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.

STORYTELLING, EMOTION UNDERSTANDING, AND KINDERGARTNERS’ SOCIAL COMPETENCE

Interpreting others’ emotions is theoretically foundational for children’s social competence, yet little research contrasts Emotion Understanding (EU) types against their theoretical correlates. This study investigated kindergartners’ situationistic EU (attributing emotions based on external events) and mentalistic EU (attributing emotions from others’ mental states) in relation to Theory of Mind (ToM) and social skills, as rated by parents and teachers. The EU measures were expected to have low associations with one another and to relate differently to ToM and select social skills. Mentalistic EU was expected to be an important predictor of teacher-rated social skills. Results supported the hypothesis that mentalistic EU and situationistic EU are distinct constructs. However, both relate to ToM. Furthermore, while ToM and situationistic EU variables were included in the regression model, only vocabulary and mentalistic EU were significant predictors for teacher-rated social skills. Results indicate the importance of mentalistic EU in aspects of kindergartners’ social competence.