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2011
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2001
COMPOSING FOR THE BIG ONES: a study of scoring and structure in slow movements from Karel Husa’s Concerto for Wind Ensemble and Concerto for Orchestra. This study examines the compositional element of instrument usage; in particular, the ways Karel Husa has used the timbral resources of wind ensemble and symphony orchestra. To this end, an analysis method was designed that illuminates relationships between scoring choices and structural function. Few studies have been centred on timbre or scoring; fewer still have considered scoring of contemporary works for large ensembles. Studies surveyed demonstrate analysis procedures which suit the works studied and the writer’s intended application usually performance. Rather than squeeze Husa’s works into procedures designed for others, this analysis process has been designed around characteristics of his works. In doing so, I revisited three general analysis texts from the 1970’s by Wallace Berry, Jan LaRue and Robert Erickson, bringing tog...
2009
The purpose of this teacher action research project was to develop and field- test a music composition curriculum for middle school band and assess whether the curriculum was adequate for overcoming the obstacles of teacher-training, resources, time and large group composition. Three phases were completed: 1) an exploratory pilot phase (lesson plan and curriculum development); 2) a second pilot phase (lessons tested); and 3) a final phase (five band directors taught and assessed the curriculum). Research questions focused on the extent to which middle school band directors and their students were able to successfully follow the proposed curriculum. Five middle school band directors and their bands representing diverse ethnic and socio economic backgrounds were chosen to participate in the project as well as two composers who reviewed the curriculum and provided feed back. Each of the participating directors taught the proposed curriculum involving ten lessons over approximately two to five weeks. Initial data collection included the initial gathering of lesson plans and the development of a composition curriculum from journals, dissertations, living composers, audio and video materials, and two pilot projects with three different middle school bands. Additional data collection included field observations and notes, interviews with band directors and composers, and a final focus group interview with participating band directors. The final results will help contribute to the development of basic resources and strategies for music teachers to use to teach composition to middle school students and for college music education professors to teach pre-service public school music educators on incorporating composition into their classroom teaching.
“Whaaaaaaaaat!? I Don’t Get Classical Music: A Self-Help Desperation Guide” is a tonic for the perplexed, and a companion guide for those who feel classical music is forbidding, complex and grandiose. It is a concise and helpful book with humor and insight written by a composer and performer with a lifetime of experience. Beginning with patterns, pitches and instruments, author Dennis Bathory-Kitsz covers topics from performers to shrieking singers to the mysterious classical codes, from Beethoven (“the great hulk of a man”) through space music, tone poems, nationalism, and even composers insulting each other. Written in response to a student’s plea for help (“I’m desperate! I don’t get classical music!”), the book is not stuck in the distant past. Instead, “Whaaaaaaaaat!?” includes classical music—which the composer prefers to call “nonpop”—from ancient times right up to the present day, from Gregorian chant through electrons and gongs to nonpop fused with pop. Writes one of his students, “it accomplishes what a textbook does without being a textbook.” Another says, “It gets right into the dirty details of Western music and does so in a way that makes even the most novice listener feel like a professional.” Explored and critiqued by more than two dozen readers from complete amateurs to working professionals, “Whaaaaaaaaat!?” is insightful, exuberant, funny and, according to one music professor, “terrifically valuable as a corrective to bad thinking and its offspring, bad teaching.” In a short, readable 100 pages, Bathory-Kitsz shares the madness and mystery of classical music. Note: This book is available in printed form here. Your purchase will help support the second edition. https://www.amazon.com/Whaaaaaaaaat-Classical-Music-Self-Help-Desperation/dp/1530729521/
2019, Dissertation, McGill University
In recent musicology, scholars have identified the sun—and its light—as a topic of musical discourse. Despite these latest albeit brief mentions, no scholar has expounded or populated the topic beyond a few isolated cases, let alone offered speculation as to how the compelling analogy between light and sonorous expression might operate, either in the hands of the composer or in the mind of the listener. Unlike most other musical topoi, light and its modulations exist as conspicuously visual phenomena, and this raises an important question about how depictive topoi are perceived when listening to music: what does it mean to hear a sunrise? And, why might composers develop similar strategies concerning orchestral timbre and form in order to convey an experience devoid of sound? The dissertation examines orchestral depictions of sunrise and sunset from an interdisciplinary vantage point, by first proposing similarities and continuities between the ancient literary theory (rhetorical device or exercise) of ekphrasis on the one hand, and the evolution of the modern philosophical and psychological term ‘apperception’ on the other hand. Taken together, I argue that these seemingly unrelated modes of thought suggest the possibility for a theory of enargeia (vivacity) in music. Moreover, by considering recent developments in the perceptual study of timbre and orchestration, I propose several apperceptive features of orchestral sunrises and sunsets that demonstrate the enargic (vivid) capacity of orchestral sonority within such depictive contexts. The final chapter comprises analyses of exemplary orchestral works by Bartók, Ravel, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Schoenberg.
