This project focuses on Samarkand Pictures, a cycle for solo piano composed by the Uzbek composer Dilorom Amanullaeva. She currently serves on the faculty of the State Conservatory of Uzbekistan in Tashkent where she received her musical education. As Uzbekistan was once a part of the Soviet Union, there is no doubt Amanullaeva was influenced by Russian and Soviet composers, but traditional Uzbek melodic inflections and unique rhythmic patterns can be found prevailing in her writing. The recorded part of the project will include approximately thirty minutes of playing. The written commentary includes a chapter about the composer’s biography and compositional style, and also the historical background of the recorded compositions. Most importantly, the commentary features a guide for performers that is based on the interpretational choices I made when recording this cycle. One of the main purposes of this project is to diversify the modern piano repertoire. With this project, I intend to promote Dilorom Amanullaeva’s piano works and advocate for women composers in classical music in general.

William “Count” Basie (1904-1984) is one of the most beloved and imitated figures in American music. His name has long been ubiquitous among jazz scholars, critics, and practitioners. Basie’s sparse, minimalistic piano idiolect is immediately recognizable, and the 4/4 swing aesthetic of his Kansas City-born jazz orchestra is a cornerstone of the big band idiom. “Stories and Significations” critically examines prevailing narratives about Basie’s biography and musical output, many of which have not been substantively reconsidered since the 1980s. Through an interdisciplinary synthesis of methods ranging from Afrodiasporic modes of musical analysis, archival research, critical historiography, and African American literary theory, this project serves to enrich Basie’s legacy while also critiquing the mythology surrounding it. By signifying on the traditional “Life and Music” paradigm of jazz biography, in “Stories and Significations” I use preexisting scholarly and critical discourses as points of departure for critique while also offering scholars and practitioners new ways to write, talk, and think about Basie. In doing so, I bring Basie, the stories of his life, and the Significations in his music into the rich scholarly discourse of the New Jazz Studies that has added such valuable depth and detail to the legacies of numerous other figures in jazz history such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Miles Davis.

This research paper investigates the relationship between orchestration and harmony in Prokofiev’s orchestral works through selected case studies drawn from his symphonies and several of his symphonic suites. The research focuses on moments where the combination of orchestration and harmony stand out from the orchestral texture. Prokofiev uses these two elements of music to create both a large range of orchestral colors as well as to highlight structurally important moments in thematic development. Through the selected music examples, I highlight how the two elements are mutually dependent, even synergistic. I also argue that Prokofiev uses the two elements in a highly inventive manner to create unique timbral/harmonic effects. Drawing on recent theories related to timbre and perception, the chosen segments of music are analyzed in detail within the context of the works’ form and narrative. The study of these combinations suggests further research and interpretative possibilities for composers, music theorists, and performers.

The versatility of the bassoon has always been a signature trait, noticeable both inthe diversity of canonic works conceived for the instrument and in transcriptions. While Russian composer and pianist, Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953), is well-known for his orchestral and piano compositions, outside from moments in his compositions for orchestra, most woodwind musicians have been unable to experience his solo repertoire and writing style. Prokofiev did not write any solo compositions for the bassoon. In fact, his only solo work for woodwinds is his Sonata for Flute and Piano, Op. 94. The purpose of this project is to transcribe Prokofiev’s Sonata for Flute and Piano, Op. 94 for bassoon and piano as an addition to the bassoon solo literature. The project begins with an historical overview of both composer and composition, then turns into a description of the rationale and process of transcription, followed by the transcription for bassoon and piano itself as well as a complete recording.

The composition Fold is a multi-movement work for flute, clarinet, violin, violoncello, piano, and percussion. The music develops from one simple gesture that generates many variations. The gesture symbolizes a folding technique in origami, the pleat fold. The pleat gesture goes through many transformations and evolves into different musical ideas that carry various metaphorical meanings such as the concept of time, the devotion to craftsmanship, and the physical and mental deterioration of a person. The musical materials form a piece about the changing relationship between a craftsperson and their craft over the span of their creative life. Chinese ci poetry informs the structure of this piece on macro and micro levels. This document examines the compositional processes of Fold and explains how musical metaphors and cultural references are used in her creative output.

Many filmmakers have explored the sonic possibilities offered by experimental, avant-garde, and modernist music as it prospered in the mid-twentieth century. Fascinatingly, horror cinema, with all its eerie subject matter, has championed the use of experimental music in its films. Since the silent-film era, horror has stood much to gain by deviating from the normative film scoring standards developed in Hollywood. Filmmakers indebted to horror continually seek new sounds and approaches to showcase the otherworldly and suspenseful themes of their films. Numerous movies that challenged the status quo through transformative scoring practices achieved distinction among rival films. The rise of auteurist films in the 1950s further instigated experimental practices as the studio system declined and created a space for new filmmakers to experiment with aesthetic strategies. Film music scholarship has paid relatively little attention to the convergences between experimental concert music and horror scoring practices. This topic is crucial, especially horror’s employment of existing experimental music, as it has played a critical role in American filmmaking in the second half of the twentieth century. My thesis traces the relationship between horror cinema and experimental music. I survey the use of experimental music throughout the history of horror films and examine the scores for three films: William Friedkin’s The Exorcist (1973), Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980), and Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island (2010). With my case studies of these three films, I aim to fill a significant gap in film music scholarship, highlight the powerful use of experimental music textures and timbres and demonstrate this music’s significant role in cultivating new scoring practices that succeed in engaging, unnerving and shocking audiences of horror cinema.

