Global Arc

An exploration of Beethoven's style through model composition and analysis. We will consider a series of idioms or "schemas" that are central to Beethoven's style, including specific routines for handling parallel and contrary motion in the classical tradition, favorite sequences, and idioms that defy standard analysis. Students familiarize themselves by writing a series of model composition exercises, starting with small phrases and progressing to an entire sonata-form movement. We will consider how these patterns are embedded in specific Beethoven compositions. We may also explore the use of idioms in classical-style improvisation.

The course will explore the connections between composition and performance in a group and solo context. It is the goal of the course to help the student find his/her optimal and personal balance among concerns including but not limited too: abstract compositional technique and practical performance values; organization and spontaneity, surface and structure, strengths and obligations, material and effect, aural and visual. Activities in the class will include analysis, study of compositional techniques, performing, improvisation, collaboration.

How did musicians like Mozart churn out a seemingly endless stream of imaginative compositions? This question drove a revolutionary rethinking of music theory in the 21st century, creating a new discipline of music studies called schema theory. With the aid of cognitive science, schema theorists ask how musicians learn the skills they need to succeed in a competitive marketplace. This class explores what schemas are and their impact on the music we create and consume. Through reading, listening, and compositional exercises, we will explore the schematic basis of two disparate musical styles: 18th-century court music and 20th-century salsa.

Detailed examination of the principal genres of Italian secular music of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, using the works of Monteverdi as a main point of reference. Some attention to placing musical issues in a context of political and social history. Classes will concentrate on a close analysis of selected works by Monteverdi and his contemporaries, with emphasis on the relationship between text and music. Two lectures, one class. Prerequisite: one year of theory or permission of instructor.

The contrasting careers and oeuvres of the two greatest representatives of the late baroque in music will be considered both individually and comparatively. Prerequisite: a year of theory or instructor's permission.

This course examines over a millennium of music, art, literature, and culture in Venice, using as its lens the theatricality of the city's unique topography, environment, and geographic position. Moving between modern and medieval, from the stage to the street, this course explores the lasting fascination of this ephemeral, implausible place. Topics include: public opera; civic ritual; tourism; Venice in fiction and film. An excursion to Venice will take place over the spring break.

A study of the integration of music, language, and drama through close reading of the seven completed operas of Mozart's maturity. One three-hour class-seminar. Prerequisite: one year of music theory or instructor's permission.

A survey of Beethoven's works, touching in addition upon his life, the music of his contemporaries, and his influence upon later composers. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: a year of theory (105/106) or instructor's permission.

An introduction to Richard Wagner's operas, to Wagner as a revolutionary presence in 19th-century musical and aesthetic thought, to Wagner's theoretical and polemical prose writings, and contemporary writings about him. Three hours. Prerequisite: a year of theory or instructor's permission. Ability to read German helpful but not necessary.

A detailed survey of Russian national and international composers. Topics of discussion and analysis will include magic opera, realism, orientalism, the relationship between composers and poets of the Russian Symbolist era, the World of Art movement and the Ballets Russes, Soviet film music, Soviet arts doctrine, and musical aesthetics (especially as they pertain to authorship and identity). Prerequisites: 105 or permission of instructor. Two 90-minute classes.