Dept. of Music - Master's degree
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Item Open Access An exploration of the generic parameters in the Piano Concerto Op. 54 by Robert Schumann(Bilkent University, 2024-06) Kösoğlu, BaturayStarting from the question of the purpose behind its composition, this thesis examines how Robert Schumann’s Piano Concerto Op. 54 synthesizes innovative ideas within a traditional framework and restructures the individual’s relationship with society within the context of romantic ideology. The theoretical framework of the thesis comprises two main chapters. The first chapter focuses on Schumann’s critical ideas on music and his reasons for composing this concerto. In the second chapter, the analysis of the work in terms of genre and style is conducted based on Hepokoski and Darcy’s sonata theory. This methodology has demonstrated the extent to which Schumann adhered to and deviated from classical formal principles in this concerto. The results indicate that Schumann’s creative vision reflects his efforts to rectify the tendencies that he criticized in contemporary piano concertos. As a result, Op. 54 is regarded as a cultural legacy representing Schumann’s endeavor to combine his innovative mindset with his respect for tradition. In a broader context, this concerto emphasizes a new individual-society relationship that supports the ideal of a collective unity.Item Open Access Conducting Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony: structural deconstruction, core emotions and their correlation with conductorial grammar(Bilkent University, 2022-08) Erdinç, DenizThis Thesis presents a musical analysis as well as a conducting guide on the performance and interpretation of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. The methodology follows a deconstruction of two contrasting movements of the work in an arch extending from bigger to smaller structures of form, harmony and orchestration. Each analyzed microstructure is then linked to a specific musical interpretation, and then to precise instructions concerning conductorial grammar and its correlation with core emotions.Item Open Access The Tchaikovsky violin concerto: revisions and repertoire for performance technique(Bilkent University, 2022-07) Alikperova, SabinaThis thesis deals with the Violin Concerto D major op.35, which was composed by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (d. 1893) in 1878 and is regarded by performers as a virtuosic rather than a symphonic concerto. A scholarly research that examines the concertos revisions is further supplemented with research into correlated repertoire for violin performance technique. The research finds that the revisions introduced to the concerto were by master violin performers and their students, some of whom knew Tchaikovsky as well as others who represented their own school of violin performance. The technical repertoire research highlights correlated repertoire such as etudes and caprices serving to advance the violin technique of the performers. Based on the research, this study thus argues that the concerto’s revisions, which included shortening repetitive passages, removal of double stops, and paying more attention to elaborations, are primarily related to the solo violin part, in particular its instrument technique and performance technique.Item Open Access A review of spatial auditory scene assessment approaches(Bilkent University, 2022-08) Golubkova, KristinaThe state-of-the-art research in sound technologies is now increasingly focused on augmented reality systems, which use spatial auditory content to represent information beyond that encountered in the real world. Successful implementation of spatial sound on such a large scale requires comprehensive and reliable research data in acoustics, cognition, and the principle of auditory processing. The main contribution of Rumsey's scene-based paradigm is a theoretical framework for the description and analysis of space-related scenes. This thesis presents an overview of the existing research related to the perception of spatial sound within three domains: spatial hearing and cognition, spatialisation, and evaluation of spatial quality attributes.Item Open Access Beyond reduced listening: understanding the phenomenology of Pierre Schaeffer(Bilkent University, 2022-07) Aslan, DenizPierre Schaeffer has produced a large body of work that consists of both music and a wide-ranging theory for the aesthetics of Musique Concrète. In his Traité Des Objets Musicaux (1966), he lays out a philosophical framework for the genre, where he theorizes the notion of sound object as the primary element of the genre's aesthetical foundation and proposes various ways of describing and categorizing sound objects based on their sole perceptual qualities. His theorization of the sound object is prominently based on phenomenological thinking, which suggests the significance of phenomenology in his compositions as well. The primary objective of this thesis will be to understand Pierre Schaeffer's conception and implementation of phenomenology through the examination of his music, theory, and the relationship between them. Therefore, the inherent rela-tion between reduced listening and phenomenological reduction, and the significance of intentionality in this relationship; the notion of sound object with respect to the notion of object in phenomenology; and the primary role of composition in the transcendence of musical experience of Musique Concrète is discussed. This study intends to capture the role of phenomenology in the sole experience of Musique Concrète, which, hopefully, transcends a