Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - Theses

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    Pauline Viardot: her music and the Spanish influence
    Brasier, Angeline ( 2000)
    Pauline Viardot (1821-1910) was a Mezzo-Soprano of international acclaim and a respected vocal pedagogue of the nineteenth century, but also a composer of some renown. As a result of Viardot's extensive travels, she developed an interest in a variety of different European musical styles. This thesis is a detailed study of selected solo vocal works to help ascertain defining characteristics of Viardot's compositional style with particular emphasis on her use of Spanish styles and techniques which until now have remained unresearched. The findings will reflect the composer's interest and interpretation of cultural musical elements that are stylistically foreign to French listeners. Also referred to will be Viardot's stay in Spain during 1842. Until now, details of this tour have remained incomplete.
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    Composer, wife and mother: Margaret Sutherland as conflicted subject
    GRAHAM, JILLIAN ( 2001)
    Margaret Sutherland (1897-1984) is regarded as one of the most innovative and influential Australian composers of the first half of the twentieth century. As early as the 1920s, she could be compared with contemporary composers in Europe who were reacting against aspects of the Romantic style of the nineteenth century. Sutherland was brought up in the midst of a liberal, intellectual, creative and artistic family, in which her principal role models were single women and intellectual men, and her musical aspirations were encouraged and fostered. Having studied for two years in Europe (1923-1925), she returned to Australia, where she expected to develop her vocation as a composer. In 1927 she married, and had two children, the first in 1929 and the second in 1931.During her troubled marriage she experienced conflict beyond her expectations in combining the pursuit of her musical aspirations with her domestic responsibilities as wife and mother. To date, an in-depth feminist biographical study of Sutherland has not been attempted, yet the challenges women face in successfully combining marriage, motherhood and career can only be revealed through closer inspection of this female experience. Using a methodology derived from contemporary feminist biographical theory, the basis for and manifestation of the conflict Sutherland experienced between her public, musical and her private, domestic roles will be explored. It will be shown that in spite of the difficulties faced as a woman composer and in her private life, she managed to achieve a considerable amount, making contributions which should be valued, both in the private, domestic sphere, and in her public life as composer and champion of the interests of Australian composers and Australian music in general. The nature of her achievements suggests that she had the tenacity to avoid being smothered by the unhappiness of her circumstances, or to allow her individuality and ambitions to be thwarted by domesticity.
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    An analysis of Margaret Sutherland's sonata for clarinet and piano (1947)
    Morgan, Ian McKeon ( 1984-12)
    The sonata for clarinet and piano by Margaret Sutherland has been selected as the subject for this thesis from a substantial list of sonatas by Australian composers. The choice was for two reasons: the sonata is the earliest surviving work for the combination and while not a major work, it is at least a substantial work by one of Australia’s most important composers. The work is written in a contemporary musical style, typical of its composer, so that it sounds fresh and musically challenging even in today’s musical environment.
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    The significance of percussion in contemporary music between 1945 and 1970
    Sablinskis, Paul V. ( 1981)
    Chapter one discusses the developments between 1900-1945, concentrating on composers’ growing concern for percussion instruments and percussive sound sources. Chapter two discusses trends between 1945-1970, revealing the particular relationship between the concepts of New Music and the material of percussion. Chapter three concentrates on a detailed discussion and analysis of four percussion works, which present examples indicative not only of the diverse range of percussion scores composed in the period but also of the connection between new ideas and percussion.