Theses and dissertations

This collection includes both ASU Theses and Dissertations, submitted by graduate students, and the Barrett, Honors College theses submitted by undergraduate students. 

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An examination on the influences and establishment of Chopin's personal style through the comparative analysis of his concertos and Hummel's A and B minor concertos

Description
This study compares the Hummel Concertos in A Minor, Op. 85 and B Minor, Op. 89 and the Chopin Concertos in E Minor, Op. 11 and F Minor, Op. 21. On initial hearing of Hummel's rarely played concertos, one immediately detects similarities with Chopin's concerto style. Upon closer examination, one…

This study compares the Hummel Concertos in A Minor, Op. 85 and B Minor, Op. 89 and the Chopin Concertos in E Minor, Op. 11 and F Minor, Op. 21. On initial hearing of Hummel's rarely played concertos, one immediately detects similarities with Chopin's concerto style. Upon closer examination, one discovers a substantial number of interesting and significant parallels with Chopin's concertos, many of which are highlighted in this research project. Hummel belongs to a generation of composers who made a shift away from the Classical style, and Chopin, as an early Romantic, absorbed much from his immediate predecessors in establishing his highly unique style. I have chosen to focus on Chopin's concertos to demonstrate this association. The essay begins with a discussion of the historical background of Chopin's formative years as it pertains to the formation of his compositional style, Hummel's role and influence in the contemporary musical arena, as well as interactions between the two composers. It then provides the historical background of the aforementioned concertos leading to a comparative analysis, which includes structural, melodic, harmonic, and motivic parallels. With a better understanding of his stylistic influences, and of how Chopin assimilated them in the creation of his masterful works, the performer can adopt a more informed approach to the interpretation of these two concertos, which are among the most beloved masterpieces in piano literature.
ContributorsYam, Jessica (Author) / Hamilton, Robert (Thesis advisor) / Levy, Benjamin (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
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Frédéric Chopin, Interpretation and Analysis Two Case Studies

Description
Pursuit of an informed approach to interpreting Frédéric Chopin’s music has been increasingly challenging in the twenty-first century. In the process of forming their unique voices, pianists turn to the sound recordings of some of the most notable pianistic figures in history. This document offers a detailed inspection of three…

Pursuit of an informed approach to interpreting Frédéric Chopin’s music has been increasingly challenging in the twenty-first century. In the process of forming their unique voices, pianists turn to the sound recordings of some of the most notable pianistic figures in history. This document offers a detailed inspection of three revered recordings and, with the help of syntactic analysis, seeks an understanding of the extraordinary interpretational decisions of Alfred Cortot, Arthur Rubinstein and Dinu Lipatti. The examined works are Chopin’s Prelude in C Major, Op. 28, No. 1, and the Largo of the Sonata in B Minor, Op. 58. The analysis of the Prelude compares recorded performances of Alfred Cortot (ca. 1933-1934) and Arthur Rubinstein (ca. 1946) and explains how their vastly different interpretational choices can, through an analytical process, be traced to the harmonic and melodic implications of the score. Likewise, inspection of the Largo focuses on Dinu Lipatti’s performance (ca. 1947) and draws connections between his phrasing and critical characteristics of the movement. All three performances present exquisite examples of a style of expressive playing that seems to have fallen into disuse in the twenty-first century. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the performing style of Cortot, Rubinstein, and Lipatti, and also seeks to show connections between score analysis and interpretational decisions.
ContributorsJovanovic, Isidora (Author) / Pagano, Caio (Thesis advisor) / Holbrook, Amy (Thesis advisor) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020