ABSTRACT

This dissertation examines historical issues, performance practice, and practical application components of character/spirit, tempo, and tempo rubato in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, Op. 55 (Eroica). An important goal of this research is the connection between theoretical analysis and its practical application.

The three chapters of this dissertation address, in turn, three central performance elements related to the Symphony: character/spirit, tempo, and tempo rubato. Each section first provides an historical overview of the topic and identifies the range of issues that a performer might face. Then it addresses each issue from different perspectives – that of Beethoven himself, his students and followers, his antagonists, contemporaneous musicians and musicians of later generations. This study also attempts to connect the past with modern-day beliefs and practices by tracing the development of major performance paradigms from Beethoven’s time to the beginning of the 21st century.

After the theoretical-historical overview, the second half of chapters 2 and 3 attempts to address in detail, examples that a performer may encounter while working on the score, and provides recommendations grounded in performance and musicological knowledge for possible ways of addressing these issues.

This research was done by a practicing orchestral conductor (no comma) and aims to serve as a performer’s reference guide. My hope is that this study will help stimulate further theoretical and practical research leading to informed, stylistically aware, and interesting interpretations of Beethoven’s Eroica - a revolutionary, potent, and timeless work.

In this dissertation, I examine the role and evolution of diegetic music as represented in the Bühnenmusik of four pivotal operas: Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde (1865); Alban Berg's Wozzeck (1924) and Lulu (1935); and Bernd Alois Zimmermann's Die Soldaten (1965). These operas were chosen not simply for their shared Teutonic origins, but because they are important parts of an ideological and aesthetic lineage that clearly shows how the relationship between music and drama was transformed through the use of Bühnenmusik. In addition to exploring the musical materials and meanings of diegetic music within these operas, I address the challenges and peculiarities of conducting Bühnenmusik, and the role that evolving technology has played in overcoming issues of coordination between the stage and the orchestra pit.

This dissertation explores Mieczysław Weinberg’s Symphony No. 8, Kwiaty polskie [Polish Flowers], Op. 83 (1964). Weinberg’s life was shaped by displacement and resilience. The Polish-born composer fled Nazi-occupied Poland in 1939 and found refuge in Moscow, where he became a close friend of Dmitri Shostakovich. The 58-minute symphony, scored for tenor soloist, mixed chorus, and orchestra, sets texts from Julian Tuwim’s epic poem Polish Flowers, and powerfully addresses the adversities faced by Poland during the war period.This dissertation weaves together historical contextualization, musical analysis, and cultural exploration. The core of my analysis involves a detailed examination of the symphony’s structure, musical themes, and influences. The dissertation also explores Weinberg’s life journey, his many other choral symphonies, and the genesis, performance history, and legacy of Symphony No. 8. My research attempts to illuminate the intricate interplay between Tuwim’s poems and Weinberg’s music, and tries to shed light on the poet’s and composer’s explorations of identity amid displacement. I also discuss cross-cultural influences on Symphony No. 8, including Jewish and Polish music elements, as well as the symphony’s resonance with Polish history and cultural expression. In Appendix A, I have provided first-ever poetic English translations of the symphony’s texts, a potentially important element in promoting international appreciation of and interest in this remarkable work.

In the twenty-first century, knowledge of Gustav Mahler’s work as a conductor is largely limited to his work in the German romantic repertory, with particular affinities for the symphonies of Beethoven and the operas of Wagner, alongside his advocacy of his own music. But a closer look reveals that Mahler’s musical curiosity—both in the opera house and the concert hall—extended quite far beyond nineteenth-century German music. In this dissertation, I will spotlight the Bach Suite Mahler edited and assembled as a piece of music in its own right, and will discuss it as a symbol for Mahler’s complicated relationship with music of the past and with his own identity as expressed in his famous quotation “Ich bin dreifach heimatlos: als B�hme unter den �sterreichern, als �sterreicher unter den Deutschen und als Jude in der ganzen Welt.” (I am three times homeless: as a Bohemian among Austrians, as an Austrian among Germans and as a Jew in the entire world.)The focus of this dissertation will be fourfold: a survey of available literature about the Suite; a discussion of the implications of musical appropriation and the cultural circumstances surrounding Mahler’s decision to assemble his own Suite rather than perform one of the existing Bach Orchestral Suites; some thoughts about the implications of performing such a Romantically-inflected edition of the music of Bach in an age of historically-informed performance; and some practical considerations for rehearsing and performing the suite as keyboardist and conductor, as I did with UCLA Philharmonia in the spring of 2019. (Video of the performance accompanies this dissertation in ProQuest and the University of California’s repository, eScholarship. It may also be accessed directly via the following link: https://vimeo.com/337853300/519b69cf76.)

