DMA, University of Cincinnati, 2010, College-Conservatory of Music: Piano

This document examines how four late twentieth-century composers' styles engage with the traditional genre of the etude. It explores the stylistic characteristics of concert etudes by John Cage (Etudes Australes), William Bolcom (Twelve New Etudes for Piano), John Corigliano (Etude Fantasy), and Gyorgy Ligeti (Etudes pour piano, Premier Livre). The interaction of these composers' styles with the general characteristics of the etude is explored from a performer's perspective through a comparative study of these four collections. The introductory chapter provides a brief historical survey of the etude from the late eighteenth century to the twentieth century. Chapters two through five consider the etudes of Cage, Bolcom, Corigliano, and Ligeti in turn, summarizing their respective styles, examining the interaction of their styles with the virtuosic nature of the etude, and providing helpful instructions for the performance of these works. Chapter six briefly compares and contrasts the etudes of these four composers with each other as well as situates these works within the context of late twentieth-century piano music. This document contributes to our understanding of how the etude genre has been embraced by late twentieth-century composers as well as how they have engaged, to varying degrees, with the nineteenth-century attributes of the genre.

Committee: bruce mcclung PhD (Committee Chair); Elizabeth Pridonoff MM (Committee Member); Eugene Pridonoff MM (Committee Member) Subjects: Music

M.M., University of Cincinnati, 2010, College-Conservatory of Music : Music History

The Percussion Group Cincinnati, an ensemble-in-residence at the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music, celebrated its thirtieth anniversary in 2009. In its first three decades, this trio collaborated with at least fifty composers, several of whom have contributed multiple compositions. The more than seventy works composed expressly for the ensemble comprise the core of its performance repertoire. While the members have amassed a sizable body of chamber percussion compositions, their primary goal has remained the process of collaborating. Whereas comparator ensembles measure success by their number of recordings, performances at specific events, or notoriety among various communities, the Percussion Group Cincinnati can be best understood through a careful consideration of its interactions with composers. Through an analysis of the Percussion Group Cincinnati's correspondence, concert programs, promotional materials, recordings, and performance reviews, as well as extensive interviews with past and current members, this thesis offers an examination of the ensemble's partnering composers/collaborations, compositions, and reception. While sharing portions of the ensemble's history, through the lens of composer-performer interaction, this thesis argues that the absence of the Percussion Group Cincinnati from histories of twentieth-century percussion music evinces a flaw in the existing literature: the prevalence of evolutionary narratives that venture to connect the “great composers” of twentieth-century percussion music with the likes of Haydn, Beethoven, and Berlioz. Instead of exploring the various ways that composers and performers in this genre have functioned, authors have too often set out to legitimize percussion chamber music by placing it in a teleological narrative whose connections are weak and overstatements are many. This thesis demonstrates that, while the members of the Percussion Group Cincinnati are known mainly as performers, they (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: bruce mcclung PhD (Committee Chair); Jeongwon Joe PhD (Committee Member); Robert Zierolf PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Music

Bachelor of Arts (BA), Ohio University, 2024, Music

Tracking the development of experimental music from 1920 to 1970, this paper seeks to explore how Artists have dealt with and worked within the Absurdity of Life. From Arnold Schoenberg, to John Cage, to Fluxus, the artistic shifts brought by these artists move toward a gradual acceptance of the Absurd and the break down of the Art/Life divide. Accompanying the research is a portion of an opera I wrote that simultaneously analyzes, comments on, and participates in the conflict between the Absurd and the Ideal in Art. The opera follows the poet Stephane Mallarme on his journey to create perfect expression through language despite several Absurd scenarios ranging from the fantastic to the deeply human.

