A study of selected twentieth-century student works for piano and orchestra, with application through an original composition: three essays for piano and orchestra

The concept of intentionally writing student level works for piano and orchestra has been a phenomenon of the twentieth century. There are some effective works available, however closer examination reveals that the majority of these works are written for younger students. There is a dearth of works that would be appealing for older piano students to learn and perform.

This dissertation is a study of some of the more available and widely used student works. Pianistic and compositional techniques were observed in the published works, with conclusions drawn as to their effectiveness and frequency. After analyzing and examining those works, a composition was written, emulating some, but not all of the features of the other works under consideration. Essays uses more sophisticated harmonic language and an overall serious mood, which is designed to appeal to the older student, while producing a work within the technical parameters of the intermediate to moderately difficult student concertos.