MUSICAL EXOTICISM EXPLORED IN PIANO WORKS FROM THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY THROUGH THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY

Musical exoticism is the evocation of a culture different from that of the composer. It occurs anytime a composer tries to conjure up the music of a country not his own. Although there have been studies of exoticism in the piano works of an individual composer, namely Debussy, there has not been a comprehensive study of musical exoticism in the piano literature as a whole. Upon chronological examination of the piano repertoire, general trends exhibiting exoticism become evident. The first general trend is the emergence of the Turkish style (alia turca) in the eighteenth century. Turkish style soon transmuted to the Hungarian-Gypsy style (all 'ongarese or style hongrois). [In Beethoven's Op. 129, it is alia ingharese.] Composers often alternated between the two styles even in the same composition. By the late nineteenth century, style hongrois was firmly entrenched in the musical language of Austro-German composers, as seen in the works of Brahms. In the nineteenth century, composers turned to the Middle East, North Africa and Spain for inspiration. In particular are several compositions emulating Spanish dance music, culminating in the Spanish works of Debussy and Ravel. The gamelans from Indonesia and objects from the Far East of Japan and China, brought by advances in trade and transportation, captivated the imagination of composers at the turn of the twentieth century. Also in the early twentieth century, composers tried emulating dance and jazz music coming from the Americas, such as the cakewalk, minstrelsy, and the blues. One sees the ever widening sphere of exotic inspiration for western music composers: from the Turkish invasions to the traveling Gypsies of Hungary; to the captivating dance rhythms, soulful cante jondo sections, and guitar flourishes of Spain; expanding further to the far reaches of Asia and the jazzy rhythms of the Americas. This performance dissertation consists of three recitals presented at the University of Maryland, and is documented on compact disc recordings which are housed within the University of Maryland Library System. The recordings present the music of Balakirev, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Debussy, Haydn, Hummel, Milhaud, Moszkowski, Mozart, Ravel, and Schubert.

FLUTE MUSIC FROM THE MID-TWENTIETH CENTURY BY THREE FRENCH COMPOSERS: JEAN-MICHEL DAMASE, ANDRE JOLIVET, AND HENRI TOMASI

Jean-Michel Damase (b.1928), Andre Jolivet (1905-1974), and Henri Tomasi (1901-1971) are three prominent French composers ofthe twentieth century. Tomasi won the Prix de Rome in 1927, and Damase won the Prix de Rome in 1947. All three composers were educated and lived in Paris around the same period; however, their musical styles are quite distinct. Most of Jolivet's compositions for flute are well known and are often selected as international competition repertoire. The compositions for flute by Damase and Tomasi are not as recognized as those of Jolivet, and most of their works for flute still have not been commercially recorded. The purpose of this dissertation is to provide a more comprehensive guide to the compositions for flute by Damase, Jolivet and Tomasi, and, in addition, to make the works ofDamase and Tomasi familiar to flutists. This dissertation will focus on the compositions ofDamase, Jolivet, and Tomasi for flute alone and those for flute and piano, written between 1928 and 1971 (1928 is the year Damase was born, and 1971 is the year that Tomasi died). Damase continues French romanticism, and his music is always playful, elegant, and accessible with rhythmic and harmonic surprises, but with an underlying complexity. His compositions for flute include three concertos, two double concertos, one flute solo work, and nine works for flute and piano. Jolivet's compositions make use of ancient rituals, incantations, and spirituality, as well as repeated phrases and single notes, irregular rhythmic patterns, dissonant effects, and rhythmic drive. He composed one flute concerto, three works for flute solo, and four works for flute and piano. Tomasi's compositions also continue French romanticism and contain melodies which often seem to tell a story, and which are not only full of flourishes and vitality, but are also delicate, colorful, and romantic. Virtuosic technical demand is another characteristic of his style. Tomasi composed three flute concertos, three works for solo flute, and one work for flute and piano. Appendix I is a list of the compositions for flute by Damase, Jolivet, and Tomasi, and Appendix II is a discography of their works.

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).

