Music
MUSC 318W Beethoven, His Legacy and the Power of Music (4)
For two centuries, Beethoven has been received and interpreted as the composer who liberated music, and as the composer of revolution. The discussions and writing surrounding the reception of his music, from other artists and intellectual luminaries, shaped the entire narrative regarding the true nature of music as an art, and whether it had the possibility to convey meaning. The structures developed by his generation still dominate composition. Students taking this course which is co-listed with MUSC 218 will engage with the topic in a more rigorous fashion through the completion of 3 writing projects and one oral presentations.
Discussion and study of Beethoven: the composers of the period, the structures and syntax created, along the growing discourse of the 19th century over the absolute v.s. program music paradox, all satisfy the normal requirements of a topics in music history course.
The papers will extend from the analysis of one work which epitomizes the type of larger structure which became so dominant during the period to a paper which allows the study to correlate a feature of classical style composition with a technique developed later in 19-21st century composition.
- General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Writing-centered; Arts & Humanities
- Prerequisite: Consent of Instructor
- Offering: Every semester
- Instructor: Coen