THE LESSER-KNOWN PIANO CHAMBER MUSIC OF CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS: A RECORDING PROJECT

Throughout his long and industrious lifetime, Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921) devoted himself unconditionally to music both as a composer and a performer. Saint-Saens was a self-described traditionalist and musical purist, yet his works are distinctly expressive and imaginative, and they reflect the composer's own unique musical language which incorporates recognizably modem traits such as chromaticism and frequent modulation. As a performer, Saint-Saens preferred to premiere his own works and often included his chamber music in his concert programs. Regarded primarily as a symphonic composer in the present day, however, his extensive and varied collection of chamber music works is sadly neglected. Six varied small-ensemble works with piano from his chamber music repertoire have been selected for study and recording for this project: Piano Trio No. 1 in F Major, Op. 18 (1864); Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 1 inC Minor, Op. 32 (1872); two pieces for two pianos, Le Rouet d'Omphale (The Spinning Wheel ofOmphale), Op. 31 (1871) and Phaeton, Op. 39 (1874); piano duet Konig Harald Haifagar (King Harald Haarfager), Op. 59 (1880); and a wind quartet, Caprice sur des airs Danois et Russes (Caprice on Danish and Russian Airs) for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet and Piano, Op. 79 (1887). Analyses of the forms and harmonic structures of these compositions will be included in this dissertation paper as well as studies from the viewpoint of Saint-Saens' compositional style, ensemble characteristics, and writing for the piano. The recordings for this project were made in four sessions in LeFrak Concert Hall at Queens College, the City University of New York. On September 24, 2003, Op. 31, Op. 39 and Op. 59 were recorded with Professor Morey Ritt, piano. On March 2, 2004, Op. 18 was recorded with Elena Rojas, violin, and Clare Liu, cello, and on March 15, 2004, Op. 32 was recorded, also with Ms. Liu. The Caprice, Op. 79 was recorded on June 27, 2008 with Laura Conwesser, flute; Randall Wolfgang, oboe; and Steve Hartman, clarinet. The recordings may be found on file in the library at the University of Maryland, College Park.

VIRTUOSIC ELEMENTS IN THE COLLABORATIVE PIANIST’S REPERTOIRE: SELECTED SOLO, VOCAL, AND CHAMBER WORKS OF RACHMANINOFF AND RAVEL

This dissertation project explores some of the technical and musical challenges that face pianists in a collaborative role—specifically, those challenges that may be considered virtuosic in nature. The material was chosen from the works of Rachmaninoff and Ravel because of the technically and musically demanding yet idiomatic piano writing. This virtuosic piano writing also extends into the collaborative repertoire. The pieces were also chosen to demonstrate these virtuosic elements in a wide variety of settings. Solo piano pieces were chosen to provide a point of departure, and the programmed works ranged from vocal to two-piano, to sonatas and a piano trio. The recitals were arranged to demonstrate as much contrast as possible, while being grouped by composer. The first recital was performed on April 24, 2009. This recital featured five songs of Rachmaninoff, as well as three solo piano preludes and his Suite No. 2 for two pianos. The second recital occurred on November 16, 2010. This recital featured the music of both Rachmaninoff and Ravel, as well as a short lecture introducing the solo work “Ondine” from Gaspard de la nuit by Ravel. Following the lecture were the Cinq mélodies populaires grecques and the program closed with the substantial Rachmaninoff Sonata for Cello and Piano. The final program was given on October 10, 2011. This recital featured the music of Ravel, and it included his Sonata for Violin and Piano, the Debussy Nocturnes transcribed for two pianos by Ravel, and the Piano Trio. The inclusion of a transcription of a work by another composer highlights Ravel’s particular style of writing for the piano. All of these recitals were performed at the Gildenhorn Recital Hall in the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland. The recitals are recorded on compact discs, which can be found in the Digital Repository at the University of Maryland (DRUM).

