CABARET: MIRROR OF SOCIETIES

The basic definition of a cabaret is a café that offers live entertainment performed by singers, musicians and dancers and serves food and drink. It is generally housed in small, intimate spaces. Starting in the middle of the nineteenth century, artists, composers and writers met at Parisian cafés and salons to share their works. The cabaret was a suitable place for social activities. Artists could meet, discuss their opinions, and share their art in a relaxed setting. Even though cabaret music was often based on popular idioms, social and political commentary coupled with satirical settings represented the true soul of the genre. This trend flourished in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The first cabaret in Paris, Le Chat Noir inspired the growth of similar places in major cities throughout Europe besides Paris. The three recitals that comprise this dissertation project were performed at University of Maryland venues: the Robert & Arlene Kogod Theatre on 11 May 2011, Ulrich Recital Hall on 4 December 2011, and Gildenhorn Recital Hall on 4 March 2012. The repertoire for the first recital included works by Erik Satie with mezzo-soprano Monica Soto-Gil, Friedrich Hollaender with soprano Gabrielle DeMers, William Bolcom with baritone Ethan Watermeier and mezzo-soprano Stepanie Sadownik, and Poulenc with baritone Andrew McLaughlin. André Previn‘s Tango Song and Dance with violinist Jennifer Kim served as the instrumental interlude. The second recital included songs by Friedrich Hollaender with mezzo-soprano Monica Soto-Gil, Hanns Eisler and Viktor Ullmann with mezzo-soprano Stephanie Sadownik, and Mischa Spoliansky with soprano CarrieAnne Winter. Victor Hollaender‘s Romance and Albumblatt were the instrumental interludes with violinist Jennifer Kim. The last recital featured works for piano and violin, the Graceful Ghost Rag by William Bolcom with violinist Jenny Wu, Four Souvenirs by Paul Schoenfield with violinist Jennifer Kim, Cabaret Songs by Benjamin Britten with soprano Linda Mabbs, and Souvenirs for piano four-hands by Samuel Barber with pianist Rita Sloan. The recitals were recorded on compact discs and are archived within the Digital Repository at the University of Maryland (DRUM).

RUSSIAN THREADS: THE PRESENCE OF RUSSIAN INFLUENCES IN TWENTIETH­ CENTURY ENGLISH CELLO MUSIC

A cursory glance at cello works by English composers during the twentieth- century yields an unexpected relationship to Russian musicians, history, culture, and religion. One must wonder how this connection or "Russian thread" came to be. When considering the working relationship of Benjamin Britten and Mstislav Rostropovich, the likelihood of such a connection is tangible, since their deeply personal friendship influenced Britten's music for cello. However, what is perhaps more interesting is the emergence of connections to Russia in the works of other English composers of the twentieth-century, featuring works from 1913-1996. This project was conceived after close study and analysis of Benjamin Britten's Third Suite for Solo Cello, Op. 87 (1971). Britten's inclusion of Russian folk tunes and an Orthodox Church hymn signaled the penetrating presence of Russian elements in his works. Britten's First Suite for Solo Cello, Op. 72, Third Suite for Cello, Op. 87, and Sonata for Piano and Cello in C, Op. 65 are presented in this project. Further exploration of works for cello by English composers unveiled similar connections to Russia. The Sonata for Cello and Piano of Frank Bridge is likened to Russian romanticism and the Cello Sonata of Sergei Rachmaninoff. William Walton's Cello Concerto was written for the Russian-American cellist Gregor Piatigorsky. Wake Up ...and die is John Tavener's deeply spiritual work, which is rooted in his Russian Orthodoxy. John Ireland, influenced by models of French and Russian Impressionism, contributed works colored with Russian folk influences, of which his Piano Trio No. 2 is an example. Finally, Arnold Bax traveled to Russia as a young man and his Folk Tale and Legend Sonata are imbued with the spirit of Russian folk music and architecture. This dissertation project is comprised of three recitals featuring English works for cello connected by a "Russian Thread." All events took place on the campus of University of Maryland, College Park: Recital #1 on December 4, 2011 in the Gildenhorn Recital Hall of the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, Recital #2 on February 11,2012, and Recital #3 on April 15, 2012, both in the Ulrich Recital Hall.

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.

