Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Composers 19th century'

The piano pieces by Argentine composers are a significant contribution to piano literature. They represent the voice of a nation that has enjoyed a strong musical tradition, with a noted European influence and a unique fusion of Argentine folk dances and songs. In that regard, these works possess distinctive qualities and an incomparable style. Unfortunately, a large proportion of these compositions remain unknown.This annotated catalog focuses on the piano literature by Argentine composers from the late nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, that are available in U.S. libraries. Its purpose is to aid pianists, educators, and music historians discover a wealth of repertoire that has long been neglected. The piano works by Argentine composers, including Julian Aguirre (1868-1924), Felipe Boero (1884-1958), Juan Jose Castro (1895-1968), Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983), and Carlos Guastavino (1912-2000) are listed alphabetically by composer. Each entry includes publishing information, level of difficulty, U.S. libraries that hold the scores, and a descriptive paragraph. Transcriptions, arrangements, works for piano and tape, and prepared piano have not been included.
School of Music

The years from 1800 to 1880 produced a distinct and identifiable body of flute literature representative of the Napoleonic age in France and also the Romantic period as a whole. The changing role of the flutist exhibited in this vocally-based literature can be traced to effects from the development of the Boehm system and to certain nineteenth-century sociological changes in France. Compositions from this school also reflect the emerging status of the flutist as solo virtuoso.The literature of the French flute school represents a hybrid form of instrumental virtuosity and extremely expressive melodies which holds a unique place in flute literature. Nevertheless, its use appears to be decreasing steadily, probably due to differing opinion about the questionable musical value of this body of music. The present study was therefore devised to identify idiosyncratic characteristics of the literature, and to examine possible pedagogical applications in light of these characteristics.Six composers were chosen who were flutist-virtuosi from 1800-1880: Tulou, Boehm, Altes, Genin, Demersseman and Andersen. Biographical information was included to enlarge the sociological picture of the flutists' status as Romantic virtuosi, and to aid in the presentation of various descriptions of the expressive role of the new flute.One composition by each composer was selected for analysis. Where possible, actual Conservatory Exam pieces were chosen. A pool of recurrent common characteristics emerged which are clearly related to the sociological framework of nineteenth-century France. Finally, the isolated elements were examined for possible pedagogical benefits.
School of Music

