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- All Subjects: Music
- Creators: Spring, Robert
- Creators: Schuring, Martin
Description
Many options for mouthpieces and reeds are available to clarinetists, which makes selecting the right equipment complicated. In addition to personal research, potential influences in this process included teachers, professors, and private instructors. To provide some clarity in the current trends impacting the selection of new equipment, a survey of clarinetists was conducted. All participants were asked what equipment they were currently using and to specify what elements of the purchase were most important. Aspects such as price, instructor influence, personal research, conferences, brand loyalty, new releases, and social media were ranked by level of importance. Additionally, questions were asked of participants who taught clarinet about what they recommended to their students at various skill levels. The opinions of clarinetists along with the analysis of the data confirmed which mouthpieces and reeds were being suggested for different skill levels. The results were analyzed by type of career with strong trends in the participants current equipment and their suggested equipment.
ContributorsDruesedow, Elizabeth Jane (Author) / Spring, Robert (Thesis advisor) / Gardner, Joshua (Thesis advisor) / Knowles, Kristina (Committee member) / Caslor, Jason (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
The purpose of this DMA project is to broaden the bassoon repertoire from Latin American composers with the commission and recording of a new work, Duasteño for bassoon and clarinet, by Arodi Martínez Serrano (Mexico) and to record the existing works Duasteco by Arodi Martínez Serrano, Argenta by Noelia Escalzo (Argentina), and Fagot Pukllay by Daniel Cueto (Peru). In order to provide a better understanding of these works and the composers, this document contains transcripts of interviews with each composer, including their styles, aesthetics, and backgrounds. The interviews with the composers are the primary sources for this document. Additionally, a performance guide is included providing recommendations to the bassoonists preparing these works. It is my hope that the recordings and performance guide included in this project can be a helpful resource for the bassoonist seeking to perform new works by Latin American composers.
ContributorsBonilla Aguilar, Alfredo (Author) / Micklich, Albie (Thesis advisor) / Gardner, Joshua (Committee member) / Navarro, Fernanda (Committee member) / Schuring, Martin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
The concert vocalise, a dazzling wordless vocal etude intended for performance, is largely a phenomenon of the twentieth century. Made famous by composers such as Sergei Rachmaninoff and Maurice Ravel, the concert vocalise is generally a short, non-programmatic work with a relatively simple form. In contrast, Nikolai Medtner’s two monumental Op. 41 vocalises, the Sonata-Vocalise mit einem Motto “Geweihter Platz and the Suite Vocalise, are staggering in their length and formal complexity. They are also programmatically conceived, sharing the Goethe poem “Geweihter Platz” as their inspiration.
The innovation of adding a textual element to a traditionally textless genre introduces a tantalizing new layer of complexity that demands further research and exploration. However, as with any innovation, it also offers new challenges to performers wishing to program either or both works. Current scholarship has yet to offer any kind of in-depth analysis of either work, leaving questions as to the structural and motivic elements which bind these large works together, not to mention questions related to exactly how Medtner addresses the challenge of linking specific parts of Goethe’s text to the textless portions of music. Furthermore, neither work is considered standard repertoire, and recordings and performances are limited, leaving aspiring performers in something of an informational desert.
In this paper, I endeavor to fill this informational gap for performers and scholars alike by providing them with a brief biography of Medtner, an outline of the development of the concert vocalise genre, and the background of the Goethe poem that inspired Medtner. Then my in-depth analyses reveal underlying structural, motivic, and programmatic links both within and between the works. Finally, my performer’s guide, based on the analyses and my experience performing both works, offers suggestions regarding the interpretational, ensemble, and technical challenges presented by these great works.
The innovation of adding a textual element to a traditionally textless genre introduces a tantalizing new layer of complexity that demands further research and exploration. However, as with any innovation, it also offers new challenges to performers wishing to program either or both works. Current scholarship has yet to offer any kind of in-depth analysis of either work, leaving questions as to the structural and motivic elements which bind these large works together, not to mention questions related to exactly how Medtner addresses the challenge of linking specific parts of Goethe’s text to the textless portions of music. Furthermore, neither work is considered standard repertoire, and recordings and performances are limited, leaving aspiring performers in something of an informational desert.
In this paper, I endeavor to fill this informational gap for performers and scholars alike by providing them with a brief biography of Medtner, an outline of the development of the concert vocalise genre, and the background of the Goethe poem that inspired Medtner. Then my in-depth analyses reveal underlying structural, motivic, and programmatic links both within and between the works. Finally, my performer’s guide, based on the analyses and my experience performing both works, offers suggestions regarding the interpretational, ensemble, and technical challenges presented by these great works.
ContributorsUhl, Nathan Leonard (Author) / Campbell, Andrew (Thesis advisor) / Carpenter, Ellon (Thesis advisor) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
Lu Pei (b. 1956) is a celebrated Chinese American composer who currently serves as a composition professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. His work is known for its varied use of Chinese folk tunes. He lived in the United States a long time, which cultivated within him abundant Western musical influences. The sound of multi-ethnic elements is greatly reflected in his own music. Writing an opera has always been his ultimate dream as a composer, and after many years of work, the opera The Third of March was completed and premiered in 2018 in Guangxi. It has received wide acclaim and has been a favorite of younger listeners. Lu Pei aims to bring young people to modern music and the Chinese opera, not only using traditional Chinese musical elements, but also adopts “reinvented” modern Western musical styles, giving a new identity to the Chinese opera is the main foci of The Third of March.