This dissertation focuses on three works for solo trumpet by Black American composers:Miles Per Hour (1990) by Regina Harris Baiocchi, Vous Compra (2001) by Alvin Singleton, and A handful of sand (2020) by Alice Jones. Trained in Western art music, these composers have incorporated Black American music aesthetics into their creative work. The three pieces studied closely here feature improvisational dimensions related to jazz practices. All three works have attracted significant attention in the context of social unrest and impulses for change following the killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. Following an introductory chapter, including a literature review and methodology overview, the main body of this dissertation presents three chapters dedicated to the compositions in focus. These chapters include profiles of the composers, analyses of the selected works, discussions of matters of reception, and performance insights. Trumpet players unfamiliar or uneasy with improvisation should find the performance remarks especially valuable. The analytical approach stems from Judy Lochhead’s Reconceiving Structure in Contemporary Music: New Tools in Music Theory and Analysis (2015), as well as the work of Horace J. Maxile Jr. and Portia K. Maultsby. Information and perspectives gleaned through my personal interviews with each of the composers also inform these chapters. The fifth and final chapter, “Diversifying Music Curriculum,” explores inclusive music curriculum practices, and includes lesson plan recommendations for Miles Per Hour, Vous Compra, and A handful of sand. Concluding remarks encourage scholars, educators, and performers to extend this spotlight on music by contemporary Black American composers into the pedagogical sphere, embracing its social and cultural relevance, in the hope that our musical communities will nurture allies for inclusivity who will impact the broader public sphere.

Aaron Copland's Short Symphony remains among the least performed of his works, this despite the fact that the composer considered it among his finest. This dissertation explores the work's history and reception, issues surrounding Copland's notation of meter and rhythm, and his approaches to metric notation. Freely adapting an analytical process developed by Lerdahl and Jackendoff in their 1983 book A Generative Theory of Tonal Music, the author proposes a method of metrical analysis by which Copland's meters can be stripped away, and new meters derived from the metrical weights inherent in the music itself. The result is a newly re-barred version of the Short Symphony's outer movements, scores of which are included as an appendix. It is the author's hope that this method can help illuminate other works with similar notational issues.

The saxophone was invented in the 1840s by Antoine (Adolphe) Joseph Sax (1814-1894) and immediately received attention from prominent composers like Hector Berlioz (1803-1869.) The work done by the ambitious inventor to promote his new instrument included presentations at exhibitions in Belgium and France, which led to military bands adopting the instrument. In addition, Sax opened a 400-seat theater on the premises of his factory in Paris to present concerts featuring his innovations. Coupled with this, Sax established a prolific publishing house, Chez Adolphe Sax, that published at least 35 works for saxophone with piano accompaniment.

When considering this early repertory, modern performers lack adequate resources that provide specific details regarding the sonic characteristics of the early saxophone. How might these performers form a sonic concept reminiscent of the early saxophone when there are so few early recordings? The contributing factors that shaped this sonic concept include the design of the instrument and how it influenced the acoustic properties of the same, the intention of the composer in creating it, the performers who adopted it and the performing practices that informed their performances, and the repertoire published by Sax that they performed. These factors are worthy of consideration for the modern saxophonist wishing to perform the repertoire that helped to build the popularity of the instrument.

The focus of this dissertation is to identify environmental influences that will result in strategies to improve gender representation within the trumpet sections of top orchestras and premier military concert bands in the United States of America. This study began with the collection and analysis of data from these ensembles. In addition, data was collected and analyzed from NASM accredited institutions, which was then used to create an institution pool. This was followed by a research approach centered around gathering environmental influences from selected trumpet professionals, which includes, but is not limited to: early childhood, family music development and support, cultural and subliminal pressures, mentorship, role models, and availability of opportunities. These findings have been organized and analyzed to find overarching themes. Based on these themes, strategies and recommendations are created to improve gender representation in the trumpet sections of the top orchestras and premier military concert bands. Recommendations for further studies are also included.

This paper documents a previously theatrically untrained pianist’s process of preparing Jerome Kitzke’s Sunflower Sutra, a speaking-pianist work, in the theatrical performance tradition. It explains Antonin Artaud’s platform of theater and its application to Sunflower Sutra, and provides the author’s experience researching acting and vocal techniques and their application to performance. Additionally, this document analyzes the effects of lighting design, sound design, and stage arrangements in a piano recital.