Bis(trifluoromethyl)mercury(II) complexes with purine and 3,5-dimethyl-4 '-amino-triazole as ligands, [Hg(CF3)(2)(Pur)](4) and [Hg(CF3)(2)(Dat)](2)

Colourless single crystals of [Hg(CF3)(2)(Pur)](4) and [Hg(CF3)(2)(Dat)](2) were obtained from aqueous and etheric solutions of the respective components Purine, (imidazo[4,5-d]pyrimidine, Pur), 3,5-dimethyl-4 '-amino-triazole (Dat) and bis(trifluoromethyl)mercury(II), Hg(CF3)(2). [Hg(CF3)(2)(Pur)](4) crystallizes with the tetragonal system (P-4, Z = 8, a = 1486.8(2), c = 1026.2(l) pm, R-all = 0.0657) with tetrameric molecules consisting of four purine molecules bridged by slightly bent Hg(CF3)2 molecules forming a cage with the CF3 ligands surrounding this cage. The two modifications of [Hg(Dat)(CF3)2]2 (1: 170 K, triclinic, P-1, Z = 2, a 814.9(2), b = 845.4(2), c = 968.4(3) pm, alpha = 106.55(2)degrees, beta= 103.41(2)degrees, gamma = 110.79(2)degrees, R-all = 0.1189; II: monoclinic, P2(1)/c, Z = 8, a = 879.8(2), b = 1731.0(3), c = 1593.9(3) pm, beta = 106.89(2)degrees, R-all = 0.1199) both contain dimeric molecules that are stacked parallel to one crystal axis to strands which are arranged in a parallel fashion in I and rotated against each other in 11 by 110 degrees. In both, the tetrameric [Hg(CF3)(2)(Pur)](4) and the dimeric [Hg(CF3)(2)(Dat)](2) the Hg(CF3)(2) molecules are slightly bent (around 167 and 170 degrees) and rather weakly attached to the N-donor ligands Pur and Dat with Hg-N distances around 272 pm, although in both cases the Hg atoms bridge between two ligand molecules.

Pyrimidine and pyrazine as N-donor ligands in mercurous complexes: [Hg-2(Pym)]NO3)(2), [Hg-2(Pym)](ClO4)(2), and [Hg-2(Pyp)(2)](ClO4)(2)

Colourless single crystals of [Hg-2(Pym)](NO3)(2), [Hg-2(Pym)](ClO4)(2) and [Hg-2(Pyp)(2)](ClO4)(2) were obtained from aqueous solutions of the respective components Hg-2(NO3)(2).2H(2)O, Hg-2(ClO4)(2).6H(2)O, pyrimidine (Pym) and pyrazine (Pyp). The crystal structures were determined from single-crystal X-ray diffractometer data. [Hg-2(Pym)](NO3)(2): monoclinic, C2/c, Z = 8, a = 1607.4(2), b = 652.79(7), c = 2000.5(2) pm, beta = 103.42(2)degrees, R-all = 0.0530; [Hg-2(Pym)](ClO4)(2): orthorhombic, Pnma, Z = 4, a = 1182.7(2), b = 1662.5(2), c = 607.9(1) pm, R-all = 0.0438; [Hg-2(Pyp)(2)](ClO4)(2): orthorhombic, Aba2, Z = 4, a = 1529.39(9), b = 1047.10(14), c = 1133.49(15) pm, R-all = 0.0381. The crystal structures of [Hg-2(Pym)](NO3)(2) and [Hg-2(Pym)](ClO4)(2) contain polymeric cationic chains [Hg-2(Pym)](+) that are arranged to corrugated layers between which the anions are situated. [Hg-2(Pyp)(2)](ClO4)(2) consists of polymeric cationic layers that are built from (Hg-2)(2)(Hg-2)(2/2)(Pyp)(4) rings connected to each other; the perchlorate tetrahedra are located between these layers.

"Heart Music", Symphonic Band, February 14, 2008

Concert program for "Heart Music", Symphonic Band, February 14, 2008

Thesaurus of english words and phrases classified and arranged so asto facilitate the expression of ideas and assiet in literary composition

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The chief American poets : selected poems by Bryant, Poe, Emerson, Jong fellow, whittier, Holmes, Lowell, Whitman and Lanier

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The vision of sir Launfal and other poems

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The early poems

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Poems of passion

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The vision of Sir Launfal, and other poems

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The poems of Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Pomegranates froman english garden : a selection from the poems

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