Matching Items (7)
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- All Subjects: Piano
- Creators: DeMars, James
Description
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born July 18, 1918 into the Madiba clan in Mvezo, Transkei, South Africa. Mandela was a lawyer by trade and a freedom fighter who envisioned freedom and equality for all South Africans regardless of race. In 1965, Mandela was imprisoned at Robben Island for twenty-seven years for treason and terrorist activities against the South African apartheid regime: he was assigned prison numbers 46664. In 1992, Mandela was released from prison and two years later not only became the first democratically elected president of South Africa, but also its first black president. "Madiba 46664" is an eight-minute chamber work scored for flute, oboe, clarinet in B-flat, and bassoon; vibraphone, and two percussionists; piano; violins, violas, and celli. The work blends traditional South African rhythms of the drumming culture with elements of Western harmony and form in contrasting textures of homophony, polyphony and antiphony. "Madiba 46664" utilizes Mandela's prison number, birthdate and age (at the time the composition process began in 2013) for the initial generation of meter, rhythm, harmony, melody, and form. The work also shares intercultural concepts that can be seen in the works of three contemporary African composers, South Africans Jeanne Zaidel-Rudolph and Andile Khumalo, and Nigerian Ayo Oluranti. Each section represents a period of Mandela's life as a freedom fighter, a prisoner, and a president. The inspiration stems from the composer's discussions with Mandela soon after his release from prison and prior to his presidency. These lively discussions pertained to the state of traditional music in then apartheid South Africa and led to this creation. The conversations also played a role in the creative process.
ContributorsMabingnai, Collette Sipho (Composer) / DeMars, James (Thesis advisor) / Hackbarth, Glenn (Committee member) / Humphreys, Jere (Committee member) / Rockmaker, Jody (Committee member) / Rogers, Rodney (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
This paper investigates the origins of the piano recital as invented by Franz Liszt, presents varying strategies for program design, and compares Liszt's application of the format with current trends. In addition it examines the concepts of program music, musical ekphrasis, and Gesamtkunstwerk and proposes a new multimedia piano concert format in which music combines with the mediums of literature and the visual arts; Picturing Rachmaninoff, and Picturing Ravel provide two recent examples of this format.
ContributorsCook, Stephen Barry (Author) / Hamilton, Robert (Thesis advisor) / DeMars, James (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Pagano, Caio (Committee member) / Cosand, Walter (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Traditional consensus in duos with grand piano has been that issues of balance between piano and the other instrument can be corrected through lowering the lid on the piano, particularly when the other instrument has been thought of as less forceful. The perceived result of lowering the lid on the piano is to quiet the piano enough so as not to overwhelm the other instrument, though the physics of the piano and acoustics suggest that it is incorrect to expect this result. Due to the physics of the piano and natural laws such as the conservation of energy, as well as the intricacies of sound propagation, the author hypothesizes that lowering the lid on the piano does not have a significant effect on its sound output for the audience of a musical performance. Experimentation to determine empirically whether the lid has any significant effect on the piano's volume and tone for the audience seating area was undertaken, with equipment to objectively measure volume and tone quality produced by a mechanical set of arms that reproduces an F-major chord with consistent power. The chord was produced with a wooden frame that input consistent energy into the piano, with measurements taken from the audience seating area using a sound pressure level meter and recorded with a Zoom H4N digital recorder for analysis. The results suggested that lowering the lid has a small effect on sound pressure level, but not significant enough to overcome issues of overtone balance or individual pianists’ touch.
ContributorsLee, Paul Allen (Author) / Campbell, Andrew (Thesis advisor) / DeMars, James (Committee member) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Swoboda, Deanna (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
As one of the composers living in an era filled with innovations, Anatol Konstantinovich Lyadov (1855-1914) has been relatively ignored by scholars and pianists to date. He is an unusual composer with multiple characteristics: solitary but expressive, talented but indolent. His compositional style never lacked critics—especially with respect to his persistent preference of miniatures. Nonetheless, his piano works embody the breathtaking beauty of the composer’s independent musical ideas and colorful musical language. Compared with the flourishing, dazzling, and nationalized music from other composers living in the same era, these light, flowing musical pieces from Lyadov have irreplaceable value.
Through the study of these small-scale piano works, one finds important connections with the music of other renowned composers (e.g. Chopin and Scriabin), and the employment of traditional aspects such as Russian folk tones and fairy tales. Stylistically, Lyadov was a representative of 19th-century Romanticism; however, his compositional style changed during his late period (after 1900), presenting a unique use of dissonance.
The scholarly research on Lyadov’s piano works remains limited. Most of the related resources can be found only in the Russian music literature. No in-depth study or dissertation on the complete piano works of Lyadov could be located, and therefore my research paper is intended to provide useful information to piano performers and teachers, hopefully encouraging more study and performance of Lyadov’s piano works. Despite their lyrical melodies and deep emotion, these works are thus far relatively unpopular and unknown, with only a few played occasionally as encore pieces.
