Department of Music Faculty
Richard Bass, PhDProfessor of Music (Theory)(860) 486-4197
Bass has performed extensively as a recitalist and in chamber ensembles and has appeared as soloist with a number of orchestras, including the Atlanta Symphony. His published articles have appeared in Music Analysis, Music Theory Spectrum, Journal of Music Theory, 19th Century Music, and numerous other journals, covering topics ranging from eighteenth-century to twentieth-century music. He has presented scholarly papers and lecture-recitals throughout the United States and in Europe and has written extensively on the music of American composer George Crumb. Bass is a former president of the New England Conference of Music Theorists, and has served as a member of the Publications Committee of the Society for Music Theory and on the editorial board for the journal Music Theory Spectrum. His current research focuses on aspects of harmonic practice in chromatic music of the late-nineteenth century. Selected Publications"Enharmonic Position Finding and the Resolution of Seventh Chords in Chromatic Music." Music Theory Spectrum 29/1 (2007): 73-100. "The Case of the Silent G: Pitch Structure and Proportions in the Theme of George Crumb's Gnomic Variations." In George Crumb and the Alchemy of Sound, pp. 157-170. Edited by Steven Bruns and Ofer Ben-Amots. Colorado Springs: Colorado College Music Press, 2005. Review of David Kopp, Chromatic Transformations in Nineteenth-Century Music. Music Theory Online 10.1 (February 2004). "'Approach Strong Deliveress!' from George Crumb's Apparition: A Case Study in Analysis and Performance of Post-Tonal Music." Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy 16 (2002): 57-77. "Half-Diminished Functions and Transformations in Late Romantic Music." Music Theory Spectrum 23/1 (2001):41-60. "De Gretchen a Tristán: el papel cambiante de las progresiones armónicas en el siglo XIX." Translated by Paul S. McLaney. Quodlibet 15 (1999):17-45. Review of Kent Williams, Theories and Analyses of Twentieth-Century Music. Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy 11 (1997). "From Gretchen to Tristan: The Changing Role of Harmonic Sequences in the Nineteenth Century." 19th Century Music 19/3 (1996): 263-285. "Octatonic and Whole-Tone Interaction: George Crumb and His Predecessors." Journal of Music Theory 38/2 (1994):155-186. "Liszt's Un sospiro: An Experiment in Symmetrical Octave-Partitions." Journal of the American Liszt Society 32 (1992):16-37. "Sets, Scales and Symmetries: The Pitch-Structural Basis of George Crumb's Makrokosmos I and II." Music Theory Spectrum 13/1 (1991):1-20. "The Second-Theme Problem and Other Issues in Mozart's Sonata K. 457." Indiana Theory Review 9/1 (1988):3-21. "Prokofiev's Technique of Chromatic Displacement." Music Analysis 7/2 (1988):197-214. "The Opening Section of Mozart's Fantasy K. 475: Unity through Linear-Harmonic Elaboration." Indiana Theory Review 8/2(1987):67-77. "Pitch Structure in George Crumb's Makrokosmos, Volumes I and II" (Ph.D. diss., the University of Texas at Austin, 1987). University Microfilms International, Publication No. 8717365. "A New Challenge for New Music" (Feature Article). Living Music 3/1 (1985). "Reviews." Piano Guild Notes 36/3 (1986). 35/4 (1986). 35/1 (1985). 34/4 (1985). 34/1 (1984). 33/4 (1984). 33/1 (1983). 32/5 (1983). 32/4 (1983). 32/2 (1982). 31/5 (1982). 31/1 (1981). "Recording the Piano." Piano Guild Notes 30/1 (1981). |
Richard Bass is professor of music theory and director of graduate studies in the Department of Music. He holds degrees in piano performance from Georgia State University and Northern Illinois University, and a doctor of philosophy degree in music theory from the University of Texas at Austin. He has also studied at the Aspen Music School and Indiana University and attended Yale University as a visiting Faculty Fellow. Before joining the faculty at the University of Connecticut in 1987, he held teaching appointments at institutions in Illinois, Texas and Michigan.