The Solo Cello Music of Kamran Ince

The Turkish-Americal composer Kamran Ince (born 1960) has written two works for solo cello, Tracing for cello and piano (1994) and the MKG Variations for cello alone (1998). This document discusses both and attempts to place them in the context of Ince\u27s oeuvre and of the cello literature of the late twentieth century.The research is based in part on interviews with the composer and the cellists who have performed and commissioned the pieces, and in part on analysis of the scores. The analysis of the two works reveals a composer interested in Turkish and western modal structures, in pointillist vertical chords, in the independent use of melody and harmony, in free forms, and in sudden changes of mood and atmosphere. Ince has been well described as a post-minimalist, but those two pieces for cello also show strong influences from well-known cello works by Robert Schumann and J.S. Bach in addition to self-quotations from Ince\u27s own works.The paper also discusses Ince\u27s early background as a serious cellist and its possible influence on the shape and content of his later compositions for the instrument

ANALYTICAL PERSPECTIVES ON THREE GROUNDBREAKING COMPOSERS FOR GUITAR: VILLA-LOBOS, MARTIN, AND BRITTEN

It can be said that Heitor Villa-Lobos, Frank Martin, and Benjamin Britten all have a musical aesthetic premised on tonal unity; however, each of these composers subvert the security of a homogenous tonal syntax by placing mechanisms of conflict into their musical language. This integration of chronologically distant musical structures brings about a conflict between old and new, and it is this conflict that is vital to all of the music examined in this study. When the coexistence of old and new structures is irreconcilable, the analytical approach taken is tailored to address this conflict as a continual disunity. However, the coexistence of chronologically distant structures may also be ameliorated as well, through analytical approaches that, in some respects, unite elements of old and new. Examined herein are Villa-Lobos's Études Nos. 1 and 12, and Préludes Nos. 2 and 3, from Twelve Études for Guitar (1929) and Cinq Préludes for Guitar (1940), Martin's first and fourth movements from Quatre Pièce Brèves (1933), and Britten's first movement from Nocturnal after John Dowland (1963). In an effort to unlock the structural imperatives of these three composers, this study follows the lead of other analysts dealing with similar musical settings and adopts an approach that allows tonal interpreters to express components that contribute to a traditional tonal reading without asserting that all components so contribute, while, conversely, allowing post-tonal analytical strategies to express nontraditional components without asserting the work is atonal. The evaluation of elements of conflict is aided by this study's chief organizational system: that of hierarchical organization, and since the musical structures are both tonal and post-tonal, both prolongational and associational models are considered. Further aiding the investigation of conflicting musical structure is Joseph Straus's notion of "misreading," herein defined as a transformation or recomposition of salient aspects of traditional tonal music

Classical Guitar Music by Irish Composers: Performing Editions and Critical Commentary

The last four hundred years have seen the guitar fall in and out of fashion, from its position as a respected medium for art music to its role as an accompanying instrument. Improvements in the construction of the instrument at the end of the nineteenth century, coupled with growing interest from leading twentieth-century composers, have resulted in a substantial and important new repertoire. A significant increase in the number of new works is especially evident after 1950. The availability of performing editions and compact disc recordings of these works is vital for their dissemination internationally. Since 1969, Irish composers have created a considerable repertoire for guitar, but this repertoire has been sadly neglected by performers due to lack of such editions and recordings. This thesis presents performing editions of thirty-seven works for classical guitar by twenty-one Irish composers and comprises compositions for guitar with orchestra, guitar with another instrument or voice, and guitar solo; a set of five Compact Disc recordings which includes nineteen works by twelve Irish composers (almost four hours of music); a discussion with analytical comments on the works and editorial commentary on the editions, with details, where available, of the composer/performer collaboration; and a more in-depth discussion of seven selected works. This thesis aims to provide a resource for those who wish to perform, or carry out research, into this neglected repertoir

Analysis and expressive performance : four selected works by Chopin

In this dissertation, I examine four works by Chopin and address issues of expressive performance derived from principles of the nineteenth-century Swiss theorist, Mathis Lussy (1828-1910). Lussy’s systematic approach into the understanding and organization of the individual phrase in relation with performance practice resembles many recent theories of rhythm and performance methodologies. As have several recent theorists, Lussy sought the causes of expressive performance in the structure of the musical phrase, rather than a performer’s artistic intuition, and identified a tripartite classification of accent. The purpose of this study is to adapt and expand the application of Lussy’s theory of accent, rhythm, and expression as a basis for performance as it relates to a discussion and analysis of the four selected works by Chopin in conjunction with critical appraisal of recent literature. Topics of discussion include metrical and hypermetrical analyses, grouping structure issues, questions of initial and terminal articulations, expressive accents, and variations of tempo and dynamics as they relate to expressive performance. Each of the works that I have chosen traces a different form, and this allows comparison among different arrangements of phrase and periodic structures. My performative and analytic recommendations and suggestions are compared and contrasted with other published analyses—by Edward T. Cone, Harald Krebs, John Rink, and William Rothstein, among others. The analyses include selected passages from the Prelude, Op. 28, No. 7 in A major; the Mazurka, Op. 7, No. 2 in A minor; the Prelude Op. 28, No. 17 in A-flat major; and the Etude Op. 10, No. 3 in E major. Using Lussy’s precepts, along with additional commentary, I formulate alternative ways to perform and to connect short segments and ways to shape their successions into convincing larger and expressive designs

Emergent Formal Functions in Schubert\u27s Piano Sonatas

Drawing on the work of Janet Schmalfeldt and William Caplin, I explore the way in which emergent formal function determines our perception of form in four piano sonata movements by Schubert: D.840, D.845, D.850 and D.894. Janet Schmalfeldt adapts the notion of formal function to directly address the dialectic between “being” and “becoming,” approaching formal function from a phenomenological perspective. Building on her work, I define emergent formal function as a formal function that is conditioned by how the listener’s expectations change. It is an important analytical tool that helps us understand how and why Schubert’s sonata forms depart from prior Classical models. Drawing on Schmalfeldt’s work, emergent formal function depicts the phenomenology of when consequential formal conjecture that is revoked or modified by an earlier assertion—an analytical tool that combines diachronic and synchronic listening strategy. As a corollary, I discuss how harmonic reinterpretations, like emergent harmonic functions, contribute to creating indistinct edges between thematic functions in these four piano sonata movements. Emergent formal function expands the scope of inquiry into the harmonic bivalence in Schubert’s late style from the study of local chromaticism to the realm of tonal form

Douglas Stuart Moore (1893-1969) as Organist and Composer of Organ Music

The early twentieth-century American composer Douglas Stuart Moore (1893-1969) is best know for his works for the lyric opera stage. However, before achieving notice in the opera world, Moore, in his first professional position, had the responsibility to give organ recitals. The purpose of this document is to present information about the organ study and performance activities of Douglas Stuart Moore by exploring his studies with Charles Tournemire and Nadia Boulanger. A complete repertory list of Moore\u27s recitals at the Cleveland Museum of Art is included. Moore also composed for the organ. This document establishes a definitive list of his works for the organ. There are nine unpublished pieces (Gavotte; Fugue; Prelude; Four Museum Pieces: Fifteenth Century Armor, A Madonna of Botticini, Chinese Lion and Unhappy Flutist, Statue of Rodin; Scherzo; A March for Tamburlaine) and one published piece (Dirge – Passacaglia). Each composition is given careful examination. Its origins in the context of Moore\u27s professional life are explored and each piece analyzed. Thus Moore\u27s compositional techniques and his development as an organist are explored, contributing to a more complete view of this composer and his contributions to American organ music in the period