The "traditional contemporary" -- A study of Walter S. Hartley and an analysis of his Concerto for 23 Winds

Busuito, James Joseph

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/100283 Copy

Description

Title

The "traditional contemporary" -- A study of Walter S. Hartley and an analysis of his Concerto for 23 Winds

Author(s)

Busuito, James Joseph

Issue Date

2018

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Moorhouse, Linda

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Peterson, Stephen

Committee Member(s)

• Nichols, Jeananne
• Tharp, Reynold

Department of Study

School of Music

Discipline

Music

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

A.Mus.D. (doctoral)

Keyword(s)

• Hartley
• Concerto for 23 winds
• Eastman
• Fennell
• Neoclassical
• Wind band

Language

en

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to provide an overview of the life, philosophies, and compositional traits of Walter S. Hartley, with a focus on his most significant contribution to the concert wind band repertoire, the Concerto for 23 Winds. A thorough account of Hartley’s interactions with the wind band repertoire and its practitioners will be examined through assessments of correspondence and representative literature. In a variety of letters, lectures, and interviews, Hartley often referred to himself as a “traditional contemporary”, a label first assigned to him by saxophonist Gerald Danovitch that aligns with Hartley’s self-ascribed “neoclassical” influences: Paul Hindemith, Igor Stravinsky, and others. This project will include a biography, an assessment of his compositional practices, and a comprehensive musical analysis. The analysis will pertain to the historical, formal, and theoretical elements of the Concerto for 23 Winds. This work contains many of the compositional traits that characterize the musical elements of his oeuvre. The work also served as a portion of the Doctoral Recital Requirement as it was conducted by the thesis author in concert with the Illinois Wind Symphony.This performance perspective complemented the comprehensive analysis herein and conversely aided in the assessment of Hartley’s compositional voice . Despite his significant contributions to the repertoire, there have been no substantial inquiries into Hartley’s works for wind band, many of which have fallen from the collective awareness of conductors in the most recent wind band repertoire survey conducted by Clifford Towner. The document aims to provide ideas for the exploration of other works by Walter Hartley that once dominated the wind band repertoire, but have faded over a span of several decades.

Type of Resource

• text
• image

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/100283

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2018 James Joseph Busuito

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