Degree

Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)

Department

School of Music

Document Type

Dissertation

Abstract

For a large part of music history, women composers like Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901 1953) were easily overlooked. Often, their music and ambitions in contributing to the repertoire were not taken seriously by the masses. Instead, they tended to be disregarded in comparison to the great many male figures that have prevailed through the years. Through gaining an understanding of Crawford Seeger as a woman from upbringing until death, her compositional style, specifically focusing on her first distinctive style period during her years studying in Chicago from 1921-1929, and also through hands on learning of the Nine Preludes that will be presented in a public lecture recital, I feel I will be equipped with the knowledge to bring this composer’s music out of the shadows and into the recital hall. Through brief analysis and study of Crawford Seeger’s Nine Preludes, I plan to resuscitate music that is often left out from the repertoire and provide curious pianists with an overview on the style, compositional process, and the pianistic challenges that arise within this evocative music. This study will also touch on the extended piano techniques were used within this time period and are a contributing factor to the atmospheric sound world that Crawford Seeger employs in some of the Nine Preludes.

Committee Chair

Sioles, Gregory

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.4826

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