Piano duets. Historical, theoretical and pedagogical aspects of music

TITLE: Piano duets. Historical, theoretical and pedagogical aspects of music. AUTHOR: Olga Kozánková DEPARTMENT: Music Education Department SUPERVISOR: doc. MgA. Jana Palkovská ABSTRACT: This dissertation deals with the history of piano duets including the pedagogical aspects of contemporary education at music schools in the Czech Republic. This theme has not yet been explored in this country. The thesis is divided into two parts. The primary aim of the first part is to determine the earliest mention of piano duet composition and to explore the periods which influenced subsequent development of the subject using deductive, progressive,typological and biographical methods. The author describes the development of duet compositions, including important milestones and personalities, from the turn of 16th and 17th century through the 20th century. The second part of the thesis includes qualitative research using data collected from teachers in the Czech Republic. The research focuses on the educational topic of piano duets within piano education. The results of the research confirm that even though there is a tradition of including this topic in music education, there is only a partial understanding of the subject. This thesis should be beneficial for teachers devoted to the subject of piano duets at music..