Committee: Robert McClure (Advisor) Subjects: Art History; Music; Performing Arts

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2019, Dance Studies

This dissertation uses four case studies to examine the shifting discourse of dance and dance studies since the turn of the 20th century, and how this discourse is in relationship with the political, social, and academic cultural context of the United States. My interdisciplinary research uses methods adapted from microhistory and Critical Discourse Analysis, as well as archival research and close reading in order to show how various forms of dance writing have been instrumental in shaping that discourse and creating change within and across our discipline. My first case study centers on the term “modern dance” in order to draw parallels between Fordist industrial practices and the racialization of social partner dancing in the first decades of the 20th century, resulting in the erasure of black influences on modern dance. My second case study focuses on the writing of John Cage and Jill Johnston – two artists whose experimental poetics reflected and facilitated the turn to postmodernism during the mid-20th century. Unpacking various techniques within their writing I show how these artists used black literary aesthetics and other experimental devices to articulate a vision of political and social togetherness during the climate of the Lavender Scare. My third case study traces the rise of dance studies within American higher education, comparing two anthologies: What is Dance from 1983 and the second edition of the Routledge Dance Studies Reader from 2010. From this comparison I move to a close reading of Susan Foster's 2010 re-publication of “Choreographing History” to show how Foster negotiates attitudes to gender and the body within an academic setting. My final case study examines dance as a medium for social change, guided by two metaphors: the studio is the world, and choreography is protest. Using contemporary theories of horizontality, affect and technique I analyze a range of works through this metaphorical lens, showing how both the rehearsal process and (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Karen Eliot (Committee Chair); Norah Zuniga Shaw (Committee Member); Galey Modan (Committee Member); Harmony Bench (Committee Member) Subjects: Dance

DMA, University of Cincinnati, 2019, College-Conservatory of Music: Piano

John Cage is one of the most prominent American avant-garde composers of the twentieth century. As the first true pioneer of the "prepared piano," Cage's works challenge pianists with unconventional performance practices. In addition, his extended compositional techniques, such as chance operation and graphic notation, can be demanding for performers. The purpose of this study is to provide a performer's guide for four prepared piano works from different points in the composer's career: Bacchanale (1938), The Perilous Night (1944), 34'46.776" and 31'57.9864" For a Pianist (1954). This document will detail the concept of the prepared piano as defined by Cage and suggest an approach to these prepared piano works from the perspective of a performer. This document will examine Cage's musical and philosophical influences from the 1930s to 1950s and identify the relationship between his own musical philosophy and prepared piano works. The study will also cover challenges and performance issues of prepared piano and will provide suggestions and solutions through performance interpretations. By understanding how playing the prepared piano is different from conventional performance, pianists will enhance their musical and intellectual interpretations of these works.

Committee: Jeongwon Joe Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Awadagin K.A. Pratt A.D. (Committee Member); Christopher Segall Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Performing Arts

M.M., University of Cincinnati, 0, College-Conservatory of Music: Music History

This thesis examines the previously undocumented friendship between John Cage and Van Meter Ames from 1957 to 1985 and Cage's residency at the University of Cincinnati (UC) from January to May 1967. It considers Zen Buddhism as the framework of their friendship, and the residency as evidence of Cage's implementation of his 1960s philosophy. Starting in 1957, Cage and Ames explored their common interest in Zen and social philosophies through extensive correspondence. This exchange added to the composer's knowledge of Zen and Western philosophies, specifically pragmatism. Cage's five-month tenure as composer-in-residence at UC enabled the two friends to be in close proximity and proved to be the highlight of their relationship. I suggest that this friendship and Ames's publications contributed to Cage's understanding of Zen during the 1960s and the development of his philosophy from this period. In the 1960s Cage's spiritual belief diverged from his study of Zen with Daisetz T. Suzuki in the 1950s and was similar to Ames's philosophic outlook. Cage and Ames both sought to bridge Western and Eastern cultures, assimilate Chinese philosophy, and modify Zen philosophy for modern society by adopting Thoreau's humanistic and social theories, and relating pragmatism to their ideal social model. This study documents the friendship between Ames and Cage, and Cage's residency at UC through programs, newspaper and magazine articles, correspondence, and Ames's 1967 diary. It also examines Ames's articles and monograph Zen and American Thought (1962), and unpublished typescript “A Book of Changes” (1967–71), which demonstrates Ames's insight of the composer's music, personality, and aesthetics. Cage implemented his 1960s philosophy throughout his residency at UC. In a broader view, the residency realized part of his personal global planning that was to fulfill Marshall McLuhan's concept of a global village, through his visiting appointments at various institutions of higher l (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: bruce mcclung Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Jeongwon Joe Ph.D. (Committee Member); Allen Otte M.M. (Committee Member) Subjects: Music