This thesis is the first book-length study in English of Clara Wieck-Schumann as a composer. It explores and illustrates the distinctive features of her musical language and the personal meaning embodied in it. These aspects are reflected in her expression “an inner voice,” coined in a letter to Robert Schumann in 1837. Selected works from across her complete published oeuvre are examined to find how particular techniques and stylistic preferences give an individual stamp to her compositions. Musical opinions and judgements found in Wieck-Schumann’s letters and diaries reveal her underlying musical principles, compositional ideals, and even some processes she followed. Set out in Chapter 2, her ideas, together with evidence from her compositions, provide the foundation for formulating a list of identifying features in her works. These are expanded and illustrated in detailed analyses in later chapters. In Chapter 3, characteristic thematic contours and motifs are traced in many of her compositions. Certain melodic formulations stand out and acquire significance when compared to similar material in her compositions with texts. Some of her songs reveal that by juxtaposing several well-established motifs or themes in a work, Wieck- Schumann effectively provided an interpretive and hermeneutic guide to the music. In addition, recurrent motifs are shown to serve as unifying elements across an opus number or set of pieces. Chapter 4 examines more structural compositional elements such as the use of specific tonalities, key schemes, intervals, chords and chromatic harmonies, all of which are illustrated in numerous annotated musical examples. Longer case studies of works in various genres amplify key features such as her decided preferences for pedal points or for chromatic descents in the treatment of transition sections. The correlation of verbal concepts with particular techniques in the Lieder case studies demonstrates how and why her techniques influence the expressive outcome in a composition. Chapters 5 and 6 integrate information from the previous chapters into two long studies. The first is on Wieck-Schumann’s Piano Sonata in G minor. Details of the form and content of each movement are followed by a summary of thematic and rhythmic relationships across all four movements. The first movement proves to have latent within it much of the material of the three succeeding movements. The Sonata’s cohesive design, with cyclic recalls from the first movement in the fourth, demonstrates her careful planning of a large-scale work. Finally, some performance notes are offered, along with details of several divergences from the manuscript in the only edition available. The second long study is on musical quotation in Wieck-Schumann’s works, preceded by a general introduction on influence, originality and the types of citation she employed. The necessity for establishing her typical melodic formulations in Chapter 3 becomes clear when the issue of quotation is considered. That she quoted intentionally is proved by a diary entry of 1879. Her practices in this area offer a rewarding insight into extra-musical communication, especially when the original composition to which reference was made had a text. Her works gain a wider interpretive dimension when allusive connections to another composition can be established. A combination of circumstances contributed to the fact that the citations were principally from Schumann’s works. Marginalised as a serious composer because of her gender, as contemporary reviews show, she turned to the private sphere and its relationships for some of the most interesting and personal content of her compositions. Several cases of inter-quotation between the Schumanns are followed by a study of Robert Schumann’s Studien op. 56, which contains musical citations made as tributes to Wieck-Schumann, her pianism, and her compositions. A concern for an unfolding psychological progression through a Wieck- Schumann composition is characteristic and is integrated with established techniques for achieving formal unity. Many details in the course of a composition are demonstrated to have been carefully inter-related by its end. As a result of such detailed crafting, keen discrimination and logical musical judgment, Wieck-Schumann’s compositions demonstrate a blend of formal mastery and profound feeling conveyed with eloquence.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University
Arts, Education and Law
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This study discusses Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy's appointment to the Prussian Court of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV, Mendelssohn's relationship with the Court (both personal and professional) and the numerous difficulties encountered with this appointment. In addition, Mendelssohn's musical responsibilities and personal feelings toward the cities of Leipzig and Berlin, Berlin's choral traditions (including a brief history of the Berlin Domchor) will also be discussed. Mendelssohn's op. 78, op. 79 and Die deutsche Liturgie written for the Berlin Domchor reflect the sometimes competing demands of the traditional liturgical genres (e.g. Masses, psalms, motets), which are more "objective" in nature and the far more "subjective" elements inherent in the Romantic "ideal" of expression. This study deals exclusively with the unaccompanied choral compositions written for the Berlin Domchor with particular emphasis given to op. 78 - Drei Psalmen, and op. 79 - Sechs Spruche.

As lirico-spinto soprano commonly indicates a soprano with a heavier voice than lyric soprano and a lighter voice than dramatic soprano, there are many problems in the assessment of the voice type. Lirico-spinto soprano is characterized differently by various scholars and sources offer contrasting and insufficient definitions. It is commonly understood as a pushed voice, as many interpret spingere as ‘to push.' This dissertation shows that the meaning of spingere does not mean pushed in this context, but extended, thus making the voice type a hybrid of lyric soprano voice type that has qualities of extended temperament, timbre, color, and volume. This dissertation indicates that the lack of published anthologies on lirico-spinto soprano arias is a significant reason for the insufficient understanding of the lirico-spinto soprano voice. The post-Verdi Italian group of composers, giovane scuola, composed operas that required lirico-spinto soprano voices. These giovane scuola composers include Alfredo Catalani (1854 –1893), Umberto Giordano (1867 –1948), Pietro Mascagni (1863 –1945), Giacomo Puccini (1858 –1924), and Riccardo Zandonai (1883 –1944). Descriptions of the soprano voices that premiered these roles are included in this document to determine the suitability of the lirico-spinto soprano voice for each role.

This study focuses on the central role which fugue d'ecole, as defined and taught by the post-revolutionary Conservatoire de Paris, played in re-establishing standards of excellence in organ composition and aiding the development of the French Symphonic Organ School. An examination of counterpoint and fugue treatises by Cherubini, Dubois, and Gedalge reveals the emergence of a specific school fugue form, intended for academic purposes only, as a means to instilling discipline and honing the technical skills required in all forms of musical composition.