STUDIES AND PERFORMANCES OF TRANSCRIPTIONS FOR CELLO FROM THE VIOLIN REPERTOIRE

The potential of the violoncello as a solo instrument was recognized and supported by cellists such as Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805), Luis Duport (1749-1819), Auguste Franchomme (1808-1884), and Alfredo Piatti (1822-1901). These pioneers composed technically demanding etudes, exercises, and caprices for the cello that were comparable to those already present in the violin literature. Even so, in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, considerably fewer substantial works were brought forth for the cello as compared with the violin. Consequently, many cellists such as Luigi Silva (1903-1961), Gregor Piatigorsky (1903-1976), Pierre Fournier (1906-1986), and Janos Starker (b. 1924) selected notable pieces from the violin repertoire and transcribed these for the cello. Some composers themselves actually adapted for the cello their own works originally written for the violin. Johannes Brahms with his Violin Sonata Op. 78, Igor Stravinsky with his Suite Italienne, and Béla Bartók with his First Rhapsody all belong to this category. Adaptations such as these further raised awareness among composers and performers of the possibilities of the cello as an independent and expressive instrument. Thus, many composers from the early 1900s to the present were encouraged to write increasing numbers of more soloistic and demanding works for cello. Herein, I explore the repertoire of cello transcriptions in order to analyze the differences between the original and transcribed versions and the challenges found therein. The performer may attempt to recreate the effect originally intended for the violin or, more daringly, may strive to search for alternate presentations of the music more suitable and expressive of the cello's own character. The project includes two recitals of the following transcribed works presented at the University of Maryland College Park, School of Music: Sonata in A by César Franck, transcribed by Jules Delsart, Variations on a Theme from Rossini by Nicolo Paganini, transcribed by Fournier, Suite Italienne by Igor Stravinsky, transcribed with the help of Piatigorsky, Sonatina Op. 137, No. 1 by Franz Schubert, transcribed by Starker, First Rhapsody by Béla Bartók and Sonata, Op. 108 by Johannes Brahms, transcribed by Hsiao-mei Sun.

Selected Works from Character Pieces in the 19th - Early 20th Centuries

During the Romantic Era, the character piece flourished and became one of the most important genres. Even though character pieces existed as early as the eighteenth century, it was not until the nineteenth century that Romantic Era literary figures discovered that music was as powerful as any other artistic medium in expressing unspeakable emotions. The character piece allowed composers to express a definite mood, a programmatic idea, or a pictorial association. Character pieces often have titles that suggest briehess or casualness, such as a Beethoven Bagatelle, a Schubert Impromptu or Moment musicaux. Others have expressive programmatic titles, such as Schumann's Kreisleriana and Liszt's Apres une lecture de Dante. Ths dissertation was based on selected works from the nineteenth century and early-twentieth century in order to demonstrate the great variety of musical thought and stylistic development. I have examined composers from different countries and of different nationalities to establish what and how they contributed to the remarkable diversity in this genre. The selected works allowed for very personal programs. These concerts, in addition to being good combinations of pieces, are representative of the genre. The first program consisted of Chopin's Preludes, Op. 28; three pieces from Debussy7s Images Books I and 11; and Liszt7s Apres une lecture de Dante. The second program included seven of Beethoven's Bagatelles, Op. 33; Schumann's Kinderscenen, Op. 15; Poulenc's Mouvements perpetuels and Intermezzo in A-jlat Major; Faure7s Nocturne in B Major, Op. 33, No. 2 and Impromptu No. 2 in F Minor; three of Mompou's Canciones y Danzas; four of Villa-Lobos Prole do bebe Suite No. 1; and Albkniz's Navarra. The third and final program comprised four selections from Rachrnaninoff s Moment musicaux, Op. 16; five pieces from Grieg's Lyric Pieces; and Arensky7s Suite No. 1 for Two Pianos and Suite No. 2 for Two Pianos. I wanted to bring out nuances specific to the individual composers and show how their character pieces helped in shaping the Romantic Era. Even in the twenty-first century, an era of highly specialized musical tastes, the popularity and accessibility of character pieces stand out.

CIRQUE DE LA VOIX: VOCAL PERFORMANCES FOR THE 21st CENTURY AUDIENCE

This dissertation addresses the growing need to entice people to attend a classical solo vocal recital by incorporating thematic programming, multi-media presentations, collaborations and innovative marketing. It comprises four programs that use the above tactics, creating live performances of classical vocal music that appeal to the attention deficient 21st-century audience. Each program focuses on repertoire appropriate for the male alto voice and includes elements of spoken word, visual imagery and for movement through collaborations with actors, singers, dancers, designers and visual artists. Program one (March 1, 2004), La Voix Humaine: The Life of an Englishwoman in Music, Poetry, & Art, outlines the life of a fictitious Englishwoman through a self-composed narration, spoken by an actress, a Power Point presentation of visual art by 20th-century English artists and musical commentary provided by the collaboration of a vocalist and a pianist. Program two (October 15, 2004), La Voix Thfrmatique: Anima - Music that Moves, is a program of pieces ranging from the 14th- to the 20th-centuries of which half are choreographed by members of the University of Maryland Dance Department. Program three is a lecture recital entitled L 'Haute Voix: Identifying the High Male Voice and Appropriate Repertoire which is presented in collaboration with three singers, a pianist, a harpsichordist and a cellist. Program four, La Voix Dramatique: Opera Roles for the Countertenor Voice, comprises performances of George Frederic Handel's Giulio Cesare in Egitto (1724) in collaboration with the Maryland Opera Studio and the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center (Leon Major, director; Kenneth Merrill, conductor). There are two performances each of the title role, Cesare (April 15 & 17, 2005), and his nemesis, Tolomeo (April 21 & 23,2005). All programs are documented in a digital audio format available on compact disc and are accompanied by program notes also available in digital format. Programs two and four are also documented in digital video format available on digital video disc.

