Summary of Two Dissertation Recitals and Pedagogy Workshop

Abstract

Two dissertation recitals and a pedagogy workshop were given in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts (Music: Performance) at the University of Michigan. The repertoire performed spanned over two centuries of solo piano works, covering a variety of periods and styles. The workshop, accompanied by a paper, surveyed the integration of musicianship skills in three different piano curricula. The first recital was given in Britton Recital Hall on December 3, 2018. The program consisted of J. S. Bach’s Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D minor, BWV 903; Franz Schubert’s Four Impromptus, D. 899/Op. 90; and Franz Liszt’s Totentanz: Paraphrase on Dies irae, S. 525. The second recital, given in Stamps Auditorium on March 31, 2018, was a lecture recital entitled “Doorways: Half-Remembered Music,” which focused on connections between compositions written by composers of different eras. The program consisted of four pairings of miniature pieces: Johannes Brahms’s Intermezzo in E minor from Fantasien, Op. 116 paired with the first movement of Anton Webern’s Variationen, Op. 27; No. 5 from Béla Bartók’s Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm paired with Dave Brubeck’s “Blue Rondo à la Turk”; Claude Debussy’s “Golliwog’s Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner, L. 113, paired with George Crumb’s “Golliwog Revisited” from Eine Kleine Mitternachtmusik; and Frédéric Chopin’s Mazurka in A minor, Op. 17, No. 4 paired with William Albright’s “Fantasy-Mazurka” from Five Chromatic Dances. The pedagogy workshop, held in Watkins Lecture Hall on April 20, 2018, was entitled “A Comparative Study on the Integration of Musicianship Skills in Three Piano Curricula.” Often musicianship skills are neglected during piano lessons, and students’ performance skills can surpass their theory and musicianship skills. The three chosen piano curricula are widely used throughout the United States. The research surveys how each curriculum introduces and teaches musicianship skills to ensure that students develop into well-rounded musicians.