SELECTED ICONIC CHAMBER MUSIC WORKS WITH PIANO FROM THE NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH CENTURIES

Chamber music repertoire featuring the piano blossomed from the mid-nineteenth through the early twentieth century. The quantity of works increased greatly during this time and the quality of these works reached the highest level. Among the many symbolic works that were composed were sonatas for a single string instrument with piano, piano trios, quartets: and quintets as well as two-piano works and four-hand duets. Being able to study and perform many of these iconic works before I graduated was one of the major goals I set for myself as a collaborative pianist. The abundance of repertoire has made it easy to choose works considered "iconic" for my dissertation's three recitals. Iconic is defined as "very famous or popular, especially being considered to represent particular opinions or a particular time" in the online Cambridge Advanced Leamer's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University. The compositions featured in the recitals were composed from 1842 through 1941, including works by Schumann, Brahms, Faure, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, and Lutoslawski. Choosing the repertoire with my fellow performers in mind was an important part of this dissertation. In addition to trying to make balanced programs which include variety, working with different instruments and performers is one of the most fulfilling parts of the musical experience for me as a collaborative pianist. Joining me for the concerts were members of the Aeolus String Quartet (violinist Nicholas Tavani, violinist Rachel Shapiro, violist Greg Luce, and cellist Alan Richardson), pianist Hsiao-Ying Lin (a doctoral student from the Peabody Conservatory), and my colleagues from the Peabody Institute Preparatory Division (faculty violinist Dr. Christian Tremblay and cellist Alicia Ward), and Derek Smith, Associate Principal violist of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestras). The three recitals were performed in the Gildenhom and Ulrich Recital Halls at the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland. They are recorded on CD and available on compact discs, which can be found in the Digital Repository at the University of Maryland (DRUM).

Dance Based Music on Piano

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of dance is “to move your body in a way that goes with the rhythm and style of music that is being played.” As you can see in that definition, these two important ways of expressing human feelings, music and dance, are very closely related. Countless pieces of music have been composed for dance, and are still being composed. It is impossible and useless to count how many kinds of dances exist in the world. Different kinds of dances have been developed according to their purposes, cultures, rhythm and tempo. For this reason, the field of dance-related music necessarily expanded significantly. A great deal of dance music has been written for orchestras, small ensembles, or vocals. Along with them, keyboard music also has a huge repertoire of dance pieces. For example, one of the most famous form in Baroque period was suites. Suites usually include 5 or more dance movements in the same key, such as Minuet, Allemende, Courant, Sarabande, Gigue, Bourree, Gavotte, Passepied, and so on. Nationalistic dances like waltz, polonaise, mazurka, and tarantella, were wonderful sources for composers like Chopin, Brahms, and Tchaikovsky. Dance-based movements were used for Mozart and Beethoven’s piano sonatas, chamber works and concertos. Composers have routinely traveled around the world to collect folk and dance tunes from places they visit. For example, Bartok and Balakirev's pieces that are based on folk dances from where they had traveled became famous and are still thought to be valuable for studying and performing today. For these reasons, it is clear that dance-related music is a very important part of keyboard music. In three dissertation recitals, to expand my performing repertoire and to understand dance-related music deeper, I tried to explore many different styles of dances, and compare interpretations between composers. This program note contains information about each pieces’ composers, related dances, and backgrounds. I hope this will be helpful for a future performer who’s seeking an effective dance based keyboard piece.

The Emergence of Spanish Impressionism and its Interaction with French Impressionism in Music at the Turn of the Twentieth Century: selections from the solo and collaborative piano repertoire

French Impressionism is a term which is often used in discussing music originating in France towards the end of the nineteenth century. The term Spanish Impressionism could also be used when discussing Spanish music written by the Spanish composers who studied and worked in Paris at the same time as their French counterparts. After all, Spanish music written during this time exhibits many of the same characteristics and aesthetics as French music of the same era. This dissertation will focus on the French and Spanish composers writing during that exciting time. Musical impressionism emphasizes harmonic effects and rhythmic fluidity in the pursuit of evocative moods, sound pictures of nature or places over the formalism of structure and thematic concerns. The music of this time is highly virtuosic as well as musically demanding, since many of the composers were brilliant pianists. My three dissertation recitals concentrated on works which exhibited the many facets of impressionism as well as the technical and musical challenges. The repertoire included selections by Spanish composers Manuel de Falla, Isaac Albéniz, Enrique Granados, Joaquín Turina, and Joaquín Rodrigo and French composers Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. The recitals were on April 30, 2013, February 23, 2014 and October 11, 2015. They included solo piano works by Granados and Albéniz, vocal works by Debussy, Ravel, de Falla, Turina and Rodrigo, piano trios by Granados and Turina, instrumental duos by Debussy, Ravel and de Falla, and a two-piano work of Debussy transcribed by Ravel. All three recitals were held in Gildenhorn Recital Hall at the University of Maryland and copies of this dissertation and recordings of each recital may be found through the Digital Repository at the University of Maryland (DRUM).