FROM THE AETHIOPICA TO THE RENAISSANCE: RECOVERING A STAGE TRADITION OF POSITIVE REPRESENTATION OF AFRICANS IN EARLY MODERN ENGLAND

This dissertation looks at the connection between Heliodorus's fifth-century prose romance, An Aethiopian History, certain Renaissance texts, and how these texts helped influence an alternate representation of Africans in the early modern world. Through their portrayals of Africans, early modern English playwrights frequently give the impression that Africans, especially black Africans, were people without accomplishments, without culture. Previously, however, this was not the case. Africans were depicted with dignity, as a tradition existed for this kind of representation--and Renaissance Europe had long been acquainted with the achievements of Africans, dating back to antiquity. As the source of several lost plays, the Aethiopica is instrumental in dramatizing Africans favorably, especially on the early modern stage, and helped shape a stage tradition that runs alongside the stereotyping of Africans. This Heliodoran tradition can be seen in works of Greene, Heywood, Jonson, Shakespeare, and others in the motifs of crosscultural and transracial romance, male and female chastity, racial metamorphosis, lost or abandoned babies, wandering heroes, and bold heroines. In Jonson's Masque of Blackness and Masque of Beauty, I establish a connection between these two masques and Heliodorus's Aethiopica and argue for a Heliodoran stage tradition implicit in both masques through the conceit of blanching. In The English Moore, I explore how Richard Brome uses the Heliodoran and Jonsonian materials to create a negative quality of blackness that participates in the dramatic tradition of the degenerate African on the English Renaissance stage. With Othello, I contend that it is a drama that can be seen in the Heliodoran tradition by stressing certain motifs found in the play that derives from the Aethiopica. Reading Othello this way provides us with a more layered and historicized interpretation of Shakespeare's protagonists. Othello's nationality and faith make his exalted position in Venice and the Venetian army credible and logical. His nobility and heroic status become more sharply defined, giving us a fuller understanding of the emphasis he places on chastity--both for himself and for Desdemona. Instead of a traditional, compliant, and submissive Desdemona, a courageous, resourceful, witty, and pure heroine emerges--one who lives by the dictates of her conscience than by the constraints of societal norms. Recovering the tradition of positive portrayal of Africans that originated from the Aethiopica necessitated an examination of eleven plays that I contend helped to frame the dramatic tradition under investigation. Six of these plays are continental dramas, and five are English. Although three of the English plays are lost and the other two are seventeenth-century dramas, their titles and names of their protagonists, like those of the six extant continental plays, share the names of Heliodorus's hero and heroine, making an exploration of the continental plays imperative to facilitate their use as paradigms in reconstructing the three lost English plays. These continental dramas show that plays whose titles derive from the Aethiopica itself or reflect the names of its major characters follow Heliodorus's text closely, enabling an investigation of the Heliodoran tradition on the early modern English stage. Recovering the Heliodoran tradition adds to the exploration of racial politics and the understanding of the dramatic tradition that constrained and enabled Renaissance playwrights' representation of race and gender.

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).

THE MUSIC PERFORMED FOR THE SACRIFICIAL RITE AT THE ROYAL ANCESTRAL SHRINE OF THE CHOSŎN DYNASTY (1392–1910): INDIVIDUAL AGENCY AND DISCOURSE ON MUSIC EXPRESSED IN THE EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY KOREAN ENCYCLOPEDIA _TONGGUK MUNHŎN PIGO_ (1770)

In 1964, the South Korean government designated the music for the sacrificial rite at the Royal Ancestral Shrine (Chongmyo) as Intangible Cultural Property No. 1, and in 2001 UNESCO awarded the rite and music a place in the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The Royal Ancestral Shine sacrificial rite and music together have long been an admired symbol of Korean cultural history, and they are currently performed annually and publicly in an abridged form. While the significance of the modern version of the music mainly rests on the claimed authenticity and continuity of the tradition since the fifteenth century, scholarly inquiry sheds further light on contextual issues such as nationalism, identity, and modernity in the post-colonial era (after 1945), as well as providing additional insights into the music. This dissertation focuses on the Royal Ancestral Shrine’s musical past as reflected in documentary sources, especially those compiled in the eighteenth century during the Chosŏn dynasty (1392–1910). In particular, the substantial music section of an encyclopedic work, Tongguk Munhŏn pigo (Encyclopedia of Documents and Institutions of the East Kingdom, 1770), mainly compiled by a government official, Sŏ Myŏngŭng (1716–1787), provides a considerable amount of information on not only the music and sacrificial rite program, but also on eighteenth-century and earlier concerns about them, as discussed by the kings and ministers at the Chosŏn royal court. After detailed examination of various relevant documentary sources on the historical, social and political contexts, I investigate the various discourses on music and ritual practices. I then focus on Sŏ Myŏngŭng’s familial background, his writings on music prior to the compilation of the encyclopedia, and the corresponding content in the encyclopedia. I argue that Sŏ successfully converted the music section of the encyclopedia from a straightforward scholarly reference work to a space for publishing his own research on and interpretation of the musical past, illustrating what he considered to be the inappropriateness of the existing music for the sacrificial rite at the Royal Ancestral Shrine in the later eighteenth century.

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.