2017
2018
Francisco Mignone was born in São Paulo on September 3, 1897 and died on February 19, 1986. A representative of Brazilian Nationalism and one of the most influential national composers, Mignone was active and prolific through his entire life. Few works of Francisco Mignone's late period are known and performed; nevertheless the interest in Mignone's work has been growing. Since many of his works are not published, efforts to discuss and prepare performance editions of his scores are of great importance. The Concertino para clarineta e fagote is representative of Francisco Mignone's last compositional period that, although written using a universal way of treating dissonances, intervals, or different pitch hierarchies, it is very Brazilian in its essence. The present performance edition highlights the human aspect of Mignone's character through an overview of the composer's last compositional period and compositional techniques. This essay contextualizes the Concertino within the composer's career and presents a performance analysis of the piece. It also contains a list of Mignone's works for the bassoon and a list of prizes awarded to the Brazilian composer.
2015
A number of authors have attempted to devise a set of principles according to which symphonic orchestration practice takes place. However, these authors have routinely failed to acknowledge the differences between a personal outlook on orchestration and a generalised study of orchestration practice. In this dissertation, Grounded Theory methodology was adopted and adapted in order to study a large number of text fragments from the most commonly used and respected orchestration textbooks of the twentieth and twenty-first century. Analysis of 6672 text fragments in open coding led to the discovery of eight core principles, or perspectives, of symphonic orchestration practice. These eight perspectives do not describe the techniques of orchestration, but rather reveal the underlying mechanics that inform and shape contemporary orchestration practice. A number of South African orchestral scores by Van Wyk, Fagan, Klatzow, Zaidel-Rudolph, Roosenschoon, Temmingh, Grové and Hofmeyr were con...
In this portfolio of compositions, I have explored the concept of musical ambiguity. I perceive this kind of ambiguity as an interesting and purposeful instability, created by employing a variety of techniques to arrange and manipulate complex compositional materials. Interrupting the narrative flow with unexpected, disturbing fragments should increase the expressive tension of the musical structure and narrative, thereby obliterating ‘habitual’ hierarchies of perception and eradicating a false sense of stability in the listener. My techniques include the simultaneous juxtaposition of several aural ‘viewpoints’, such as dense versus lucid textures, as well as the fragmentation and repositioning of chosen elements. In the analyses of my compositions I have made use of some ideas and terms from the visual arts, architecture and philosophy to clarify my arguments. Every musical element from tonality, texture and rhythm to structure and narrative is questioned and reinterpreted by means of fragmentation and juxtaposition with the aim of creating layers of textures and timbres. Prior to this treatment, a composition is generally begun with a musical idea, derived from my mental ‘sound library’, which already alludes to timbre, instrumentation, atmosphere, modality and provides motivic impetus. Furthermore, a lively collaboration with musicians plays an important role during the compositional process and has enabled me to find my own voice through the shaping of the experimental materials into the two orchestral works, a few ensemble pieces and solo works.
2010
A new post-compulsory Music course known as the Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) Music course was recently introduced into Year 11and 12 in Western Australian (WA) schools. Following a convoluted process of creation, its implementation into classrooms has been problematic. Given criticism levelled at its process of creation and implementation, the researcher questions whether the WACE Music course embodies effective, recognised principles to support the effective teaching and learning of music. This study investigates the principles which should form the basis of an effective, post-compulsory music curriculum, suitable for WA. It involved a literature review which sought to produce a set of principles for teaching and learning frameworks based upon international best practice in music education, and applicable in the unique geographical, historical and multicultural WA context. In addition, the study employed a researcher–designed survey instrument to examine whether Western Australian music teachers perceived these principles to be evident in their practical experiences of the new WACE music course. With the subsequent publishing of a draft Australian National Arts Curriculum, it is an appropriate time to review the principles which should underpin an effective Music curriculum for senior secondary students in the WA context because, without a clear set of guiding principles that are understood by curriculum writers, there is a possibility that following courses could be fundamentally flawed and not serve the best interests of students.
Based on the understanding of hearing as a means of survival in an natural environment and the fundamental notion that music creates time, a theory of listening dimensions underlying the experience of music is proposed. See also the critical comments in The Musical Timespace. A Concise version 2012.