Through the study of these small-scale piano works, one finds important connections with the music of other renowned composers (e.g. Chopin and Scriabin), and the employment of traditional aspects such as Russian folk tones and fairy tales. Stylistically, Lyadov was a representative of 19th-century Romanticism; however, his compositional style changed during his late period (after 1900), presenting a unique use of dissonance.
The scholarly research on Lyadov’s piano works remains limited. Most of the related resources can be found only in the Russian music literature. No in-depth study or dissertation on the complete piano works of Lyadov could be located, and therefore my research paper is intended to provide useful information to piano performers and teachers, hopefully encouraging more study and performance of Lyadov’s piano works. Despite their lyrical melodies and deep emotion, these works are thus far relatively unpopular and unknown, with only a few played occasionally as encore pieces.
ContributorsZhang, Xiaoyu (Author) / Hamilton, Robert (Thesis advisor) / Creviston, Hannah (Committee member) / DeMars, James (Committee member) / Meir, Baruch (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
As with many concertante, Fantasy focuses on the interplay between the soloist and the orchestra. Contrast is a fundamental principle for creating the formal design of the composition. Adjacent sections are related to one another by the contrast of any or all of the following: register, timbre, and texture. Fantasy derives inspiration from the musical languages of Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Moravec, and Debussy.
ContributorsKemp, Tyler (Author) / Rockmaker, Jody (Thesis advisor) / DeMars, James (Committee member) / Rogers, Rodney (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Sonata No. 2 in B-flat Major is a work for trumpet and piano. It is composed in the romantic tradition and is thirty minutes in length. Trumpet chamber repertoire has increased dramatically in the past century, but few new works are representative of the harmonic language or extended forms of the late romantic tradition.
The first movement, “Allegro con spirito,” is in sonata form with fantasy qualities allowing the exposition to meld with the development. The primary theme in 3/4 meter develops a neighbor-tone motive; in contrast, the second theme in 4/4 (in the same tempo) is more lyric in nature. In the development, the juxtaposition of these themes provides changing meters and opportunity for dramatic tension.
The bold and metric nature of the first movement is contrasted with the slow, more lyric second movement, “Dolce e sensibile,” (Sweet and sensitive, pg. 22). This movement in E-flat major is in sonata form and encourages a more expressive, rubato interpretation. The second theme of the first movement shares a similar falling gesture as the themes of the second movement, but are different in their expressive qualities.
The third movement (“Grave et lento”) is played attacca and begins with a transition from the ideas of the second movement (pg. 30). The dissonant harmonies and low register of the piano solo create an ominous atmosphere which mutates to the bold nature of the first movement. The remainder of the third movement is a seven-part Rondo. The primary theme (m. 20, pg. 31) is derived from a theme from the development of the first movement (m. 210, pg. 12). The C section of the rondo (m. 118, pg. 40) develops the opening theme of the third movement and leads to the primary theme in B-flat major. The final A section of the rondo is piu mosso with the primary theme in a compound meter providing a coda for the entire work.
The first movement, “Allegro con spirito,” is in sonata form with fantasy qualities allowing the exposition to meld with the development. The primary theme in 3/4 meter develops a neighbor-tone motive; in contrast, the second theme in 4/4 (in the same tempo) is more lyric in nature. In the development, the juxtaposition of these themes provides changing meters and opportunity for dramatic tension.
The bold and metric nature of the first movement is contrasted with the slow, more lyric second movement, “Dolce e sensibile,” (Sweet and sensitive, pg. 22). This movement in E-flat major is in sonata form and encourages a more expressive, rubato interpretation. The second theme of the first movement shares a similar falling gesture as the themes of the second movement, but are different in their expressive qualities.
The third movement (“Grave et lento”) is played attacca and begins with a transition from the ideas of the second movement (pg. 30). The dissonant harmonies and low register of the piano solo create an ominous atmosphere which mutates to the bold nature of the first movement. The remainder of the third movement is a seven-part Rondo. The primary theme (m. 20, pg. 31) is derived from a theme from the development of the first movement (m. 210, pg. 12). The C section of the rondo (m. 118, pg. 40) develops the opening theme of the third movement and leads to the primary theme in B-flat major. The final A section of the rondo is piu mosso with the primary theme in a compound meter providing a coda for the entire work.
ContributorsBrand, Spencer Paul (Author) / DeMars, James (Thesis advisor) / Rockmaker, Jody (Committee member) / Rodney, Rogers (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
One of the most notable composers of the twentieth century, Krzysztof Penderecki played a vital role in the development of new sonorities and compositional movements in the latter half of the century. Penderecki wrote two sonatas for violin and piano, one in his student days in 1953 and the second in the twilight of his career in 1999. Given the almost fifty years that separate the two works, these sonatas provide valuable insight to Penderecki’s development as a composer over the course of his career as well as give evidence that his own unique compositional style was in place at a very early age. Despite the large span of time between the completions of these two great works, these sonatas share many commonalities. With regards to key aspects such as form, tonality, rhythm, texture, articulation, and more, this paper will analyze and compare the two works to define the ways in which they are similar as well as the ways in which they differ.
ContributorsRamchandani, Micah David (Author) / McLin, Katherine (Thesis advisor) / DeMars, James (Committee member) / Landschoot, Thomas (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016