Date of Award
12-1-2011
Degree Name
Master of Music
Department
Music
First Advisor
Bell, Cully
Abstract
Rachmaninov regarded Nikolai Medtner as the greatest composer he had ever known, yet Medtner's music is often neglected in the standard repertoire. Lack of public awareness, as well as the technical and musical difficulties in these works, both contribute to their inaccessibility. Unlike Rachmaninov's music, Medtner's music possesses none of the romance and sentimentality, thus lacking in immediate appeal. However, with repeated listening, it gradually reveals its beauty and brilliance. This document examines Medtner's Acht Stimmungsbilder, Op. 1, from a pedagogical viewpoint. Chapter One provides a short biographical background. Chapter Two discusses Medtner's musical style and his publication, The Muse and the Fashion. Chapter Three is devoted to a pedagogical analysis of the work. The last chapter concludes the paper with a suggested order of study. This set of work is technically challenging and is selected with the advanced-level or college student in mind. These students would have had experience performing 19th Century works and is looking to expand their repertoire. This pedagogical guide is written for the reference of the teacher, however, the student may find this useful to them as well.
Access
This thesis is only available for download to the SIUC community. Current SIUC affiliates may also access this paper off campus by searching Dissertations & Theses @ Southern Illinois University Carbondale from ProQuest. Others should contact the interlibrary loan department of your local library or contact ProQuest's Dissertation Express service.