2017, http://hdl.handle.net/1885/148811
In his many writings and interviews, Elliott Carter frequently stresses the connection between human experiences of opposition and conflict and the opposition he composes into his musical interactions. While these concepts have received much attention in the scholarly literature over the decades, in this dissertation I examine the role of opposition in Carter’s music by bringing Carter’s aesthetic into contact with an Adornian tradition of dialectical aesthetics, something new to Carter scholarship. In particular, I harness Adorno’s concept of the social mediation of music materials to shed light on Carter’s linking of the musical and the human in his highly abstracted music. Central to this mediation is the way materials respond immanently to social conditions. I show how Carter conceives of musical form and temporality in terms closely aligned to Adorno, particularly with respect to non-repetition and freedom of formal design. However, I also argue that the way in which Carter worked with his musical materials did not remain static but responded to a changing modernism around the turn of the twenty-first century. Through an analysis of two of Carter’s late-late orchestral compositions, I examine how the notion of dialectical opposition finds expression in sonic images of lightness, effervescence and human fragility rather than the explosive oppositions of Carter’s middle period music. Part 1 of the thesis identifies traces of dialectical thinking in Carter’s writings and interviews and interprets these through an Adornian lens. Part 2 presents technical analyses of both the Boston Concerto (2002) and the ASKO Concerto (2000), focusing on how the repetition built in to the ritornello form of both pieces is re- formed by way of Carter’s dialectical handling of form and content. Part 3 offers a ‘second reflection’ in which philosophical concepts in Part 1 and technical concepts in Part 2 are drawn together into a critical analysis of how both materials and composer are mediated by the social.
2013
This exegesis examines influences, processes and idiosyncrasies in musical improvisation in a jazz context, identified through analysis and observation of selected, recorded performances by the author. It is a practice-based research project with two objectives, the first to uncover degrees to which pre-learnt skills and idiosyncratic creations occur and interact in music-making, and the second to contribute to the body of knowledge in spontaneous improvised music research: an area of the art which at this time is beginning to invite intense enquiry. It is argued that deep investigation into one's own playing, complemented by critical contemplation, offers insights into improvised performance that can add a significant dimension to the analysis and observations made by other people. Notwithstanding the limitations of traditional musical notation, transcriptions examined in this study show clearly influences both from past learning and from musicians who continue to have a powerful influence - consciously and sub-consciously - on the author's playing and thought processes in music. While formal study with influential figures (players and teachers) is important, underpinning the whole learning process is the aural comprehension of sounds; the end musical product being recorded performances submitted here as the primary source. The insights gained through this reflective self-examination suggests that not only is it a practice of great worth from a personal perspective, but also offers a model for others who wish to remain alert to the quality of their own musical output, and the measure, as far as it is possible, of their creativity.
MUS130 - University of Florida 2001
The study led to the postulatation of three socially situated theoretical constructs that are relevant to a general theory of music teaching and learning: a construct of a transactional theory of the musical work, a construct of a 'rehearsal register' and a construct of the interconnectedness of verbal language and the formation of musical concepts and musical knowledge.
This article was published In the British magazine, Classical Guitar, in three installments in 2004. It is an analysis of the guitar works of the Danish composer Poul Ruders, focusing on his two guitar concertos, "Psalmodies" and "Paganini Variations", and the solo works, "Etude and Ricercare" and "Chaconne."
These were my study notes with the legendary, pioneer of the saxophone, Sigurd Rascher.
2021, Master's Thesis
This thesis examines three approaches to arranging Mozart's operas for Harmonie by Johann Nepomuk Went, Josef Triebensee, and Joseph Heidenreich through an analysis of selections from their arrangements. It consists of two chapters. Chapter One discusses the historical background of the Harmonie ensemble in Vienna and an introduction to the complicated publishing history of Mozart's original works for the Harmoniemusik ensemble. A summary of the scant biographical information about the three arrangers of the works to be studied concludes Chapter One. Chapter Two covers the arrangements of Mozart's operas by Johann Nepomuk Went, Josef Triebensee, and Joseph Heidenreich. The Harmonie arrangements of Mozart's operas made by Went, Triebensee, and Heidenreich provide vital information in analyzing the writing style of Harmoniemusik at the end of the eighteenth century.