RACHMANINOFF AND MEDTNER: SELECTED WORKS FROM THE SOLO AND COLLABORATIVE PIANO REPERTOIRE

Sergei Rachmaninoff and Nikolai Medtner occupy a special place in the history of Russian music. Both composers were exceptional pianists and left us some of the greatest works in the piano repertoire. Although these composers shared many similarities, and were often compared, their musical languages and views on composition were very different. Unfortunately, Medtner’s music, which Rachmaninoff admired greatly, has remained neglected for several generations of performers and listeners. In my dissertation I will explore the similarities and contrasts in Rachmaninoff’s and Medtner’s music. Through these performances, I hope to encourage other musicians to discover the imaginative power of Medtner’s music. Of course, no such encouragement is needed for Rachmaninoff’s extremely popular music; however, the technical and musical challenges of performing that repertoire are an invaluable part of every pianist’s education. This dissertation project was presented in three recitals which were performed in Gildenhorn Recital Hall at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center of the University of Maryland on May 8, 2014, December 5, 2014 and March 21, 2016. The following pieces comprised the survey of Rachmaninoff music: Vocalise Op. 34, Variations on a Theme of Corelli Op. 42, Piano Concerto No 2 Op. 18, Selected Songs Opp. 4 and 8, and two Moments Musicaux Op. 16 - Nos 3 and 4. The following pieces were included to represent Medtner: Sonata for Violin and Piano Op. 57 in E minor “Epica”, Fairy Tales for solo piano Op. 20 No 1, Op. 26 No 3 and Op. 51 No 1, and Selected Songs Op. 6 and 15. My partners in this project were Lilly Ahn, soprano, Jennifer Lee, violin and Nadezhda Christova, piano. All three recitals can be found in the Digital Repository at the University of Maryland (DRUM).

Summer Sprite for Orchestra

Summer Sprite for Orchestra was completed in December, 2004. The piece originated from a singular encounter with little angels at Chang-Kyung Palace, which is the oldest and the most beautiful palace in Korea, and where the kings of the Chosun Dynasty (1393-1897) lived. This encounter was in the summer of 2002. I certainly could not prove that those angels I met were real. Possibly they were the reflection of drops of water after a sudden shower on that summer day. However, I definitely remember that short, unforgettable, and mysterious moment and the angels' beautiful dance-like celebration. Summer Sprite is based on these special memories and the encounter with the little angels that summer. Summer Sprite consists of 3 movements: "Greeting," "Encounter," and "Celebration." These follow the course of my encounter with the little angels. In Summer Sprite, I wished to describe the image of the angels as well as the progression of greeting, encounter, and celebration with them. The moods that follow in Summer Sprite are by turns lyrical, poetic, fantastic, mysterious, and dream-like. In each movement, I describe the meeting of angels and composer through the use of the soloists -- violin (sometimes viola) and cello. As suggested by the subtitle of the first movement, "Greeting" portrays the moment when a surprised I met the angels. It begins with tam-tam, marimba, harp, and piano and sets a mysterious and dark mood. The second movement, "Encounter," is shorter than the first movement. This movement provides a more tranquil mood as well as more unique timbres resulting from the use of mutes and special instruments (English horn, harp, crotales, suspended cymbal, and celesta). The delicate expression of the percussion is particularly important in establishing the static mood of this movement . The last movement, °?Celebration,°± is bright and energetic. It is also the longest. Here, I require the most delicate changes of dynamics and tempo, the most vigorous harmonies, and the fastest rhythmic figures, as well as the most independent, lyrical, and poetic melodies. For bright orchestral tone color, I used various kinds of percussion such as timpani, xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, cymbals, side drum, tambourine, triangle, and bass drum. This last movement is divided rondo-like into five sections: The first (mm.1-3), second (mm.4 - rehearsal number 1), third (rehearsal numbers 2-4), fourth (rehearsal numbers 5-7), and fifth, (rehearsal numbers 8 -18). To sum up, Summer Sprite describes an unforgettable and mysterious moment in a my life. My intention was to portray this through a concerto-like framework. A model for this would be Brahms°Ø °?Double Concerto°± in A minor, op.102, in which the solo cello stands for my angel and the solo violin (sometimes solo viola) for me.