M.M., University of Cincinnati, 2013, College-Conservatory of Music: Music History

With 4'33" John Cage brought silence to the forefront of musical discourse. The avant-garde composer engaged with and promoted “silence” at an unprecedented level, but silence beyond Cage, in my opinion, has not received adequate coverage. This thesis engages in the aesthetics of silence in the twentieth century. Treating silence as a compositional tool and musical style, I examine silence's different manifestations in the instrumental works by Federico Mompou (1893–1987), Chou Wen-Chung (b. 1923), and George Crumb (b. 1929). I begin by defining different manifestations and functions of silence, among which are structural, rhetorical, and metaphorical silences. The remainder of the thesis consists of case studies where I interpret these silences based on the musical, cultural, and biographical contexts. The case studies include Mompou's first collection of Musica callada (1959); Chou's String Quartet No. 1, “Clouds” (1996); and Crumb's Music for a Summer Evening (1974).

Committee: Jeongwon Joe Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Steven Cahn Ph.D. (Committee Member); bruce mcclung Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Music

DMA, University of Cincinnati, 2011, College-Conservatory of Music: Percussion

Although the significance of her achievements has not yet been widely recognized by the musical establishment, the music and aesthetic philosophies of Lucia Dlugoszewski (1931-2000) distinguish her as one of the most original and creative American composers of the twentieth century. Drawing comparisons to Henry Cowell, John Cage, Harry Partch, and her teacher – Edgard Varese, her music encapsulates the philosophies and developments for which these composers are best known. Her invention of the “timbre piano” in 1951 advanced with greater sophistication the sonic expansions of the piano that were first explored by Cowell and Cage; this and her invention of an orchestra of one hundred new percussion instruments allowed the creation of a highly idiosyncratic music structured primarily on timbral and dynamic contrasts. Collaborating throughout her career with noted choreographer Erick Hawkins, Dlugoszewski sought to create a new mode of artistic expression that was heavily based on the concepts of sensual realism, “Suchness” and “Otherness” (as found in Zen Buddhism and haiku poetry), and other abstract philosophical doctrines in the pursuit of the dialectic compatibility of sound, movement, and theatre; further collaborations with film makers, painters, poets, and the notoriously provocative dramatic company, The Living Theatre, established a deep and profound influence on the whole of the New York avant-garde. Despite her imaginative and unique contributions to experimental music, Dlugoszewski's professional choices, gender, and her rejection of contemporary trends in modern music (e.g. serial methods, chance operations) largely sheltered her from the attention of the mainstream musical community, and this research represents the first substantial scholarship on her life and music. With a thorough review of available information and the cooperation of performers who knew her as a colleague and friend, this document will provide a complete biographical history, an expl (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Allen Otte MM (Committee Chair); Russell Burge MM (Committee Member); James Culley MM (Committee Member) Subjects: Music

