Masters Degrees (Music)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Music) by browse.metadata.advisor "Grobler, Pieter"

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    The founding of the Unisa international piano competition
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-03) De Jager, Jacobus; Grobler, Pieter; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences. Dept. of Music.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The first textual reference to the founding of the Unisa International Piano Competition appeared in a letter from the Director (professional) of the Unisa Department of Music Examinations, Hennie Joubert, to Unisa’s rector, Theo van Wijk, dated March 9, 1979. This research presents a factual timeline for the conception, organisation and execution of the first Unisa International Piano Competition held in Pretoria between January 20 and February 2, 1982. The thesis introduces background information on the founder of the competition: Hennie Joubert, his subsequent influence on the Unisa examination system and events leading up to the founding of the competition. Through primary archival research, subsequent chapters detail for the first time the work of the competition's planning committees, down to the details of practical organisational considerations, culminating in the presentation of the first competition. The scope of the study is limited to the founding of the competition, and opens rich new avenues for follow-up research.
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    The life of Jimmy Reinders and his approach to teaching the clarinet
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-03) Liebenberg, Visser; Grobler, Pieter; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Department of Music.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study is to investigate and document the life of Jimmy Reinders. A biography compiled with music-related events in his life sheds light onto his experiences as a musician and professional clarinet player. This includes the numerous influences that had an effect on his choice of clarinet, accessories and the approach or understanding of the fundamentals of playing the clarinet. The clarinet originated in the 1700s and its use was fostered by the formation of different international clarinet schools with the most significant of them being French and German. The German and French schools of clarinet playing have individual characteristics that are relevant to the modern day clarinet player including Reinders whose approach to the clarinet is multi-faceted due to the influence of these two clarinet schools. This explains his choice of clarinet accessories and his approach to the fundamentals of the clarinet. The study commences with a biography limited to music-related events in the life of Jimmy Reinders whose teachers and mentors exposed him to a wide array of clarinet fundamentals from different international clarinet schools. He achieved what the researcher identifies as a “good clarinet sound” (identified as warm, resonant, rounded, and balanced throughout the whole register) through his choice of clarinet, accessories and his approach to the clarinet. The aim of this thesis is to understand and investigate Jimmy Reinders’ approach to the technical fundamentals of the clarinet, his choice of clarinet and accessories (mouthpiece, ligature and reed) and to place this information within the context of the major international clarinet schools (German or French). The technical fundamentals, as approached by Reinders, include a possible “foundation” of learning to play the clarinet that is also related to an international school of clarinet playing. The document concludes with an overview, placing Reinders’ choice of clarinet, accessories and approach to the clarinet within the German or French school of clarinet playing.
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    Technical considerations of grading violin repertoire
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04) Stead, Matthew C.; Grobler, Pieter; Martens, Suzanne; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Science. Department of Music.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The high availability of graded repertoire lists for violin provides teachers with sequenced lists that cater to students of all standards and levels. If teachers are not aware of the pedagogical rationale behind the selection of repertoire for varying graded levels, they could become dependent on graded repertoire lists in an unhealthy way. At the same time, inquiries into the process of grading repertoire itself are largely absent in the pedagogical community of the violin, at least in South Africa. This study explores the technical requirements revealed across an entire graded examination system in order to gain insight into the pedagogical grounding and rationale of grading repertoire. This is done firstly by establishing the fundamental concepts of violin technique with reference to the work of the renowned pedagogues Carl Flesch, Ivan Galamian, and Simon Fischer, in order to form a sound pedagogical framework upon which the following discussion is based. Secondly, the repertoire set out in the University of South Africa – Directorate of Music (UNISA) violin syllabus is analysed, from the first beginner level, Pre-Grade 1, up to the advanced level, Grade 8. The technical requirements for each grade are studied and discussed within the basic pedagogical framework. In the third part of the study, the findings of the analysis are discussed, and possible characteristics of grading are extrapolated from these findings. The study shows, via in-depth analysis, a connection between specific developmental pedagogical concepts of violin playing and the grading of repertoire as published in the UNISA syllabus. Possible characteristics of assigned grade levels are listed, ultimately setting out to study repertoire selection from a more critical angle, and by doing so widening the teacher's access to suitable repertoire beyond the normal published repertoire lists, to the advantage of the student.
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    Two piano transcriptions of Cape jazz recordings
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-03) Engelbrecht, Johan Cornel; Grobler, Pieter; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences. Dept. of Music.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Cape jazz is a style of music with a complex and rich heritage, brought about by the wide array of musical influences that was and still is prevalent in Cape Town. This thesis involves the production of two piano transcriptions of recordings that fall under the descriptor of Cape jazz, namely Louws- kloof se Mense from Echoes from Louwskloof (2015) by Ramon Alexander and Horizons from Love Letter to Cape Town (2015) by Tony Cedras. Each transcription’s chapter consists of three main components: 1. An analysis of the recording by means of a suitable framework. 2. An explication that discusses technical and creative processes regarding the production of the transcription. 3. The final transcription score with a recording.
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    Viktor Ullmann: a style analysis of selected Theresienstadt compositions featuring piano
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-12) Beaven, Alexandra; Grobler, Pieter; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social sciences. Department of Music.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Viktor Ullmann was an Austrian composer who was born in 1898 into a Jewish family. He was incarcerated in the Theresienstadt ghetto in 1942, where he wrote some of his most significant compositions for voice and piano. This study attempts to complete stylistic analyses of selected compositions with piano from the Theresienstadt period in order to gain insights into Ullmann’s compositional approach to the instrument. The following questions were considered about the composer’s output: 1. What stylistic characteristics can be attributed to Viktor Ullmann's compositions featuring the piano during his mature Theresienstadt period? 2. Which aspects of Victor Ullmann’s style (and influences on his compositional choices) could be considered so distinctive that they contribute towards an understanding of his musical contribution, should the composer’s music be studied within a wider 20th Century context? The Research Methodology comprises various methods of stylistic analysis inspired by the writings of Leonard Meyer and Jan LaRue.