(Any
changes or additions will be handed out in class, and posted here)
January 15
Introduction
to this course.
January 22
The
crisis in classical music: Is there one? Will the classical music audience
disappear? How has the field changed in the past 30 years?
reading:
excerpts from Americanizing
the American Orchestra (report published by the American Symphony
Orchestra League in 1993)
Peter Gelb, “Hope for the
Future of Classical Records” (Speech
delivered at the Klassik Komm Conference in Hamburg, Germany on September 26,
1997)
Philip Kennicott, "An Unfinished Overture" (from
the Washington Post)
(xeroxes of the first two are on reserve in
the library; the Kennicott article was e-mailed to students in the class))
January 29-February 12
The
classical music world: Institutions, careers, art, audience. Why is
classical music valuable? Who listens to it? How does the classical music
world really function? Was it always as formal as it is now?
reading
Christopher
Small, Music of the Common Tongue, chapter 2 and excerpt from chapter 6, “On Value
and Values” (xerox on reserve in the library)
(about
classical music in past centuries):
Stendahl, Life
of Rossini, chapter 6: “The Impresario and His Theater,” pp. 110-119
Hans Mersmann, ed., Letters
of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, pp. 105-108. (Mozart’s letter to his father,
July 3, 1778)
(In this letter, Mozart tells
his father how he deliberately wrote music that provoked an audience to
applaud at the premiere of his "Paris" symphony -- right in the
middle of the piece. There's more about that here
on my site, including musical examples, illustrating three choices for just
what that provocative passage might have been.)
(books on reserve in the library)
listening:
Handel, Rinaldo, Act 1, scenes 3
through 8 (Carolyn Watkinson, et al, Jean-Claude Malgoire, cond.; listen to
tracks 6-13 of the first CD)
Rossini, L’Italiana
in Algeri, first act finale (Teresa Berganza et al, Silvio Varviso cond.;
first CD, tracks 13-16)
(recordings on reserve in the
library)
assignment:
Two-page paper, due February 19.
Describe your own career (so far).
Do you like working in classical music? Why? Does your work in classical music
give you creative freedom as a musician? Or is that not a relevant question?
If there are things you don’t like about your work, is there any way you can
change them? Do you think you’ll be forced to change, because of changes in
the field or in the outside world? Use the ideas we talk about in class as you
answer these questions.
For this and all other
assignments: Let me know in advance if you can’t get your work in on time.
Otherwise you’ll get points off your grade. If you can, please e-mail
your papers to me. I’ll also accept them in class, but, please, print them
with a computer. I’ll only accept handwritten papers if they’re
exceptionally clear.
February19-February 26
Pop
music: The history of pop music since the dawn of rock & roll. How
does pop music function, as an art and a business? How does it compare,
institutionally and artistically, to classical music? Can it teach classical
music anything?
reading::
The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll (in the
reference section of the library):
Ellen Willis, “Janis Joplin,” pp. 382-387
Greg Sandow, “Why Classical
Music Needs Rock & Roll” (unpublished article, xerox on
reserve)
Jesse McKinley, "Famous Long
Ago" (from the New York Times) (also on reserve in the
library; a CD of songs by the band described in the piece will be on
reserve in the record library)
listening:
Four CDs of rock songs, from the ‘50s to a few years
ago. On reserve in the record library. (They’re numbered “disc
two” to “disc five.” That made sense once. Skim through the ‘50s
stuff. There’s too much.)
March 5-March 12: no class; spring break.
March 19
Pop
music: conclusion
March 26
Contemporary
music: Why is the classical music business still largely built on works
written before the 20th century? Why do new works have trouble finding an
audience? What does this say about classical music as an art?
reading:
Greg Sandow, “When
the Solid Dissolves” (from the Wall Street Journal)
Greg Sandow, “Chicago
Hope” (remarks to an American Symphony Orchestra League convention;
listening:
Webern, Symphony, Op. 21 (Boulez,
Berlin Philharmonic)
Gavin Bryars, Jesus
Blood Never Failed Me Yet (track 1, more if you like)
Meredith Monk, Volcano
Songs (tracks 1-4, more if you like)
more TBA
(If you're curious about these
composers, I've written a review of another Gavin
Bryars piece, and three items about Meredith
Monk.
April 2
Concert
presentation: Should classical musicians dress informally, use dramatic
lighting, talk to the audience? How would this affect the music?
reading:
Tina Ward, “A View From the
Stage,” from Symphony magazine (xerox on reserve in the library)
Three-page
paper, due April 30.
Imagine
you’ve been asked to give a concert that will attract people who don’t
usually listen to classical music. This can be a solo recital or a chamber
performance, and you can give it anywhere you like, with one exception—you
can’t give it for a captive audience, of the kind you’d find at a school,
for example, or a retirement home. You have to attract paying customers.
Describe
what you’d do. Where would you give the concert? (It doesn’t have to be in
a concert hall.) What music would you play? How would you present the music?
Would you talk to the audience, or use special lighting or other stage
effects? How would you attract your new listeners?
Feel
free to imagine anything you like, within reason. You don’t have to give
your concert in New York, for instance. You can give it in another city, in
another country, in a small town—you name it. And you can aim your concert
at any kind of audience, at artists, for instance, or children, or jazz
listeners, anybody, as long as they don’t normally go to classical concerts.
Describe
your plans as specifically as possible. Make me feel as if I’ve attended the
concert myself.
April 23
The
Career of a Classical Musician: What careers should classical musicians
expect in the future? How will classical musicians relate to the world outside
classical music? Is it their job to help build a new audience? Can they create
alternative institutions within the field?
reading:
Bruce
Weber, “Love Story of a String Quartet and a County in Maine” (from The
New York Times) (xerox on reserve
in the library)
April 30
Performing
the standard repertoire: What do classical masterworks mean in the
contemporary world? Do we need to do something special to convey that meaning,
or do they speak for themselves?
reading:
Greg
Sandow, “Beethoven Howls” (from the Village
Voice)
listening:
TBA
assignment:
Take-home
exam, given out in class. Due May 14.
May 7: no class; jury week
May 14
Final
discussion. Any and all subjects related to the course.