GABRIEL URBAIN FAURÉ, THE UNSUNG MODERNIST: A PERFORMANCE SURVEY OF SELECTED LATE WORKS WRITTEN AFTER 1892 FOR PIANO SOLO, AND PIANO IN COLLABORATION WITH VIOLIN, VIOLONCELLO, AND VOICE

Gabriel Urbain Fauré lived during one of the most exciting times in music history. Spanning a life of 79 years (1845-1924), he lived through the height of Romanticism and the experimental avant-garde techniques of the early 20th century. In Fauré's music, one can find traces of Chopin, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Debussy and Poulenc. One can even argue that Fauré presages Skryabin and Shostakovich. The late works of Gabriel Fauré, chiefly those composed after 1892, testify to the argument that Fauré holds an important position in the shift from tonal to atonal composition and should be counted among such transitional composers as Gustav Mahler, Claude Debussy, Erik Satie, Richard Strauss, and Ferruccio Busoni. Fauré's unique way of fashioning harmonic impetus of almost purely linear means, resulting in a synthesis of harmonic and melodic devices, led me to craft the term mélodoharmonique. This term refers to a contrapuntally motivated technique of composition, particularly in a secondary layer of musical texture, in which a component of harmonic progression (i.e. arpeggiation, broken chord, etc.) is fused with linear motivic or thematic development. This dissertation seeks to bring to public attention through exploration in lecture and recital format, certain works of Gabriel Fauré, written after 1892. The repertoire will be selected from works for solo piano and piano in collaboration with violin, violoncello, and voice, which support the notion of Fauré as a modernist deserving larger recognition for his influence in the transition to atonal music. The recital repertoire includes the following--Song Cycles: La bonne chanson, opus 61; La chanson d'Ève, opus 95; Le jardin clos, opus 106; Mirages, opus 113; L'horizon chimérique, opus 118; Piano Works: Prelude in G minor opus 103, No. 3; Prelude in E minor opus 103, No. 9; Eleventh Nocturne, opus 104, No.1; Thirteenth Nocturne, opus 119; Chamber Works: Second Violin Sonata, opus 108; First Violoncello Sonata, opus 109; Second Violoncello Sonata, opus 117.

THE EFFECT OF A PROGRAM OF PORTABLE ELECTRONIC PIANO KEYBOARD EXPERIENCE ON THE ACQUISITION OF SIGHT-SINGING SKILL IN THE NOVICE HIGH SCHOOL CHORUS

The problem was to determine whether a method of aural and visual vocal training that included a program of portable electronic piano keyboard experience would be more effective in teaching sight-singing skills to novice high school chorus students than a method that included only aural and visual vocal training. A sub-problem was to determine whether novice chorus students enjoyed playing electronic keyboards in chorus as a reinforcement experience in sight-singing training. Students were randomly assigned to two treatment groups, tested with the Musical Aptitude Profile, Tonal Imagery, part A, and then trained separately. The experimental group sang repetitions of melodic patterns and utilized techniques associated with the Kodály Method while simultaneously playing keyboard. The comparison group received a similar treatment without using keyboards. The students were pre- and post-tested in sight-singing using the Vocal Sight-Reading Inventory. Results of the Analysis of Covariance using MAP scores as the covariate revealed no significant difference (p<.05) between post-test scores of the two groups. Improvement was noted in 96% of students from pre-test to post-test regardless of grouping. The repeated measures ANOVA revealed a significant relationship (p<.006) between aptitude group and post-test score. High aptitude students in both groups were found to benefit more from the training than low aptitude students. High aptitude keyboard group students achieved an average gain score that was 8.67 points higher than the comparison group. Of the total experimental group, 92% enjoyed playing keyboards in chorus. It is recommended that future research be undertaken to study the use of keyboards with advanced high school choruses and with uncertain singers in the high school chorus. Research is also needed to develop graded, valid, and reliable sight-singing tests for use in high school chorus. Techniques of the Kodály Method should be further investigated for use in high school sight-singing training.