Composer Mieczysław Weinberg (1919–1996) was a Polish Jew who emigrated to Soviet Russia in an effort to escape Nazi aggression during World War II. Also known as Moisei Samuilovich Vainberg, he became a close friend and colleague of the famous Soviet composer Dimitri Shostakovich. His prolific compositional output includes four works for flute soloist: Twelve Miniatures (1945), Five Pieces (1947), Flute Concerto No. 1, Op. 75 (1961), and Flute Concerto No. 2, Op. 148 (1987). The two flute concerti were written for and dedicated to the famous Russian flutist Alexander Korneyev (1930–2010). These four works for flute are experiencing a resurgence in interest in recent years as Weinberg’s music becomes more well-known. This document examines how these pieces fit into Weinberg’s compositional canon and how they were influenced by flute playing in the Soviet Union at the time. It analyzes the works from a theoretical perspective, explores why they have been so seldom played, and assesses how they fit into the modern flute repertoire. This document also examines the Russian school of flute playing, focusing on the Moscow Conservatory, where Korneyev both studied and taught. The Russian school is then compared to American and French traditions. The purpose of this document is to illuminate the contributions of Weinberg and Korneyev, and to introduce this literature to new audiences.
2019
This is the textbook I designed for use in a college freshman music appreciation class. This is specifically designed for students in the City of New York. I did so because I realized that most of my students at the City College of New York knew very little about the history of the city in which they resided. Why talk about Vienna when boroughs closer to home are terra incognita? New York is the current music capital of the world so it is a good place to get people started in their understanding of the fascination world of music. The volume is 157 pages in length and makes for comfortable reading. Students were assigned approximately fifteen pages per week during the first ten weeks of the class. This allowed them four weeks to review things they had previously read in preparation for the final exam. The book covers the elements of music, the history of music in New York City, a review of musical genre, as well as brief biographies of composers and performers who were born or worked in the five boroughs.
2015
Chapter 6 is focused of this PhD dissertation is focused on the construction of a musical identity through interactions of cultural production around music in Mexico in the 1930s.
2000
Ernst Mahle was bom in Germany, in 1929, but has lived in Brazil since 1951, where he is one of the most important composers of his generation. Besides his work as a composer, he has been developing a very important pedagogical work in Piracicaba, a city in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Influenced by the teachings of Hans Joachim Koellreutter, Mahle, together with other influential art supporters from that city, founded the Escola de Musica de Piracicaba, in 1953. Mahle believes that it is very important to teach music when children are young. He also encourages practice in musical groups from the earliest stages of development. Mahle has written a great body of compositions for many instruments, at all levels of difficulty, many of which are dedicated to his students. The viola compositions reflect the didactic work Mahle has been developing at the Escola de Musica de Piracicaba, as most part of them were written for the students. Mahle’s idiomatic writing shows his knowledge of ...
2008, Mosaic Records reissue
In 1974, Anthony Braxton was considered a radical among radicals. This was true not least for his distinctive embrace of post-war European avant-garde composition, then assumed to be particularly uncongenial to the average listener's taste. Mike Heffley's liner notes to Braxton's Arista recordings explain how Braxton nevertheless signed on to a label whose roster included what were then jazz's hottest properties and became "the man of jazz' hour." Heffley also remarks on his own personal and political inspiration from Braxton and provides extensive notes on the individual tracks of the Mosaic re-release of the Arista recordings (Mosaic Records #242).
2018
The following research seeks to enlarge the string quartet repertoire by making and performing original re-orchestrations of contemporary film music. It examines the art of storytelling and how to reproduce a cinematic drama on a smaller scale – divorced from its visual component. The basis of this project is composer James Newton Howard’s score for the Hollywood blockbuster Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), using the recorded audio from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – Official Motion Picture Sound Track (2016). The instrumental complexity of the soundtrack, combined with its narratively based formal structure, forward the quality of the research by posing methodical questions such as: ‘How to convey the story of the film when the instrumentation is changed and the images are gone?’, ‘how to cut and shorten a long movie score without compromising the story line?’, ‘how to replicate orchestral and electronic music on acoustic string instruments?’, and ‘how to structure an arrangement to make it stage appropriate – in terms of length, thematic treatment, formal structure and emotional curve?’. Using structural analysis, transcription, orchestrating strategies, arrangement techniques and several layers of experimentation, the outcome of this research not only assumes a unique format – by its experimental orchestration techniques, its ability to tell a full-length musical story, and its pristine preservation of the original soundtracks texture, colour and emotional impact – but also hopes to have earned its title as a cinematic string quartet. This paper outlines a systematic method for arranging, transcribing and orchestrating what is initially a 1:08:51 minutes film soundtrack into a 30- minute concert piece for string quartet, in a way that preserves the underlying story of the film and the style of the composer.
This chapter presents Pace's orchestral and concertante works, with special analytical evaluations on Symphonie Dramatique (1931), Symphony No. 2 (1966), Piano Concerto No. 2 (1944) and Clarinet Concerto (1970).