structural analysis of Schaeffer's music or a phenomenological analysis of Schaeffer's theory.Item Open Access Texture and form in Beat Furrer’s music: an analysis of Presto, and A due(Bilkent University, 2021-03) H. Javaheri, MohammadFrequently used techniques between the compositions of one specific composer can cause recognizability. It is conceivable to tie compositions to their creator by detecting similar compositional approaches or certain specific techniques and craftsmanship. One of the ways of developing a certain character as a composer is rooted in elaborating and emphasizing a limited number of compositional materials in different frameworks. This thesis aims to show Beat Furrer’s écriture in two of his 1997's works, Presto and a due, which have several common elements and similar approaches in their compositional process. Besides, the thesis traces Furrer’s approach towards compositional crafts in both pieces to explore the gathering of his techniques in using patterns. In these pieces, his patterns' organization includes pitch, pitch class, interval, and rhythmic patterns, which is possible to refer them to a post-serialism approach. In order to grasp this statement, this thesis analyzes texture, form and their relation in Beat Ferrer’s music. By analyzing the two pieces and discussing the mutual methods and procedure between them, this thesis aims to discover his attitudes as a composer for the indicated pieces, which at the end leads to the recognizability of the composer by the listener.Item Open Access Musical structure analysis, conducting and interpretation guide to Halmammedov Symphony No.1(Bilkent University, 2020-12) Rahmedov, RustamThis thesis provides musical structure analysis and conductorial guidance on the performance and interpretation of Nury Halmammedov’s Symphony No.1. The methodology follows deconstruction of the work from macro structures of form and tonal landscapes to microstructures of phrase and musical figures. Textures of the musical language structure are taken apart to reveal dynamic, rhythmic and tonal layering with proofs obtained from the orchestration. The relation of the composer’s musical language with that of traditional Turkmen music is held in focus. Musical context analysis is extended through an insight on the interpretory psychological elements of the work. Guidence on the interpretation of the work from a conductor’s approach is reached through this analysis and definite instructions on conductorial grammer, gestural posture and expressive gestures are offered for each section making up the complete work.Item Open Access The uncanny valley in contemporary music(Bilkent University, 2020-06) Çekem, ArtunThe uncanny valley theory explores the particular disturbance felt towards an entity in relation to the degree of human-likeness that is portrayed through that entity’s anthropomorphic traits. Although the concept initially emerged from the field of robotics, its far-reaching influence on aesthetics became notably manifest in art. On the other hand, this aesthetic understanding also had roots in an earlier, seminal concept referred to as the uncanny (das Unheimliche). Within this context, this thesis will first of all outline the critical relationship between the uncanny and uncanny valley concepts under the overarching topic of uncanny aesthetics. The primary objective of this thesis will be to identify the various occurrences of the uncanny valley effect in contemporary music. For this purpose, the causal factors of the phenomenon has been divided into seven categories, being Bodily Appearance, Bodily Motion (Gesture, Facial Expression, Corporeality), Speech, Voice, Persona, Crossmodal Mismatch, and Fiction. Each category and subcategory will be matched with a pertinent example from contemporary music, followed by a discussion on the emotional and contextual significances of the specified categories within those works. Ultimately, this thesis intends to draw a historical correlation between uncanny aesthetics and the various artistic approaches that can be observed in the referenced contemporary music works.Item Open Access Spatial audio reproduction techniques and their application to musical composition: the analysis of “wunderkammer”, “point-instant” and “hollow”(Bilkent University, 2019-08) Dağlık, EnginThe use of space is considered as a structural part of a musical composition. The developments in the spatial audio reproduction technology has changed the way we perceive the sound. So, it is inevitable to put emphasis on ”composing space” in parallel with ”composing sound”. This thesis is aimed at composers who seek how recent spatial audio reproduction technology contributes to the compositional process. In order to grasp the idea behind ”composing space” by using recent spatial audio reproduction methods; the importance of space in history, pioneering technological innovations in audio technology, brief technical explanations of the spatialisation techniques and analysis of three pieces in the context of spatial audio reproduction technologies will be presented and discussed throughout the text.Item Open Access Syntactic versus semantic stand: analysis of Jonty Harrison’s Klang and Surface Tension(Bilkent University, 2019-08) Çağlarcan, DenizDuring the 1980s and 1990s, English electroacoustic music composer Jonty Harrison (1952-) composed a series of tape pieces and collected them in an album called ´Evidence mat´erielle in 2000. In this thesis, two pieces, Klang (1982) and Surface Tension (1996) have been analyzed in order to place them accurately within the contextual framework drawn by Pierre Schaeffer, R. Murray Schafer, and