MUS 321J: 20th Century Musical Analysis Eric Drott, instructor Fall 2019 TTh 2-3:30
Office hours: TTh 11-12 Office: MRH 3.730 Unique no.: 22015 Office phone: 471-3478 Email: [email protected]
Course Description: The aim of this course is to develop your knowledge of the materials and techniques of twentieth- century concert music. Given the considerable difference between the principles underlying common practice tonal music and those underlying much 20th-century literature, the course's primary task is to introduce a range of theories and analytical techniques that will help students come to a better understanding of this sometimes challenging and often unfamiliar repertoire.
Required Text: Edward Pearsall, Twentieth-Century Music Theory and Practice (available at the University Co-Op). Additional materials will be handed out in class or made available on Canvas.
Assignments: Most weeks there will be required reading and/or a written assignment. In order to be prepared for class you should complete the required reading, familiarize yourself with the works to be discussed, and turn in homework assignments (if any have been assigned).
There will be a midterm exam as well as two 'drop the needle' quizzes during the semester. They will feature representative works from the 20th century literature; recordings of these pieces will be made available on YouTube. You will be expected to identify the works through the shorter excerpts played, as well as discuss stylistically salient traits.
In lieu of a final exam there will be a final written project you will submit on the last day of classes, which can either take the form of a longer analytical paper (5-7 pages) or a short model composition written in the style of a major compositional figure and/or movement. More information on this assignment will be provided later in the term.
Evaluation: Assignments: 20% Listening quizzes: 20% (10% each) Midterm: 20% Final Paper/Project: 30% Attendance and class participation: 10%
Americans with Disabilities Act The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office at the Dean of Students at 471- 6259, 471-4641 TTY.
Religious holy days: A student who misses classes or other required activities, including examinations, for the observance of a religious holy day should inform the instructor as far in advance of the absence as possible, so that arrangements can be made to complete an assignment within a reasonable time after the absence.
LISTS FOR LISTENING QUIZZES LISTENING QUIZ 1 Arnold Schoenberg, Book of the Hanging Gardens, op. 15 (1908) Anton Webern, Fünf Sätze for String Quartet op. 5 (1909) Charles Ives, Central Park in the Dark (ca. 1909) Alexander Scriabin, Poème d'ecstase (1908) Igor Stravinsky, Petrushka (1911) Claude Debussy, Jeux (1913) Ruth Crawford, Music for Small Orchestra (1926) Jean Sibelius, Tapiola (1925-6) Paul Hindemith, Mathis der Mahler Symphony (1933-34) Béla Bartók, Music for Strings, Percussion and Orchestra (1936) Igor Stravinsky, Dumbarton Oaks Concerto (1937-38) Silvestre Revueltas, Sensemayá (1938) Olivier Messaien, Quatuor pour la fin du temps (1941) Dmitri Shostakovich, Symphony no. 10 (1953)
LISTENING QUIZ 2 Alban Berg, Violin Concerto (1935) Arnold Schoenberg, String Trio (1946) Luigi Nono, Il Canto Sospeso (1956) Iannis Xenakis, Metastasis (1953-54) György Ligeti, Atmosphères (1961) Luciano Berio, Sinfonia (1968) Alfred Schnittke, Concerto Grosso no. 1 (1977) Steve Reich, Music for Eighteen Musicians (1976) Gérard Grisey, Périodes and Partiels (from Les Espaces Acoustiques) (1974-75) John Adams, The Chairman Dances (1985) Kaija Saariaho, Oltra Mar (1999) John Luther Adams, The Light That Fills the World (1999-2000) Unsuk Chin, Violin Concerto (2001) Jennifer Higdon, Concerto for Orchestra (2002) David Lang, The Little Match-Girl Passion (2007) Andrew Norman, The Companion Guide to Rome (2010) Caroline Shaw, Plan and Elevation (2015)
SCHEDULE (SUBJECT TO REVISION)
Week Tuesday Thursday 1 Introduction to course
(8/29) Pearsall, Introduction Rhythm and meter 2 Pitch in non-tonal and tonal music Pearsall, ch. 7 (pp. 168-177); Lester, ch. (9/3-9/5) Lester, ch. 1 (on Blackboard) 2 (on Canvas) Rhythm and meter cont. Texture 3 Pearsall, ch. 9 (pp. 218-235) (9/10-9/12) Lester, ch. 3 (on Canvas) Tonality after tonality 4 Harmony Tymoczko (on Canvas); Kostka and Santa (9/17-9/19) Pearsall, ch. 1 (pp. 7-21) (on Canvas) 5 Scales and referential collections Scales and collections, cont. (9/24-9/26) Pearsall, ch. 1 (pp. 21-31) Pearsall, ch. 1 (pp. 32-36) 6 Pitch and Interval Sets and Segmentation (10/1-10/3) Pearsall, ch. 2 (pp. 43-57) Pearsall, ch. 3 LISTENING QUIZ #1 7 Unordered sets Unordered sets cont. (10/8-10/10) Pearsall, ch. 4 (pp. 92-104) Pearsall, ch. 4 (pp. 104-109) 8 Set-class analysis Ordered sets (10/15-10/17) Pearsall, ch. 5 (pp. 115-123) Pearsall, ch. 6 9 Twelve-tone music MIDTERM (10/22-10/24) Pearsall, ch. 8 (pp. 183-193) 10 Twelve-tone music cont. Integral serialism (10/29-10/31) Pearsall, ch. 8 (pp. 193-201) Pearsall, ch. 8 (pp. 205-210) 11 Sound reproduction & sound Texture & sound mass (11/5-11/7) synthesis composition 12 Quotation & Collage Music Minimalism & Postminimalism (11/12-11/14) 13 Class TBA Class TBA (11/19-11/21) 14 Spectralism & Postspectralism THANKSGIVING (11/26-11/28) 15 Neo-Tonality and “Post-Classical” LISTENING QUIZ #2 (12/3-12/5) Music