Timbre and orchestration are neglected parameters in analytical writing, partly because analysis traditionally privileges pitch organisation as the primary structural parameter in music, but also because timbre appears more resistant than pitch to theoretical abstraction and systematisation. Yet, in the music of early twentieth-century Viennese composers such as Schreker, Zemlinsky and Schoenberg, timbre often assumes a pre-eminent place in musical design and formal architecture. In such works, timbre often moves from what Robert Hopkins (1990) describes as a 'secondary parameter' to the forefront of a listener's consciousness. Conventional analytical approaches - including Schenkerian, Neo-Riemannian or pitch-class set theories - arguably have little to offer at such moments. This thesis begins by examining the 'crisis of response' to timbre in fin-de-siècle Austro-Germanic circles and, in particular, to the increasingly complex timbral constructions of many Viennese composers, such as Franz Schreker and Arnold Schoenberg. The crisis of response appeared to stem from an inherited nineteenth-century view of orchestration as ornamental in function, as well as the lack of an appropriate analytical framework and meta-language with which to critique the growing importance of timbre as a musical parameter. This thesis contributes to the discussion as to the how the area of timbral analysis might develop: firstly, by treating timbre as an 'emergent' property rather than an absolute analytical category (i.e., that timbre often results from a complex interaction of multiple musical parameters); secondly, by considering the effect of timbre's spatial properties within the auditory scene on subject-position through examination of contemporary and more recent theories on the convergence of the visual and auditory arts; and thirdly, through timbre's ability to function as an agent of immanent musical critique through disjunctive juxtapositions, or by historically-contextualized responses to codified orchestral tropes as found in Alexander Zemlinsky's 'Der Zwerg'. Timbre certainly was not always the secondary parameter some fin-de-siècle critics suggested it was, or wanted it to be. The joint purpose of this thesis is to offer historically-engaged analytical readings of neglected works from twentieth-century Vienna (alongside a few better-known works whose timbral construction had been left unanalyzed), and to reflect on the benefits of applying recent research to contemporary theories of timbre. These two aims are set in productive counterpoint rather than a straightforward synthesis, with the adoption of recent cognitive research and theories of subject-position feeding into analyses of historical work in order to try to mediate the gap between theory, text, and musical practice.

Franz Liszt's Faust Symphony has suffered neglect since its premiere in 1857. The analysis in this study aims to clarify some of the misunderstandings which have led to this neglect, particularly concerning Liszt's formal structure and character portrayal. In the Faust movement, the flat 6th scale degree (♭6) plays a prominent role in harmonic organization. Nineteenth-century composers sometimes used the distinct sonic color of chromatic-third progressions, as Liszt does here between C and E rather than diatonic movement by fifth to evoke a distant dream-world state. Liszt's conspicuous and form-defining use of ♭6 in the Faust movement suggests fantasy and mysterious elements ripe for programmatic interpretation. In this dissertation, I will attempt to clarify how Liszt portrayed the character of Faust by using the flat 6th scale degree as a crucial harmonic organizing principle in the Faust movement.