DMA, University of Cincinnati, 2008, College-Conservatory of Music : Voice

For over forty years Gertrude Stein developed a style of writing that combined the newly explored disciplines of cognitive psychology and abstract visual art into an innovative literary form. Stein ultimately challenged one's ability to comprehend through non-linear forms of communication by attempting to bridge the gap between visual art, music, and literature. Stein used musical devices within her writing on both tactile and aural levels. Therefore, musicaldevices implemented in Stein's writing style and the realizations of these devices by six American art song composers have been assessed. Chapter 1 discusses elements that influenced Stein's establishment of writing style and disassembles her writing into specific compositional devices. Chapter 2 highlights the transcendental properties of music and Stein's utilization of music's non-linear modes of communication. Chapter 3 addresses the comprehension of Stein's musically laden texts through the diverse compositional styles and musical experiences achieved through art songs composed by Virgil Thomson, Ned Rorem, David Diamond, John Cage,Gunther Schuller, and Richard Hundley. The study concludes with a performance guide in chapter 4, which offers assistance in forming personal interpretation and brief song specifics to vocalists who wish to perform Stein art songs. The purpose of this study is to broaden awareness and scholarship of art songs set to Stein's texts and the variance of compositional choices that aptly realize her musical semantics.

Committee: Melinda Boyd PhD (Committee Chair); William McGraw (Committee Member); Mary Henderson-Stucky (Committee Member) Subjects: American Literature; Fine Arts; Music

Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2012, Art

Sound is universal, abstract, and omnipresent. I am interested in coaxing out the nuances in sound as it transmutes from transmission to reception, through culture and form. This interest in sonic relationships and history came from a life of music that precedes and frames my evolution into sonic, video, and installation works. I have translated my musical knowledge into a body of work that examines the relationships between the unseen sonic world and the physical, visual and activated art world. This document chronicles my work over the past two years experimenting with creating new instruments and algorithmic experiences for humans and summarizes the motivations for taking sound as a material and phenomenon and transforming these sonic waves through other mediums and materials. This research culminates in a hybrid of installation sculpture, performance, and software all rooted in sonic relationships and phenomena. I do not consider myself a sound artist, but rather an artist driven by sound.

Committee: Kenneth Rinaldo (Advisor); Todd Slaughter (Committee Member); Marc Ainger (Committee Member) Subjects: Artificial Intelligence; Audiology; Composition; Experiments; Fine Arts; Information Systems; Mass Media; Performing Arts; Robotics; Robots; Technology

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2011, Musicology

John Cage and Merce Cunningham's life-long collaboration is one of the richest performing arts partnerships of the twentieth century, one that led to radical new modes of expression in music and dance. This dissertation offers a comprehensive study of their first collaboration, Credo in Us (1942), a satiric dance-drama about a dysfunctional married couple set in the American West. Cunningham and Jean Erdman jointly created the choreography and Cunningham wrote a scenario and script inspired by James Joyce and French surrealist poetry. Conceived just weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Credo offers a window into a unique moment in American cultural history, when exiled European artists escaping Nazi persecution arrived in New York and engaged with their American counterparts. Cage was immersed in this thriving community of artists while living in Peggy Guggenheim's home, where he met the luminaries of the European avant-garde, including Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp and Andre Breton. It is in this vibrant context that Cage creates his score for Credo, which is significant for two interrelated reasons. First, it embraces a collage aesthetic, juxtaposing a diverse range of musical styles and sounds, from folk music and jazz to phonograph samples, radio sounds, and “found” percussion noises. Second, Cage's incorporation of random elements in the score anticipates his later embrace of indeterminacy and chance procedures in the post-war period, a move that had profound implications in music, art, literature, dance, and theatre that resonate to this day. This study takes an interpretative approach that encompasses the interdisciplinary elements of Credo, as well as its historical and social context. Its focus is on the interrelationship between the dance, script and music and how the collaborative process informed Cage's embrace of a collage aesthetic. This illuminates the ways in which Cage's aesthetic engagement with the European avant-garde and collaborative work wit (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Mary Davis Dr. (Committee Chair); David Bernstein Dr. (Committee Member); Daniel Goldmark Dr. (Committee Member); Francesca Brittan Dr. (Committee Member); John Orlock Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Music