Simon Emmerson. To discover the relationship of those concepts to Harrison’s music, the author investigated Pierre Schaeffer’s Treatise on Musical Objects (1966 edition), R. Murray Schafer’s The Soundscape: Our Sonic Environment and the Tuning of the World (1977 edition) and Simon Emmerson’s The Language of Electroacoustic Music (1986 edition). The intention of this work is to explore the musical connections between syntactic and semantic usage of the sound source on Jonty Harrison’s Klang and Surface Tension regarding the musical approaches of Pierre Schaeffer and R. Murray Schafer.Item Open Access About the artistic and performing features of violin works of Gara Garayev(Bilkent University, 2019-05) Ganioğlu, CeylaGarayev’s unique talents of music opened a new page in Azerbaijan’s music of 20th century. He adapted an untypical way of making music in which he was able to combine the traditional and the modern type. There are several substances that were brought in music of Azerbaijan by Garayev such as new themes, new images, and new means of composing. He achieved success not only in the areas of the national ballet, choral, and chamber music but also panned out well considering sonata for violin and piano and the violin concerto. These works represents main aspects and characteristics of Garayev’s music like implementation of national traditions while applying new methods of the 20th century, specifically neo-classicism and serial technique. In both sonata for violin and piano and the violin concerto, he reflects a perspective of synthesis of the two musical systems that are the Eastern and the Western. Hidden features of the past reveal while the means of modern music are observable in sonata for violin and piano. That is why, one can claim that Azerbaijani music was enriched by Garavey through his unusual implementations of new modern techniques. The work is shaped by some common features which provides an opportunity to unite all its parts internally in order to create true unity. Individual uniqueness of harmonic language, great quality of linear motions, and polyphonic forms are all used featly by the composer. Hence, while one senses the qualities and characteristics of the national musical language, s/he is able to experience classical and contemporary music in this work. Gara Garayev carries the outputs of the past and conceives an innovative synthesis where those outputs meet present techniques. This synthesis symbolizes the national musical thought with mostly Western patterns of genres and forms. Thus, with his high unmatched genre, in which esthetical principles, rules of traditional, and aspects of modern music such as twelve-tone system exist, Azerbaijan’s music was enriched and transported into a new level.Item Open Access Henry Cowell'in piyanodan farklı tını elde etme teknikleri(Bilkent University, 2005-03) Önal, Elif20. yüzyıl öncesi Amerika’da, Avrupa müziği örnek alınmakta ve eğitim için Avrupa’ya gidilmesi gerektiğine inanılmaktaydı. 20. yüzyıl başlarında öncü Amerikalı besteciler, kendi müziklerini oluşturmak için yeni kaynak arayışlarına girdiler. Henry Cowell (1897-1965), Amerika’nın sunduğu göz kamaştırıcı farklı kaynakları kullanarak bir müzik ortaya çıkarmayı en geniş anlamıyla başaran ilk bestecilerden biri oldu. Cowell birçok ses materyaline, yeni besteleme tekniklerine ve Avrupa dışı müzik etkilerine cesur ve akıllıca bir yaklaşım sergileyen eserler besteledi. 1919 yılında, doğuşkanların müziğe etkisi ile ilgili teorilerini sunduğu “New Musical Resources” (Yeni Müzikal Kaynaklar) adlı bir kitap yazdı. Toplumu, zamanın müziğini dinlemeye ve üzerinde fikir yürütmeye teşvik etmek gerektiğine inandığı için, 20. yüzyıl bestecilerini ve eserlerini duyurma amacıyla 1925’te New Music Society’yi (Yeni Müzik Derneği) kurdu ve 1927’de bu bestecilerin eserlerinin yayınlandığı New Music Quarterly’yi (Yeni Müzik Dergisi) çıkartmaya başladı. Birçok müzik okulunda ders verdi ve önemli bestecilerin öğretmeni oldu. Verdiği konferansların yanı sıra çok sayıda makale de yazdı. Cowell’ın yaptığı ilk deneysel çalışmalar, piyanonun pek kullanılmayan olanaklarından kaynaklandı. Deneylerinin öne çıktığı ve tekniklerini geliştirdiği 1920-1935 yılları arasındaki dönemde, piyanodan farklı tını elde etme yöntemleri üzerinde çalıştı ve eserlerini konser salonlarında defalarca icra ederek olumlu ve olumsuz tepkiler aldı. 1935-1950 yılları arasında deneysel çalışmalardan biraz uzaklaştı ve Avrupa dışı müzikle ilgilenmeye başladı. 1950 yılından ölümüne kadar yaptığı bestelerinde ise, bu iki ayrı dönemi bütünselleştirme çabası içine girdi Cowell’ın piyanodan farklı tını elde etme yolundaki tekniklerden ilki, ikiden fazla bitişik notanın aynı anda seslendirilmesiyle oluşan “ses salkımı”dır (tone cluster). Cowell avuç içi, yumruk veya önkolla çalınan bu ses salkımlarını, genellikle eserlerinin melodik çizgisini güçlendirmek için kullandı. Cowell “ses salkımı” terimini müzik dünyasına kazandırmakla kalmayıp, onlar için yeni bir notasyon da geliştirdi. Cowell’ın kullandığı diğer teknik ise, kendi deyimiyle “string piyano”dur (string piano). Cowell’ın string piyano eserleri, piyanonun tellerinin parmakla çekilmesi veya tellere avuç içi ve parmağın sürtülmesi gibi yöntemlerle çalınmaktadır. Aynı zamanda Cowell, piyanonun tellerine çeşitli nesnelerle mühadale ederek yeni tınılar yaratma fikrini de kullanmış, bu fikir daha sonra Cage tarafından “hazırlanmış piyano” (prepared piano) olarak geliştirilmiştir. Henry Cowell ve eserleri, piyano müziği edebiyatında geniş bir yer tutmamasına ve sık icra edilmemesine rağmen, 20. yüzyıl piyano müziğine doğrudan ve dolaylı olarak büyük katkılarda bulunmuştur.