SELECTED AMERICAN VIOLIN WORKS AND THEIR EUROPEAN CONTEXT

For my dissertation, I did a study and performance of American violin works by Charles Ives, Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, and John Corigliano, along with contemporaneous European works by Paul Hindemith, Bela Bartok, Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, and Francis Poulenc. The selected American violin works display the development of a distinctively American style and cover a significant formative period (1914-1963) of American classical music. I intend that the European works form a backdrop for setting in relief any distinctly American qualities possessed by the American works. This is because they cover a similar time period and have significant stylistic affinities and shared influences. My topic stems from a question, "What defines the American Sound?" I attempted to find the answer by looking at the time when American composers consciously searched for their identities, and declared their music to be distinctly American. I found that those distinctive qualities stemmed from three sources: folk music, jazz and hymns. Ives and Copland can be viewed as American in content for their inclusion of such elements, while Bernstein and Corigliano can also be considered as "ideologically American" for their adventurous and eclectic spirit. The simplicity derived from singing a hymn or crooning a popular song; the freedom inspired by jazz; the optimism of accepting all possibilities-these elements inform the common spirit that I found in the music of these four American composers. FIRST RECITAL Sonatafor Violin Solo Op.3112 (1924), Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) Suite Italiennefor Violin and Piano (1932), Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) Sonatafor Violin and Piano (1963), John Corigliano (b.1938) SECOND RECITAL Second Sonatafor Violin and Piano (1914-17), Charles Ives (1874-1954) First Rhapsody for Violin and Piano (1928), Bela Bart6k (1881-1971) Violin Sonata No.1 infminor (1938-46), Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) THIRD RECITAL Nocturne for Violin and Piano (1926), Aaron Copland (1900-1990)Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 119 (1942-3, rev.1949), Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)Serenade (after Plato's "Symposium'') (1954) by Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) The pianists were Sun Ha Yoon (Bart6k) and Grace Eunae Cho (all other repertoire).

Report on Archaeological Investigations Conducted at the St. Mary's Site (18AP45), 107 Duke of Gloucester Street, Annapolis, Maryland, 1987-1990

In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Archaeology in Annapolis was invited to excavate the Carroll House and garden on 107 Duke of Gloucester Street in Annapolis, Maryland. The site, named the St. Mary's Site (18AP45) for the Catholic church on the property, is currently owned by the Redemptorists, a Roman Catholic congregation of priests and brothers who have occupied the site since 1852. Prior to the Redemptorists' tenure, the site was owned by the Carroll family from 1701-1852 and is perhaps best known as the home of Charles Carroll of Carrollton (1737-1832), signer of the Declaration of Independence. Excavations at the site were conducted during four consecutive summer seasons from 1987-1990. The investigation focused on three research questions. The first line of inquiry were questions surrounding the dating, architectural configuration, and artifact deposits of the "frame house," a structure adjoining the west wall of the brick Carroll House via a "passage" and later a three story addition. The frame house was partially demolished in the mid-nineteenth century but the construction was thought to pre-date the brick portion of the house. The second research question was spurred by documentary research which indicated that the property might have been the location of Proctor's Tavern, a late 17th-century tavern which served as the meeting place of the Maryland Provincial Assembly. Archaeological testing hoped to determine its location and, if found, investigate Annapolis' early Euro-American occupation. The third research question focused on the landscape of the site as it was shaped by its occupants over the past three hundred years. The research questions included investigating the stratigraphy, geometry, and architectural and planting features of Charles Carroll of Carrollton's terraced garden built during the 1770s, and investigating the changes to the landscape made by the Redemptorists in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. While no structural evidence associated with Proctor’s Tavern was uncovered during limited excavations along Spa Creek, the historic shore of Spa Creek was identified, buried beneath deep fill deposits laid down during construction of the Carroll Garden. Features and deposits associated with this period likely remain intact in a waterlogged environment along the southeastern sea wall at the St. Mary’s Site. Evidence of extensive earth moving by Carroll is present in the garden and was identified during excavation and coring. This strongly suggests that the garden landscape visible at the St. Mary’s Site is the intact Carroll Garden, which survives beneath contemporary and late nineteenth century strata. The extant surviving garden should be considered highly sensitive to ground-disturbing activities, and is also highly significant considering demonstrable associations with the Carroll family. Other garden-related features were also discovered, including planting holes, and a brick pavilion or parapet located along Spa Creek to the south of the site. The Duke of Gloucester Street wall was shown to be associated with the Carroll occupation of the site. Finally, intensive archaeological research was directed at the vicinity of a frame house constructed and occupied by the Carrolls to the east of the existing brick house, which was replaced by the Redemptorists in the nineteenth century with a greenhouse. These superimposed buildings were documented in detail and remain highly significant features at the St. Mary’s Site.

