Ryan Nitz

Marshall Griffith's "Duel for Solo Guitar": Performance Edition and Analysis Ryan Nitz

Marshall Griffith (b. 1953) is an established and prolific American composer and has taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music since 1975, serving full time on the music theory faculty there since 1982. This monograph explores and brings to light Griffith's 1977 composition, ?Duel for Solo Guitar,? which to this point has never been published and remains largely unknown. Using music notation software, an authoritative digital score appropriate for publication is produced by the author from the composer's original manuscript. Discussion of the performance edition deals with right- and left-hand fingering solutions. The compositional language of the work is examined through an analysis of the aspects of overall form, pitch, and motivic usage. All aspects of this work have been reviewed and approved by the composer, whose input is obtained through telephone interviews and e-mail communication, and who graciously grants his permission and cooperation in the execution of this project.