Date of Award

1993

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)

Department

Music

First Advisor

Jack Guerry

Abstract

The musical career of the Polish composer Alexandre Tansman (1897-1986) was multifaceted. He frequently performed as a pianist and conductor, and he composed numerous works for various performance media. Tansman was a well-respected musician, having received during his lifetime many awards and honors for his compositions. Among Tansman's music are numerous didactic works for solo piano. These pieces expose the student to a variety of musical genres and styles, while at the same time providing practical experience in the acquisition of musical and technical skills. This monograph examines the didactic solo piano works of Tansman, focusing primarily on the collections Pour les enfants (1934), Les jeunes au piano (1951), and Happy Time (1960). Following an introductory chapter that briefly outlines Tansman's life and career, Chapter 2 provides a discussion of the genres (dances, barcaroles, marches, etudes) and styles (contrapuntal, "blues," ethnic) used by Tansman in his didactic music. Chapter 3 focuses on the technical and musical features found in these works. A final chapter summarizes the information in the previous chapters and contains recommendations for making this music more readily available to piano teachers and students. Three appendices provide supplemental information on Tansman's didactic music. A brief description and list of the contents of each of the collections (including the publishers) is found in Appendix I. Appendix II lists the pieces that are examples of the genres and styles discussed in Chapter 2 (in addition to the works illustrated in that chapter). Appendix III lists the pieces in which the technical and musical features discussed in Chapter 3 are found.

Pages

103

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_disstheses.5602

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