THE DISTINCTIVE VOICE OF PAUL HINDEMITH THROUGH THE VIOLA

Paul Hindemith has made numerous contributions to the viola, both as a composer and performer. As a composer, he has written 7 sonatas for the viola, as well as a number of chamber and orchestral works which feature the viola as a solo instrument. As a violist, Hindemith was one of the only virtuoso soloists of his lifetime, and premiered virtually all of his solo compositions. Many of his pieces remain an integral part of the viola repertoire; Der Schwanendreher is one of the three major Twentieth-Century concertos for the viola. While some of his pieces are well-known, there are many others which are not performed with much frequency, due in part to the sheer output of this prolific composer. In this dissertation project, I performed Hindemith's compositions for the viola as a solo instrument. Consideration was given to exclusively performing his 4 solo sonatas and 3 sonatas for viola and piano. His only viola duet, his only non-sonata written for viola and piano, and 2 of his viola concertos (Der Schwanendreher and Trauermusik) were included in this dissertation project to provide contrast and supplement the three recital programs. Through this dissertation project I have been able to gain a deeper understanding of the complex language of Hindemith and interpret his music in an approach that is accessible to both the performer and the audience. All performances took place in the Gildenhom Recital Hall and Ulrich Recital Hall at the University of Maryland. All collaborations with piano were performed with Eliza Ching. The Duett for Viola and Violoncello was performed with Daniel Shomper, and the assisting musicians performing in the Trauermusik were Joel Ciaccio, Daniel Sender, Daniel Shomper, Cassandra Stephenson and Dana Weiderhold.

The Many Faces of Paul Hindemith

The purpose of this project is to present selected violin pieces by Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) against a backdrop of the diverse styles and traditions that he integrated in his music. For this dissertation project, selected violin sonatas by Hindemith were performed in three recitals alongside pieces by other German and Austro-German composers. These recitals were also recorded for archival purposes. The first recital, performed with pianist David Ballena on December 10, 2005, in Gildenhorn Recital Hall at the University of Maryland, College Park, included Violin Sonata Op.11, No. 1 (1918) by Paul Hindemith, Sonatina in D Major, Op. 137 (1816) by Franz Schubert, and Sonata in E-flat Major, Op.18 (1887) by Richard Strauss. The second recital, performed with pianist David Ballena on May 9, 2006, in Gildenhorn Recital Hall at the University of Maryland, included Sonata in E Minor, KV 304 (1778) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata in E (1935) by Paul Hindemith, Romance for Violin and Orchestra No.1 in G Major (1800-1802) by Ludwig Van Beethoven, and Sonata for Violin and Piano in A minor, Op. 105 (1851) by Robert Schumann. The third recital, performed with David Ballena and Kai-Ching Chang on November 10, 2006 in Ulrich Recital Hall at the University of Maryland, included Violin Sonata Op.12 No.1 in D Major (1798) by Ludwig Van Beethoven, Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord No.4 in C Minor BWV 1017 (1720) by J.S. Bach, and Violin Sonata Op.11 No.2 (1918) by Paul Hindemith. For each of my dissertation recitals, I picked a piece by Hindemith as the core of the program then picked pieces by other composers that have similar key, similar texture, same number of movements or similar feeling to complete my program. Although his pieces used some classical methods of composition, he added his own distinct style: extension of chromaticism; his prominent use of interval of the fourth; his chromatic alteration of diatonic scale degrees; and his non-traditional cadences. Hindemith left behind a legacy of multi-dimensional, and innovative music capable of expressing both the old and the new aesthetics.