To prepare for my performer’s guide to The Third of March, I will discuss Lu Pei’s inspirations from the Guangxi Song Fairs, and the music and culture of the Zhuang people surrounding the date in the Chinese lunar calendar, March Third. For Westerners unfamiliar with Lu Pei’s music, I will briefly introduce the compositional blending of Western and Chinese musical styles with a section about Chinese composers active in the United States, Chen Yi (b. 1953), and Tan Dun (b. 1957). I will also include a brief outline of the history of Chinese opera development, and Lu Pei’s compositional concepts and the background of the opera The Third of March will be discussed.
My performer’s guide, the primary focus of this project, will begin by stressing Lu Pei’s adoption of different Chinese folk songs and Western compositional elements. These techniques clearly gave the piece a unique stylistic identity. I will give a brief overview of the Chinese language diction in International Phonetic Alphabet. Finally, the qualities of the main arias in the opera, and some of the Chinese operatic techniques for singers, and their special effects, will be explored.
To prepare for my performer’s guide to The Third of March, I will discuss Lu Pei’s inspirations from the Guangxi Song Fairs, and the music and culture of the Zhuang people surrounding the date in the Chinese lunar calendar, March Third. For Westerners unfamiliar with Lu Pei’s music, I will briefly introduce the compositional blending of Western and Chinese musical styles with a section about Chinese composers active in the United States, Chen Yi (b. 1953), and Tan Dun (b. 1957). I will also include a brief outline of the history of Chinese opera development, and Lu Pei’s compositional concepts and the background of the opera The Third of March will be discussed.
My performer’s guide, the primary focus of this project, will begin by stressing Lu Pei’s adoption of different Chinese folk songs and Western compositional elements. These techniques clearly gave the piece a unique stylistic identity. I will give a brief overview of the Chinese language diction in International Phonetic Alphabet. Finally, the qualities of the main arias in the opera, and some of the Chinese operatic techniques for singers, and their special effects, will be explored.
ContributorsBan, Banlingyu (Author) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Thesis advisor) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
In the early part of 2020, musicians faced an unprecedented challenge. A novel coronavirus emerged, spreading throughout the world and creating a pandemic. To control the spread of this virus, local governing officials suspended large gatherings in public spaces, which meant that all live music performances were cancelled for the foreseeable future. As a response to these cancellations, many musicians turned to live streaming, sharing transmissions of live performances over the internet. However, as life under COVID-19-related restrictions continued, the internet quickly became oversaturated with live stream music performances. This led musicians to discover innovative ways to adapt their creative practices for virtual settings. Through the process of commissioning, premiering, and recording new works, this research project explores how music practitioners can create music that is designed specifically for the imposed restrictions on the performing arts that accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic. To complete this project, I commissioned new works for clarinet and bass clarinet intended for performance under shelter-in-place conditions. The pieces included in this project are Two Flights for B-Flat Clarinet by Bill Clay (2020), 8 Months by Jessi Harvey (2020), R....v...rs....m oooiiiiii by Gabo Champagne (2021) and Od-ieu by Kim Farris-Manning (2021). I presented these works in two virtual formats: (1) I staged a virtual concert of their premieres from my home studio space, and (2) released studio-quality recordings of them paired with extra-musical video footage. This document offers an account of the virtual concert, a description of the process of the video production component, and performance guides for each commissioned piece. An audio/video recording of the virtual concert is included as a supplemental media file to this document, as are all music videos.
ContributorsLougheed, Julia Lynn (Author) / Spring, Robert (Thesis advisor) / Gardner, Joshua (Thesis advisor) / Knowles, Kristina (Committee member) / Wells, Christi Jay (Committee member) / Caslor, Jason (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
Throughout western clarinet art music, there are not only a large number of great performers and classical works, but also a valuable body of literature that has laid a solid foundation for clarinet development and global dispersion. By contrast, Chinese clarinet literature is lacking in quantity and global distribution. However, this is the first comprehensive study that discloses the mysterious mask of China’s clarinet art.
This study does not merely discuss the Chinese clarinet history, but it also introduces important historical events that influenced the development of the Chinese clarinet industry (excluding manufacturing), including Chinese military bands, clarinet music, pedagogy, clarinet figures, and its future direction.
In the conclusion of this paper, the author discusses the deficiency of the Chinese clarinet industry and makes suggestions for solving problems with clarinet players practicing more technique rather than focusing on musicianship, educators’ lack of concentration on teaching and academic research, and the shortage of Chinese clarinet works. Additionally, the author appeals to Chinese clarinet players to actively participate in international activities and the Chinese government to increase incentives to introduce high-level Chinese talents overseas to help make China a better country in any field.
This study does not merely discuss the Chinese clarinet history, but it also introduces important historical events that influenced the development of the Chinese clarinet industry (excluding manufacturing), including Chinese military bands, clarinet music, pedagogy, clarinet figures, and its future direction.
In the conclusion of this paper, the author discusses the deficiency of the Chinese clarinet industry and makes suggestions for solving problems with clarinet players practicing more technique rather than focusing on musicianship, educators’ lack of concentration on teaching and academic research, and the shortage of Chinese clarinet works. Additionally, the author appeals to Chinese clarinet players to actively participate in international activities and the Chinese government to increase incentives to introduce high-level Chinese talents overseas to help make China a better country in any field.
ContributorsZhu, Shuang (Author) / Spring, Robert S (Thesis advisor) / Gardner, Joshua T (Thesis advisor) / Wells, Christopher (Committee member) / Micklich, Albie (Committee member) / Schuring, Martin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017