Selected Solo Music for Saxophone by United States Composers: 1975-2005

This dissertation project identifies important works for solo saxophone by United States composers between 1975 and 2005. The quality, variety, expressiveness, and difficulty of the solo saxophone repertoire during these thirty years is remarkable and remedies, to some extent, the fact that the saxophone had been a largely neglected instrument in the realm of classical music. In twentieth-century music, including Jazz, the saxophone developed, nevertheless, a unique and significant voice as is evident in the saxophone repertoire that expands immensely in many instrumental settings, including the orchestra, solo works, and a wide variety of chamber ensembles. Historically, the saxophone in the United States first found its niche in Vaudeville, military bands, and jazz ensembles, while in Europe composers such as Debussy, D'Indy, Schmitt, Ibert, Glazounov, Heiden, and Desenclos recognized the potential of the instrument and wrote for it. The saxophone is well suited to the intimacy and unique timbral explorations of the solo literature, but only by the middle twentieth century did the repertoire allow the instrument to flourish into a virtuosic and expressive voice presented by successive generations of performers – Marcel Mule, Sigurd Rascher, Cecil Leeson, Jean-Marie Londeix, Fred Hemke, Eugene Rousseau, and Donald Sinta. The very high artistic level of theses soloists was inspiring and dozens of new compositions were commissioned. Through the 1960’s American composers such as Paul Creston, Leslie Bassett, Henry Cowell, Alec Wilder, and others produced eminent works for the saxophone, to be followed by an enormous output of quality compositions between 1975 and 2005. The works chosen for performance were selected from thousands of compositions between 1975 and 2005 researched for this project. The three recital dates were: April 6, 2005, in Gildenhorn Recital Hall, December 4, 2005, in Ulrich Recital Hall, and April 15, 2006, in Gildenhorn Recital Hall. Recordings of these recitals may be obtained in person or online from the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library of the University of Maryland, College Park.

The Development of Piano Variations in the Romantic Era

The purpose of this study is to illustrate the development of piano variations as a genre during the Romantic era. In order to facilitate this examination of piano variations techniques, a brief look at the types of variation procedures used by composers of previous eras will assist in understanding developments that later occurred in the Romantic period. Throughout the Baroque era, composers preferred the fured-bass, fixed-melody, and harmonic forms of variation. The crowning achievement of Baroque keyboard music, Bach's Goldberg Variations (1725), contains examples of the "constantharmonic" method in its collection of 30 variations, each of which maintains both the bass and harmonic structure of the themes. While most composers of the classical period favored the "melodic-outline" form of variation, Haydn developed hybrid variation procedure that exhibits recurrence of material rather than repetition, alternating variation (ABABA), rondo variation (ABACA), and ternary variation (ABA). Haydn, Mozart and early Beethoven variations also exhibit simpler textures than do their Baroque predecessors. The nineteenth century produced numerous compositions that display variation techniques, some based on such older, classical models as melodic-outline variation and hybrid variation, others in the style of the character variation or fiee variation. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Beethoven and Schubert used such classical variation techmques as melodic-outline variations and hybrid variations. Beethoven's late sonatas displayed such new means of expression as variation, fugue, and dramatic recitatives. The third movement of the Sonata in E major, Op. 109 (1820) has a theme and six variations of the melodic-outline type. Johannes Brahms was particularly fond of composing variations for piano. Among the best known examples of formal-outline variations are those found in the Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Handel, Op. 24 (1861). Character variations, in which styles are characterized by the retention and variability of particular elements, also flourished during the Romantic period. Cesar Franck's Variations Symphoniques (1885) are, perhaps, among the most important examples of free variations. This composition is a one-movement work consisting of three sections, Introduction, Variations, and Finale (all movements played "attaca"). This work combines two independent classical formal structures, the concerto and the variation.

TALLY HORN! ECHOES OF HOOFBEATS AND HAUNTS: RECORDED SELECTIONS FOR HORN AND PIANO

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the European hunting horn was an instrument associated with the thrill of the chase, rustic scenes, and the pageantry of royal hunts. The sound of this horn and the music that evolved from its heritage would inspire composers writing for the modern horn. TALLY HOrn! Echoes of Hoofbeats and Haunts: Recorded Selections for Horn and Piano are two compact discs of works for horn and piano as well as solo horn reflecting this association with the hunt and include additional works of expressive contrast – lyrical pieces and nocturnes. Nine of the pieces reflect the modern horn’s beginnings and they are Abbot’s Alla Caccia, Berge’s Horn-Lokk, Boutry’s Chassacor, Bozza’s En Fôret, Büsser’s La Chasse de St. Hubert, Pessard’s In the Forest, Piantoni’s Air de Chasse, Schmid’s Im Tiefsten Walde, and Vinter’s Hunter’s Moon. By contrast, three of the selections, Gliére’s Nocturne, Strauss’ Nocturno, and Van Ecchaute’s Nachtpoëma are nocturnes that showcase the expressive quality of the horn. In addition, Bush’s Autumn Poem, Bacon’s Song After the Rain, and Webber’s Summer Pastures are included for their lyric qualities and evocations of nature. The largest work of the project is John Williams’s Concerto for Horn. Its five movements feature both hunting horn traits and expressive qualities. Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez and Grace Cho were the two pianists engaged for the recording. The recording engineer was Edward Kelly. The producer was Carlos Rodriquez. The pieces were recorded at the Spencerville Seventh-day Adventist Church sanctuary in Spencerville, Maryland between November 2010 and February 2011.