In this essay the reception of Helena Munktell’s 1885 1921 compositions are mapped andanalysed. The term reception is used to express to what extent Munktell’s compositions wereperformed, and also how they were received in newspaper reviews. The reception is studiedholistically. This means that all identifiable concerts and all accessible newspaper reviews havebeen taken into consideration, and that the mapping and analysis aims to demonstrate how thereception differs between genres and countries, as wel l as how it changes over time.Helena Munktell (1852 1919) was a Swedish composer, pianist, and singer. Hercatalogue is concise, but she composed music in several different genres. In 1915 she wasinducted into The Royal Swedish Academy of Music Munktell was active in both Sweden andFrance, and her work shows traces of Swedish folk music as well as French style elements. Shestudied composition with a number of teacher s, both in Stockholm and Paris. Her mostinfluential teacher was Vincent d’Indy. Through him directly, and César Franck indirectly, hercompositions came to include neo French mannerisms such as cyclic form, colourful chordchanges, and downplaying the imp ortance of melody in favour of harmonic progression.The analysis was done in four stages. In the first stage facts were collected. Thebulk of the source material was gathered from a scrapbook with reviews from Munktell ’sposthumous collections, and from the national database of Swedish newspapers Svenskadagstidningar In the second stage a calendar of all identifiable concerts was comprised. In thethird stage an account of all compositions, concerts, and reviews for each respective genre wascreated. In the fourth stage the results were analysed from a historical perspective and fromPierre Bourdieu’s theory on capital and fieldApproximately 140 concerts have been identified. The vocal genres are dominantmore than half of the performances concern works for vocal soloists. The opera I Firenze wasperformed in Stockholm 13 times. This accomplishment can be attributed to the fact thatMunktell had an abundance of what Bourdieu call s cultural and social capital. The opera andthe vocal performances were almost exclusively well reviewed. Munktell’s compositions werealso successful in France. She became a member of the prestigious organisation SociétéNationale de Musique where several of her compositions were performed. Three of her fourorchestral works were premiered in France, as was her violin sonata. Munktell’s success inFrance can be explained partly by her compositions having a strong French influence, and thefact that cultural capital is highly valued in France. Dalsvit was the only orchestral work thatwas performed in Sweden during her lifetime and it received very mixed reviews. The violinsonata is the instrumental composition that w as performed the most. It received mixed reviewsin the daily newspapers at the time of its first performance in Stockholm in 1905, butconsiderably more positive appraisal after the memorial concert at The Royal Swedish Operain 1921. This can be explained by the societal interest and appreciation of German musicaldominance giving way to F rench musical styles in a different way in 1921.The account from Swedish Musical Heritage Anders Edling’s biography onHelena Munktell, saying that all contemporary re views of Munktell as a composer were positiveis incorrect; they were mixed, varying between genres, and changing over time.A similar analysis could be carried out concerning other composers works. Suchan analysis would make it possible to compare the reception between two or more composers’work, but also how their different prerequisites may have influenced their reception.
I uppsatsen kartläggs och analyseras receptionen av Helena Munktells kompositioner under åren 1885–1921. Med reception avses dels i vilken utsträckning Munktells kompositioner blev framförda, dels hur de blev mottagna i tidningsrecensioner. Receptionen utforskas ur ett helhetsperspektiv. Det betyder att alla identifierbara konserter och alla tillgängliga recensioner omfattas och att kartläggningen och analysen syftar till att åskådliggöra hur receptionen skiljer sig åt mellan genrer och mellan länder liksom hur den förändras med tiden.  Helena Munktell (1852–1919) var en svensk tonsättare, pianist och sångerska. Hennes verkförteckning är kort men hon komponerade i ett flertal genrer. År 1915 blev hon invald som tonsättare i Kungliga Musikaliska Akademien. Munktell var verksam i både Sverige och Frankrike och i hennes verk finns såväl svenska folkmusikinfluenser som franska stilelement. Hon tog lektioner i komposition för ett flertal lärare, både i Stockholm och Paris. Den lärare som påverkade henne mest var Vincent d’Indy. Genom honom och därmed indirekt genom César Franck kom hennes kompositioner att inrymma stildrag från den nyfranska skolan: cyklisk form, färgskapande ackordväxlingar och nedtoning av melodins betydelse till förmån för harmonisk progression. Undersökningen har genomförts i fyra steg. I första steget samlades fakta in. Huvud-sakligt källmaterial var en klippbok med recensioner från Munktells efterlämnade samlingar samt recensioner från databasen Svenska dagstidningar. I andra steget togs en kalender fram omfattande alla identifierade konserter. I tredje steget utarbetades en redogörelse över kompositioner, konserter och recensioner för respektive genre. I fjärde steget analyserades resultatet ur ett historiskt perspektiv och utifrån Pierre Bourdieus teorier om kapital och fält. Cirka 140 konserter har identifierats. De vokala genrerna dominerar och över hälften av konserterna avser solosång. Operan I Firenze framfördes i Stockholm 13 gånger. Denna bedrift kan till viss del förklaras med att Munktell hade god tillgång till det Bourdieu kallar kulturellt och socialt kapital. Operan och solosångerna fick nästan uteslutande goda omdömen i recensionerna. Munktells kompositioner rönte stora framgångar i Frankrike. Hon blev medlem i den prestigefyllda föreningen Société Nationale de Musique där flera av hennes kompositioner framfördes. Tre av hennes fyra orkesterverk uruppfördes i Frankrike, så också hennes violinsonat. Munktells framgångar i Frankrike kan förklaras dels med att hon till stor del komponerade i fransk stil, dels med att kulturellt kapital värderas mycket högt i Frankrike. Dalsvit var det enda orkesterverk som framfördes i Sverige under hennes levnad och den renderade starkt skiftande omdömen. Munktells violinsonat är den instrumentala komposition som framfördes mest. Sonaten fick ett blandat bemötande i dagspressen efter framförandet i Stockholm 1905 men betydligt positivare omdömen efter minneskonserten på Kungliga Operan 1921. Detta kan förklaras med att den tyska musikstilens dominans hade mattats av och att de franska stildragen uppskattades på ett annat sätt 1921.  Uppgiften i Anders Edlings biografi över Helena Munktell i Levande musikarv om att alla samtidens omdömen om Munktell som tonsättare var positiva stämmer inte; de var skiftande, skiljde sig åt mellan genrer och förändrades med tiden.  En motsvarande undersökning skulle kunna genomföras rörande andra tonsättares verk. En sådan studie skulle göra det möjligt att jämföra receptionen av tonsättarnas verk och också jämföra vilken betydelse tonsättarnas olika förutsättningar kan ha haft för receptionen.

