https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/7734 Wed, 08 Apr 2026 08:10:26 GMT 2026-04-08T08:10:26Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/10199 Title: Performing arts in the age of globalization : the visible and the in-visible Abstract: The aim for this study is to identify relationships between globalization and the theory of appropriation in performing arts. The purpose is to discover the positive and the negative influences of globalization in relation to artistic ownership and authenticity. It will draw on a case study from the theatre work of Robert Wilson and his experimental opera ‘The Life and Death of Marina Abramovic’. The analysis of the findings may be useful in direct future research on performing arts, cultural studies, and postmodern critical theory. Description: M.PERFORMANCE STUD. Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/10199 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/9031 Title: Benigno Zerafa (1726-1804) : Dixit Dominus a Due Cori in G (Z95, ACM. Mus.Ms. 295) : a critical edition and analysis Abstract: This dissertation is divided into six chapters. Chapter one includes a brief biography of Benigno Zerafa shedding new light on the years surrounding 1756, the period during which he composed the Dixit Dominus a due cori in G 1756 (Z95) - a composition that ranks among the longest, most varied and most complex in Zerafa's oeuvre. There is also information on the Maltese Liturgy and sacred music performed at the Cathedral under his leadership, with special reference to the performance of Vespers during the mid eighteenth century. In chapter two various empirical methods are used to analyze the psalm, including consideration of motif, phrase-structure, harmonic analysis, style characteristics and textural and formal considerations. Chapter three provides a comparative study of the psalm by Zerafa with other settings of the psalm by three Neapolitan composers of the period, namely, Francesco Durante (1684-1755), Niccolo` Jommelli (1714-1774), and Girolamo Abos (1715- 1760). The main focus is Zerafa's compositional style which is examined and compared with the other composers' styles. Chapter four shows how rhetorical figures and overall planning are integral to Zerafa's Dixit Dominus. Chapter five presents a Critical Edition of Z95, Dixit Dominus a due cori in G of 1756. This comprises (i) a General Preface discussing the editorial method adopted in this edition based on the autograph score and separate parts; (ii) a computerised transcription of the full score; (iii) the Critical Notes, examining the autograph score and layout adopted for this edition; and (iv) a Critical Commentary, recording details of editorial intervention including clarification and resolution of problematic issues encountered in the autograph score. The aim of this dissertation is to promote a better understanding of Benigno Zerafa's life and career. Comparing Zerafa's Dixit with the three other composers' works helps establish Zerafa as a composer of the Neapolitan galant. Description: M.MUSIC Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/9031 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/9027 Title: Piano compositions for the left hand : history, technique and performance-practice Abstract: This study was conducted primarily to research and perform the major works which have been composed for the left hand only. These compositions hold historical significance and therefore must not remain veiled and unknown. This thesis has four chapters and two appendices. Chapter 1 deals with the historical emergence of the works for the left hand, while the second chapter highlights the compositions, composers and performers who have contributed to this genre since its beginning. Chapter 3 then deals with the more technical aspect of these specific compositions while the last chapter is focused mainly on Ravel's Concerto Pour la Main Gauche, the work which will feature as my final performance for D.Mus. degree, to be held on 18th June 2013, at Manoel Theatre in Valletta, conducted by Dr. John Galea and featuring the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra. Appendix 1 lists epic recorded performances of the Concerto Pour la Main Gauche, by some of the greatest pianists of our time, which include Leon Fleisher, Dmitry Bashkirov and Alichia de Larrocha. It also includes recorded performances by pianists who had some association with Ravel, namely Alfred Cortot, Jacques Février and of course Paul Wittgenstein. These recordings are of interest because of their connection, however tenuous, with the composer. Description: D.MUS. Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/9027 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/8109 Title: Investigating the self in performance : tradition, transition, creation Abstract: This dissertation investigates the manifestation of the self in the milieu of performance. It attempts to observe objectively and extensively, thus not presenting a concrete and a 'one-framed' theory, of the work and attitude of the performer. It poses importance on three key words and discusses them in detail, i.e.: Tradition, Transition and Creation. It will not only discuss them but also attempt to set them in a framework of 'encounters' and eliminate certain barriers which are formed by society and by culture. As a starting point, the opus of critics and theatre-pedagogues will be discussed as to see the different attitudes of modernism towards the self. Within this approach, several questions will arise for which this dissertation will not respond or attempt to understand (scientifically or historically). Rather it will portray them and see the phenomena appearing through the 'performative' act. Moreover it will also analyze the various approaches to the self of different theatre forms and/or traditions. It posits that through performance, the presence of the self is 'put at stake' (Artaud) and thus becoming a new dynamic not form. Thus this dissertation is an effort to appreciate the very nature of the self in this process or in this condition. Here lies the motivation for choosing these three themes, since: a 'self' is found in time and space, through encounters, with the work and with the spectator. Three different points will emerge from this discussion, namely: 1. the relation between mind and body of the 'do-er' (Grotowski), 2. The numerous ways of approaching the self and their outcomes, and 3. The new effects that this approach has towards the human being as a person. Description: M.A.QUALIFYING Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/8109 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z