ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes most of the ASU Theses and Dissertations from 2011 to present. ASU Theses and Dissertations are available in downloadable PDF format; however, a small percentage of items are under embargo. Information about the dissertations/theses includes degree information, committee members, an abstract, supporting data or media.
In addition to the electronic theses found in the ASU Digital Repository, ASU Theses and Dissertations can be found in the ASU Library Catalog.
Dissertations and Theses granted by Arizona State University are archived and made available through a joint effort of the ASU Graduate College and the ASU Libraries. For more information or questions about this collection contact or visit the Digital Repository ETD Library Guide or contact the ASU Graduate College at gradformat@asu.edu.
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Piano
- All Subjects: Composers
- Creators: Rogers, Rodney
The Cripples (Movement I) explores layered rhythms and disjunct melodic fragments which play on the idea of Bruegel’s painting of crippled men trampling over each other and stumbling. Small moments of balance are found throughout only to be lost. Patience (Movement II) is based on an early engraving of Bruegel, which depicts a lone woman who represents a virtue, in this case patience, surrounded by sin and vices. Juxtaposed textures are presented with patience eventually finding itself victorious to temptation. Children’s Games (Movement III) explores a painting which depicts a large number of children playing a plethora of different games. The movement uses graphic notation and plays with the idea of games to create a compositional “game” for the ensemble. Big Fish Eat Little Fish (Movement IV) depicts a large fish eating several smaller fish. A process is introduced which plays on the idea of increasing density and lasts for the bulk of the movement.
of the modern marimba. This guide is not designed as an orchestration text, suggesting ways to write for the instrument, rather, it illustrates through examination of well-known solo and chamber works how selected composers have effectively written for the instrument.
A guide for basic notation and examples of successful notation are included, as well as the basics of performer techniques. Samples of problematic, sometimes impossible passages are included to show the instruments and its performers' current limitations. The construction of the marimba and how it is tuned, a guide to mallets, and all of the current established extended techniques is also included. The majority of the information comes from the citation of established research on the marimba, composers and performers, and the author’s own experiences.
The intention of this document is two fold: to give composers who are unfamiliar with marimba a resource to begin composing for the instrument effectively, and for those composers who are familiar with the marimba it is designed to spark their creativity in an efficient and effective manner. The ultimate goal of this document is to create compositional momentum for marimba solo and chamber works and grow the repertoire, which is still in its infancy.
Being an excellent pianist himself, Kapustin has recorded many of his own works, giving a firsthand reference for interpreting his piano music. Some of his most famous works, including the Variations, Op. 41, the Eight Concert Etudes, Op. 40, and the 24 Preludes in Jazz Style, Op. 53 have been recorded by other prominent artists, such as Steven Osborne and Marc-Andre Hamelin.
Scholarly research on Kapustin’s piano works remains limited. Most of it is found in journal articles and dissertations. Unfortunately, all of them are focused on his early popular works. His more recent works from 2007-2013: the Six Little Pieces, Op. 133, Dialogue, Op. 148, Etude Courte mais Transcendante pour piano, Op. 149, Nobody Is Perfect, Op. 151, A Pianist In Jeopardy, Op. 152, and Wandering, Op. 153, have not yet been discussed in any scholarly writing.
In brief, the purpose of this study is to present a first recording of these six major solo works, and to examine them in a research paper. The paper discusses Kapustin’s consistent use of jazz elements in his recent works, addresses musical and technical concerns in their performance practice, and facilitates more extended study of these valuable but yet to be recorded works.
The paper consists of eight parts. The first part covers brief background information on the composer, as well as reviewing important jazz features, in order to more effectively analyze his stylistic language in the six compositions which are explored in the subsequent chapters including a conclusion.
The purpose of the research is to introduce Walter Saul’s five sonatinas, composed from 1998 to 2015. Walter Saul is a gifted living American composer and pianist. He has written a quantity of piano music intended for study by young performers. His five sonatinas, in traditional sonata forms, use a variety of compositional techniques, including twelve-tone rows, jazz elements, modulations, modes, scales, and contrapuntal procedures. Performers may find that the analyses in this document are useful in understanding these pieces. The guides are likewise provided to teachers and students studying these pieces.
This paper consists of six chapters. It begins with an introduction in Chapter 1; Chapter 2 presents a biography of Walter Saul; Chapter 3 observes characteristics of Walter Saul’s piano music; Chapter 4 deals with background of the five sonatinas; Chapter 5 provides performance guides including simple analyses; Chapter 6 arrives at a conclusion.