| Western Music: 19th Century |
Liberal Arts |
3211 (001) |
Spring 2026 |
|
Description
This course is a survey of Western music from Beethoven to Mahler with emphasis on musical style, form, and nationalistic tendencies in historical, cultural, and social contexts. Each lecture focuses on a particular composition, composer, or genre. The intrinsic form of the Romantic era sonata--allegro is examined through the lens of a symphony, sonata, concerto, and string quartet. This course addresses issues such as the role of the opera; connections/influences between composers, writers, poets, painters and their impact on music history; small-scale home music making; and the developments of the 19th-century symphony. Students learn how to listen analytically to 19th-century music and are encouraged to use a macro-level music vocabulary in their discourse. Composers include Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Liszt, Paganini, Mussorgsky, Bizet, Berlioz, Smetana, Rimsky-Korsakov, Verdi, Wagner, Brahms, and Mahler. Prior to lectures, students will watch documentaries and read short articles. This course also places a strong emphasis on listening to music and describing it. Two exams, a midterm and a final, focus on listening skills. Two short essays (6 page each) allow students to talk about music experiences and to use their acquired music vocabulary.
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Class Number
2472
Credits
3
|
| Top: Sights and Sounds of Eastern Europe |
Liberal Arts |
3252 (001) |
Spring 2026 |
|
Description
Standard textbooks of European music have long emphasized their commitment towards studying the Western part of the continent. When it comes to the eastern region of the mainland, no such textbook exists. The scholarly marginalization of Eastern Europe¿s cultural, religious, and ethnic diversity contributes to negligence and underappreciation of the region. The purpose of this course is to examine the history and arts at several sites in this region and to listen to its music. Through this approach, we will examine cultural identities such as Greek, Byzantine, Slavic, Eastern Orthodox, Russian, Jewish, Ottoman, and Romani. We will visit historical and contemporary sites such as Kaliningrad, Kiev, Cracow, Prague, Budapest, Istanbul, Zagreb, and Ljubljana. We will also listen to ¿classical¿ music of Romanians, Poles, Russians, and Hungarians as well as to ¿folk¿ music from Transylvania, the Balkans, and the Baltic states. The music repertoire of this course spans from medieval Polish and Hungarian manuscripts to the late 20th-century Estonian (Arvo Part) and Russian (Sofia Gubaidulina) composers.
|
Class Number
1473
Credits
3
|
| Top: Sights and Sounds of Eastern Europe |
Liberal Arts |
3252 (001) |
Summer 2026 |
|
Description
Standard textbooks of European music have long emphasized their commitment towards studying the Western part of the continent. When it comes to the eastern region of the mainland, no such textbook exists. The scholarly marginalization of Eastern Europe¿s cultural, religious, and ethnic diversity contributes to negligence and underappreciation of the region. The purpose of this course is to examine the history and arts at several sites in this region and to listen to its music. Through this approach, we will examine cultural identities such as Greek, Byzantine, Slavic, Eastern Orthodox, Russian, Jewish, Ottoman, and Romani. We will visit historical and contemporary sites such as Kaliningrad, Kiev, Cracow, Prague, Budapest, Istanbul, Zagreb, and Ljubljana. We will also listen to ¿classical¿ music of Romanians, Poles, Russians, and Hungarians as well as to ¿folk¿ music from Transylvania, the Balkans, and the Baltic states. The music repertoire of this course spans from medieval Polish and Hungarian manuscripts to the late 20th-century Estonian (Arvo Part) and Russian (Sofia Gubaidulina) composers.
|
Class Number
1306
Credits
3
|
| Top: Sights and Sounds of Eastern Europe |
Liberal Arts |
3252 (002) |
Fall 2026 |
|
Description
Standard textbooks of European music have long emphasized their commitment towards studying the Western part of the continent. When it comes to the eastern region of the mainland, no such textbook exists. The scholarly marginalization of Eastern Europe¿s cultural, religious, and ethnic diversity contributes to negligence and underappreciation of the region. The purpose of this course is to examine the history and arts at several sites in this region and to listen to its music. Through this approach, we will examine cultural identities such as Greek, Byzantine, Slavic, Eastern Orthodox, Russian, Jewish, Ottoman, and Romani. We will visit historical and contemporary sites such as Kaliningrad, Kiev, Cracow, Prague, Budapest, Istanbul, Zagreb, and Ljubljana. We will also listen to ¿classical¿ music of Romanians, Poles, Russians, and Hungarians as well as to ¿folk¿ music from Transylvania, the Balkans, and the Baltic states. The music repertoire of this course spans from medieval Polish and Hungarian manuscripts to the late 20th-century Estonian (Arvo Part) and Russian (Sofia Gubaidulina) composers.
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Class Number
2137
Credits
3
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