Research Catalogue

an international database for artistic research

• 3. Internal publication Research published in this issue are only for internal circulation within the Royal Conservatoire, The Hague.
• 2. Royal Conservatoire Investigations Royal Conservatoire Investigations
• 1. Master Research Projects All research in KC

• Transition from Natural Horn to Valve Horn in the 19th Century (2016) author(s): Yerang Ko Limited publication. Only visible to members of the portal : KC Research Portal
  Name: Yerang Ko Main Subject: French Horn Research supervisor: Saunders, Pete Title of Research: Transition from Natural Horn to Valve Horn in the 19th Century Research Question: Why did composers in the 19th century use both natural horn and valve horn together in a single works? By the development from natural horn to valve horn, what becomes possible? Summary of Results: This paper examines the transition from natural horn to valve horn. There were many changes in this instrument in the 19th century, including different valve designs. Using analysis of compositions using both natural and valve horn it answers the questions: Why were there changes? What did this make possible for the player? What did this make possible for the composer? What are the advantages of each? The paper concludes that, although the natural horn is the ancestor of the modern horn, they remain different instruments for different musical purposes, often used together in a single composition. And modern horn players should be able to play both. The paper concludes with interviews of hornists who perform music from this period of transition, giving their views on the instruments. In the 18th century they coexisted, showing the advantages of each of them. The natural horn has a more open sound and it blends very easily with woodwinds and brass and each key of crooks gets different colors. During the early times of its use many people didn’t accept the valve system because they thought the natural horn was a more complete instrument and the sound of valve horn was not complete and was not clear. But many composers used the valve horn in their pieces, so the role of the valve horn became very important. Reasons were that the natural horn couldn’t be played in the low register and with full dynamics. And because of hand techniques, the natural horn was difficult to play in chromatic scales and with large intervals and so on. So, the natural horn was replaced by the valve horn in many pieces. Biography: I started to learn the piano when I was 8. My piano teacher’s daughter studied the horn at the College of music. My teacher suggested me to play the horn. The sound of the horn was pleased me. After deciding to start, I attended the arts middle school at the age of 13. I improved my musical talent by participating in wood quintet, brass quintet and an orchestra. Naturally, I moved on to attend a fine arts high school. I also learned various non-technical aspects of music such as musical theory and history through my high school curriculum. I participated in many competitions and also was a part of many different orchestras. At 18, I went to perform with my high school orchestra at Musikverein in Austria. It was unforgettable and I gained such a valuable experience from it.
  open exposition comments (0)
• The influences of John Coltrane in Kenny Garrett's style of improvisation (2016) author(s): Manvydas Pratkelis Limited publication. Only visible to members of the portal : KC Research Portal
  Name: Manvydas Pratkelis Main Subject: Jazz Saxophone Research Supervisor: Patrick Schenkius Title of Research: The influences of John Coltrane in Kenny Garret’s style of improvisation Research Question: Which improvisation techniques did Kenny Garrett take from John Coltrane and what did he do to adopt these techniques to his own improvisation on the alto saxophone Summary of Results: The main reason of this research is to learn about the major influential aspects of alto saxophonist Kenny Garrett’s improvisation, which he adopted from studying tenor saxophonist John Coltrane’s improvisation, and how he uses it on alto saxophone. This does not mean that John Coltrane was his only influence, as there is no doubt that Garrett studied a lot of Charlie Parker’s improvisation and that of many more jazz musicians. However, I found that Garrett’s biggest influence is Coltrane, especially his harmonic improvisation and melodic aspects. The main source of information for the analysis are various John Coltrane recordings from 1957 till 1966, and Kenny Garrett’s studio and live recordings from 1984 till 2005. My research is mainly of two parts: First - looking for similarities, the same harmonic- melodic structures of phrases, listening to Coltrane and Garrett from the original recordings, finding similar aspects, and notating similar characteristics. Second – the analysis, understanding, and adopting of these ideas in my own playing. Biography: After winning the Grand Prix in the international “Vilnius Jazz Young Power” in 2010, alto saxophonist Manvydas Pratkelis has come a long way. He has developed into an expressive, universal and subtle performer, exploring technique and improvisation in a wide range of musical traditions and styles, starting from early jazz, to be-bop, free jazz, fusion, contemporary, hip-hop, funk, R&B styles.
  open exposition comments (0)
• Research Paper: Johann Sebastian Bach, a religious-philosophical approach to the beauty of his music (2016) author(s): Aljosja Mietus Limited publication. Only visible to members of the portal : KC Research Portal