The pipe organ, a musical instrument historically, culturally, and conceptually associated with Christian worship, is being negatively affected in terms of condition and continued use in the United States by rising rates of secularity, declining mainline Protestant and Catholic adherents, declining worship attendance, and, most directly, the closure of church buildings. No scholarly research addresses the relationship of secularization and the organ, and no professionals in the field acknowledge its seriousness or have presented plans to counter it.

This paper lays the groundwork for future research while exploring the landscape of the organ’s possible secular uses. The organ’s relationship to secularization is defined through the interdisciplinary lens of secular studies, bolstered through an exploration of its past. This thesis analyzes the use of the organ in secularized churches in the United States through case studies of fourteen organs in thirteen former churches. While these examples reveal some promising adaptive reuses of church buildings and their organs, the prevailing conclusion is that the instrument’s future is severely endangered. There are few paid secular positions and insignificant educational opportunities that stem from secularized churches. The public lacks exposure to the instrument because of the infrequency of organ-related events.

Yet because the organ’s principal aesthetic is not Christian but communal, the instrument has the potential to thrive in secular contexts. This reframing and often literal repositioning requires stronger leadership: organizations and individuals promoting the organ must be proactive in working with the new owners of secularized churches to help them incorporate the instrument in new, revitalized contexts. A dynamic future for the organ requires the creative work of many.

Music both created and consumed by Soviet soldiers during the war in Afghanistan provides an insight into their opinions and criticisms of the war. Music allowed soldiers to vent, to give voice to their experiences, as well as to rationalize their participation in the conflict, enabling them to inject their personal opinions and perceptions of the war into memorable and poetic forms. Through analyzing the Soviet songs about the of Afghan war, we can create a chronological timeline charting the development of resentment and disillusionment among Soviet soldiers: the initial patriotic songs borrowed from prior conflicts soon declined in popularity, replaced with mournful songs reflecting soldiers’ nostalgia for home and fear of death in their daily lives. Their lyrics reveal feelings of anxiety, disenfranchisement and abandonment, all resulting from the Soviet state’s ineffective handling of the war. In addition to songs produced by soldiers themselves, bands within Soviet borders such as Kino also wrote songs about the conflict, using their star power to draw attention to the conflict in their own fashion. By tracking both the creation and spread of these songs about the Soviet-Afghan war (referred to in this essay as either the “Soviet-Afghan War” or, more simply, the “Afghan War” as it is known in Russian), we can find vital, overlooked expressions of if not protest then discontent - among the many bubbling to the surface during the last decade of the USSR. This thesis therefore presents a chronological analysis of representative songs from the Soviet-Afghan war that also takes their popularity and methods of propagation -- the material technologies that allowed for this music to be spread -- into account, plotted alongside the major turning points of the war. It uncovers an otherwise forgotten form of discourse between soldiers about both the war itself, as well as the Soviet government, exploring the political implications of the war’s musical memorialization.

Every collaborative pianist encounters unrealistic and unsuccessful piano reductions of orchestral and operatic compositions on a regular basis. In some cases, the reductions were realized by the composers themselves, and therefore may contain all the notes from the full score, but might not be realistic piano reductions. Other times, the reductions may have been made by an editor who might arrange the piano part according to their own physical abilities, experience, or taste, but might ignore essential elements of the original orchestration. Alexander Glazunov’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 82 is frequently performed by students and professional violinists alike. The existing piano reduction of the concerto was written by the composer himself. However, the reduction has various issues that make performing this composition challenging for pianists. The main purpose of this paper is not the simplification of the existing reduction, but the creation of a new reduction that is more pianistic and approachable, yet more true to Glazunov’s dynamic and expressive orchestration. The first chapter of this project is an introduction to and comparison of currently available editions. An overview of the composer’s biography and the historical background of the composition comprise the second chapter. Chapters three, four and five are dedicated to each respective movement of the concerto, with explanations and details about certain editorial decisions. The appendix features a new piano reduction of Glazunov’s Violin Concerto in its entirety.

Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire, written in 1912 for an ensemble of flute, clarinet, piano, violin, cello, and voice
arrator (with certain instrumental doublings), has, since its premiere, greatly influenced composers writing chamber music. In fact, this particular instrumentation has become known as the “Pierrot Ensemble,” with variations on Schoenberg’s creation used by Igor Stravinsky, Luciano Berio, and many other composers.

There are many resources devoted to music for chamber winds composed during the twentieth century, including those inspired by Schoenberg’s configuration. Additionally, many sources have comprehensively covered known chamber music composed before 1900. However, there is very little research dedicated to chamber wind music composed since 2000.

The purpose of this study is to contribute to the body of research about the music by: 1) creating an annotated bibliography of 21st century wind chamber music.; and 2) thereby catalyzing the discovery of recently composed wind chamber music. Moreover, I hope to address and encourage diversity through my research. To that end, the Composer’s Diversity Database was used as a primary resource for discovering compositions written since 2000 for wind/percussion-based ensembles comprising six to thirteen players.