MUS202 music appreciation
Penderecki, T_________ for the V______________ of
H_______________,
(writing: question – how does knowledge of title, context, affect your
interpretation/enjoyment?)
Opera
Scenes from Amadeus (film); Don Giovanni, opera by Mozart, film by Joseph Losey; The Marriage of Figaro, opera by Mozart, video of staged production.
The Death of “Classical Music”? A problem of meaning? What does this music mean today?
Sonata form
(writing question)
Examples:
Mozart, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, 1st movement (textbook CD example 12.7, pp. 164-181)
Mozart, Symphony No. 40 in G minor, 1st movement
Hadyn, Sonata No. 50 in C Major, 1st movement, Glenn Gould
Beethoven, Sonata No. 3 in C Major, 1st movement, Garrick Ohlssohn
Steve Reich, Music for 18 Musicians, 2005 radio interview
Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique,
(optional extra credit Listening Activity 13.3, pp. 196-198))
(intended assignment, the program -- who cares?)
Stravinsky, Rite
of Spring, a different approach to time & rhythm (textbook pp. 217-226)
(Pierre Boulez, conductor, DVD)
(writing: reaction question)
(optional extra credit Listening Activity 14.1)
Performers and
classical music – tempo and other choices
Examples:
Schubert, “Gretchen am Spinnrade,” (Gretchen at the Spinningwheel) Kiri Te Kanawa (textbook CD example, pp. 191-195, Listening Activity 13.2), Janet Baker (different voice qualities, different choices of emphasis and tone color)
Beethoven Sonata, Op 109, Garrick Ohlssohn, Emil Gilels, Rudolph Serkin (3 different pianists)
Chopin, Nocturne in F minor, Op 55 No 1, Garrick Ohlssohn, Daniel Barenboim. The textbook’s example of Chopin is the Nocturne in E-flat Major, Op. 9, No. 2 (textbook pp. 199-201; Listening Activity 13.4).
Sandow on groove [handout quoting his blog entry]
Brahms, Symphony No. 4, 1st movement, Carlos Kleiber, conductor, DVD. Philosopher and music-lover Ludwig Wittgenstein wrote that “even in Brahms one can begin to hear machinery.” This performance starts as a smooth, well-oiled machine, by the end of this performance, the machine has melted into liquid passion! (IMHO). A great example of what a conductor can do.
The textbook’s example of Brahms is the Intermezzo in A Major, Op. 118, No. 2
(textbook pp. 203-208; Listening Activity 13.5). You can find the score
for this piece for free at the Mutopia public domain music website.
The Avant Garde: Beethoven not understood at premieres
A shared spirit? Hendrix’s “Purple Haze,” as played by Hendrix (in textbook, pp. 113-114, but not on textbook CD), and by the Kronos String Quartet (possible reaction writing – out of time)
Philip Glass
Examples:
Einstein on the Beach, (opera) strict, emphatic repetition.
Anima Mundi (short film on DVD) (more flexible musical language)
The Hours (rubato; recontextualizes 19th century harmonic language)
Meredith Monk –
“Post-notation” music, illustrating Taruskin’s thesis? (Historian Richard Taruskin’s 6-volume history of European music describes that history as really the story of notation, ending now. For a very thorough, two-part review of Taruskin’s work by Charles Rosen, see The New York Review of Books; Part I, Part II. Reading the review will make you think twice about spending $699 on the 6 books!)
Female composer = “feminine” or “feminist” music? No, but . . .
(textbook pp. 238-240, Listening Activity 14.4)
David Lang
Are You Experienced? ß pop culture reference
Post-Modern irony – the listener is NOT having the described experience
A humorous apology for composers misbehaving (being “wicked”?)
Two movements from Child. Sincerity regained?
Michael Gordon, Yo Shakespeare, performed by Icebreaker.
composer, born 1955, with interest in rock, minimalism, and complexity
Beethoven – three reasons to consider Beethoven
[1] great music! “web of significance” argument
[2] What is a composer? – a social construct?
[3] a master of time and pure musical meaning – a difference between popular and classical?
Example works: String Quartet in F Minor, Op. 95; Piano Trio in G Major, Op. 1, No. 2; Symphony No. 7; Piano Sonata No. 21 in C Major, Op. 53, “Waldstein”
“10” Reasons popular music is better than classical, and vice versa; the web of significance argument
Opus numbers
“Op” = opus = published work number
“Woo” = without opus number; early & posthumous works
These names & numbers can be confusing. For example, Beethoven’s 7th string quartet is usually (but not always!) referred to not as “String Quartet No. 7,” but as “Op. 59, No. 1.” Opus 59 was a bundle of 3 quartets. Symphonies are usually referred to by number; Beethoven’s quartets are usually referred to by opus number; his piano sonatas are referred to by either number or opus number.
Moving musicians & moving audiences
the concert experience (recordings v. live performance) Why go to concerts? (lecture notes)
DVD documentary Speaking in Strings on violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg.
Sandow comments on performers that –gasp— move!
Mozart
A dissenting opinion (Norman Lebrecht, critic)
What was incomprehensible ever? Charles Rosen comments
Documentary video
History & meaning [skipped]
Medieval theology & music
May 2006
David
Meckler
Cañada College
Charles
Rosen, “Mozart at 250,”