision of the composers and other expert musicians. In order to better understand the compositional style of each composer, relevant books, articles, and recordings were researched and studied. This recording dissertation is supported by a written document. A subjective preference for program balance was exercised to determine the order of recorded works. The written document is divided into chapters defined by composer, following the order of the recorded document, which include the composers' biographies and notes referring to the recorded compositions. The recording took place at the Manzius Gaarden, Birkerod, Denmark during three sessions: July 31-August 2, 2002, March 2 and 3, 2003, and June 2-4, 2003. The music for this dissertation was recorded by the members of the Jalina Trio; Line Fredens, violin, Janne Fredens, cello and Natsuki Fukasawa, piano. Aksel Trige, a well-respected recording engineer, was engaged for the recording and editing. Additionally, a Hamburg Steinway concert grand piano was rented and a Joseph Guarnerius filius Andreas Cremona violin (1706) was provided by the Augustinus Fonden, Denmark. The cellist used her own instrument, Vuillaume of Paris (c. 1850). The expense of this recording was partially paid by generous grants from the Augustinus Fonden, the Solist Foreningen af 1921, and the Dansk Musikerforbunds Kollective Rettighedsmidler. The compositions selected for this recording dissertation are assumed to be previously unrecorded, with the exception of Poul Rovsing Olsen's Trio II.

The Voyage of Impressionism in Three Violin Recitals: To See the World in Different Colors

Impressionism serves as the transition between romantic and modern music. This dissertation examines the varying characteristics and colors of Impressionism in the works of late-romantic French composers, French Impressionistic composers, and composers with Impressionistic influence from countries other than France. Violin Sonata in g minor, L. 140 (1917) is the last work composed by Claude Debussy. The impressionistic characters in this work includes the ambiguous yet innovative and variant sonority and form. As a work also written in 1917, Ottorino Respighi's Violin Sonata in b minor is deeply rooted in Italian Romanticism. Some of the Impressionistic characters can be found in the second movement where the harmonies are in parallel motion. César Franck, a forerunner of impressionism, heavily influenced Debussy with the use of cyclic form. The Violin Sonata in A major (1886) is rich in harmonic language. Ernest Chausson's works mark the transition between Franck and Debussy. The Poème portrays a love story, Song of Love Triumphant by Turgenev. The work is a symphonic poem for violin and orchestra. The Mythes, Op. 30 (1915) by Karol Szymanowski is based on Greek mythology. Ravel's Sonata for Violin and Cello (1922), dedicated to Debussy, points to the future with a sophisticated harmonic language extending into atonality, spare texture, and expanded palate of impressionistic colors and techniques. Ernest Bloch's Violin Sonata No. 1 (1920) portrays the feeling of torment. Beneath the soaring cries of the violin, the harmonic sonority of Impressionism are present. Gabriel Fauré's Violin Sonata No. 1 in A major, op. 13 (1876) is the earliest work of this project. The scherzo movement became a prototype for future scherzo movements for Ravel and Debussy. Ravel's Tzigane (1924), at once a paragon of French impressionism, a delightful gypsy-style dance-fantasy, and a breathtaking virtuoso piece, is the perfect conclusion to my dissertation project. The pieces discussed above were presented in three recitals. Compact disc recordings of these recitals are available in the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library of the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland.

Pairings: Quintets and Duos from the Collaborative Piano Repertoire

Chamber music with piano comprises some of the greatest masterpieces in the Western canon. The works range from duo sonatas with various instruments through septets. In regard to duo sonatas, the violin is the instrument most frequently paired with the piano. Of all the chamber works for larger ensembles, the most popular is the quintet. In this dissertation, I will be exploring the similarities and differences between the duo sonatas and quintets of a given composer. I will be surveying Robert Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 44 along with his Violin and Piano Sonata in A Minor, Op. 105. The next pairing will be Johannes Brahms’ Piano Quintet in F Minor, Op. 34 and his Piano and Violin Sonata in D Minor, Op. 108. Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 57 and his Cello and Piano Sonata in D Minor, Op. 40 will be the last two works examined in this dissertation. This dissertation project consisted of three recitals, presented in the Gildenhorn Recital Hall at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center of the University of Maryland. The recitals featured works by Johannes Brahms, Robert Schumann and Dmitri Shostakovich and took place on March 14, 2014, February 13, 2015 and November 22, 2015. All three recitals were recorded on compact discs, which can be accessed at the Digital Repository at the University of Maryland (DRUM) and at the University of Maryland Hornbake Library.

Contrasts: Quartets and Art Songs of the Nineteenth Century

The nineteenth-century Romantic era saw the development and expansion of many vocal and instrumental forms that had originated in the Classical era. In particular, the German lied and French mélodie matured as art forms, and they found a kind of equilibrium between piano and vocal lines. Similarly, the nineteenth-century piano quartet came into its own as a form of true chamber music in which all instruments participated equally in the texture. Composers such as Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, and Gabriel Fauré offer particularly successful examples of both art song and piano quartets that represent these genres at their highest level of artistic complexity. Their works have become the cornerstones of the modern collaborative pianist’s repertoire. My dissertation explored both the art songs and the piano quartets of these three composers and studied the different skills needed by a pianist performing both types of works. This project included the following art song cycles: Robert Schumann’s Dichterliebe, Gabriel Fauré’s Poème d’un Jour, and Johannes Brahms’ Zigeunerlieder. I also performed Schumann’s Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 47, Fauré’s Piano Quartet in C minor, Op. 15, and Brahms’ Piano Quartet in G minor, Op. 25. My collaborators included: Zachariah Matteson, violin and viola; Kristin Bakkegard, violin; Molly Jones, cello; Geoffrey Manyin, cello; Karl Mitze, viola; Emily Riggs, soprano, and Matthew Hill, tenor. This repertoire was presented over the course of three recitals on February 13, 2015, December 11, 2015, March 25, 2016 at the University of Maryland’s Gildenhorn Recital Hall. These recitals can be found in the Digital Repository at the University of Maryland (DRUM).