SELECTED VARIATIONS BY COMPOSERS IN GERMANY AND FRANCE

The Haward of Dictionary of Music (1983), defines variation as "a technique modifying a given musical idea." From the Baroque period on, the form and the techniques of variation were developed and enriched in Germany and France. Therefore, I presented the works of composers from these two nations. Even though there was a vast number of possibilities, I wanted to be scholastically fair and interesting in making my selections by choosing well-known pieces along with lesser-known ones. Haydn's well-known Variations in F minor consist of two sets of double variations which break into an improvisation fantasy. The first movement of Beethoven Sonata in A flat major, Op. 26, is a set of five variations on the composer's original theme. The variations are positioned in the first movement instead of Sonata-Allegro form. In 1861 Brahrns composed the Variations and Fugue, Op. 24, on the theme of Handel. Brahms displays a wealth of rhythmic, harmonic and textural contrasts in the variations. Chopin's E Major Variations without opus number are written on a Swiss influenced German folksong. Faure's Theme and Variations in C sharp minor, Op. 73, includes eleven variations. The work displays the composer's subtlety, grace and reticence. 12 Variationen iiber ein eigenes Thema were written by Alban Berg as a composition study with Schonberg. The Finale of Dutilleux's Piano Sonata, titled "Chorale with Variations", is written in an impressionistic style. A rich expressiveness is well blended in a classical form. In 1742, the remarkable Aria and thirty variations known as the Goldberg Variations were composed by J. S. Bach. The thirty Variations are unified by the bass line, which forms the foundation of the Aria. The pieces discussed above were presented in three recitals. Compact disc recordings of these recitals are available in the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library of the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland.

RECITAL REPERTOIRE FOR TROMBONE AND PERCUSSION

The solo trombone recital was once a rare musical event, but in recent years professional and amateur trombonists frequently present solo performances. The trombone has been around since the latter half of the 15th century and there is a wealth of ensemble repertoire, written for the instrument; however, there is no corresponding corpus of solo works. A small body of solo works does exist, from baroque sonatas and the alto trombone concertos of Leopold Mozart and Georg Wagenseil, to the romantic works by Ferdinand David and Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov. This repertoire is small in number and a modern trombonist often has to resort to orchestral reductions and arrangements for modern performance in a solo recital setting. The trombone came into its own as a solo instrument in the 20th century and it is in this era where the bulk of a modern trombonist's repertoire resides. While there is now no shortage of music to choose from, presenting a diverse, yet musically cohesive recital remains a challenge though many interesting musical opportunities can arise to meet this challenge. While the piano is an extremely versatile instrument, pairing trombone with percussion opens up possibilities that are absent from the more traditional piano pairing. Percussion instruments can offer an almost unlimited variation of timbre and dynamics to complement the trombone. Dynamic range of the trombone must be considered as the instrument has the ability to play at the extremes of the dynamic range. Percussion instruments can match the trombone in these extremes. When presenting a recital of 20th and 21st century music, using timbre and dynamic range as selection criteria when planning the program are effective ways to bring a unique and intense musical experience to the audience. In this paper, the two considerations of dynamics and timbre will be explored and the need for a dissertation recital project will be explained.

A GLOBAL SAMPLING OF PIANO MUSIC FROM 1978 TO 2005

Pianists of the twenty-first century have a wealth of repertoire at their fingertips. They busily study music from the different periods -- Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and some of the twentieth century -- trying to understand the culture and performance practice of the time and the stylistic traits of each composer so they can communicate their music effectively. Unfortunately, this leaves little time to notice the composers who are writing music today. Whether this neglect proceeds from lack of time or lack of curiosity, I feel we should be connected to music that was written in our own lifetime, when we already understand the culture and have knowledge of the different styles that preceded us. Therefore, in an attempt to promote today’s composers, I have selected piano music written during my lifetime, to show that contemporary music is effective and worthwhile and deserves as much attention as the music that preceded it. This dissertation showcases piano music composed from 1978 to 2005. A point of departure in selecting the pieces for this recording project is to represent the major genres in the piano repertoire in order to show a variety of styles, moods, lengths, and difficulties. Therefore, from these recordings, there is enough variety to successfully program a complete contemporary recital from the selected works, and there is enough variety to meet the demands of pianists with different skill levels and recital programming needs. Since we live in an increasingly global society, music from all parts of the world is included to offer a fair representation of music being composed everywhere. Half of the music in this project comes from the United States. The other half comes from Australia, Japan, Russia, and Argentina. The composers represented in these recordings are: Lowell Liebermann, Richard Danielpour, Frederic Rzewski, Judith Lang Zaimont, Samuel Adler, Carl Vine, Nikolai Kapustin, Akira Miyoshi and Osvaldo Golijov. With the exception of one piano concerto, all the works are for solo piano. This recording project dissertation consists of two 60 minute CDs of selected repertoire, accompanied by a substantial document of in-depth program notes. The recordings are documented on compact discs that are housed within the University of Maryland Library System.

Reducing Electronic Information Overload

College students receive a wealth of information through electronic communications that they are unable to process efficiently. This information overload negatively impacts their affect, which is officially defined in the field of psychology as the experience of feeling or emotion. To address this problem, we postulated that we could create an application that organizes and presents incoming content in a manner that optimizes users’ ability to process information. First, we conducted surveys that quantitatively measured each participant’s psychological affect while handling electronic communications, which was used to tailor the features of the application to what the user’s desire. After designing and implementing the application, we again measured the user's affect using this product. Our goal was to find that the program promoted a positive change in affect. Our application, Brevitus, was able to match Gmail on affect reduction profiles, while succeeding in implementing certain user interface specifications.