This study has investigated the influence of Central Italian folk music in select compositions of Ottorino Respighi, Peter Tchaikovsky, Felix Mendelssohn, and Jean Sibelius. Through the titles of these pieces, one can infer that they were influenced by the composer living in Italy, or visiting, on holiday. This study also includes a brief history of the serenade, from the traditional Italian folk practice to Antonín Dvořák’s treatment of the more modern 19th-century genre. A review of the evolution of the state of ethnomusicology in Italy, including discussion of art and folk-music instruments, poetry, carnevale, and processions within the region of Italy is included. Further, I provide information on tonal and instrumental characteristics and specific folk dances to aid in the investigation of the treatment of folk melodies within 19th-century pieces. The result of this research not only provides a more accurate interpretation of stylistic issues when 19th-century works containing Italian folk-music attributes are performed, but also the knowledge that the title of a piece does not necessarily indicate a musical significance. Some works exhibit a direct musical influence while others are “Italian” in name only.
School of Music

Rozprawa dotyczy recepcji postaci i dzieła Stanisława Moniuszki rozpatrywanej pod kątem znaczenia tego kompozytora w polskiej kulturze. Analizuje związek pomiędzy zjawiskiem pamięci zbiorowej a jej lokalną odmianą, dla której jednym z fundamentów jest koncepcja wieszcza narodowego. Analiza wizerunku Moniuszki kreowanego w polskim piśmiennictwie lat 1858-1989 ujawnia procesy mitologizacyjne przebiegające w prasie i publikacjach książkowych, widoczne dzięki konfrontacji ocen z materiałem słowno-muzycznym najczęściej przywoływanych przez badaczy i recenzentów utworów tego kompozytora. Rozprawa plasuje się na przecięciu kilku dyscyplin: muzykologii, socjologii i językoznawstwa.

Contained in this study is a musical discussion and analysis of seven Romance Sans Paroles (song without words), written by three French composers, Charles-François Gounod, Camille Saint-Saëns, and Gabriel Fauré. The Romance Sans Parole genre seems to be quite unknown in the piano field; as a result, there are few secondary sources available. By immersing myself in these scores, I sought to discover their musical value and compositional nuance and excellence. I thoroughly investigated each composer’s unique treatment of melody, harmony, rhythm, texture, and form. Chapter One includes an Introduction, brief biographical information on each composer, the Need for the Study, the Purpose of the Study, a Review of Literature, and a Methodology. Chapters Two, Three, and Four consist of a musical analysis and discussion of the seven Romance Sans Paroles. Chapter Five offers a Conclusion and Suggestions for Further Study. I believe my dissertation will enhance the understanding and appreciation of this art form.
School of Music

Music Culture of the Elisabethan Convent in Prague Jakub Michl Abstract The Sisters of Saint Elizabeth (Elizabethan Nuns) were a spiritual order primarily focused on administering healthcare. Therefore, music was never the main focus of the order's activities, as it often was in others, particularly educational orders. However, thanks to the uninterrupted historical continuity of the Prague convent, which was exempted from the restrictions of Joseph II's era, many sources illustrating the convent music culture were preserved, including an extensive collection of music. The dissertation aims to describe this music culture in the context of the order structure and its personal hierarchy, as part of the city of Prague and its civic institutions, and in its everyday life and characteristics such as enclosure, hospital service and recreational activities. Music in convents was always tightly bound to liturgy. In the case of the Elizabethan order, significant music production was focused on the order's main liturgical feasts such as S. Elizabeth, S. Francis of Assisi, Porciuncula, Christmas, Epiphany, Easter and also memorial services for deceased patrons of the convent. The convent cooperated with many lay musicians and composers such as F. X. Brixi, Z. V. Suchý, F. X. Labler, J. N. Bayer, among others. At the...