  Name: Aljosja Mietus Main Subject: Harpsichord Research Supervisor: Bert Mooiman Title of Research: Johann Sebastian Bach - a religious-philosophical approach to the beauty of his music Research Question: Is it possible, with the help of philosophical concepts, to pinpoint a universal dimension in music that can, at least partly, explain its beauty? Summary of Results: In this research paper, the author investigates if it is possible, with the help of philosophical concepts, to pinpoint a universal dimension in music that can, at least partly, explain its beauty. He defines music with the help of contemporary thinker R. Welten as more than a phenomenon that can be accurately described in a purely scientific way, but as something that transcends it because it has the ability to move, to affect people. Consequently he studies passages from the philosophical works of the writers F.W.J. Schelling (1775-1854), A. Schopenhauer (1788-1860) and H. Cohen (1842-1918), who all gave musical art a fundamental role in their philosophical reflections. The author comes to the conclusion that all thinkers agree in their own way on the idea that ‘true’ musical art originates in the mastery of strict forms (e.g. harmony, or musical styles such as fugues or dances) and the overcoming of these forms without losing freedom. In the last part of the paper, this temporary conclusion is put to the test in existing music, namely J.S. Bach’s Ouvertüre nach Französischer Art and Goldberg variations. In these works, the author sees a confirmation of his temporary conclusion in the way Bach merges the forms of strict counterpoint and rich harmony with the forms of the different French dances, and in the limiting boundaries the overarching idea behind the Goldberg variations imposes without limiting the expressiveness of the work. As a final conclusion, the author states that the use of philosophical concepts in musical reality can be challenging since thinking about music often seems farfetched from musical reality, but that this research shows that philosophy can help to shed some light on one of mankind’s many mysteries: the beauty of music. Biography: Aljosja Mietus (The Netherlands, 1990) received his first piano lessons when he was eight years old, but switched to the harpsichord at the age of twelve, having lessons with Menno van Delft and later with Tilman Gey. After finishing his secondary education at the Barlaeus Gymnasium in Amsterdam, he started his Theology studies at Leiden University where he graduated in 2012. During his Theology studies he started his Harpsichord and Basso Continuo studies at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague with Jacques Ogg and Patrick Ayrton. He finished his Bachelor’s in 2014 and started his Master’s at the same institute with Jacques Ogg and Kris Verhelst. He also started a Master of Theology at the PThU in Amsterdam in that same year.
  open exposition comments (0)
• Antonio Romero y Andía (2016) author(s): Ale Farina Martin Limited publication. Only visible to members of the portal : KC Research Portal
  The main objective of this research is to know A. Romero as a promoter of the culture and the pedagogy in Spain. To understand this, it has to be known his life as musician and virtuoso clarinetist at the time, for this reason he could climb musically and socially until he got to the position for helping and expanding the culture in Spain.
  open exposition comments (0)
• The use of Vibrato on the violin in Mozart’s late orchestral music: Performance guide for the modern orchestral violinist (alternative version?) (2016) author(s): Yeni Ha Limited publication. Only visible to members of the portal : KC Research Portal
  Name : YENI HA Main Subject : Violin Research supervisor : KATHERYNE CLARK Research Question : For my Masters research project I want to focus on the use of vibrato in one particular musical context and period, namely the orchestral repertoire of Mozart between 1778-1791. My research question is: how can 21st century symphony violinists, using modern instruments and bows, best use vibrato, if they want to stay close to the intentions of Mozart and to reflect the performance practice of his time.
  open exposition comments (0)
• Comparative Analysis of Performances by four different pianists (2016) author(s): Jihee Min Limited publication. Only visible to members of the portal : KC Research Portal
  Name: Jihee Min Main subject: Classical Piano Research Coach: Bert Mooiman Title of research: Comparative Analysis of Performances by four different pianists Research question: What are the differences between four performances of Beethoven’s piano sonata “das Lebewohl,” played by distinctive players and how can musician improve their analytical listening skill based upon this research? Summary of Results: YouTube is a good source of music interpretation of how a piece of music could be interpreted and performed. Listening to recordings is a wonderful way of obtaining musical ideas from the talented musicians around the world. However, I realized that when one listens to a music without knowing the music beforehand, it is difficult to understand the diverse interpretation of the music from any of the YouTube videos. This pitiful fact led me to a question: What should I do to listen with more analytical ability to obtain broaden and diverse interpretation from recordings? The research is made with comparative analysis of performances by four pianists, Emil Giles, Claudio Arrau, Dmitry Masleev, and Alfred Brendel, on Beethoven’s piano sonata “das Lebewohl” to improve pianist’s analytical listening skill. To understand diverse interpretation contained in performances of four pianists, basic knowledge of this sonata including musical analysis and historical background is presented prior to analysis of performances. Comparative analysis of performance is categorized to five main sections: Theme development, articulation, pedal usage, tempo flexibility and phrasing. In the end of analysis, one can easily witness Gilels showing clean and stable performance in general. Arrau shows the most clear and motivic transformation amongst the four. Masleev stands out with playing the most even performance. Last but not least, Brendel best demonstrates his personal understandings through a whole piece. To improve analytical listening skill through analysis of four performances, one should be able to apply the process of analyzing the performance which is used in this research to one’s own studies. The process consists of four steps: Obtaining basic knowledge of music, categorizing the things to look out for when listening, comparing their recordings according to the categories in the second point and applying what you have acquired to your own playing. Biography Jihee Min was born in South Korea in 1990. She began to play the piano at her age of 7 in Yongin where she was born. She continued her studying in specialized institution of education of classical piano, SunHwa Arts School and SunHwa Arts High School. In 2010, she came to Netherlands to widen her perspective of music and learn music in hometown of classical music. She began to study at Royal Conservatory of The Hague with Professor Naum Grubert.
  open exposition comments (0)