VINTAGE MODERNISM: EARLY EXPERIMENTALIST MUSIC FOR VIOLIN IN THE UNITED STATES

The historical narrative of concert music in the early twentieth century has focused a great deal on the influence of European composers as well as the American composers who went to Europe to study. Often overlooked, however, is the influence of an entire generation of composers working in the United States during that time period. These artists experimented with polyrhythm, polytonality, dissonant counterpoint, and a whole host of other musical techniques in order to express their perceptions of a changing world. Over the years, the new techniques became associated with various movements including futurism, experimentalism and ultramodernism. Regardless of label, these composers were some of the first to introduce the new musical styles to the listening public.The recitals that make up this dissertation explore the sound world of experimentalist composers working in the United States during the early twentieth century. Serving as the foundation of these recitals are all four of the violin sonatas by Charles Ives, the “grandfather” of modernist music whose financial support helped to foster a whole generation of American composers. Also prominently featured is the music of Henry Cowell. His Suite for Violin and Piano, Mosaic Quartet (String Quartet No. 3), and Quartet Euphometric demonstrate the composer's use of cluster tones, dissonant counterpoint, polymeter, and indeterminate form. Additional works by George Antheil, Leo Ornstein, Wallingford Riegger, Dane Rudhyar, Carl Ruggles, and Ruth Crawford (Seeger) highlight other approaches taken by members of the ultra-modernist movement. Rounding out the repertoire for these recitals are works by Johanna Beyer and Conlon Nancarrow, both of whom either worked with or were influenced by Cowell in some way. All of the pieces selected date roughly from 1900 to the mid 1930's. Thus, the purpose of these recitals is not to provide a comprehensive overview of each composer's development, but rather to examine the influence and interconnections of a specific cross-section of the musical landscape.

IMPROMPTU: FROM PUBLISHER'S IMPULSE TO AN ESTABLISHED SMALL­ SCALE GENRE IN PIANO LITERATURE

The word 'impromptu' began to appear in music literature in the early 19th century, specifically as title for a relatively short composition written for solo piano. The first impromptus appear to have been named so by the publishers. However, the composers themselves soon embraced the title to indicate, for the most part, fairly short character pieces. Impromptus do not follow any specific structural pattern, although many are cast in ternary form. The formal design ranges from strict compound ternary in the early impromptus to through-composed and variation forms. The peak of impromptu's popularity undoubtedly came during the middle and late19th century. However, they are still being composed today, albeit much less frequently. Although there have been many variants of impromptus in relation to formal design and harmonic language over the years, the essence of impromptu remains the same: it is still a short character piece with a general feeling of spontaneity. Overall, impromptus may be categorized into several different groups: some appear as part of a larger cycle, such as Dvorak's G minor Impromptu from his Piano Pieces, B. 110; many others use an element of an additional genre that enhances the character ofthe impromptu, such as Liszt's Valse-Impromptu and Antonio Bibalo's Tango Impromptu; yet another group consists of works based on opera themes, such as Liszt's Impromptu Brillant sur des themes de Rossini et Spontini and Czerny's Impromptus et variations sur Oberon, Op. 134. My recording project includes well-known impromptus, such as Schubert's Op. 142 and the four by Chopin, as well as lesser known works that have not been performed or recorded often. There are four impromptus that have been recorded here for the first time, including those written by Leopold Godowsky, Antonio Bibalo, Altin Volaj, and Nikolay Mazhara. I personally requested the two last named composers to contribute impromptus to this project. My selection represents works by twenty composers and reflects the different types of impromptus that have been encountered through almost three hundred years of the genre's existence, from approximately 1817 (VoriSek) to 2008 (Volaj and Mazhara).