VIOLA MUSIC FROM THE AMERICAS: MUSIC FROM CANADA, UNITED STATES, CUBA, VENEZUELA, MEXICO, AND BRAZIL

The enthusiasm towards writing music for the viola that flourished in the early 1900’s thanks to the efforts of a number of twentieth-century violists and composers rapidly spilled over to North and South America. Viola works by American and Canadian composers have already become cornerstones of the viola repertoire worldwide. On the other hand, compositions from other parts of the American continent remain lesser known outside of their country of origin. This is due in part to the less developed publishing and recording industry in these countries which makes it difficult for performers and programmers from other countries to buy or rent performing materials. As a violist born and trained in Venezuela, performing works by important Latin American composers to new audiences is deeply important to me. This dissertation was completed by performing selected works by Canadian, American, Cuban, Mexican, Brazilian, and Venezuelan composers. Composers from these countries have mixed their rich musical traditions with modern compositional techniques, creating original works that have greatly enriched the viola repertoire. This eclectic mixture of styles makes the music from Latin American composers not only very different from that of American and Canadian composers, but also very different from those of their neighboring countries. Through my three dissertation recitals, I intend to share this music with new audiences and inspire other violists to become familiar with this repertoire. The first recital includes compositions by American composers George Rochberg (1918-2015), Elliott Carter (1908-2012), and Alan Shulman (1915-2002) and Canadian composer Elizabeth Raum (b. 1945). The second recital includes works by Cuban composers Cesar Orozco (b. 1980), and Keyla Orozco (b. 1969), Venezuelan composers Aldemaro Romero (1928-2007) and Modesta Bor (1926-1998), and Venezuelan-Uruguayan composer Efrain Oscher (b. 1974). The third recital includes works by Mexican composers Carlos Chavez (1899-1978), José Pablo Moncayo (1912-1958) and Manuel M Ponce (1882-1948), and Brazilian composers Francisco Mignone (1897-1986) and Brenno Blauth (1931-1993). This music represents a bouquet of a distinctive mixture of styles from different parts of the American continent. Recordings of all three recitals can be accessed at the University of Maryland Hornabake Library.

A Summary of Archaeological Excavations from 1983-1986 at the Green Family Print Shop, 18AP29, Annapolis, Maryland

18AP29, the Green Family Printshop, also known as the Jonas Green site, was excavated from 1983 to 1986 by Archaeology in Annapolis and Historic Annapolis Foundation. The site is not only the home of a significant figure in colonial Maryland but is also the location of one of the first colonial printing operations in Maryland. This site represents an important pre-industrial business in Annapolis. While this domestic site is complicated and rich, one of the most fascinating aspect of 18AP29 is the discovery of a large quantity of printers' type. Extensive analysis of the printers' type and documentary research on one of the print shop's products, the colonial newspaper, the Maryland Gazette, provides insights into the print culture which was developing during the 18th and 19th centuries. This report summarizes the stratigraphic analysis, minimum vessel counts, and faunal analysis. It provides some description of the printers' type.

THE PIANO MUSIC OF ROBERT SCHUMANN (1810-1856) AND JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833- 1897): A SURVEY OF CONCERTI, VARIATIONS, AND CHARACTER PIECES

Robert Schumann (1810-1856) and Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), in some ways Robert Schumann's artistic descendant, are the most important and representative German piano composers during the Romantic period. Schumann was already a mature and established musician in 1853 when he first met the young Brahms and recognized his talents, an encounter that had a long-lasting affect on the lives and careers of both men. After Schumann’s mental breakdown and death, Brahms maintained his admiration of Schumann’s music and preserved an intimate relationship with Clara Schumann. In spite of the personal and musical closeness of the two men, Schumann’s music is stylistically distinct from that of Brahms. Brahms followed traditions from Baroque and Classical music, and avoided using images and expressive titles in his music. Brahms extraordinarily intermingled earlier musical forms with multicolored tones of German Romanticism. In contrast, Schumann saw himself as a radical composer devoted to personal emotionalism and spontaneity. He favored programmatic titles for his character pieces and extra-musical references in his music. While developing their own musical styles as German Romantic composers, Schumann and Brahms both utilized the piano as a resourceful tool for self-realization and compositional development. To investigate and compare the main characteristics of Schumann and Brahms’s piano music, I looked at three genres. First, in the category of the piano concerto, I chose two major Romantic works, Schumann’s A minor concerto and Brahms’s B-flat major concerto. Second, for the category of piano variations I included two sets by Brahms because the variation framework was such an important vehicle for him to express his musical thoughts. Schumann’s unique motivic approach to variation is displayed vividly in his character-piece cycle Carnaval. Third, the category of the character piece, perhaps the favorite medium of Romantic expression at the piano, is shown by Schumann’s Papillons and Brahms’s sets of pieces Op.118 and Op.119. This performance dissertation consists of three recitals performed in the Gildenhorn Recital Hall at the University of Maryland, College Park. These recitals are documented on compact disc recordings that are housed within the University of Maryland Library System.

SELECTED CHARACTER PIECES OF FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN (1810-1849), FRANZ LISZT (1811-1886) AND JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897)

During the 19th century, Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849), Franz Liszt (1811- 1886), and Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) were among the most recognized composers of character pieces. Their compositions have been considered a significant milestone in piano literature. Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) did not give descriptive titles to his character pieces. He grouped them into several genres such as Mazurkas, Polonaises. His Mazurkas and Polonaises are influenced by Polish dance music and inspired by the polish national idiom. Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was influenced in many ways by Chopin, and adopted Chopin’s lyricism, melodic style, and tempo rubato. However, Liszt frequently drew on non-musical subjects (e.g., art, literature) for inspiration. “Harmonies poétiques et religieuses” and “Années de pèlerinage” are especially representative of character pieces in which poetic and pictorial imagination are reflected. Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was a conservative traditionalist, synthesizing Romantic expression and Classical tradition remarkably well. Like Chopin, Brahms avoided using programmatic titles for his works. The titles of Brahms’ short character pieces are often taken from traditional lyrical or dramatic genres such as ballade, rhapsody and scherzo. Because of his conservatism, Brahms was considered the main rival of Liszt in the Romantic Period. Brahms character pieces in his third period (e.g., Scherzo Op.4, Ballades of Op.10, and Rhapsodies of Op.79) are concise and focused. The form of Brahms’ character pieces is mostly simple ternary (ABA), and his style is introspective and lyrical. Through this recording project, I was able to get a better understanding of the styles of Chopin, Brahms and Liszt through their character pieces. This recording dissertation consists of two CDs recorded in the Dekelboum Concert Hall at the University of Maryland, College Park. These recordings are documented on compact disc recordings that are housed within the University of Maryland Library System.